Willow rapped on the door a couple of times. She opened the door at her daughter’s tentative, “Yes?”
One upside to yesterday’s debacle was that her stank attitude had all but dissipated. Hard to play the surly teenager when your ass was sitting in hot water.
“Everyone’s downstairs,” Willow said. “Brooklyn is about to show us the finished comic book. Why don’t you come and join us?”
She closed the magazine she’d been reading and set it next to her on the bed.
“Do they all know?” Lily asked, her voice laden with apprehension. “About what happened yesterday?”
Willow shook her head. “I didn’t tell anyone, and I don’t think your dad did either.” She gestured with her head. “Come on.”
Lily scooted off the bed. When she joined her at the door, Willow wrapped her arms around her and kissed the side of her head. As much as she wanted to strangle her for that stupid fight yesterday, she knew it wouldn’t help matters. Lily needed her understanding right now.
This was the reason to turn down Marcus’s dinner invitation. This was why months of musing about what life could have been like if she’d pursued those long ago dreams of becoming a scientist were dangerous. She had a job. This was her job. Making sure her children knew they were loved and cared for—that they understood that they were the most important part of her existence—should be her sole focus.
Being a wife and mother was not a sacrifice. After witnessing how hard her own mother struggled to raise she and her sisters on her own, she should be thankful that she and Harrison were in a financial position that allowed her to stay at home and care for their children.
It was easier said than done, but Willow vowed to work on it.
When she and Lily returned to the living room, everyone was going crazy over the final sketches for the Dynamo Diane comic book.
“These are even more amazing than I thought they would be,” Indina said. “This can’t be all there is to it. You have to continue the adventures of Dynamo Diane.”
“Well, I’m hoping I can,” Brooklyn said. She looked over at Reid, her big, bright smile taking up the bottom half of her face. “I was accepted into a comics writing consortium in Hot Springs, Arkansas today!”
“You got in!” Reid jumped up from the sofa and ran to her, wrapping Brooklyn up in a hug and spinning her around. Then he captured her mouth in a kiss that had Willow shielding Athens’s eyes.
“Not in front of the young and impressionables,” Willow said.
Yet, as she watched them, Willow couldn’t hide her own smile. She was thrilled that her brother-in-law had found someone like Brooklyn. Reid had floated from one girl to another from the time he’d hit puberty. Brooklyn LeBlanc was settling down material. And she would knock his cockiness down a peg or two.
“Congratulations,” Willow said, giving Brooklyn a hug.
“It’s a good thing we got you to draw Dynamo Diane before you become some hotshot comic book writer that none of us can afford,” Ezra said.
“Never.” Brooklyn laughed. “I have a comic I’ve been working on for ages, but I would love to continue drawing Dynamo Diane. I wanted to make sure I had permission from all of you first before I move forward.”
The room erupted with a chorus of of course and yes and absolutely from the Holmes clan.
“Wait!” Ezra said. “I forgot about the stuff Aunt Margo gave me. I’ll be right back.” He returned a few minutes later with a cardboard banker box. “Aunt Margo sent these for the pre-gala comic book event. She said Uncle Wesley bought a bunch of comics for Alex, Eli and Toby when they were little, but they never really got into it. She found these in that old footlocker Uncle Wes kept in the attic. They’re in pretty good shape to say they’ve been locked away for more than thirty years.”
When Ezra uncovered the box, Brooklyn dropped the mini quiche she’d been eating, along with her jaw.
“Oh. My. God.” Her eyes were as wide as silver dollar coins.
“That means it’s something good,” Reid translated.
“Oh my GOD! This is The Punisher Limited Edition. Wait!” Brooklyn picked up another magazine. And another. “Is this the entire 1986 series? Do you have any idea how rare these are? And they were just in a box in the attic?” she screeched at Ezra as if he was the one who’d kept them locked up all these years.
The abject horror on her face made Willow want to burst out laughing, but she understood what it was like to feel passionate about something that others just didn’t get. She’d felt the same way when trying to explain her science experiments to her sisters as a kid.
Brooklyn was lost to the rest of the discussion as she and Athens went through the old comics, but the rest of them dove into the remaining details, going through the list of tasks that needed to be done in these next few weeks before the gala. Every time Willow tried to offer up a hand to do something, Indina informed her that it was already taken care of. Her sister-in-law was great at her job, but if Indina ever wanted to give up being an industrial interior designer, she could definitely set up her own event planning business.
She noticed the box from the catering company was empty, so Willow offered to get the artichoke dip she’d made.
“I’ll help,” Indina said, following her into the kitchen.
“It’s only one bowl of dip and a bag of pita chips,” Willow said once they’d reached the kitchen. “Pretty sure I can handle it.”
Indina swatted at the air. “You know that’s not why I’m here.” In a lowered voice she asked, “What’s going on with Lily?”
Willow strove for a confused expression. “What do you mean?”
It didn’t work. Indina crossed her arms over her chest and laid that don’t even try this bullshit with me look on her. Willow sighed as she poured the pita chips into a separate bowl.
