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As soon as the door closed behind them, her tears began to fall. They ran down her cheeks, dripping onto her shirt.
"I'm sorry, Hailey," Natasha said.
"You should have been here," Hailey replied, her voice wavering. "But we can't change the past. You made your choices, and you have to live with them."
"I know," Natasha whispered. "But I want to be a part of your life. I want to make amends."
Hailey shook her head. "I don't know if I can forgive you, but I'm willing to try."
"That's all I ask." Natasha smiled, but it didn’t seem real. But maybe I was biased.
Hailey's expression softened, and she leaned forward to hug her mother. It was a tender moment, and I felt a lump in my throat. It was a scene I had hoped for many times, but never dared to believe it would actually happen. Now that it had, I wished it hadn’t.
"I'm sorry," Natasha said again. "For everything."
Hailey pulled back, her eyes red and swollen, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Apology tentatively accepted."
I repressed a laugh. That was my Hailey. Natasha and Hailey talked for a while longer, the conversation flowing more naturally now that the air had been cleared. I excused myself for a bit and let them have a moment alone. I didn’t want my presence or feelings about Nat influence Hailey.
When it was time for her to go, Hailey gave her mother another hug, and Natasha promised to stay in touch. As they walked her to the door, Molly squeezed Hailey's shoulder, a proud smile on her face.
"I'm proud of you, Hailey."
Hailey grinned. "Thanks, Molly. I'm glad you were here. I think my dad and I need you around."
Molly laughed, her cheeks flushing pink. "Well, I'm glad to hear it." The two shared a hug before Hailey excused herself to go play on her Xbox.
As the door closed, I exhaled, my body sagging with relief.
"You did good," Molly said, her hand finding mine.
I pulled her close, my lips finding hers.
"Thank you." I breathed; our foreheads pressed together. "I'm so glad you're here."
Molly's lips curved into a smile, her eyes twinkling. "I'm glad I'm here, too."
"What did you think of Natasha?" I asked.
"She's a character," Molly replied. "But it seems like she's trying to do better. And that's all we can hope for, right?"
"Right."
After Natasha's visit, the rest of the weekend melted away in a comfortable ease. Hailey seemed to take everything with her mother in her stride and I couldn’t have asked for more.
On Sunday, Molly decided we were having a cookout and invited her friends and told me to invite Dan. After everything with Natasha, I really just wanted to retreat into myself, but Molly got her wish, not that I should complain, since it turned out to be a fun day.
Dan was surprisingly talkative and even shared a few embarrassing stories from our childhood, much to Molly's delight, who laughed until tears streamed down her face. She was particularly drawn into the story of me tripping and falling face-first into the mud when I was eleven and having to wear girls’ clothes home from the lost and found.
"I don't even remember how it happened," I laughed.
"It was at a school picnic, and you were trying to escape that girl who had a big crush on you," Dan smirked.
“Who was it?” Molly asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"I don't even remember. All I remember is that she had braces, her hair was in pigtails, and she laughed like a hyena."
