"Then, after you marry my dad... do I have to call you Aunt?" Xaviar asked hesitantly.
Aunt? Anna was momentarily taken aback, then realized that Xaviar didn't yet know she was his mother. It must be ingrained in his subconscious that her marrying Jeremy Thompson is akin to her becoming his stepmother.
"You can call me Mum," Anna tentatively suggested, "After all, you've never called anyone else Mum before, have you? From now on, just call me Mum."
"But what if... what if my mum comes looking for me?" Xaviar asked with some concern.
"It's unlikely, given she hasn't come for so many years; if she were to come, she would have already. You can just call me Mum," Anna thought to herself, "Definitely not, because I am Xaviar's biological mother."
Another spell of silence from the other end of the phone made Anna increasingly anxious. After all, Xaviar is only just over 5 years old, and it must be quite difficult for him to accept her as his mother.
