Second Chances

We Meet At Last

M'gann had just finished putting the finishing touches on her outfit when she received a text from Conner.

Parked rite outside.  Kids are in the backseat.  Fingers crossed 4 2nite.

He had added two emojis.  One was a hand with crossed good-luck fingers, and a four-leaf clover.  M'gann smiled.  Tonight was the night.  Dylan had finally agreed to meet her as Conner's girlfriend, and she wanted to make a good impression.  She knew it was going to be tough, but she felt prepared for anything.  She grabbed her purse and locked her apartment.

She walked out and spotted Conner sitting in the front seat of a gray minivan.  Now that he had a family, his days of motorcycles and pick-up trucks were long gone.  They shared a smile as she climbed into the front seat.  M'gann was so happy to be with him, she didn't even mind the inside of the van smelled of chicken nuggets and orange soda.

As she fastened her seatbelt, she looked behind her to see Dylan and Becky buckled in, looking at her with blank expressions.  M'gann gave them a nervous smile and a friendly wave.  Becky happily returned the gesture, but Dylan only glared and turned his gaze towards the window.  M'gann turned back to the front as Conner started the car and drove down the road.
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The foursome sat at a nicely-decorated table in the restaurant, all staring at the menus in their hands.  "Hmm...scallops look good.", M'gann pointed out.  "Oh, they are.", Conner said, looking up at her with a goofy smile.  "But last time I was here, they were all out, so, knock on wood."  He knocked the wooden table at that last part.  The two shared a laugh.

"A-hem."  Everyone looked at Dylan, whose face was hidden behind the menu. M'gann looked back at the menu. "Well, I have my eye on the red velvet cake for dessert." "Sounds delicious.", Conner said. "Split it?" She gave him a playful smirk. "Nope. I want it all to myself." "Really?", Conner said, propping one elbow up on the table. "Arm wrestle for it?" "No!" They laughed again, louder this time.

Clink! "Oh!" M'gann gasped as water spilled onto her lap, soaking her new dress. Conner looked at the tipped-over glass and then at Dylan, who was smirking nastily behind his menu. "Oops. Sorry.", he said, not sounding sorry at all. Conner's nostrils flared. "Dylan Louis..." "Its okay.", M'gann said, laughing it off as she dabbed herself with a cloth napkin. "It was just an accident."

Conner cleared his throat. "You know, Megan here is a kindergarten teacher. She's amazing with kids. I remember back in high school, she was the most wanted babysitter in Happy Harbor." M'gann smiled at him. Dylan looked back and forth between them and frowned. He didn't like the way his father was looking at Megan, or the way she was looking at him.

She looked at Becky. "So Becky, your father tells me you love the Disney Princesses." Becky bobbed her head up and down. "Well, so do I! Maybe we can see the next Disney movie when it comes out." Before Becky could reply, Dylan cut in. "Our mom always takes us to the movies.", he said, not looking up from the menu. "She'll be taking us to a lot of them when she moves back here."

"Dylan.", Conner said in a stern whisper. To say that Dylan's comment didn't sting a little would be a lie, but M'gann smiled at him anyway. "Well, maybe we can just go see a few until she comes back." "Don't bother.", he said bluntly. "She can take us to all of them." Conner slammed his menu down on the table. "Dylan!", he hissed.

M'gann reached out and placed her hand over his. "Conner, sweetie." Dylan finally looked away from his menu to glare at her through narrowed eyes. Sweetie. How dare she call him that. That was what his mother used to call his dad before they got divorced. That was what their father called Becky. At her touch, Conner immediately relaxed and smiled at her.

The waiter arrived at their table. As they placed their orders, Dylan pouted. He didn't want to like Megan. Not for a single moment. But it was harder than he had thought it would be. His dad was right. Megan was really nice. It would have been better if Conner was dating an ax murderer. Than Dylan could easily hate her.

He looked up to see that she had her head resting on her father's shoulder, smiling happily. He was smiling, too. Finally, she lifted her head to plant a kiss on his lips. "Gee, Dad. I sure hope that fungus in your mouth is getting better." He smirked as they broke apart, and looked at Megan. "The doctor says in boys, its curable. Girls die from it." Becky slapped both hands over her mouth. "Why didn't you tell me?! I kissed Daddy yesterday!"

M'gann simply laughed. "You've got quite a sense of humor." Conner smirked seeing her shake it off. "You know, you two have a lot in common. You both love to read. You both love to travel. You both like to eat the center part of Oreos." Dylan looked down, fiddling with his napkin. He glanced upwards at Megan. She had a really pretty smile. Contagious, too. It was really hard not to smile back at her.
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After dinner, Conner stopped by the house to drop the kids off for bed, M'gann with him. "I gotta go do my homework.", Dylan said quickly, heading straight for the stairs. He hadn't done a bit of it all day. He had been too mad to. Becky followed him upstairs. In the middle of the stairwell, she stopped and turned around to smile at Megan. "It was really nice meeting you." Then she continued up for bed.

Conner smiled at M'gann. "Well, I think you made a good impression on Becky, at least." M'gann rubbed an arm. "But not so much on Dylan, huh?" He took her hands in his, squeezing them gently. "Give him time. He only just met you. He needs to adjust. But he'll love you eventually. I just know it."

He bent down and captured her lips in his in a sweet kiss, which she happily returned. When they broke apart for air, M'gann giggled as she looked over his shoulder. "You want us to speak louder?" Conner turned his head around to see Dylan crouched behind the bars of the staircase, watching their every move. Conner frowned.

"Well, I better start heading home.", M'gann said. She pecked Conner on the cheek. "Thanks for a wonderful evening." She walked out of the house and closed the door behind her. The moment she was gone, Conner whipped his head to glare at his son. "Bed. Now." Dylan scowled as he got up and walked towards his room. And here he thought he had been doing a good job of spying.