“I messed up, Miles. With MJ, withyou.” She took a stuttering breath in. “I’m ashamed to admit this, but back then, I, I felt trapped. And I’m so sorry. You can’t believe how sorry I am. I was selfish and lost both of you in my pursuit of my dreams. I’m a horrible person.”
I didn’t want MJ to find her in this state, so I pulled her up and led her to the backyard.
“Weallmake mistakes,” I said softly as I held her, trying to ease her sobbing. “I made plenty. I pushed you too much back then. I’m sorry, too.I’m sorry I couldn’t fix what was wrong between us. That I couldn’t make our family work, keep us together.”
She looked at me, her face red from crying. “Miles, this wasn’t on you. I tried hard, but I think I fell for the idea of you as my next adventure. I was only at the tech conference supporting friends. I didn’t understand your world and never took the time to. You were so handsome and attentive. I thought we could make it work, but I was wrong.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I was just as guilty, though.” The words left my mouth, but my mind caught on the fact that everything was so different with Vicky. If it weren’t for the fact that we’d both shared our secrets, our dreams, the things that mattered to us, I’d have been worried that history was repeating itself.
But it wasn’t. There were so many green flags everywhere I looked. Even the things I hadn’t spoken aloud, somehow Vicky seemed to know. Like the picture. Katy hadn’t even remembered something MJ and I had done for many years. To be fair, she’d missed out on a lot, but in just one short meeting with my daughter, Vicky had seen how important it was to us and captured that moment forever.
Katy had pulled away and was looking at me curiously. “What?” I asked, wiping my hand down my face.
“You never looked at me the way you look at her. Even when I’m in your arms, you’re thinking about her.” She held up her hand when I went to speak. “Miles, I’m not mad.Disappointed, but not mad. She’s in love with you, too. She’s a very lucky woman. I hope she knows that.”
Was it true? Was Vicky in love with me?
“No,I’mthe lucky one,” I answered before I could stop myself.
“Listen, I know I’ve been unkind to her, but if she’s going to be in my daughter’s life, I should get to know her, right?”
“I need to talk to Vicky, but I suppose if you want to be more present for MJ, I should let you know that she’s someone I’d want to be a part our daughter’s life. And also, it really upset me the way you spoke to Vicky, treated her. She doesn’t deserve that.”
She blushed and nodded. “You’re right. I was crazy with jealousy, that’s all. She’s beautiful, Miles. And it’s evident how much MJ means to her. It’ll take me a while to get used to it. But you deserve someone like her. Someone who really sees you.”
“I appreciate that.”
MJ bounded outside, purple pom-pom clips around each braid. They bounced as she ran to us.
“Ready to go? I thought we could tease Uncle Lukey about meeting us at the zoo just to make him squirm,” she said with a mischievous giggle.
Katy held her hand out for MJ to hold. “He still hates it, huh?” she asked with a smirk. “Definitely, let’s call him.”
Later that evening, I was still in a good mood after the great day with Katy. She was attentive with MJ, her laughter revealing the old Katy. It meant a lot to see her making some changes for the better. Luke wasn’t amused when MJ called pretending to convince him to join us and was relieved when we said it was a joke.
He offered to let Katy spend the rest of her four-day stay at the empty cottage he owned. When she asked if MJ could have a girls' sleepover there, I said yes wholeheartedly. I wasn’t sure if Luke’s offer was to keep Katy from spending the night again at my house, but I was grateful.
I texted Vicky before the girls left to see if I could come over with some dinner, but she insisted that she’d come to me.
When her headlights illuminated the living room, I was already waiting for her outside my front door when she got out of her car.
She smiled, but it didn’t quite seem like the easy one she usually wore when we were together. There was definitely something wrong, and I needed to find out quickly.
“Hey. Glad you were able to come over.” I wanted to hug her, but I wasn’t sure what she’d think of it.
“Hi. Yeah, sure. We said we needed to talk, so here I am,” she said with a nervous laugh when I held the door open for her to come in.
“Where’s MJ?” she asked, gripping her purse like it was a lifeline.
“She’s staying with Katy tonight. Luke and Sofia invited her to stay at their empty cottage for her last few days,” I said, walking into the kitchen. “Water or kombucha?”
“Huh?”
“Would you like water or kombucha?” I asked again, standing with the refrigerator door open. When it started to bing in protest, she snapped out of wherever she’d drifted off to.
“Oh, sorry, water’s fine, thanks.” She eased her purse onto the counter. It was clear she was nervous and she wasn’t alone. I’d been thinking all evening after saying goodbye to MJ and Katy about what I wanted to say.
I handed her the cold bottle, and she nodded her thanks. I needed to find out why she was so tense.
