Episode 977: Oh Brother

“I didn’t tell you because his past is very much in the past and I didn’t want him to be judged for it or have you run to your brother who clearly is eager to get rid of Xavier when the guy just wants to live his life on his own terms. I mean, if Bas isn’t out to ruin Xavier, why come to you with this?”

“Because it’s about my kids and I should have some say in what happens to them? Maybe Bas actually gets that, and that’s why he came to me, out of loyalty, though I get where loyalty might seem like a foreign concept to you at the moment.”

“The only person Sebastian’s loyal to is himself,” Quent countered. “The apple didn’t fall far from your parents-”

“Just like mine didn’t fall far either, right? I’m too privileged to understand someone falling on hard times. I’m just this shallow shell of a person who wouldn’t bother to think before they judged,” Justine said. “That’s what you’re saying. I’ve had hard times, Quent. You know that and yet you still think I’m too much of a rich girl to understand what anyone else has been through. You didn’t even bother to ask my opinion because you’re so certain you know it, so certain I would be wrong, whereas you’re right because you grew up with the moral high ground of not having money, while I don’t know anything about real problems.”

“I’m sorry I offended you, I didn’t mean to, I do know you’re been through a lot and I know you’re a compassionate person. I know you’re different from your parents, trust me, if I thought you weren’t I wouldn’t have married you. I should have shared this with you, it should have been our decision not mine. I guess you growing up as privileged as you were, part of me thought you wouldn’t give Xavier a chance, you’d go, he’s not perfect so he’s out of here because that’s how hard you are on yourself, and I do believe that’s on your parents, especially your dad, and how you grew up. I was just worried that Xavier wouldn’t get a fair shot and in the process, I didn’t give you one, and I am sorry for that, that’s not the relationship I want us to have. We do this stuff together. So, what do you think about Xavier? It’s okay, if it bothers you, if you’re not comfortable, I’ll talk to him tell him he needs to leave the garage and keep his distance, if you don’t believe in him like I do, I choose you, I always-”

“I do believe in him, I think. But should we?” Justine asked, ready for a conversation more than argument now that she’d heard Quentin out, heard his remorse over having kept her in the dark, and she could certainly see where her issues with perfectionism played into it. “Tans is in such a fragile place as it is, what if he lets her down or pulls her into something. I don’t think he will, but-”

“You really don’t think he will? Don’t say that just because it’s what I want to hear or because it proves you’re not a shallow rich girl, okay? It was stupid and wrong of me to imply that. It doesn’t make you a shallow rich girl if you decide you don’t want your children around a recovering drug addict.”

“He’s a really good friend. He genuinely cares for our kids, I can’t honestly imagine him doing anything to put them in jeopardy.” Justine shook her head. “Why did I let that conversation with Sebastian throw me into a spiral?”

“Because that’s what your brother wanted to happen.”

Episode 978: Think Twice