He wanted a clean break, wanted to start fresh without the bitter taste of a prolonged legal battle. Rya had moved back to her parents house in Connecticut, and the children spent two weekends a month with her, carefully supervised visits that everyone hoped would eventually become more natural. I’d been worried about how Emma and Jake would handle the separation, but children are remarkably resilient when the adults in their lives are honest with them.
Marcus had sat them down and explained in age appropriate terms that sometimes grown-ups make mistakes that hurt the people they love, and that sometimes the best way to fix those mistakes is to make big changes. ” Emma had asked during one of our early weekend visits. “No, sweetheart,” I told her. But that doesn’t mean your family is broken. It just means your family looks different now. And it did look different.
Marcus had moved into a small rental house just 10 minutes away
Marcus had moved into a small rental house just 10 minutes away. Close enough that the children could ride their bikes to visit me, but far enough that we all had our own space. He came by most Sunday mornings for coffee and conversation. Sometimes staying for lunch, rebuilding our relationship one careful conversation at a time. The business was thriving.
Free from Rya’s expensive tastes and her constant pressure to maintain appearances, Marcus had been able to focus on the work he actually enjoyed rather than chasing prestigious clients who drained his energy and his resources. He looked healthier now, less stressed, more like the son I remembered. “Grandmad,” Jake’s voice called from the living room. ” I wiped my hands on my apron and went to admire his architectural masterpiece.
The entire living room had been transformed into an elaborate kingdom of cushions and blankets with towers and bridges and secret passages that only an 8-year-old mind could envision. “This is magnificent,” I said and meant it. ” “No,” Jake said solemnly. “You are. ” I felt my throat tighten with emotion.
In Jake’s innocent worldbuilding, I was the queen, not the servant, not the inconvenience, not the person who should be grateful for scraps of attention. The queen. That’s a very important job, I said. Seriously. What are my royal duties? Jake thought about this carefully. You have to make sure everyone has enough pancakes. And you have to tell stories about when daddy was little. And you have to give the best hugs in the kingdom. I think I can handle that, I said, gathering him into my arms for a demonstration of my royal hugging abilities.
