“It’s okay. I didn’t come here to intrude. I only came for Mia.”
“Well, I’m ready for another beer.” Bruce stood from the table. “Oliver?”
“Yes, please.”
Diane glanced over at Bruce. “Haven’t you had enough?”
It was amazing, really. Twenty minutes into dinner, and I’d learned more about communication and marriage than I would have from a counseling session. I slid my hand over Mia’s thigh under the table, and she threaded her tiny fingers in mine. Regardless if she was mad at me, I’d never had to doubt we were in this together. Bud was right.
“You two have been together for what? Two years now?” Bruce asked, handing over an already openedBud Light.
“Yes, sir.” We cheered before he sat back down. Bruce wasn’t so bad. He just had no more fight in him any longer.
“You should run now,” Diane said through a small chuckle. “Do yourself a favor.”
My knee bounced. I looked over at Mia. Her eyes locked on the untouched lasagna before her, and I offered her a few seconds to stand up for herself. She didn’t. I looked over to Bruce, and he remained quiet. Mia’s faced this kind of bullying for over ten years, and I leaned back in the chair. “You know, taking Mia and running far away from here doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
A laugh cracked from Bruce, and Diane rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“I know what you’re implying. I’m just not entertaining the ludicrous suggestion.”
Diane’s eyes narrowed at me. Mia hadn’t been kidding, she was more vindictive then Dex Sullivan, and there was something dark and buried behind those eyes. “You’re the only fool at this table, Oliver. She’ll do nothing but lie, cheat, and steal from you,” her eyes darted to Mia, and Diane grimaced, “but only after she sleeps with half of your friends.”
“Diane!” Bruce pounded over the table, and the beer knocked over.
I stood, taking Mia with me, but she jerked from my hold. “What did I do to make you hate me so much?” Mia cried out. “I’m sorry for what I did. I told you I was sorry. Every day I’ve been trying so hard, but I can’t go back and change anything!”
“You want to know what you did?” Diane shouted.
Bruce stood and grabbed her arm. “No, Diane. That’s enough.”
“I lost my baby because of you. You killed my baby! The hell you brought into this home, the worrying, the anxiety, the panic attacks. You killed the only thing I ever wanted, and that is something you will never be able to change.”
Mia froze at my side. Bruce hung his head. Diane fisted her hands, tears pouring. I turned my back to everyone else to face Mia, and I didn’t know what to say. I tried to take her hand and pull her away, but she stood there, ready to face it.
“I’m sorry,” Mia whispered, shaking her head. She looked to her dad and dug her teeth into her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, I … Didn’t mean … I didn’t know.”
“It was a girl. I was supposed to have a daughter, and I ask God every day why you’re here, and my daughter’s not,” Diane cried out. “I’ve tried to look past it, I’ve tried everything. It’s not fair. You don’t deserve to be here. You deserve to rot in hell.”
“Mia,” I turned back to face her, but she jerked from my grasp, took off out of the dining room, and ran up the stairs.
I was stuck, unsure if I should chase after her or put these two in their place. My mind raced and my fingers pushed through my hair. “I’m sorry you lost your baby, but that wasn’t Mia’s fault, and you know it! She didn’t ask for this!” I raised my arms as my eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Neither one of them said anything.
Diane cried. Bruce rubbed his temples, rubbing his wife’s back, and my mind raced, heat flaring over my skin and burning my eyes.
I paced the dining room, trying to calm but their silence only fueled my frustration. I slapped my hands over the table and looked up at them. “And you didn’t just lose one daughter. You lost two. Mia’s your daughter too, and she’s been living in this house for over ten years, and you did nothing but push her away. She needed you! She needed both of you! Mia’s been there this entire time, right in front of you, screaming for someone to bloody hear her.”
I gathered a breath and wiped my face into my sleeve. My hands shook, and I allowed a few seconds pass to calm myself before addressing them again. Otherwise, I’d taken a chair to the glass cabinet behind me. “Thank you, Bruce, for inviting me to dinner. I know the kind of husband I want to be for her—one with fucking balls. And Diane,” my eyes slid to her, “with all due respect, your baby is gone, but Mia’s still here. Don’t take that for granted.”
They both looked at me, stunned, and I took after Mia, climbing the stairs and barging into her room. My heart plummeted when my gaze landed on her opened window, but then I saw her brown hair blowing in the wind.
I climbed through the small window and took a seat behind her, stretching my legs out across the shingles. She sank between my legs and my arms wrapped around her chest.
There had been many times I’d sat under this same sky, dreaming of this very moment. In love, high off solid ground, and my girl in my arms. Any other time, I’d shout to the moon, say we’d made it.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her head falling back against my chest.
I looked down to see her face soaked, but eyes dry. “No, I’m sorry.”
