Page 3 of One Last Time

City driving sucked.

Bad.

Shoving the phone into her purse, Haven exited the SUV and headed for the front stoop of the house. She didn’t bother to knock on her in-law’s door. The last time she did that—years ago—Kim made sure she understood just fine that they were welcome anytime, and the door was always unlocked. Haven still thought she should probably knock, but hey, it wasn’t her house.

She hadn’t been wrong, either.

The house was loud and lively. She barely caught sight of her youngest darting between the doorways in the entry hallway before the girl was out of sight completely. Following behind her was Kim, who laughed just as loud as the girls.

Nothing unusual to see here.

Then, when her oldest daughter came out of the living room with a tablet in hand, Lynn just happened to see her mom standing at the front door. Smiling wide, the girl—all of seven—reminded Haven so much of her younger self. Yet, the girl took a lot from her father, too. Like Andino’s dark hair, the shape of his lips, and even the color of his eyes.

“Hey, Ma!” Lynn called excitedly.

Haven barely managed to drop her purse before her kid had come down the hallway to greet her with arms thrown wide. She caught Lynn in a hug that she hoped voiced just how much she missed her oldest when she was away from her for a whole day. Before long, her other two girls came around the corner to say hello to their mom, too.

Hugs and kisses galore.

She loved all of it.

Haven wore many hats—some days, she got to be just herself; a tattooed woman in her thirties who liked to keep crazy colors in her hair and ran a strip club in the evenings. Other times, she had to put all of that aside to be the woman that stood beside her crime boss husband. She was a friend, a daughter, and more.

Her favorite hat to wear, however, was mom.

“Missed you, Ma,” her youngest, Emily Cecelia, said in her little girl voice that had not entirely cleared of a childish babble. It always made her smile. “I wuv you.”

Haven grinned. “I love you, too. Did you have fun with Nana?”

“Well,” came a familiar voice from down the hall, “Giovanni just fell asleep upstairs about ten minutes before you came, if that tells you anything about how our day here went.”

Laughing, Haven stood to greet her mother-in-law. She shared a hug with Kim while the girls continued to mill about around them. Rose, her middle child, didn’t let go of her legs, though.

“They played him out, did they?” she asked.

Kim shrugged. “Gio still thinks he can do all that he used to do—we don’t point out that he can’t, you know.”

Ah.

Yeah.

“Thanks again for looking after them today—I know they’re a handful.”

Kim shrugged and smiled fondly at her granddaughters who—without even needing to be told—were already pulling on their jackets and shoes. Or rather, Lynn was helping Emily, and Rose was putting her shoes on the wrong feet.

Kids.

It was a work in progress.

Haven loved it, though.

“Oh, I’ll never complain about getting them. Not after I spent years hounding Andino for grandbabies.”

Yes, her greatest wish.

Then, Kim gave Haven a look. She could tell her mother-in-law was carefully choosing her words when she asked, “Did you hear anything about your next round?”

Just like that, Haven’s mood dipped a little. She was mindful not to show it. All of them were extra cautious not to put adult problems on her girls, but sometimes, they slipped up. Not lately, thankfully.