Strange Attraction (editing/rewriting)

XVII

Julia officially left us on the day she said she would.

It gave me time to get my affairs in order at work so I could leave.

Finn was the one who encouraged me to stop working. We didn't need my income to survive. He was doing just fine taking care of all the bills and for a while now, all my income just went into my savings.

The office was nice enough to give me a farewell celebration. Many people asked what I would do when I left, but for the most part, I was more concerned about my kids rather than what hobbies id used to occupy my time. I didn't see Lucian on my last day. I actually hadn't seen him at all since the halloween party. As much as I wanted to, I didn't ask about him. I thought it was for the best to stick to my guns and stay curious when it came to him.

The night of our housewarming party started off very promising. Not too many people showed up, but enough to call it a party. We dressed the kids up in their best clothes and loved showing them off to our guest.

My father and brother both came along with my nephew and stepmother and it seemed like they enjoyed their time because the last I saw of them were when they were mingling with all the guest.

Finn's parents were the first to show up to help with arranging things for the party and they were also the ones to greet everyone as they came in. We also received a lot of gifts despite telling everyone that we didn't want nor need anything. Finn took advantage of his jazz collection and played it for the guest while they talked and enjoyed themselves. We also catered food for the party since neither one of us were keen on cooking.

I had talking to Gordon since our last therapy appointment and we rekindled our friendship. Him and Atticus came to the party, but they both requested to speak with Finn on their own when they got there to civilly hash out their differences. Gordon reassured me that as long as I was happy, that he'd support me and my decisions, but he needed to talk to Finn to understand him.

I got to meet Finn's sister, Alicia, for the first time since she was visiting the states. She and him looked exactly alike.they both had dark hair, colorful eyes, and she was just as tall as him. She had a gap in her teeth which caused a slight lisp in her speech, but I felt like that was a charm of hers that she purposefully kept despite having the money to fix it.

Her and I talked while Finn went off to reconcile with Gordon and Atticus. She told me about their childhood and what Finn used to be like. She recalled all of their fond memories. Alicia also went on to talk about how her life was while she was traveling. She said it was freeing compared to being brought up in a busy lifestyle.

She wasn't one of those people that grew up rich and later on felt the need to relate to less fortunate people by pretending to be like them. It was very clear that she was her own person and aware of her privilege, but she was someone who loved to learn and wanted the hands on experience. My first impression of Alicia was that she was a wildly intelligent person and a lot could be learned from her.

Just when we were talking about what she studied in college, the doorbell rang. Not many people heard the door so the party was scarcely interrupted.

Finn's parents were no longer tending the door so I answered it.

I opened the door to find Lucian. Alone.

"Hey, is it just you? Where's Aaliyah?"

Still on the porch, in the storming rain, he said, "we broke up."Not sure what to say to that news, I stared at him dumbfounded. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, yeah sorry."I ushered Lucian in to foyer.

"Where can I put this?" He held up a bottle of wine with a bow tied around it.