"Dad, I'm having trouble with some of the questions. Can you help me? And I want to talk to you for a bit. Your work has been really busy lately, and I never get a chance to talk to you."
After chatting with Grandma earlier today, Jimmy now wanted to talk to his dad. Cyril was a bit surprised, but he also felt guilty. He had been so busy with work that he had neglected Jimmy's feelings. He decided to put aside work for now and have a good chat with Jimmy, because father-son relationships needed to be maintained.
"Sure, just wait for me a moment. I'll tidy up here and then come find you. You go do your other homework."
Jimmy nodded and went to do his other homework, while Miles quickly finished up his work and then went to Jimmy's room.
Jimmy was struggling with a math problem and hadn't noticed Miles come in until he was reminded of how to solve it. He then realized his father was there teaching him.
"I've always struggled with this problem, but your method, Dad, is so simple. If my teacher taught me this way, I'd have gotten it ages ago."
Miles couldn't help but smile at Jimmy's words. The methods taught in school were useful, but not all problems had solutions taught in class. This method was something he had come up with himself while solving problems. He found it effective and straightforward, so he thought it was a good method.
"There's something I've never asked you. You've always liked Silvia very much, but I've never asked if you want her to be your mother. And all this time, it seems like we've been imposing on Silvia, forcing her to make a choice, without giving her any good reasons or conditions."
Under these circumstances, being seen as using her wasn't surprising. But when Jimmy heard this, he paused. Clearly, he hadn't expected his father to say this. And they hadn't communicated much between them over this matter during this time. They only occasionally felt the need to chat.
"Wouldn't I pursue her if I didn't like you, Dad? It's obvious you like her."
Jimmy was genuinely puzzled. If he really liked her, why would he do all this? Anyway, he thought Silvia was really nice, and there was nothing wrong with living with her.
"It's not like that. Our liking is based on our emotional needs, so we act this way. But do you know what Silvia thinks? Does she like us? Why do we always impose our thoughts on others?"
Jimmy had never considered these things before, and now that he heard them, he fell silent.
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