Grabbing a glass of water, I head out onto the back deck and pick up my phone to call the one person I’m hoping can shed some light on this mess.
“Hi, honey.”
“Hi, Mom.”
“To what do I owe the pleasure of a late-night phone call from my favourite son?”
I let out a low chuckle at that long-standing joke. “I’m your only son, Mom.”
“That doesn’t make you any less my favourite. Now, talk to me. I can hear the pain and confusion in your voice from across the country.”
Inhaling deeply, I let it all out in one long breath. “Do you remember Serena Matheson?”
“Of course, I do,” she chides gently. “How could I forget the first girl you ever loved?”
“She’s here.”
There’s a second of stunned silence. “In Dogwood Cove?”
“Yup. She teaches dance. She teaches Vi, actually.”
“Wow. Leo, honey. How…how are you?”
My mother knows exactly how destroyed I was when Serena broke it off with me. With it being just the two of us for most of my childhood, not to mention the incredible loss we shared, we had a closer relationship than I imagine most kids have with their mom. When she wasn’t sick with grief, she was the best mom I could have hoped for. We talked about everything.
“I’m fine. Actually, I was better than fine. God, Mom, she’s still so beautiful, so amazing. And Violet loves her.”
“And so do you.”
“Yeah,” I say on a sigh. “Yeah, I do.”
“Oh, Leo.” I can hear her worry even over all the distance between us. I stand up and walk back into the kitchen, intent on grabbing a beer. Something tells me this conversation might warrant one.“Mom, why did you never date anyone after Dad died? Was it because of me? Because you were a single parent?”
“What? No. That’s ridiculous.”
“Serena’s scared I’ll have to choose between her and Violet and she’ll lose us both.”
“Ah. I see.”My hands tunnel in my hair. How does she get it so quickly when I still don’t? “Care to share your thoughts? Because I’m stumped. I love her mom, so much, and she loves me. And Vi. God, we could be happy again, together, a fucking family. But she’s scared and I’m scared, and I don’t even know why!” My voice has risen in volume as I start to pace my kitchen and I stop, hoping I didn’t wake my daughter. “I don’t know what to do, Mom. How do I make her see I can love both her and Violet?”
“My sweet boy, you can’t.”
I sink down to the floor right where I am, letting my head fall into my empty hand.
“Until you realize you are more than a father, and you deserve to love and to be loved as a man, how can you expect Serena to realize the same?”
“What?” I ask, my voice broken with emotion. “I didn’t say —”
“You didn’t need to,” Mom interrupts. “I know you. And I may have had a phone call from someone who loves you just as much as I do.”
Aunt Claire.Of course, they’ve been talking.
“You’re a generous, selfless, loyal, hardworking man, Leo Talbot, just like your father. But that’s only a good thing until you take it too far and forget that you exist as an individual, not just as a police officer or as a father. If Serena is afraid of you choosing Violet over her, that just tells me she understands your job as Vi’s dad is your most important job. And that makes me love that woman even more than I already did. But now you need to help her see that you love her and need her in your life just as much as you need Violet. And you do that by realizing you are enough for Violet exactly as you are. And letting yourself find happiness with Serena doesn’t diminish that. If anything, it makes it grow because when you’re happy and whole, you’re the best version of yourself and the best father I know you can be.”
Chapter nineteen
Serena
Telling my friends and Leo about the studio took a weight off my shoulders in a way I didn’t expect. No one had any magical solutions that can make all my worries disappear, but somehow, just knowing they’re here for me is enough to give me some comfort and hope that I’ll figure things out.