“She got into a fight at school.”
Indina’s eyes grew wide. “What li’l heifer had the nerve to pick a fight with my niece? Whose ass do I need to kick?”
“If you want to kick the ass of the person who started the fight, you need to go right out there and give your niece a swift one,” Willow answered.
Her sister-in-law’s mouth dropped open. “Lily started it?”
“Yes. And, because that very expensive school has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to fighting, there is a high probability that she’ll be expelled.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Indina put a hand to her chest. “What was she fighting about?”
“I can’t get a straight answer from her. All she’s said so far is that something has been building between her and this other girl. Apparently it started online. Lily is the one who brought the disagreement to school.” Willow rested her elbows on the counter and covered her face in her hands. “I thought I was doing the right thing by giving her space. She’s almost sixteen. It would be unreasonable to monitor what she’s doing online, right?”
“Well, I guess you have your answer.”
“Yeah,” Willow blew out with an exasperated sigh. Folding her arms over her chest, she leaned a hip against the counter. “It makes me hesitant about this upcoming trip.”
Indina’s expression softened. “He finally told you about Italy.”
She wasn’t surprised Indina knew about the trip. There’s no way Harrison had kept it away from his sister all this time.
“I wondered if he would still give you your anniversary gift. Seeing how things are…well, you know,” Indina’s voice trailed.
Seeing how they were now separated.
Taking a break.
“He did,” Willow confirmed. “We’re supposed to leave on Saturday. But how can I, Indina? It was bad enough when I thought I was only leaving Athens with his health issues, but now that I have this thing with Lily…” Willow pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked over at her sister-in-law. “I thought I could, but it would be irresponsible to go.”
“No.” Indina shook her head. “No way. You do not get to use you
r kids as an excuse to back out of this trip, Willow.”
“I’m not using them as an excuse.”
“Yes, you are. The kids will be fine. Didn’t Harrison ask Dad to look after them?”
Willow nodded. “He’s supposed to spend the week here. But I can’t ask Clark to deal with a sulking, moody teenage girl.”
“He helped raise me. He has plenty of experience with sulky, moody teenage girls. And it doesn’t matter. I’ll handle Lily.”
“You have enough on your plate with work and the kickoff party. I can’t ask you to look after Lily too.”
“Are you asking, or am I offering?” Indina reached over and took both of Willow’s hands in hers. “You and Harrison need this time away. I’m afraid if you don’t take it, the two of you will just drift further apart.”
“But—”
“But nothing. There’s too much at stake here, Willow. You’re fighting for your marriage. There is nothing more important than that. You have enough family here to watch over the kids. Go to Italy with your damn husband and remember what made the two of you fall in love all those years ago.”
It was exactly what her sister suggested to her yesterday. Willow wrapped her arms around Indina.
“Thank you,” she whispered in her ear.
“Any time,” Indina said. “Just promise me you’ll fight for it. The two of you are my biggest role models. If you and Harrison can’t make a marriage work Griffin and I don’t stand a chance in hell.”
“Oh, please,” Willow said. “Yes you do. I’ve never seen two people more in love.”
Indina smooth a hand along her hair. “I used to say the same about you and Harrison all the time. The two of you need to find that again.”
“It’s still there,” Willow assured her. “I love him so much, Deenie.”
Her sister-in-law winked. “Then show him.”
It was almost nine o’clock by the time everyone cleared out of the house. Willow lingered in the living room, straightening the sofa cushions and throw pillows. She was stalling. She knew it. Harrison knew it too. Yet he was giving her some space while she collected her thoughts.
He’d want to pick up where they’d left off in the hallway at St. Katherine’s yesterday, but Willow wasn’t up to rehashing things they likely both regretted ever saying. Besides, there was no point to it. She no longer needed to debate whether or not they should go to Italy. They had to go. She saw that now.
Indina was right, they were fighting for the soul of their marriage. She would not allow herself to take the coward’s way out by using Lily’s fight as a reason to back out on this time away with her husband. They needed this time together. Wasn’t that one of her issues, the fact that he worked so much and that they never had any time together anymore for just the two of them?
She’d been so intent on making sure Harrison didn’t look at this trip as some magical panacea that would cure all their problems that she’d closed her eyes to all the possibilities that could come out of it. A week in Italy wouldn’t mend everything that was broken in their marriage, but it could be a start. It would give them time to focus on each other, without the dozens of obstacles everyday life threw at them on a constant basis.
“Need some help?”
Willow jumped at the sound of Harrison’s voice. She turned to find him leaning against the wall in the shadowed entryway that led from the living area to the kitchen, one hand casually stuffed in his pocket. She loved him when he looked this way, relaxed and unstressed. And sexy.
“No. I’m done in here,” she said.
He pushed away from the wall and quietly sauntered over to where she stood. The way his big body loomed over her should have felt intimidating. Instead, she felt comforted. She’d come to rely on the reassurance and protection that large body had provided over the years.
“So,” she said. “Are you ready to tell the kids about the trip?”
His brows arched. “We’re going?”
