Page 11 of Returning to Everton

I’m starting to feel pretty bad about the amount of tv this girl has watched over the past week, but everything else is packed, so there is literally nothing else for her to do. Besides, once we get settled in at the new house, she won’t be watching nearly as much as she has been. She’ll be out exploring her new town and making new friends. Then tv will be reserved for winding down before bed. Well, that was nice. That guilt trip didn’t last near as long as normal. I chuckle to myself.

This meal takes a while in the oven. Tater-tots take for-ev-er to cook. So, I pull out my phone and open up my Kindle app. Let’s see how Sofia and the guys are doing today. I get two chapters done by the time my timer goes off. I put my phone down and set the casserole out to cool before dishing up our plates and calling Violet over. We have a quiet dinner then it’s time for Violet to get ready for bed.

“Alright, Bug. Bath then bed.”

“Okay, Mommy!” Violet runs off to her room to retrieve her pjs then meets me in the bathroom where I’m filling the tub up with warm water and her favorite bubble bath. “I get bubbles tonight?” she asks me excitedly.

I smile at my cute little girl. She loves bubbles, but she doesn’t get them all the time, so this is a treat. “Well, Bug, I figure we only have a few more nights in this house, so we might as well end them on a high note. And I know how much you love bubbles.”

“Thank you, Mommy! You’re my favorite, Mommy!” she giggles.

“Well, I better be, young lady!” I say in mock seriousness.

That gets even more giggles. And now my day is complete. I love listening to her giggle like that.

“Alright, hop in. I’ll let you play for a while. Holler for me when you’re ready to wash, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy!”

I leave her happy as a clam in her bubble bath. I curl up on the couch and get back to my book while she plays. A few minutes later, I hear her sweet voice calling my name, so I get up and check on her.

“You bellowed?”

She giggles again. “Mommy! You told me to call you when I was ready for you to wash me!”

“Oh, I did, did I? That doesn’t sound like something I would say. Why would I say that?” I tease her.

“Because you want your favorite daughter to be clean. Duh,” she sasses me.

“Well, I suppose that makes sense. So, then you’re ready to be clean?”

“Yeah, bubble baths make me sleepy. I wanna go to bed now, Mommy.”

“Okay, sweetie, let me wash you all up.” I wash her body, then her hair, and drain the tub. “Since you’re so tired, why don’t you use your magic to dry off tonight, and I’ll tuck you into bed.”

“Okay, Mommy.”

She dries herself off and puts her pjs on. I carry her to bed, tuck her in, kiss her on the head and tell her good night.

“Sweet dreams, baby girl. We’ll be in our new home soon.”

“Okay, Mommy, sweet dreams. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Bug.”

I leave her door cracked and head to my room to get ready for bed myself. When I’m lying in bed all covered up, I start thinking about the guys again. How am I going to face them after all this time? Quinn assures me everything will be fine, but it’s not like we can just go back to the way things were before and just pick up where we left off. Right? I mean, a lot has happened since I left them. I’ve changed, I’ve got Violet now. I’m sure they’ve all changed too. Life keeps moving. They probably forgot all about me.

That night I have nightmares for the first time since Harris died. I dream that it’s too late for us. Too much has happened. I hurt them too badly when I left them for Harris. Even though we were never together, and although I stand by my opinion that none of them had feelings for me, I secretly always wished we'd all end up together. It’s not unheard of in magical communities to have multiple partners. I know I could never choose between them. It’s always been an all-or-nothing thing for me when it came to them. Sadly, it turned out to be nothing. I desperately hope we can rekindle our friendship when I move back, and, who knows, maybe it can finally grow into something more.

5

Quinn

Ican’t believe Rowe is finally coming home! I’ve been trying to get her to come back for ten years now! I’m so glad she’s finally ready to start moving on with her life after Harris. It really sucks when you hate your best friend’s husband. She had no friends once she moved away with him. What few acquaintances she had were handpicked by him. And even then, she didn’t really know them.

Harris was a norm and so was everyone he associated with. After they graduated college, he somehow managed to talk her into moving with him to a non-magic town far away from her home. He told her his family and friends were against magic, so they couldn’t know she had it. I can’t imagine going so long, pretending to be someone else. Not able to be me even in my own home. Of course, my friend could never completely stop using magic, she just got good at keeping it hidden. Not that it was really hard since she wasn’t allowed to get a job. She was home alone a lot. Waste of a college education if you ask me.

I could tell it weighed on her. I talked to her every day and visited as often as I could. I didn’t care what that man said. He was not keeping me from my best friend. He was able to isolate her in almost every way, but he couldn’t get rid of me.

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