They stepped out into the cold morning air. Victoria's car was already warming up, exhaust puffing white clouds. The road was clear now, just wet pavement and piles of snow on either side. "So, this is it." Victoria said, "For now."
"I'll call you tonight after my meetings." "I'll be waiting." She started to get in the car, then stopped, turned back. "Lucas, I meant what I said. I'm terrified, but I'm all in.
Whatever this is, whatever it becomes, I'm not running." "Neither am I." "Good." She kissed him one more time, quick and fierce, then got in the car. Lucas stood there and watched her drive away, watched until the car disappeared around a curve and he couldn't see it anymore. Then he went back inside to face whatever came next.
The rest of the day was a blur of packing and cleaning and getting ready to leave. Margaret was moving slowly but steadily. Richard fussed over her like she might break. Eleanor helped where she could, though she kept shooting Lucas looks he couldn't quite interpret. By early afternoon, they were ready to go.
Two cars, Richard and Margaret in one, Lucas and Mia in the other. Eleanor was staying behind an extra day to make sure the cabin was properly closed up. Thank you for everything, Lucas said to her before they left. For helping my parents. For being here.
Eleanor studied him. Take care of my daughter, Lucas. She acts tough, but she's fragile. More than she'd ever admit. I know.
And don't make promises you can't keep. If you're not sure about this. If you think there's any chance you'll walk away again, do it now. Before she gets in any deeper. I'm sure.
Are you? Because it's going to get hard. The distance, the complications, Mia. It's going to test you in ways you can't imagine. I know that, too.
And I'm still sure. Eleanor nodded slowly. All right, then. I hope you prove me wrong. I hope you two make it.
You don't think we will? I think love isn't always enough. Sometimes you need compatibility, timing, circumstances to align. And I'm not sure they do for you two. Then we'll make them align.
Eleanor smiled sadly. You sound just like her. Both of you so determined to force the universe to bend to your will. Is that a bad thing? I don't know yet.
The drive home was long and quiet. Mia fell asleep in the backseat within the first hour. Lucas drove on autopilot, his mind miles away. He kept replaying the weekend in his head. The storm.
The forced proximity. The way everything had unraveled and come back together in the span of three days. It felt surreal, like something from a movie, not his actual life. His phone buzzed. A text from Victoria.
Made it home. Stuck in traffic, but safe. Lucas smiled. Typed back. Good.
Call me later. Counting on it. Such a small thing. A text exchange that meant nothing and everything at the same time. He was still smiling when Mia woke up.
Dad? Yeah, kiddo? Are you happy? The question caught him off guard. What makes you ask that?
You're smiling. You don't smile that much usually. Out of the mouths of children. Yeah, Lucas said. I think I'm happy.
Good. You should be happy more. I'll work on that. They got home just as the sun was setting. Lucas carried a sleeping Mia inside, tucked her into her own bed, then collapsed on the couch.
His phone rang almost immediately. Victoria. Hey, he answered. Hey yourself. Her voice was warm.
Long day? The longest. You? Same. Three meetings back-to-back, all of them painful.
But I'm home now. How does it feel being back? Victoria was quiet for a moment. Empty. My apartment is beautiful and expensive and completely soulless.
I never noticed before. Maybe you need to redecorate. Maybe I need to not live alone. Lucas's heart skipped. Is that Are you saying I don't know what I'm saying.
I'm exhausted and emotional and probably not thinking clearly. That's okay. We don't have to figure everything out tonight. I know. But Lucas, I need you to understand something.
I can't do halfway. I can't do casual. If we're doing this, I need to know you're serious. That this isn't just nostalgia or loneliness or some romantic idea of what we used to be. It's not.
How do you know? Because I've had 7 years to get over you and I couldn't. Not even a little bit. That's not nostalgia, Victoria. That's the real thing.
He heard her breath hitch. What do we do now? We take it one day at a time. We talk. We visit.
We build something new. I'm free next weekend, Victoria said suddenly. I could fly to Denver, meet Mia properly, see your life. Lucas's pulse quickened. Are you sure?
That's fast. I've waited 7 years. That's not fast. That's overdue. Okay.
Yeah. Come to Denver. They talked for another hour. About nothing and everything. Work and Mia and the stupid things they'd watched on TV.
The kind of conversation people have when they're just happy to hear each other's voice. When they finally hung up, Lucas sat in the dark living room and let himself believe for the first time in years that maybe this could actually work. The week that followed was chaos. Lucas tried to focus on work, on Mia, on normal life. But his mind kept drifting.
Victoria called every night. They texted throughout the day. Little things. Photos of her morning coffee. Updates on his truck repairs.
Random thoughts that didn't matter but somehow did. He told Mia that Victoria might visit. Kept it casual. Just said she was an old friend passing through town. The pretty lady from the cabin?
Mia asked. Yeah, that's her. Cool. Can she come to my soccer game? Lucas laughed.
We'll see, kiddo. But inside he was terrified. What if Victoria came and realized this wasn't what she wanted? What if she saw his small apartment, his ordinary life, and decided she'd made a mistake? What if Mia didn't like her?