You Only Live Once

CHAPTER 53

The kitchen was quiet, the only sound being the rhythmic soft scraping of Mira's sponge against the marble countertop. It was late, and the house felt large and hollow now that the crowd had dispersed. Every year was the same; the house would be overflowing with laughter and the smell of roasting meat, and then, in an instant, it would return to this peaceful, slightly messy stillness.

Evan Rosier was the only one who remained, lounging in the armchair in the next room. Mira simply refused to let him live on his own during the holidays. She knew he enjoyed his bachelor lifestyle, but she also knew that a house without the noise of family could feel very cold in December.

"Mom?"

Mira looked up as Melody leaned against the doorframe. Her eldest daughter looked tired but thoughtful, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders in messy waves.

"Yes, baby?" Mira asked. She didn't stop her work, her hand moving in steady circles.

In the living room, she could hear the muffled sounds of Regulus and Evan attempting to restore some semblance of order. They were moving chairs back to their original positions and stack of discarded coasters. Regulus was particularly fastidious about the house being presentable before they went to sleep.

"We are holding Christmas and New Year's dinner here this year, right?" Melody asked.

"Yes" Mira confirmed.

It was a long-standing tradition among their circle of friends. They rotated the hosting duties every year to share the responsibility, though it usually ended up with everyone bringing three dishes anyway. It was a chaotic, beautiful system that had served them well for over a decade.

"Why did Dad freak out when he saw Theo?"

Mira's hand stopped mid-swipe. She had known this question was coming from the moment they left the platform, but she hadn't expected it to arrive quite so soon. She stared at a faint water stain on the counter, debating how much to reveal. She hated the idea of lying to Melody, but the truth was a tangled web of grief and old wounds.

"His father was our classmate, Mel" Mira said, finally turning to face her daughter. Melody had hopped up to sit on the counter, swinging her legs. "They look so much alike. It was like seeing a ghost standing there on the platform."

"So... you must have known his mother as well" Melody said, her voice dropping an octave. "And you must know that she—"

"Yes, Mel" Mira interrupted softly. She squeezed the sponge in her hand and sighed, leaning her weight back against the counter and crossing her arms. "I knew Christie. We all did. Her death was incredibly hard on everyone. You were very young when it happened, so you don't remember the atmosphere of those months."

"So you knew her well?"

"In a sense" Mira replied.

They had been more than just classmates; they had been part of the same fragile world that had survived a war only to be broken by a lingering illness.

Melody nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on the floor tiles. She was clearly processing this information. Mira watched her, knowing that when Melody got this quiet, she was usually building up to a significant request. Melody had always been an open book with her parents, but she was also incredibly empathetic.

"I was thinking" Melody started, finally looking up. "  We  have been together for almost two years. We have been friends for six. I have always felt bad that I get to spend the holidays with so many people who love me, and he has to spend them with just his dad. I know his dad loves him, and he loves his dad, but... they have no one else, Mom. So I was thinking..."