Generations: The Long Game

Mia's Ruse

As they pulled in the drive, they both stilled themselves. Mia being vague could be a good thing or a bad thing.

The two families really didn't stand on ceremony with each other anymore, so Reece and Marjorie just walked right in. They heard laughter in the lounge and stopped there first. "Where's your mums?"

"Kitchen!" The girls both answered in almost a sing song voice while Lynn took a wriggly Emery off her uncle. Reece followed Marjorie down the hall and they both took a minute to still themselves before swinging the door open.

Mia and Char were sipping tea and laughing in an animated conversation at the table. "Mia, what was so urgent? You lot don't look like you are in crisis."

"Oh, but we are, Reecy!" She still used the nickname after all these years. He hadn't always been a fan, but it had grown on him, and he seldom grimaced at her for it anymore. He was however grimacing at her now, but she knew it was the ruse and not the nickname.

Marjorie on the other hand had her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. Char came to the rescue with a cup of tea. Marjorie preferred coffee, but always made do with herbal tea when she was pregnant.

Mia started the little speech she had rehearsed in her head. "Look, getting you guys out here was my idea. I thought a face-to-face talk might be harder to decline than a text or phone conversation. We have been talking about it for ages, and Vivian and Shibby are back so let's plan this cook off."

Reece and Marjorie looked at each other for a moment before laughing. "We only have one problem." He was relieved it wasn't something serious. He didn't think he could stomach it if they were both in turmoil at the same time, but now he had to tell her about Aut.

As he relayed the last few days to her, he could see her demeanor change. "He actually fucking left?"

"Amelia! He is suffering!"

Char was the first to stand up for him, but Marjorie wasn't far behind.

"None of us throttled you for going off to America!"

Mia wasn't in the habit, even after all these years, of letting Marjorie get away with talking to her like that, but she stood down. She stood down because she knew it wasn't Marjorie's wrath she would deal with if she hadn't. Her angel might have been the kindest, most caring, soft-spoken one, but she could take Mia down with extraordinarily little effort. And Mia never forgot it.

"Okay so we will schedule it a week or two out and he can decide if he wants to come. With a little work the cottages out back could be used for overnight visits. We could do it over two days and we each would prepare one meal.

"Mia this is sounding a lot like you getting a weekend without needing to cook much," Reece observed.

"Reece, shut it!" She glared at him. Who do you think will be getting those cottages ready? Besides other than a few dinner parties and the playdate. We all haven't been together in a while."

"Okay fair point, so when do you think we should do it?"

"When I was in Washington last November, I got to experience Thanksgiving. Why don't we do it then but do it our way of course."

Marjorie and Char weren't even paying attention to them at this point they were already on their phones shopping for décor for the cottages and their very own "Thanksgiving ".