Aftermath

29

"I need to talk to you about something." Cal remained quiet inviting him to keep going. "My parents reached out to me and would like for us to come to dinner tonight. Both of us."

"I wrote to them."

"You did?" Cal nodded her head.

"Do you want to go?" Matthew didn't reply for a while, taking his time to think over the question before he spoke again.

"Only if you do."

"I miss them," she said softly. Calpurnia glanced up at the clock. "It's already five. What time do we need to leave?"

"It's about 2 hours away, so we would need to leave soon. They said we could stay there if we wanted."

"Do you want to stay there?" Matthew shrugged his shoulders, it was clear to Cal that he was nervous about the whole idea. But she was glad he spoke to them and was giving it a chance.

"We could pack a bag and leave it in the car, then we don't have to decide right away." Matthew pressed a kiss to her temple, then her lips.

"Perfect" he whispered and kissed her again.

...

When they arrived at Moreno's house, Calpurnia's felt the nerves tighten in her stomach. Matthew came around to open her door, and she linked her arm through his as they walked to the door. The door swung open as Matthew lifted his hand to knock startling both of them.

"Matthew, Calpurnia!" Abbey exclaimed ushering them in from the cold. Matthew's arms slid from Cal's grasp as he was pulled into a tight hug by his mother. As they separated Abbey yelled for John announcing that they had made it. Occupying her idle hands, she slid her boots off and set them neatly by the door.

"I'll take your coats," John said as he walked up to greet them. Matthew shrugged his off and then slid Cal's off her shoulders before handing them over to his father.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Come in, come in, make yourselves at home." Matthew slid his hand into Cal's and she released the breath she had been unknowingly holding. His hand squeezed hers reassuringly and she gave him a quick squeeze back. They walked into the living room where a beautiful brick fireplace was burning.

"Do you need help with anything?" Cal offered as Matthew relaxed on the couch behind them, John had taken his place on the leather armchair across from them.

"I was going to get some drinks made for everyone if you'd like to help." She nodded and followed after Abbey as she lead the way to the kitchen.

When they were alone in the kitchen, Calpurnia allowed herself a couple of discreet deep breaths. She had prepared a holiday cocktail, that she served the two of them, while the coffee finished brewing. They made idle chitchat as Abbey busied herself around the kitchen checking on things in the oven, and washing up what little dishes were in the sink from cooking. Cal made herself useful by grabbing a towel to dry the dishes as she washed them. When the coffee finished she reached for two mugs but hesitated and turned back to Cal.

"Calpurnia, I owe you an apology." Instinctively she opened her mouth to protest, but Abbey waved a hand silencing her. "We should never have acted in the way we did. You hear stories of how ugly grief can make a person, and never realize it could be you." Her eyes, which had been fixed on the tile floor of the kitchen, shifted to meet her gaze. "You were just a kid Cal-" her voice caught, but she quickly cleared it and kept going. "I had no right to place the blame on you, you were a child. And I love you, like my own. I hope you know that." One small tear snuck down Abbey's cheek as she finished with a curt nod. She smoothed her hands down her shirt and swiftly swatted the tear away, and reached for the mugs to fill them with coffee.

"Thank you, Abbey." Cal nodded at her gratefully and took one of the mugs in her free hand. Abbey smiled warmly at her before taking the lead back to the living room to the boys. Calpurnia observed John and Abbey as his face lit up to greet her and accept his cup of coffee gratefully. Just as she remembered them. When her gaze found Matthew's his smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. He lifted the coffee from her hand and adjusted it so Cal could tuck in beside him.

"How was it?" His beard tickled her ear and he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. She nodded letting him know it was good and leaned into his kiss. The four of them spent the better part of the evening talking about everything. Dinner was full of tearful laughter and dessert wasn't much different. By the time midnight rolled around Abbey excused herself to put John to bed, who had taken quite the liking to the holiday cocktail the girls had shared earlier.

Calpurnia had excused herself to the restroom, and when she returned the living room was empty. She wandered around the house until she found a door leading to the back patio slightly ajar. Matthew stood still looking out at the trees. He turned when she opened the door, and she caught sight of a teary face.

"Mattie" she murmured.

"I'm happy. I promise I am. I just miss her." She could feel tears against her own cheeks at his admission.

"I do too." Cal squeezed him a little tighter. He turned her so that her back was against his chest when she began to shiver. But after a while, both of them were too cold to stay out there any longer without coats.

"Do you want to go home tonight?" Matthew whispered when they came back inside. The house was quiet but the lights were still on so Abbey hadn't come back yet.

"We c-"

"I have two bedrooms made up if you want to stay." Cal looked at Matthew for help as Abbey entered the room now dressed in pajamas.

"Mom, I think we are going to head home." He said with a smile, he opened his mouth to say something else but Calpurnia jumped in to talk.

"We can stay, let's stay." This time Matthew shot her a glance to confirm she had said the words. She nodded imperceptibly and he flashed her a smile.

"Let's go get our stuff from the car." When they made it out to the car Matthew stopped her. "We don't have to stay, we can leave."

"She said she had two rooms. Is she going to separate us?"

"She can try," he said with a wink, pulling her in for a sloppy kiss. A giggle escaped her lips as he attacked her face. "But seriously, I don't think so." He reassured her when his assault on her face had stopped.