Love you most

 "I'm sorry about things with your mother," Betty decided maybe it was best for Brick to stay at her house. Things were not getting better with his mom. "I know it's my fault. I know I didn't do a thing right with her when she was growing up."

Betty went to make him his favorite. Waffles.

"Stop blaming yourself," Brick told her he didn't think her manic depression meds were working.  After all, the pandemic made things hard for his mom. She worked from home and carrying for two toddlers wasn't easy for her. Especially, when she didn't do that much with him as a toddler. Betty had raised him then.

"So technically you're my mom." Brick gave her a look from the kitchen table in her warm kitchen on this cold and snowy winter morning that she better get used to this fact.

Betty pressed her lips tight not sure she could top that. She went on whipping up the batter and continued with breakfast.

"Well, I didn't have parents growing up. I was shuffled around from one Aunt to the other. Sometimes, I wonder if I lived with my family at all," she winced remembering she'd felt more like the help than anything else. "When I was sixteen I got pregnant with your mother. And there were lots of good intentions. I lived with your mother's father's people. But they didn't like me and when he was killed in a street racing accident in front of the school, they blamed me. So maybe that's where it started. I never had the family I thought I would have."

She took a deep breath. It was so long ago now, she wasn't sure she even believed that story. She didn't want to worry herself now that any of it was her fault. But after all this time, she didn't even have a picture of Brick's grandfather.  After all, selfies weren't invented then and she didn't even have a picture of the two of them together.

"I've been almost married a lot of times since then, but there were wars, careers on the line that killed them. I have the worst luck," she told him.

"Not anymore. Not with Ed," Brick smiled. 

"Well, that was an accident," she shrugged. Of course, Ed looked over the newspaper he was reading and cleared his throat.

"See, best not to plan anything," Brick nodded.

Betty couldn't help but have an open smile. "Remember, though, you need to spend some weekends at home and help out anytime you can with your baby sisters."

"I know." He poured syrup all over the waffles and bacon that she brought him.

She knew he was a good kid. He'd practically raised his mom all these years, but she knew Tiffany wouldn't dare admit it.