“This was the perfect place to propose,” Mom says, smiling at me as we walk on the beach. I grin back at her, but part of me is scared of what will probably follow. Each time I think she’s saying something sweet, she’ll follow it up with something that makes me realize I got it all wrong. It’s been that way for years, and though I know this is nothing but a dream, I suspect it won’t change.
“You haven’t had it easy, Dion, but you’ve endured so well. I’m proud of you, you know? I know mothers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but you were mine. My little boy who loved the piano as much as I did, the only one of my kids that’d sacrifice playing with your toys so you could play the piano with me instead. You have no idea how much I appreciated every single one of those moments, honey. You grew up so fast, and I’m grateful for every moment I got with you. I’m even more grateful that you finally let go of guilt that was never yours to hold. Do you really think I’d have missed your first big performance? I never would have. Not in a million years. Asking me to come back sooner didn’t change my plans. Instead of focusing so much on the crash, did you ever wonder if there was a flight plan we were meant to be on instead? You were not to blame, my sweet boy.”
I stare at her in disbelief and reach for her. This dream feels different somehow, almost like she’s really here with me this time. Maybe it’s the therapy Faye and I have been subjecting ourselves to, but this feels like more.
“I love you, Dion. I’m glad you’ve finally learned to love yourself, too. Faye is good for you, better than I ever could’ve hoped for. I’ve watched over the both of you every step of the way, honey, and watching you grow toward each other and make a conscious choice to heal, to free yourselves from the past in favor of the future you could have together… oh, my darling boy, you have no idea how proud you’ve made me. The person you’ve become despite everything is one I’m in awe of.”
She reaches for me and rises to her tiptoes to brush a soft kiss to my forehead. “Be happy, Dion. For my sake and Faye’s, but most importantly, your own. Be happy, because you deserve to be. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. I love you, my sweet boy. I always will.”
She takes a step back, and I panic as she begins to fade, until I’m standing on the beach all alone. “Mom?”
“Dion?” I’m startled awake and instantly reach for my wife, pulling her onto the sofa with me. She giggles and presses her face against my neck. “You fell asleep. Did I really take that long to get ready?”
I hold her tighter as a perfume I recognize wafts over me. Mom’s. That’s impossible. I lean in and breathe Faye in, but it isn’t her.
“Dion, are you okay?” my wife asks, propping herself up on my chest to look me over. “You look a little pale.”
I gently thread a hand through her crimson hair and take a steadying breath. “I dreamt of my mother,” I admit. “In every dream I’ve had of her over the years, there’s one sentence I wanted her to say, and she never did. Not until today.”
“Yeah?” she murmurs, a sweet smile on her face.
“Faye, she told me she loved me.”
Her eyes widen a fraction, and then her arms wrap around me. She hugs me tightly, and I nearly lose it there and then. Faye knows all about my dreams, and all the things my mom used to tell me in them. She understands how significant it is for me to hear her say that she’s proud of me, that I deserve to be happy, and that she doesn’t blame me.
I gently pat her hair, the gesture as soothing to me as it to her. “We need to go,” I murmur reluctantly. “We’ll be late for family dinner, and you know how Grandma gets.”
She nods and pushes off me before offering her hand. I grin as I take it, a tinge of unease running down my spine. There’s something Mom said that I can’t shake, and I can’t stop thinking about it on the walk to Grandma’s house.
Moments before we walk in, I decide to text Silas to ask whether he can find any old flight plans for my parents to indicate they rushed home.
“Everything okay?” Faye asks as we walk into the dining room.
I nod and squeeze her hand as I lead her to our seats. “Perfect,” I murmur, and it truly is. Our marriage was great before, but it improved by leaps and bounds once we made a conscious effort to heal past trauma and some of our dysfunctional thinking. I didn’t think things between us could get any better, but somehow, they did. I’ve never felt closer to her.
“Where’s Grandma?” Lex shouts. “I want to talk to her about the Lex-board.”
I tense and throw a glare his way. “I’m sure we’ve discussed this, Lexington. We’re not calling it the fucking Lex-board. It’s fucking embarrassing.”
Ares chuckles. “To be fair, he’s a fucking embarrassment, so it’s only fitting.”
