Generations: The Long Game

Doom and Gloom

Reece was doing prep work for the day when she arrived. She stood in the doorway without a word. Watching him in a kitchen was like watching magic. In all those years of forced togetherness, it was the one thing that always put a smile on her face even when she was pissed at him. They could be in the middle of a knock down drag out and he would decide to cook. She knew it was to calm himself, but it changed her too.

It was in those moments she realized you could love someone and hate them at the same time. She did love him in her own way. "Oy! You fucking asshole!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin which only served to make her laugh. "You deserved that. Running away from me like that."

"Mia, I am busy."

"Don't give me that shit Reecy. We both know no one else will be here for hours. I've just spoken to your wife."

He looked up at her a bit confused. She never called Marjorie that unless she was being condescending. This was not that and he was confused by her tone. "And?"

"She said the same thing when I mentioned seeing you earlier. You really are turning into each other" He shot her a look and she knew she needed to tread lightly. "Okay, okay. We aren't alone anymore, Reece. It isn't just the two of us. You could have talked to me or Char or even Viv. You could have talked to Marjorie. I know how I can be, but you got lucky there. That woman loves you more than life. God knows why. She is probably way too good for you."

That made him chuckle. "I did call someone this morning. I am surprised you haven't got a text already. She is definitely way too good for you." She looked at her phone. C: "Babe, meeting Reece after work. Be home late. I love you."

"Stealing my wife for the night? Maybe I will do the same. We both know she can't cook. Someone has to feed her and your son."

He looked up and smiled as she walked back out the door. How he wished he could be a fly on the wall for that.

The day went by slowly and his mood didn't really get any better. He had snapped at staff and told off a patron who returned their food.

Finally, it was six and he left the restaurant in the hands of his assistant. He stopped at the nursery to get Char, but they drove to the bar in utter silence. Char kept sneaking glances at him, but didn't say a word. She could see his jaw was clenched and could only assume whatever he wanted to talk about was big.

As he parked, he left out a deep sigh. "Reece, is everything okay with Marjorie? Are you going through a rough patch? Is it... well .. I know the pregnancy wasn't planned."

"Char, it's nothing like that. Let's go inside and get a drink." She was relieved as they headed in, but she was still nervous about what it could be. She hadn't seen him like this in a long time.

As soon as they were settled, he let the whole thing out. Everything from how scared he was they would lose Mia to all the dark thoughts about losing Marjorie.

She took a deep breath. "Reece if anyone can understand that heartache, I suppose it would be me, but I didn't have time to think about what ifs. I went from chatting with you in the kitchen to hoping and praying Mia and our babies would live. I know somehow this seems worse, but maybe you guys should talk to your doctor. Maybe some extra scans would ease your mind and rule out any dangers."

He thought about what she was saying. Maybe being proactive would ease some of his concerns, and it wouldn't hurt them to get more personalized information from their doctor. It was certainly a better idea then trying to muck his way through every statistic on infant and maternal mortality.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about Mia, Marjorie, their children, the nursery and the restaurant. She hadn't realized it, but she was helping to ease his concerns just by seeing how she and Mia had made it through.

What they didn't know was what was waiting for them when they got home.