The Selection of Prince Creed

STEVIE

Back home, when I needed to get out of my head, I went for a drive around the block. Now, I go for walks around the garden. It definitely feels different, and sometimes, it reminds me, acutely, that I am not back home. But still, it's generally very calming to be out here, strolling down the neat, manicured rows of flowers and topiaries and trees.

Today, it's a little different, because I'm not alone. Mia rocks Sammie in her arms, and my niece coos a bit, spits up onto her bib now and again. Even though the gardens are obviously so different from Kent and suburbia and my little corner of the world, having Mia and Sammie here with me makes it feel a little more like home. Having my family here has meant the world to me, and I'm not sure I'm ready to see them go at the end of the day. But I'm soaking up every minute as much as I can: breakfast with my parents, darts in the game room with Mandi, going over Lex and Sofia's wedding book with them (Lex said she brought it so I could still be a part of the process in some way, and I tried my best not to tear up), lunch with Mia and Bradley, and now, a walk with Mia that will hopefully help Sammie go to sleep.

"Okay," Mia says somewhat suddenly. "What's up?"

"What do you mean, 'what's up?'" I say somewhat teasingly.

"You just gave one of those sighs of yours."

"What sighs?"

"You know, one of those famous Stevie Holloway trademarked 'something's bothering me and I don't wanna bring it up, but I do want you to ask me about it' sighs," Mia replies, nudging me lightly with her shoulder. You'd think she were the sociologist.

"I did not just sigh," I insist, crossing my arms.

"Okay," Mia trills.

Silence.

"Okay, fine, something's bothering me," I admit, letting out a somewhat exaggerated puff of air. Mia laughs, and I can't help but smile, too. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"How did you know Bradley was, you know, the one?" I ask. Mia looks a little surprised. I'm sure that wasn't the question she was expecting, but she scrunches her face up anyway, like she always does when she's thinking.

"I don't know that there's really a formula for that," Mia says finally, "if that's what you're asking."

"I mean, was it something you just knew? Is it something you had to work toward? Were there moments when you weren't so sure?" I ask. We're walking past the rose bushes now, and a sweet perfume wafts on the breeze, made more intense by the dampness left in the air from this afternoon's light rain shower. Sammie lets out a little bubbling sound, almost like a laugh, and Mia grins down at her, gives her chin a tickle.

"I think it's definitely something you have to be willing to put the work into," Mia says. "Maybe for some people, it's love at first sight, but that wasn't how it happened for me. Sure, there were sparks, but it was after becoming the best of friends, and putting in the time and effort for that, that Bradley and I knew this was it. It's not something you can always know immediately."

"Right," I murmur, and Mia laughs softly.

"You'll get there, Stevie," she assures me. "Let me ask you something: how did you know Matt wasn't the one?"

It's my turn to laugh. "Um. Well, I guess I just...I couldn't see a future with him. Like, I would try to envision it, and it just didn't click."

"Sometimes it's easier to know when something isn't right than when it is," Mia admits. I let out another puff of air. This isn't clearing my head as much as I hoped it would. But I know that what Mia is telling me is something I need to hear.