Nick
It's Bonnie's prom night. I just finished another book, so I decide to geek out on the virtual reality thing Mom bought years ago. Oh yeah, rockin' out on lead guitar!
I do much better by myself than in a crowd, but the virtual reality thing doesn't count! I can be whomever I want.
Unfortunately, I still have to obey 'the opportunist' rules, and I get one to go dance at the dance club for a few hours. I get my picture taken several times, and I try my best to smile politely when I really want to just crawl back home. I don't like leaving home. What if Mandi decides to visit and I miss my chance?!
The 'you're being haunted' sound happens. IT'S HER! She's in the shower! I immediately pull out the ambrosia and set the precious concoction on the counter.
Hearing the shower finish, I quickly make my way around the stairs. She sees me and rapidly floats into my arms.
She tries to talk in between kissing me. "I missed you! .... I was out searching..."
I've played out this scenario in my head a billion times, and I know just the thing to say. I pull back and smile at her. "I found a way you can find the baby!"
Her jaw drops, and then she smiles brightly. "You did?! What is it? Where? How?"
"Come with me. I'll show you," I reply and lead her into the dining area.
"A food?" she questions in a disbelieving voice. "I'll be able to find her by eating something?"
I sit down in front of her so that I don't pace back and forth like a maniac. "Yes. It will help you be able to see her," I answer. After all, it's the truth. I could never convince Mandi that Anastasia is her child. She's determined to think she's a baby and that she's dead.
She takes a curious bite. "It's good."
"Good," I reply. Of course it is! I'm a master in the kitchen because of it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! My leg shakes under the table.
She flickers. "Nick... I feel... strange."
Tears prick my eyes. "It's okay." Yes! It'll all be okay!
She holds her head like she's dizzy. "No, something feels off."
She gets up only to rise a few feet in the air, higher than she would normally float. "Nick! What's happening to me?!" she cries out, her voice sounding less otherworldly. The shimmering that had been around the ambrosia now resides inside her, pushing outward and slowly making her body materialize.
"It's okay, Mandi. This is what's supposed to happen!" I happily exclaim. I wish I had that lady that sold me the recipe in front of me. I'd kiss her full on the lips in my thankfulness.
A blinding flash of light explodes around her, and I hear her take in a huge, shocked breath before letting out a little cry.
Mandi!
She lands, standing on the floor. Her hands go to her head as if she's still dizzy. Silent tears stream down my face.
Her hands reach up and touch her face, and then she pulls them back to look at them. "Uh, Nick?"
I can only reply with a choked sob before throwing my arms around her.
I mumble while kissing her neck, cheek, hair, shoulder, and simply hold her to me. "You're back. You're back. You're back. We did it. You're back. Oh, maker! You're back."
Her sweet, natural voice reaches my ears, warming my heart. "I...I had a doctor's appointment."
"Yes," I agree, not worrying about anything but cherishing the feel of her in my arms.
"Nick, it was just a doctor's appointment. I'm okay. Everything's fine," she croons, holding me, and I realize she has no memory of any of it. "Wait a minute..." she now says, and I think it might be coming back to her now. She quickly pushes me back and feels her belly. Looking up at me in alarm, she asks, "Nick! Where is the baby?"
"It's fine," I tell her, wondering how I'm going to explain all this.
She reaches up and shakes me like I've lost my mind. "No! You don't understand! I was pregnant just this morning!"
I swallow. "There was an accident."
"WHAT?!" she cries out loud enough to wake the house. I have to act fast.
Reading her look, I quickly add, "Anastasia's fine!"
"Anastasia? It's a girl?" she asks, looking both sad and relieved. Tears start filling her eyes.
"She's at the hospital?" she asks, probably thinking Anastasia's in the NICU since she would've been a preemie.
I shake my head. "No, she's at home." My heart breaks.
She looks at my expression. "What's wrong with her? Tell me!"
"Nothing's wrong with her," I reply and have to wipe my eyes. "Mandi, you died! You've been roaming around in the spirit world looking for her and not finding her because she's been alive all this time."
"Wait. Wait wait wait," she says, holding up her hand to get me to stop. I can see it in her eyes: it's coming back to her. She gasps and looks up at me. "How long?" she asks, her lower lip trembling.
I can't answer her! How do I tell her that Anastasia is already a teenager?! That it took me this long to bring her back?!
Mandi swallows and asks in a quiet, soothing voice. "Where is my baby, Nick?"
I feel my face scrunch up. "She's... She's..."
"Dad?" Anastasia asks in obvious confusion.
Mandi's eyes look over my shoulder, and tears fall from her eyes.
"It took me...a long time," I choke out.
Mandi whispers, looking at our daughter, "Anastasia."
Dad sits, obliviously watching his favorite old show, while Anastasia quickly puts the pieces together. She looks at me and says, "You did it."
She didn't think I'd be able to. I guess she'd told herself not to get her hopes up because I've been working at this her whole life.
"Yes," I answer simply.
"You could've given me a heads up," she remarks in a stunned way.
"I had to act fast," I explain, knowing how short Mandi's visits could be.
"You're...Anastasia," Mandi says in a questioning way.
"Dad says he picked that name because I survived," she answers, studying her mother.
I look over at Mandi and watch her eyes as they devour the daughter she's spent years searching for. I can't stand it! I feel like a failure! How could've I taken so long! I hide my face and walk over to Dad.
Mandi's voice has difficulty saying, "I picked that name."
I think it finally fully gets through to Anastasia. "Mom?"
"Yeah," she answers simply.
Both of them start sobbing while Mandi throws her arms around her daughter. Anastasia takes a little while longer to respond, but she does.
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yay she finally is back and man he almost missed her being out at that club! How exciting and sad all at the same time. She's missed out on her child's life, but hopefully they'll be able to bond and grow close regardless. I forgot how pretty Mandi was.
ReplyDeleteThere were actually a few hours between him being at the club and him going to fix the sink (I think that's what he was doing anyway). I'm glad he didn't miss it.
DeleteYes, it's both of those things, but like you said, she hasn't missed everything. Anastasia is in her early to mid teenage years (days). I'd actually worried I would have to wait longer to bring Mandi back, but then I saw where they'd posted in several places (getting ironically facetious about it) that it's okay to have the single parent get married when the youngest child is in the middle of their teen years. It's a few days early, but Mandi isn't providing income or even helping in the garden, and they're not married yet, so I figured it was okay.
I know! When I first saw her in Tim's friendship panel, I was like, 'wow. I know who's gonna be momma to the next gen.' Figures Anastasia looks more like Nick. He Does have more dominant genes, after all. But Anastasia has Mandi's mouth and head shape. Maybe her other genes will carry to the next generation. Idk.