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Tab gave him a look. “No, I rescue you. You’re scared of the dragon because he’s a lot bigger than you expected, and I chop his head off to save you. There’s lots of blood. You faint.”
Michael raised his eyebrows. “I’m not coming out of this well, am I? And neither is the dragon. A violent end. I obviously have a lot to learn about this game. You’ll have to teach me. It’s not my area of expertise.”
Tab was forgiving. “You can’t be good at everything.”
“Are you saying I’m not good at everything?” Michael growled and then chased Tab around the house, hands outstretched to tickle her. Listening to Tab’s delighted squeals, Ella’s heart melted. She fell in love with Michael at least five times a day, and today was no exception.
She picked up her purse. “I’ll meet my sister at the hospital. I’m sorry you had to come home early.”
“I’m not. I get to see my beautiful wife and play dragons with my warrior princess.” Michael caught Tab again, tickling her as she rolled and wriggled.
Ella felt a pang. She wanted to stay home and spend an evening with them. She wanted to make popcorn with her daughter and sit snuggled together in their little unit of three where she felt loved and accepted.
“I need to get changed.”
Michael extracted his tie from Tab’s grasp. “You look great. Why would you change?”
“Because I can’t go to the hospital dressed in jeans and a sweater.”
“There’s a dress code to visit a hospital?”
“No, but there’s a dress code to visit—” she almost said my mother, but stopped herself in time. “I just need to change, that’s all.”
She was on her way up the stairs when Michael’s voice stopped her.
“Ella?”
She tightened her hand on the rail. “What?”
He joined her on the stairs. “You’re changing your clothes for your mother?”
“I am.” And that was only the beginning. She didn’t just change her clothes for her mother, she changed her personality. And she hated the person she became.
“You should wear what you like.” He stroked her hair back from her face and kissed her. “I’ll come with you. If it’s tough, I’ll defend you. Tab has taught me some useful skills for slaying dragons. I promise not to faint no matter how much blood there is.”
She tried to smile. “Thanks, but I’m better doing this alone.”
“Why? I know she hurt you, but it’s been five years, Ella. We have a daughter.”
“I know. I know all that.”
“There has to be a way to heal the rift. Whatever your relationship with your mother, she is Tab’s grandmother.”
“And what? Is that supposed to mean something?” The thought of exposing her daughter to her mother made Ella’s heart tighten with panic. “I’ve told you, my mother knows how to be a CEO. She knows how to advise on your career and tell you where you’re going wrong with your goals. But be a grandmother? That’s not something she’s qualified to do. Don’t think my mother is some cuddly, caring person. That’s a mistake I made constantly, still do, and I have to fight against it every day, because if I don’t, I get sucked back in and what I end up with isn’t a relationship, it’s a bucket of disappointment and a massive ache in my chest. I won’t put Tab through that for the sake of having family.”
“You have family, Ella.” He pulled her close. “You have me, and Tab and Samantha.”
“And that’s all the family I need. Quality not quantity, right?”
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I know. And I don’t expect you to understand. My mother has never, ever been proud of a single thing I’ve done.” She swallowed. “She has never once said she loves me.”
He kissed her. “I’m proud of you. I love you.”
“I know. Thank you.” It should have been enough, but it wasn’t. A part of her, a small part that refused to be quiet, still felt like a failure. If you couldn’t please your mother, what did that say about you?
“I know you were hurt that she didn’t want to come to our wedding—it hurt me, too, if I’m honest because it made me angry that she wouldn’t be there for you—but it was more than five years ago and maybe this is a good time to try again. It’s Christmas. Season of goodwill. Is she not remotely curious about the man her daughter married?”
