Over the years she did ask for news of her handsome growing son more often that would have been appropriate. He failed, as she would never have expected, and as she had expected indeed, she found herself even more interested in young, successful - handsome - men who joined… Rafael… He could certainly pin her down, and wasn't adverse to trying, but always let her get the upper hand. It was only natural that she would take an interest in his performance, and natural also if it turned different over time. He was strong and young, and whatever they may have said, she was too.

Rafael was everything her son should have been, and could have been, and more. Whether she had raised him or not - and the answer clearly was a resounding no - she would never allow herself to look toward her son that way. With him she found a way to quell her loneliness in a quite unmotherly way, and she never allowed herself to wonder if he wanted it also, or went along because he thought he had to. We all made sacrifices…

Her second chance so generously bestowed upon Marco had been useless, discarded and wasted. She would concentrate on Rafael and hope he would never disappoint her, for his own sake. She had thought - hoped, assumed? - that she would only have to last until the next generation arrived. Her son would relieve her of those duties. It wasn't meant to be that way. No matter. She had always risen to the challenge and gone above and beyond. She would last one more generation. And then, she would grow more and more powerful. Waiting for her grandchild to join her. Though it would probably be best if this child turned out to be a granddaughter, she found herself hoping for a boy, and smiling.