Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 134531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Swiss was also out. On a run. I missed him already, even though he’d only been gone one night.
Having the house to myself was a treat too, though. Because it was mine. Because I was still puttering away with the garden, moving things here and there as we settled. I was also going through the graphics Violet made for the restaurant which were shockingly. She had true talent.
So my mind was on about a million things when I opened the door, expecting a UPS guy delivering one of the many online purchases I’d made.
But no.
It was Sally.
In a Chanel suit, clutching her purse and staring at me with tears in her eyes the second I opened the door. Those same eyes widened as she took in my sweatpants and tank, my messy hair and bare face.
In the time she’d known me, my mother-in-law had never seen me without an ‘appropriate’ outfit on and hair and makeup done.
Though I supposed she wasn’t my mother-in-law anymore.
I waited. For her eyes to sharpen with judgment. With malice. But instead, they softened, still filled with tears.
“Honey, you look beautiful,” she cried, pulling me into her arms.
I relaxed into the embrace, both out of shock and on instinct. I melted into the familiar smell of Chanel, her slight, delicate frame.
She didn’t release me for a long time, and once she did, I finally found my words. “How did you know I was here?”
“Violet,” she cleared her throat and daintily wiped her eyes. “She sent me a letter.”
I shook my head. Violet still believed in letters.
“Of course, she did,” I muttered. I folded my arms, leaning against the doorjamb. “What di—” I sighed. “What did the letter say?”
I wasn’t surprised that my daughter had tried to bring her grandmother here. She adored both of her grandparents, so I knew she wouldn’t be able to cut them off. But she’d also always be firmly on my side, and she had been ruminating on that enough to send a letter, telling her grandmother where to find me.
“Everything,” Sally choked out. “She told me everything.”
I sucked in a breath. “Well, I guess you’d better come in for some tea.”
“Vodka would be better, darling,” Sally corrected, making her way inside.
So that’s how my ex-mother-in-law and I ended up sitting in my kitchen, sipping vodka at one in the afternoon. She’d been silent as I got the glasses, the ice, while I poured them. I’d stolen a few glances at her as she wandered around, taking in the space.
It was nothing like the home she helped me decorate.
The walls were covered with mismatched frames, candid photos in each one. The sofa boasted multiple pillows that didn’t match. The counters were cluttered to communicate the home was lived in. Everything was clean, tidy, of course, but it was warm, casual, bursting with both mine and Swiss’s personalities.
I pushed a glass over to her, wary of what was to come. Violet had told her everything. And that had pushed her to come here. But to what end, I didn’t know.
Sally took the glass and raised it to me, face melancholy. “To your nuptials,” she murmured, nodding to my left hand.
I glanced down at the ring I was going to wear for the rest of my life.
“Sally—” I began, unable to find the words.
“Violet said you’re happy,” she cut in. “And seeing you, here in this lovely home, one that feels like a home, I tend to agree with her. I also feel as if I’ve never seen you happy. So we’re toasting to that, to your happiness.”
Unable to argue with her, I raised my glass, taking a long sip.
Sally did the same.
The silence between us was thick. I didn’t say anything. She came here with a purpose, so I let her steer the ship.
“Will you forgive me?” Her voice shook as she set down her glass.
“Forgive you?” I questioned. “For what?”
“For not seeing,” she replied, voice breaking. “For not noticing what he was doing to you for years. For raising a son who could do that.”
I blinked at her. I hadn’t known what to expect from Sally. She was not a cruel person. Did not have a mean bone in her body. She had never treated me with anything but kindness. But she was also a mother. I understood she needed her son to be the hero. No one wanted to believe their child was a monster.
“I don’t blame you, either of you,” I told her honestly. “I could never blame you. I love both you and Frank.”
“We love you too, honey,” she replied through tears. “Which is why we are here. Why we will never speak to Preston again.”
“But… he’s your son,” I gasped, unable to process what that meant. That she was saying that.
“He is,” she looked down in shame. “In nothing but name now, though. I will have nothing to do with him. His father will have nothing to do with him.” She reached over to squeeze my hand. “You are my daughter, darling. If not by name or blood, in every other way. You and Violet are everything to me. To both of us.” She looked around the house. “I know you’ve got a new family now, a new life, but we’d love to find a way to fit into it… if you’ll have us?”