Because I loved Stephen, I wanted to get on well with his family, to like them and to be liked by them, and I could not understand why this particular relationship should be so difficult. On the day appointed for our visit, however, Stephen’s mother told me in no uncertain terms that Philippa wanted to see only Stephen, not me, explaining that no one, least of all Philippa, wanted to upset “this thing (presumably our marriage) between Stephen and you”. As Stephen said nothing to mitigate the effect of his mother’s bluntness, I was on the point of going home in tears to my parents, but then the old Ford Zephyr would not start and, in a sudden twist of events, I found myself driving Isobel and Stephen to Oxford in our Mini.
— Travelling to Infinity (Jane Hawking), Loc. 1331–6
Me, I did not manage the parents vs the loved ones, and it looks like I finally am.