still not mollified

She grabs his phone from the side table and taps the screen. She can see that Shane has several text notifications from Ilya, and a fond smile crosses her lips. For so long, Shane didn’t have anyone that made him feel as loved as Ilya does, and as much as Yuna wants to remit as much love as possible to her son, there are obviously kinds of love she cannot gift him. 

He found it himself, and it blooms in her chest, the affection for Ilya and the pride for Shane. 

She doesn’t want to pry into their relationship, and fully intends to just swipe up as soon as she unlocks, but the text thread opens from where Shane locked it as soon as she enters his password, and she feels a thump in her chest and a drop in her gut. 

“Oh, jesus—” she whispers to herself, locking the phone and slamming it face down on the couch. For a moment she thinks she might be having a heart attack, but she also feels a pit in her stomach and a flood of disbelief at what she just saw.

Because it’s all imprinted at the front of her mind. Two messages from an hour ago.

Ilya: Come back. I'm already so fucking horny without you. 

Shane: Two weeks and I'm naked and all yours for three whole days.

And then the new messages.

Ilya: Turn off the game and jerk off for daddy. He misses that pretty cock.  Ilya: That tight beautiful little hole. 

And a picture for proof. Her almost son-in-law, posted against his pillows, buck naked. Holding his…his him…fully erect in his hand. 

Jesus fucking Christ. On the list of things she never, ever wanted to see, this was relatively fucking high. Just one of those texts would have been more than she ever needed to witness in a lifetime. All that was enough to consider a sudden, temporary memory loss a blessing. 

Shane plops back down on the couch, pulling his legs up. “What do you think?”

Yuna blinks, heart racing. “Hm? About…about what?”

“Calvin Klein.”

Her eyes bulge slightly. “Oh. Oh, yeah. I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it.”

“Thank you,” Shane says, elongating the second word, settling into the couch. 

“Yup,” Yuna relays absently, staring at the muted television as the commercials continue to play. 

She knows too much. And now she’ll have to go into his phone again to get whatever email she completely forgot to find. She knows much too much. About Shane, about his fiancé, about their sex life. None of which she ever wanted to see. 

“Mom?”

She jolts. 

“Game’s back on?”

“Huh?”

Shane smiles. “Game. Back on.”

“Oh,” she catches up again, shaking her head. “Yeah, sorry. Distracted.” She unmutes the television, but has never felt less interested in a game. 

“You good?” Shane asks, amused. 

“Yeah. Yes, all good. Thanks, honey.”

Her eyes stay fixed on the screen as Shane swipes up on his phone. 

Until she can’t help herself, looking out the corners to see his expression. She can see him open Ilya’s text thread (easily identifiable by being the only contact with emojis [which Ilya had added, she knows]). Shane quickly tips his phone away from Yuna, covering the side with a cupped hand and nibbling his lip, but the barest hint of a smile. 

For just a second. 

Before he realizes that he had yet to open those texts. Didn’t see notifications for them. His smile dims. 

Yuna snaps her eyes forward again. “I’m gonna grab a drink,” she mutters, fleeing off the couch and into the kitchen. She snatches the whiskey bottle off the shelf and pours herself a generous amount, then stares into the brown liquid. 

Her eyes flicker to the entryway, where Shane’s head bows down as he slumps in, hands deep in his pants pockets.

“Did you…”

“Mm-mm,” Yuna falsely assures, shaking her head and taking her first sip.

But Shane sees through it instantly. “Fuck.”

“Shane—”

“I should’ve checked my texts before I—”

“Shane, it’s fine. It’s your phone, that’s your private space.”

“I’m sorry. Fuck, this is…I don’t know what to say.”

Yuna sighs, leaning against the counter. “Then I'll say it. You’re an adult. In a, clearly very healthy, sexual relationship—”

“Mom…”

“You are! And that’s lovely. I’m so happy for you, honey. I don’t care what you do. That’s not for me.”

Shane shuffles, his hands in his pockets fidgeting visibly. “I just don’t think either of us need to know anything about each other’s….lives.” 

“Agreed. Definitely agreed. But, for what it’s worth, he’s…” She tilts her head and her glass. “I mean, he’s…”

“Mom!”

“What? I’m just saying! You picked a good one.”

Shane scrubs his face with his palms. “Mom, stop.”

“Since you were nineteen makes a lot more sense now,” Yuna mumbles into her drink, grinning wider at another inevitable, “Mom!”

He swivels around and storms back into the living room, and Yuna holds in a laugh. Because the situation is laughable, but it’s not really funny. She knows how mortified her son must feel. But she’s not getting through to him right this second. 

So she pulls out her own phone. 

Yuna: I’m so glad Shane has you. 

Ilya: I am glad I have him too Yuna 🥰 Ilya: You made a very beautiful baby. I like him quite a bit. 

Yuna: Irina didn’t do so bad herself ❤️

A few minutes later, Shane makes a groaning noise from the living room. “Mother! Ilya says you’re flirting with him!”

“I’m not!” She insists, covering the brimming grin on her lips with her hand. 

Ilya: Don’t tempt me Yuna Hollander. He got his looks from *somewhere*. You would be the next best thing to my Shane 😘

She snorts at her phone and shouts back at Shane, “He’s flirting with me!”

“He doesn’t know you’ve seen his full…thing!”

“Would that make it better or worse?”

“Worse! Way fucking worse!”

A new text thread pops up with just Shane, Ilya, and Yuna. 

Shane: Stop. Both of you. 

Ilya: Are you feeling threatened little Shanya?

Shane: Shut up. You are not funny.  Shane: Maybe I’ll skip our next free weekend

Ilya: You cannot wait that long moya lyubov

Yuna: He does get very grumpy the longer he goes between visits.  Yuna: Guess I understand that more now.

Shane: JESUS fucking…

[Shane Hollander has left the conversation]

Ilya: … Ilya: u saw what I sent him didn’t u

Yuna: No comment.  Yuna: Just good to know my son is being…taken care of. 

Ilya: Yes well. You do not have to worry about that 🥰😜

Yuna: I certainly don’t. I’ve seen…more than enough to confirm that now. 

Ilya: Last one who ever will 😉 Ilya: Unless maybe David feels left out…