By the time Mo departed a little less than two weeks later, I no longer felt scared. Instead, I had felt hopeful. While Mo had been Thea’s last link to her mother, Beatrice seemed to fit in nicely. She’d spent the remainder of Mo’s time here by learning the routines. She had even begun to drive Thea to work with Megyn’s old car. She stayed long enough to tuck her in at night. And though I’d been reluctant at first, with a push, I’d started driving her back to Marlene’s once Thea was in bed.

“Why?” I grumbled, the first time Mo suggested it. “This isn’t a date, she’s the nanny. Or she’s going to be. No need to let her think anything different.”

“Well, maybe she has stuff…you know, belongings and you could start bringing them back with you. Then the move wouldn’t be such a big deal, such a huge change. It would be gradual and you could ease into it. I know you, Will Treadway.” She glared at me.

I found it impossible to argue with her reasoning. She made sense. As much as I hated to admit it. So, I’d responded with a ‘fine’ and begrudgingly drove Beatrice home. Once she understood the plan, everything went much more smoothly than I could’ve anticipated.

“This is everything,” she murmured while gesturing to the stack of bags and boxes. “I brought all my clothes over from England, of course. And my family shipped me the rest. It cost a small fortune.” Her chin nearly touched her chest and her cheeks flamed a bright pink. With a sigh, she looked up at me with big watery eyes. “I’ll need your help with changing over my visa, so I can stay.” She wrapped her arms around her body and shuddered slightly. “I came on the fiancé one and now I’ll have to stay on a work one.” She shrugged. “No matter. What’s done is done.”

I don’t know what made me do it. Since Megyn’s passing, I hadn’t been playful in the least. Still, I leaned close and began to sing in Beatrice’s ear. “Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down…”

She spun around and soon, she giggled and joined in on the song. We were dancing and laughing, the pain of our situations forgotten until Marlene popped her head into the room. “Don’t mind me. Just wondering what all the ruckus was about.” She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms over her body. “I get it. You have your very own Mary Poppins.”

“Well, I am British.” Beatrice curtsied.

“And practically perfect in every way,” I chimed in with a grin that almost made my face hurt, since those muscles had seen little use in the last few years.

Marlene’s eyes widened slightly and I suspected my happiness had positively shocked her. “I’ll let you get to it then,” she murmured as she slowly backed away.

“I could take a couple of boxes back with me each night,” I offered. “Mo is packing up. You could unpack, or wait. It’s up to you.”

“Thank you. I appreciate this. We’ll figure it out.” She nodded and we carried two boxes to my truck.

Then I loaded them in the back and wandered over to my door. We stood there quietly staring at each other. I didn’t know what to do or how to say goodbye. So after several minutes of awkward silence, I finally blurted out, “I don’t know why, but I feel like this might just work.”

Beatrice relaxed and a smile spread across her face. “I think so too.” She shrugged slightly and I couldn’t help but feel like there was more she wanted to say. In my mind, I heard a giant ‘for now’ hanging in the air between us. My breath caught in my throat and I reminded myself not to get too comfortable. Nothing about life was guaranteed except for taxes…and death. I’d grown accustomed to the pain of taxes, but I might never recover from Megyn’s death.

“Well, I should go,” I mumbled awkwardly. “Early morning.”

Thus our routine developed. We carried on like that for a good ten days while I drove her back to Marlene’s, grabbed boxes, and trudged back to my house. The place was uncomfortably busy for a guy who liked silence and order. The constant reminder of Mo’s departure ate at me. She’d taken to stacking boxes in my garage. I had no idea where she’d even acquired all that stuff.

“Wedding is in three weeks, remember?” She began by way of explanation as I helped her load her car the morning of her departure. “I saw to it that Thea had her last fitting already. I’m taking my little flower girl’s dress with me so all you have to do is show up.”

“Right,” I muttered. I wasn’t looking forward to the event, since I’d never been to a wedding without Megyn and now, with Max and Victoria’s plans, it appeared I’d be attending two.

“I’ve invited Beatrice. So, she’ll be with you.” Mo shrugged like it was no big deal, but my stomach was in knots at the thought.

“Oh. Yeah. Beatrice, huh?” I rubbed the back of my neck.

Bumping into me intentionally, Mo laughed. “Well, I figured it was the least I could do. If she didn’t take this job and tolerate you, I wouldn’t be getting married.” She winked at me then threw herself in my arms for one last giant hug. “This is going to be great for all of us. You’ll see.”

“What if it isn’t?” I grumbled.

Mo chuckled before whispering, “Then it’s your fault.” Then she rushed to the car, started it, and sped away without looking back. Smart girl. She knew how to live. And in that moment, she’d never reminded me more of how happy I was with my wife.

A second later, Thea and Beatrice emerged from the house, ready to drive to school. Thea bounded over for her hug while Beatrice offered me a smile and a wave. This was going to be my new normal. I had to make it work, or Mo was right, it would be my own damn fault.