Luca rolls his eyes, a habit he learned off his wife. “Says the man that went on national television to tell everyone about his obsession with his wife.”
Ares freezes, and Val elbows Luca. “Need I remind you of the no-fraternization policy you implemented at the company when I tried going on a date, only for you to have to repeal it when you married me weeks later?”
Ares holds up his hand, and Val high-fives him, throwing him a conspiratory wink. Meanwhile, Raven just shakes her head in amusement as she’s lost in conversation with Sierra about some kind of romance novel they’re reading together, and they’ve drawn my darling wife into their nonsense. From what I’m gathering, it sounds an awful lot like they’re planning to kidnap some unsuspecting author in order to get advance copies of a new book, or something like that? It’s definitely the kind of conversation I’m going to stay far away from.
Zane is the only one at the table that’s eerily silent. It’s to be expected, I suppose. Celeste’s grand wedding plans keep landing on the front page of every magazine. We’ve kept the news strictly out of Windsor-owned news outlets, but there’s always the other half of the media.
My phone buzzes, and I reach for it instantly when I see Silas’s name pop up. A chill runs down my spine as I unlock my phone.
SILAS
No other flight plans were found, not even in the archives. The flight your parents were on was the only one they’d planned to be on. There were no deviations to their schedule.
I stare at my phone in disbelief. For years, I believed that they’d rushed home and missed some crucial checks because of me, but all along, the flight they were on was the one they’d scheduled weeks in advance.
It doesn’t change anything, yet somehow, the remnants of my guilt ease, and I’m left feeling lighter than ever before.
I can’t help but think back to that dream. Was that truly my mind playing tricks on me, or had I been holding onto my guilt so tightly that my mother couldn’t reach me even though she tried? I’m not a superstitious man, but the way her perfume filled the living room for a few moments felt… magical.
“Kids!” Grandma says, rushing in, late. She’s never late. What’s going on? I frown as she grabs a wine glass and a spoon. “Kids!” she repeats as she taps the spoon against the glass until we all fall silent.
“I appreciate this is not our formal drawing room, and you do know I prefer to keep our dinners a safe, drama-free space, but I happen to have an announcement for you tonight that cannot wait.”
Her gaze roams over the table, only to pause on Zane. Oh, fuck. “Zane,” she says, and he tenses instantly, fury in his eyes. “Dion has been happily married for quite some time now, and it’s about time you follow in Ares, Luca, and Dion’s footsteps.”
He shakes his head and empties his wineglass before slamming it back down to the table. “Honestly, Grandma? I really don’t give a damn who I marry. You do you.”
She nods sharply. “Excellent. You’ll be marrying Celeste Harrison three weeks from now.”
We all stare at Grandma in shock, none of us quite certain we just heard her correctly. Sierra whispers to Raven, who nods slowly, a hint of confusion in her gaze.
“Last I checked, Celeste was engaged to someone else,” I say carefully, moments before Zane rises to his feet.
“I won’t marry her,” he says, looking stricken. “Anyone but her.”
Grandma crosses her arms, a calculating look in her eyes. “You once begged to marry her, didn’t you?” she asks. “So you will marry her. Her family are among the best hoteliers in the world — there’s no way we can sit back and let them join hands with the Emersons.”
Zane stumbles back, a wild look in his eyes as he turns and walks out of the room. Lexington and Sierra follow him while the rest of us sit back quietly. There’s an odd understanding amongst those of us that are married. We might not always like Grandma’s actions, but somehow, she knows exactly what she’s doing. Every one of her moves is carefully calculated — including every instance where she has us believing she’s pulling back. She’ll make you believe your choices are your own, when she’s been guiding you along your path all along.
“I guess now isn’t a great time to mention that Faye and I would like to have a second wedding?”
Faye reaches for my knee and pinches me admonishingly, and I throw her a smug grin when Raven and Val instantly perk up and begin to discuss the countless ideas they have.
Grandma just throws me a sweet look, one that’s filled with love and pride. I might not always agree with her methods, but man am I grateful she brought Faye and me together.
I just hope she’s making the right call with Zane and Celeste too.
