Mia

One month later

“You got this.” Regi squeezed my knee as we sat in his car outside the Hubbard Avenue Diner and Bakery. It had copious amounts of coffee and pie, which I would need in spades to get through this.

The huge windows offered me a view of the whole restaurant.

She was inside.

It had taken me a few weeks to decide what I wanted to do after I’d run into dad at the mall. I considered going and paying them a visit. Now that I knew they were in the Madison area, maybe as close as West Middleton where I lived, it wouldn’t have taken much but a glance through the white pages.

However, I had no desire to see that man – my sperm donor – again.

So, I turned my efforts to Facebook instead, and the girl who I wanted to get to know better. It hadn’t taken long for me to find my dad’s page. Michael Reynolds. Mike to his friends. He hadn’t been smiling in his profile photo, but it was public, and I found what I needed in a random comment from a few month’s past.

I can't believe you posted this dad – Linds Reynolds

Lindsay Reynolds. My sister.

For the past week, I considered changing my last name to moms. Torres. But I didn’t feel connected to her, and I’d been Reynolds my whole life. So, I stuck with what I’d been given a birth, and thought that maybe, in the future, I’d have a different one altogether.

Mia O'Connell.

I kind of like how that sounded.

Finally, after talking with Jo, and with Regi’s support, I’d sent a message to my sister.

Her answer had set us on this course.

Linds: I was hoping you would reach out to me.

Me: Did you know anything about me or mom?

Linds: No, not at all. I told Mattie about you, too.

Me: Who is Mattie?

Linds: He's my brother. Well, our brother.

Me: How old is he?

Linds: He’s 17. I’m not sure how he feels about it. He’s dad’s’ favorite.

Me: There’s another one too. Licia, my sister, she’s 18.

In some way, hearing that it wasn’t me, or Licia, that caused dad to leave, was a relief. We hadn’t talked about it, but from what she did hint at, her and her mom shared the same horrors which I recalled from childhood. Only she’d suffered watching his rage and abuse for years longer.

Reaching out to her, and getting to know Lindsay, allowed me to let go of the ghosts that anchored me to the past, and look forward to my future. Whatever had gone on between mom and dad, the truth was there in our ages. He hadn’t been loyal, and he hadn’t married either of our mothers. But once he’d had the chance for a son, he’d stopped living his dual life and chose her family over ours.

That wasn’t her fault, nor was it mine.

It had been serendipitous that we’d met the way we did. They’d been on their way home. They lived in Riley, which was really only ten minutes on the other side of West Middleton.

We’d talked for a week until we decided to meet here, in neutral territory, for coffee. Licia chose not to come to this one, but assured me when she moved to Madison for college – she decided to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison despite what happened – she would meet up with Lindsay.

Regi cupped my hand and lifted it to his lips. “How are you feeling about all this?

I was surprisingly optimistic. "I feel like it's meant to be."

He squeezed my hands, proving once more that he was my anchor in the chaos that could suddenly spring on you. "Maybe it’s because you can handle it now.”

"There’s that karma stuff again,” I said with a playful smile.

Regi leaned over and kissed me slow and lingering, and then we got out of the car and went to meet Lindsay for the first, but not the last, time.

Two years later

Regi

“Are you ready for this?” I stared down at Rufus who gazed back at me with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

I shook my head. The damn dog was useless when it came to conversation, but Mia loved the English Bulldog and his million wrinkles. She’d rescued the pot-bellied mutt last year when Jo and Kevin had brought her down to the animal shelter they volunteered at. It’d gone badly, at least for me, because she’d returned with a wriggly bundle of slobbery kisses and horrible farts. I don’t know what Mia fed him, but he passed enough wind to launch a sail boat.

We’d moved in together not too long ago. It had been Mia’s idea, and it was a great one. She’d switched jobs, moving out of the luxury goods sector, and into non-profit. She’d gotten a raise, and told me she needed a house-boyfriend.

With how frenzied my schedule was now that I was in medical school, sometimes finding time together was difficult. But in the late-night hours, whether I was coming in off a shift at the hospital or she was waking up for work, I could count on her to be there. While I wasn’t making great money yet, I would once I finished up my residency and chose the hospital I wanted to work at. For now, Mia was bringing home the turkey bacon, and I felt like a kept man.

But I’d saved up enough for something important.

“Try not to drool on the new tag.” Rufus tipped his head, and I shook my head. Why did I even bother? I was lucky he hadn’t torn off the miniature version of the tuxedo-vest I’d gotten him into. If a little drool happened to ruin it and soak the special dog tag I had made, it would just make our story more entertaining when we re-told it.

The two of us waited in the living room of our shared abode, waiting on Mia to come home.

Finally, I heard the keys in the lock, and the door opening.

I nudged Rufus with my foot, and motioned him to go on.

He woofed at me, and then trundled to meet his mother.

I shook my head.

“Ohh look at my baby, look at how handsome you are. Did daddy dress you up?” I never would have thought Mia was an animal or dog person, until she got her first puppy. Now, she was a professional when it came to baby talking Rufus.

The bulldog ate it up. I turned the corner, watching the two of them from the living room. Rufus was on his side getting loved up with belly rubs.

Mia looked up at me from where she knelt giving her new main man attention.

“So, he gets kisses first, now?” I teased.

She flashed me a guilty smile. “You knew that would happen. Is this for Jo and Kevin’s wedding? Is Rufus going to be a groomsman?”

I laughed. “Something like that. I got a new collar for him, I thought he’d look dapper with it and the vest on.”

“A new collar? Oh, what does it say?” One of her favorite things was finding cute and uniquely-shaped dog tags for her four-legged boy.

Her fingers stroked around his leather collar that was shaped like a bow tie, and found the silver oval which hung off it.

She blinked as she read the inscribed letters.

I knew exactly when she realized what they meant.

The inscribing was etched on my soul. While it had changed a bit since I first thought it almost seven years ago, the question hadn’t changed.

Will you marry us?

I knew I wasn’t playing fair by proposing to her with a dog. But I needed to stack the cards in my favor.

I approached her. Mia still got skittish sometimes, and I didn’t want to make her nervous or feel forced by doing this in public. Or even getting on my knees and proposing her in the traditional way.

“Are you serious?” Her voice was all wispy and high-pitched.

“I am,” I said. I curled my fingers around biceps and pulled her into my arms. “What do you say, Mia. Will you marry me?”

I had the ring in my pocket, a one-carat halo flanked with princess-cut diamonds. You could see it sparkle from space.

She lifted her right hand to her mouth.

I squeezed her left hand, and reached into my pocket, pulling out the most important thing I’d ever bought.

The low light set the stones on fire.

Mia’s eyes widened. “Ohh,” she gasped.

I held it to her ring finger, and wobbled it back and forth.

I had more to sweeten the pot with.

“If you say yes, we can go to Xstasy tonight.”

She blinked at me, and then laughed. While we weren’t regulars at the club, we still went and explored. Over the past couple years, we’d learned a lot about each other.

“A puppy and a sex club. What else are you offering?” Her eyes teased mine, and then she looked down at the ring again.

Tears welled in her eyes, and she leaned against me.

“Yes,” Mia finally said. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes.”

I slipped the ring onto her finger and then swept her into my arms.

She laughed, and her delighted giggles bounced off the walls. Rufus joined in, his barks adding a crazed cacophony to her teary happiness.

I silenced her with a kiss. She’d promised me six months, but I was going to take sixty years.

At the minimum.

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