~
Burt and Mike sat drinking in the RV. They had moved on to the hard stuff. Each had stories to tell about Mia that the other hadn’t heard. How her obstinate refusal of taking the easy way out had enriched each of them.
“When you and Ted were stuck in that school, I thought I would have to pry the leadership role out of her hands, but I was wrong. She seemed relieved. Mia knows her strengths and ours.”
“More or less,” Burt agreed. “She needs to be reined in at times. Her impulsive nature gets her in trouble. I’ve had to play the bully sometimes, but I really felt it was for her own good.”
“When you’re not looking, Burt, she looks at you in a way that every man wants to be looked at. Whatever good times you had together are not forgotten. No matter how horrible you were to her later, she still saw the man she shared her heart with. I envy that.”
Burt looked sideways at Mike. “You have her trust. I wish I had that again.”
“It’s a heavy burden. Although Ma says that it has brought out the best parts of me. My mother actually told me that she was proud of me, and she was cold sober at the time.”
“Mia’s a slob,” Burt said, trying to pull out of the regret dive he had entered.
“Yes, she is. She’s been raised by males. Even prim, fussy Ralph never could convince the girl to pick up her discarded clothes,” Mike said. “She’s like having an oversexed little brother sometimes. She pushes my buttons.”
“That’s because you push hers first. Do you know, Dupree, you and she have had more fights, physical and verbal, than any siblings I know?”
“Yet we’re still friends,” Mike said, pouring himself another drink. He raised the bottle and examined the lack of contents. “Ma’s going to kill me for taking her best whiskey.”
“I think she’s more of a gin girl these days,” Burt said, pushing his glass over for Mike to refill.
“Do you ever play What If?” Mike asked.
“Sure, everyone does.”
“What if I wasn’t so nasty to Mia that first day?”
“You would have been nasty to her the next day,” Burt said, laughing. “You were way into satisfying your ego, bedding all the bodacious bods, and in short, all about Mikey. I don’t think Mia was interested.”
“How the hell did you get her?”
“I don’t know. I think I walked in when she was the most vulnerable and listened. It wasn’t on purpose. I didn’t think we’d last beyond the investigation. I was surprised that we did. Honestly, I don’t think I could have handled all that has happened to her. Ted’s a unique creature. Not that he hasn’t fucked up, mind you.”
“Royally fucked up,” Mike said. “Do you think they are going to be able to get past this latest fiasco?”
“Mia forgives, maybe too easily,” Burt said. “But I’m very grateful she does. Otherwise, I’d be back in Kansas filming residuals.”
Cid stood outside the door listening to the men inside. He was glad that he and Mia never connected in the way she and Burt had. He saw her for what she wanted to be seen as, Ted’s wife and Brian’s mother. He sensed that this gave Mia peace. He opened the door and changed the subject by asking, “Who’s in for a game of D & D?”
Ted sat waiting. He had laid Brian down soon after Cid left. Audrey was having a girls’ night with Glenda. The cottage was quiet. He thought about the revelations of the evening. His opening up to Burt and Mike surprised him. He’d thought it was best to lay his crimes on the table. Clear the air. Mike almost personally convicted him. He had misjudged the man. How much had Ted’s turbulent school years affected the man he had become? Did he still live his life in the pages of comic books? Was there a way to balance the grownup with the child?
He heard the soft voices of Mia and Orion approaching the cottage. Ted got up and walked out onto the deck. Orion had stopped and was looking at his granddaughter’s face. He said something too soft for Ted to hear. Mia nodded and seemed to square her shoulders. Ted knew that move. Mia did that when she had resigned herself to something. He wouldn’t pry, but he was curious what had brought that about.
“How was the flight?” he asked them.
The two looked up, and Mia smiled. “It was fun.”
“Next time, take me.”
Mia nodded. “I will. Better bring a parachute though. I seem to have a problem flying upside down when I should be right side up.”
Ted laughed.
“She did well,” Orion said. “She has a long way to go, but I think she’s got the principles down. Well, children, I’m going to see if I can get in on the D & D game in there,” he said, motioning towards the RV. “Or at least into that whiskey before Mike drinks it all.”
Mia climbed the steps to the deck and into the waiting arms of her husband.
“So, am I the freak of the week?” Mia asked, concerned over Burt and Mike’s reaction.
“Not any more than you normally are,” Ted said. “Come here, freak, let’s see what this geek can do to make you forget that thing that Burt does so well.”
Mia giggled nervously. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
“I’ve worked out the physics on it, but it will all depend on the practical application.”
Mia walked over, grabbed his hand and followed him into the cottage.
~
Mike sat on the dock smoking in the dark. He didn’t indulge too often, but the booze had faded his resolve. He had just extinguished his cigarette when he heard movement from the cottage. He watched as Mia walked quickly down the steps, dropped her robe, and ran to the water. He was about to make himself known when she launched herself and dove into the water. She broke the
