“I see.” He responded somewhat absentmindedly. And his response to the next statement, about Felix and Naomi, came out just as passive and absentmindedly as the first, “Whatever makes him comfortable.” Simon leaned back on the couch a bit, shaking his head “No one would hurt Felix. My family has sort of an ‘us against the world’ mentality. Once you’ve been inducted into the family either by marriage or unofficially, you become one of those people they’ll fight for. Trust me, Ly, you won’t find a safer family than mine.” And such had been true for as long as Simon could remember. Even when he was younger and issues in high school happened, his mother and father--and aunt--had gone to extreme lengths to get the offender locked away. They protected their own, “Because she’s like you in some ways.” He answered simply. When asked about what he’d do in such a situation, he shrugged, “Then I wouldn’t pressure him to talk to her anymore. And visa versa. I’ll still maintain a relationship with her because she’s family, but Felix doesn’t need to have a relationship with her if he doesn’t want to. I was hesitant to have them meet before because I was afraid a new person would break us apart, but since it’s not, I’m not that scared anymore. If he likes her, that’s great. If he doesn’t...he doesn’t.” It didn’t seem so complicated to him.
