Page 57 of One Last Chance

“Do you like that one?” I ask once I notice she’s sitting there, gazing into the abyss, for a little too long to just be enjoying the scent. Mina looks up sharply. There’s some unexplained sadness in her eyes, and I don’t think what I said caused it. It’s something else.

“You can keep it. I hardly ever used that one, anyway.”

Mina tilts the diamond-shaped bottle in her hands, looking down at it. “Can I? It…reminds me of Mom. She uses something that smells like this,” she says in a small voice.

My chest tightens. Hope is still a touchy topic, especially after everything that went down with Mina.

The memory of Rowland raging after Mina explained more to him the day we made up is still vivid in my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that mad, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that mad and aggrieved at the same moment.

He really struggled to even be decent to Hope after that. All Rowland could think about, as he told me, was what could have happened if Mina didn’t turn the hatred and stigma Hope planted in her outwards instead of inwards. If she chose to take it out on herself instead of him or me.

I’m not sure how exactly to proceed with the topic, so I lean on my side of the bed and watch Mina gently. “Take it, alright? You… I know you must miss her. That’s okay.”

Mina sighs and quickly rubs her eyes, trying to hide that she teared up. “Thanks. I really like it. Anyway, it’s better this way. Dr. Pritchett thinks so. Me too,” she says, her voice firmed this time. The new therapist has been working well for her. Slowly, but all healing takes time.

“Of course,” I say, and, summoning my courage, gently hold her shoulder for a moment.

Mina gives me a smile and continues going through the box, passing me another bottle with an expression that almost seems like nothing had happened.Like father, like daughter. Damn. I guess it’s a hereditary skill.

After a little while of peaceful unpacking, Rowland appears in the door with Mac on his shoulders. He’s holding two more boxes, and so does Mac, albeit smaller ones.

“This seems incredibly dangerous,” I note anxiously and jump up to help him offload.

“It was taking you two far too long, so we decided to save the situation. Right?” Rowland puffs out his chest victoriously and grins.

“Yeaaah!” Mac shouts, raising his arms together with the box.

Mina and I share a look before we laugh. With all my stuff spread out across the house and half the boxes in the bedroom, everything is in chaos. Rowland throws Mac on the bed. It doesn’t take long for Mina to start nagging him about being careful and to not get close to the perfume bottles. While they do, Rowland steps toward me with that charming, loving smile and leans in for a kiss.

“Welcome home, my love.”

?

Only a few weeks after I fully settle in, Rowland throws me a surprise thirty-second birthday party. It’s not exactlysurprising, considering Mom acts much stranger than usual when she’s keeping a secret and Mac, after his upsetting experience of lying to his Dad, decided to tell me the plan in secret pretty much as soon as he learned it.

Still, I’m happy. I couldn’t be happier. I have everything I could ever want.

Everyone is here and that previously impersonal, spotless house that is now our home bursts with life, love and laughter. Rowland’s mother, invigorated with a few glasses of Chardonnay, turns out to be on a perfect frequency with Mom at her normal. Ma just seems outright amused by the two of them chatting and giggling like two teenage girls.

Shawn and Joane seem a few minutes away from filing for shared custody for Momo. I have to keep an eye on them to make sure one of them doesn’t try to run off with him. The little guy loves the attention and eagerly does his cute little twirls and rolls and tricks. Anything for belly rubs and snacks.

Mac plays the waiter for our event, constantly running around in his little pretend tuxedo and asking everyone if they want any more drinks or snacks.

Mina is at her Omega Awakening camp over the weekend. Something we all thought would be good for her. Bonding with other kids, going through informative lectures and fun activities, and a little something to distract her and get her into nature. Sheleft a hand-crafted crystal necklace on my night table before she went as a gift to me.

I smile, touching it as it sits against my chest.

And Hope… Hope is here, I suppose.

Rowland talked about it with the family therapist. They figured it was an important step. For Rowland to work on his unaddressed antipathy toward her, for the kids, and for Hope, too. If she is ever to have anything resembling a decent relationship with us that benefits the children, shutting her out is not the way. And her being willing to come to some sessions was a big enough deal for Rowland to agree with her coming today. Under one serious condition: no bigoted beta husband allowed.

She’s sitting at the back end of the couch, mostly quiet, only flashing quick smiles to Mac when he runs in to ‘serve’.

I almost feel bad for her but keep my distance for most of the party. Rowland and I mingle, basically joined at the hip. He keeps telling me how good I look, keeps kissing me, and does that cute thing people in movies do when feeding each other cake, smearing some of the icing on my nose before wiping it off and kissing me.

When Hope approaches us near the end of the party, Rowland visibly stiffens.

She seems as nervous as I’d expect. What I don’t expect is what comes out of her mouth. “I…I think I should head home. A lovely party, really,” she says, trying her best to be civil.

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