“Yes, we’re going,” she said. Hugging her upper body, she leaned into him, resting her cheek on his solid chest. His warmth surrounded her even before he wrapped her up in his arms. “We need this, Harrison.”
He kissed the top of her head. His softly whispered, “Thank you,” rustled her hair.
She looked up into his handsome face. “There’s a catch,” she said. She felt him suck in a breath, as if bracing himself. A smile slowly crept across Willow’s lips. “You have to promise that we’ll have gelato every single day.”
A low laugh rumbled from deep in his chest. “I think I can handle that.”
“Good,” she said, still smiling.
“Daddy? You’re still here?” They both turned at the sound of Lily’s voice.
She stood at the base of the staircase, staring at them in confusion. Willow realized it had been a while since her daughter had witnessed the two of them embracing.
“Yes, your dad and I want to talk to you and your brother.”
“About what?” Lily asked, the caution in her voice matching the concern in her eyes.
“Have a seat,” Harrison said as he released Willow from his hold. “I’ll go up and get your brother, then we can all talk.”
When Harrison left them, Lily turned to her. “Are you two getting a divorce?”
“No, no, no,” Willow said. “It’s nothing like that.”
“The last time you sat us down to talk it was to tell us Daddy was leaving.”
“You’re way off-base, Liliana. Wait until your dad and Athens get here. I promise, it’s nothing like what you’re thinking.”
Lily settled on the sofa, bringing both feet up and clutching a throw pillow to her chest. Her pretty brown eyes brimmed with a wariness Willow had seen much too often these past few months. Her daughter’s lack of trust was disheartening, but, unfortunately, understandable.
“Someone was up reading comics when he should have been getting ready for bed,” Harrison said as he and Athens came into the living room. He rubbed him on the head. “I guess we can blame Brooklyn and Dynamo Diane for getting him all riled up.”
“Okay, so, what’s going on?” Lily asked the moment Athens sat down. Despite Willow’s attempt to put her at ease, her daughter clearly didn’t believe there was nothing to be concerned about. Harrison walked over to the accent chair where Willow was sitting and sat on the arm of it, casually slinging his arm across the back of it and resting his hand on her shoulder.
“Your Dad and I are going on a little vacation together. Actually, it’s a big vacation,” Willow said. “Our wedding anniversary is next week and your Dad surprised me with a trip to Italy!” She reached over and took Harrison’s hand in hers.
Willow recognized her error when Athens’s and Lily’s eyes followed the gesture. She didn’t want to get their hopes up. She released Harrison’s hand and stood. Walking over to the sofa, she sat on the ottoman and tried to come up with the best way to manage their expectations.
“Now, I don’t want you kids to get the wrong idea. Just because your father and I are going away together, it doesn’t mean everything will drastically change once we return.”
Lily folded her hands over her arms. “So, what you’re saying is that Daddy is still going to live above his office.”
That little spark of hope on Athens’s face immediately vanished. But it was better he understand it now than spend the next week thinking his world would return back to normal when they got back from Italy.
“Yes, maybe. Probably,” Willow clarified.
“So why go at all?” Lily asked. “What’s the point?”
“Because it’s our anniversary,” Harrison said. He rose from his perch on the chair and came over to where Willow sat. He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a light squeeze. “This hasn’t been the easiest year—for any of us—but it’s a big deal to be married for seventeen years and we should celebrate it.”
“So you’re going just because you think you should celebrate being married, even though you’
re not living like a married couple? Do you guys even still love each other?” Lily asked.
“Yes,” Harrison and Willow answered at the same time.
“Of course we do,” Willow said. She reached over and clasped her hand over Lily’s. “Sweetie, I know this is confusing. It’s confusing for us too.”
She slid her hand free. “Yeah, it’s pretty confusing when you say you love each other and you’re going on some big trip together, yet Daddy has to sleep at his office. Like Auntie Indina said, you two need to get your shit together.”
“Liliana,” Harrison said, his voice hard.
Willow looked at him over her shoulder. “Why don’t you put Athens to bed?”
One brow arched. “You sure?”
She nodded.
Lily blew out an exasperated breath and pushed up from the sofa. “I’m going to bed too.”
“Lil—”
Willow caught Harrison’s hand, halting his forthcoming reprimand. “Go on,” she said. “I’ll handle this.”
His eyes following Lily as she bounded up the stairs, he clamped a hand on Athens’s shoulder, urging him to follow. Willow remained on the ottoman, pressing her folded hands to her lips. She needed some time before she approached Lily.
Harrison returned to the living room, a subtle smile on his face.
“He went out the minute his head hit the pillow,” he said.
Willow grinned. “Tonight was a lot for him.” She stood and walked over to her husband. He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers.
“Are you sure you want to handle things with Lily by yourself?”
She nodded, closing her eyes and savoring his gentle caress. She missed these sweet, incidental touches.
“I should probably head back to the office,” he said. “I’ve got a long day tomorrow, and I need to start packing.” He lifted her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. “I’ll see you Saturday. Our flight leaves at five in the afternoon, so we should head to the airport no later than two.”
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