Ties That Bind

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One last hope
To rise and break away
Above the faded line
Way beyond the ties that bind

After the very eventful three days they had spent in the Keys, Mark had a couple more tricks up his sleeve. He was nervous and trying to hide the details from Estelle, but she was able to pick up on it. Plus, he was a terrible liar.

"Now I know you're planning something big Mark, jeans and a t-shirt is your usual MO," she started with a raised brow.

"Come on, a guy can't switch it up every now and then?"

"Not you," she chuckled, "you don't have anything fancy coming up for work, but you've got a nice button down, slacks, and a tie?"

"Will you just let this happen ma'am?"

"Fine," she said, "but your nervousness is making me nervous."

"I'm not-"

"Baby, you're checking and rechecking stuff," she chuckled.

He took a deep breath and released it. Of course she was right, but he wasn't gonna give her the satisfaction of confirming it.

"I'm fine," he sighed, "will you just trust me?"

As she put up her hands in defeat, Mark's phone rang. It was Victoria's ringtone, but it could have been the boys calling him. He answered with a smile anyway.

"Hello?"

"Hey Daddy!"

"Hey Bud, what's up?"

"Nothin', I'm bored," Austen sighed.

"Well where's your mom and brother?"

"Pearse is napping again and Mommy's working out. She said we were gonna have a movie night later though."

"That sounds fun," Mark offered, "I hope you enjoy the movie."

"Me too. Where's Estelle?"

Mark chuckled before answering. These days, Austen really called for Estelle, not him.

"She's getting ready. I'm taking her on a date."

"You guys gonna eat?"

"Yeah we're gonna eat, we may even dance," Mark chuckled.

"But Daddy, you can't dance," Austen laughed.

"I can too! Tell you what, when I get you guys again, we're gonna see if I can dance or not. Deal?"

"Okay, but we all know you caaan't," Austen agreed in a sing-songy voice.

As they continued their conversation, Estelle was coming out of the bathroom with her phone in her hand, talking to Bryson. He asked what she was doing and where they were going and a million other things.

"Pickle, who's the adult here?"

"You, but who's the man?"

"Still not you, you little smart ass," Estelle laughed, "we're gonna be okay baby, don't worry."

"But TeTe, you're so far away!"

"I'm okay though. I'm safe, I'm eating, and I'll be home before you know it."

"Okay," Bryson sighed, "love you."

"Love you," she smiled as she hung up, "that boy acts like I ain't ever been hours away from him before."

"Probably because it's just us and...," he trailed off.

Mark did a double take as he watched her bustle around the room looking for her black pumps. Last he'd seen them, he was tossing them over his shoulders somewhere.

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