Tied

Chapter 32

They did not talk on the way home, but once they got into the house, Grant pulled her into his arms and hugged her which triggered Mia to cry, not a soft little cry but heart wrenching sobs. Grant maneuvered them to the sofa, and he just held her as she cried. When the tears were done Mia said, "I am sorry. I don't know why I cried like that." Grant nodded and said, "It is OK, even if you had a bad relationship, you also had a lot of history, so tears are appropriate." They sat on the couch for a while and then Mia said, "Thad said he would let us know the details on the arrangements tomorrow night at dinner." Grant suggested she go to bed, and he told her he would be in shortly.

After Mia left, Grant called his mom to let her know what had happened. He called Jade to confirm she was telling her parents and she said she had just hung up the phone with her. He then called Gabe to let him know as well. Once he completed the calls, Grant made sure Gunner went out for his nightly walk and then put him into his room. He then went to the bedroom where he found Mia asleep, so he stripped and crawled into the bed and pulled her into his arms. She snuggled into him and murmured something, but he just gently stroked her back and hair until she was deeply asleep again.

The next morning both Grant and Mia moved a little slower, but they got to work close to normal time. Once Mia was at work, she emailed Rebecca and let her know that she might need to take Monday off to attend her mother's funeral. Rebecca replied that was fine and asked if there was anything she needed, even offering to let her off work for the week. But Mia knew she would cope better if she stayed busy.

During the day Jade, Angie and Grace all called and asked if she needed anything and each time she thanked them, but said she was OK. But as the day went on, she realized that she was sad Beverly died, maybe not daughter sad, but still sad. Sad that they will never have a good relationship, sad that although their relationship was bad, she did not wish ill of her and sad that Beverly's death brought a sense of relief and the guilt that goes with that. At lunchtime Rebecca stopped by and asked her to go to lunch and Mia accepted.

When Mia left the office after work, she stopped by her apartment to pick up the two black dresses she had. Since black is not her best color, she tended to only wear them to funerals and such. The first was a simple A line black dress with a short sleeved black lace overlay, it was classy and looked good on her. The second was a black and grey color block dress that was a little more casual, which would work for the viewing. She also pulled a navy-blue cap sleeve sheath dress that fit well and charcoal grey wrap dress that always looked good. She also packed up a couple more pairs of shoes, her grandmother's pearls and pearl earrings. Mia looked at her closet and decided to take a couple more office outfits and casual outfits since she was getting things.

After packing her clothes, she headed to Grant's house. Parking in the garage, she saw Grant's car, so she knew he was home, but when she walked into the kitchen, she was surprised to see several others there as well. She was immediately hugged by Angie and then Tim and Angie explained she had made lasagna for Mia. Which lead to Jade and Jasmine hugging her saying, they came for the lasagna, followed by Nate and Adam who hugged and agreed about the lasagna. Next was Gavin and Matt who both claimed only to have come over for support but after hearing about the lasagna they wanted to try some. Mia was instantly overwhelmed and touched at the same time.

Grant saw her suitcase and asked, "What did you bring in that?" Mia shrugged and said, "I stopped by my apartment to get a couple of black dresses and then decided to add some other things as well." Grant smiled and said, "You and Jade can go unpack, Angie and I will heat up the lasagna and make garlic bread, Jasmine will do a salad and the others can just hang out and chat with us." Mia nodded and pulled her suitcase into the bedroom followed by Jade.

Once they were alone, Jade hugged her again and said, "I know you two did not have a good relationship, but I also know that you must be hurting some. Mom bringing the lasagna and bringing us kids is her way of showing you she loves you. The boys and I are just here to eat." Mia laughed because she knew Jade was kidding, but was also a little serious, everyone took Angie's lasagna very very seriously. They quickly unpacked, Jade left, and Mia quickly changed into leggings, and an over-sized shirt and then headed to the kitchen.