Bear

Chapter 36

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Liam asked me as he walked into our room after we tucked Izzy into bed.

"Yeah." I said as I sat on the bed.

"I don't want to upset you, but I also want you to hear me out." He said kind of nervously.

"Ok, that worries me." I said.

"I think your Mom should find a place of her own. I know you needed her here with you and with Izzy. But now you have me. I'm not saying she needs to move far away, we can try and find something really close. But we're getting married, and I think it should just be us...." He said.

"It would be so weird not having her here." I said.

"I know. But she could also just be Gigi when she came over. She could have fun with Izzy instead of almost a second parent." he said.

"Let me talk to her. I think it might go over better coming from me." I said.

...

Mom and I went around town today with Izzy, and did some shopping. When we got home, we had an early dinner before Liam left for work.

"Izzy honey, pick out a movie. I'll make us some popcorn." I said from the kitchen.

"Lion King! But not the sad parts." I heard her say.

"Sounds good." I said smiling at her.

I put the movie on for her and Mom and I sat with her.

"I need to talk to you about something..." I said softly to Mom.

"Anything, honey." She said with a smile.

"I was talking to Liam yesterday, and we thought you might want your own place now that he is in the process of moving in." I said as I looked up at her.

"Sure. I mean I was here to help with Izzy, but you'll have Liam now." She said.

"You'll still be here often, Mom. Just so you can have some independence." I said gently.

"It's ok, Mia. I'll start looking for something close." She said as she rubbed my arm.

"Thank you, Mom." I said.

...

"So what colors are you thinking?" Amy asked as we looked through the wedding dresses. "You have always said burgundy and rose gold. Is that still the plan?"

"No." I said shaking my head as I mostly just followed her. "Maybe blue... light blue."

Amy pulled an elaborate dress down from the rack. "You have to try this!"

"I'll take it to the attendant." I said reaching out for it.

I found the woman that was helping us, "Did you find one to try?" She asked.

"Yes, kind of..." I said. "Can you pull your five cheapest dresses? I'm on a really tight budget." I lied.

"Oh of course. I'll put them in the dressing room for you." She said nodding.

I found Amy again looking through more dresses.

"The attendant found some dresses, so I think I'll try them on now." I said.

"Ok!" She said excitedly.

I found my Mom and they sat in the chairs by the mirror. I stepped into the room, and saw a few dresses on the wall.

"Which one is the cheapest?" I asked quietly.

"This one." The attendant said, holding up a simple satin dress.

"Lets try that one." I said.

She helped me into the dress, and It had a boat neckline, and it was sleeveless. The bodice was form fitting, and led to a full skirt.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked as I stepped in front of the mirror.

"It's pretty honey." Mom said with a smile.

"It's simple, but very elegant." Amy said.

"I think this is the one." I said to the attendant.

"Wow, first try." She said smiling.

"You don't want to try on anything else?" Mom asked.

"No. I like this one." I said as I walked back into the dressing room.

The attendant helped me out of the dress, and she hung it back up as I got dressed.

"This is actually a dress from last year. So it's quite discounted. It's only $94." She said.

"Thank you for your help. That's perfect." I said.

"It seemed to fit you very well, do you want any alterations done?" She asked.

"No, I think it's good to take home today." I said.

I walked out of the dressing room and met back up with Mom and Amy. Mom insisted on buying my dress and was shocked that the dress was so cheap.

...

The next day Mom and I went to look at a few places for her. Izzy stayed with Amy while Liam took an afternoon shift at the bar.

We looked at a few apartments, but they weren't very nice. We had one more to see, after we stopped for lunch. We found a little place with outdoor seating, and we ordered soup and hot tea. It was nice to have time with just Mom. That doesn't happen very often any more.

"Where are you thinking you want to have the wedding?" Mom asked.

"I don't know. Liam doesn't want to wait long. I have my dress, so we just need to find the place and set a date."I said.

"What about the little chapel off of Hunnington Drive?" Mom asked. "It's a pretty little building. They seem to have weddings there frequently."

"We'll have to call and see what the availability is." I said nodding.

I sent Liam a text to look into the chapel, as we made our way to the last apartment. It was on the first floor, and in a gated community. It was an end unit with a view of the woods. She looked surprised at the hardwood floors, granite counter tops, and oak cabinets.

"This is nice." I said as I walked around.

"Yeah. I think i'll probably take it." Mom said.

We went back to the leasing office, and Mom signed a three month lease. If she was still happy there at the end of it, she would sign a longer one.

Liam contacted the chapel and they had an opening in two weeks. He booked it, and we were set to get married on April 22nd.

Damien's POV

When we landed in Montana, we took the shuttle out to my truck. Thankfully it was just fine, other than needing a good wash. I opened the back door, and threw my bag in. I stopped when I saw Izzy's seat. I hesitated for a moment before closing the door and getting in the driver's seat.

"I can take her seat out when we get to the house." Isaac said.

"No. It's staying right there, where it belongs." I said without looking at him.

The two hour drive was long and exhausting after the plane ride. When I stepped into the house, the memories surrounded me again, but I knew I would have to face them. I walked into my bedroom, and my suit was still on the floor where I had left it. I picked it up and emptied the pockets before throwing it in the laundry. The whole house was stuffy from being closed up, so Isaac and I went around and opened all the windows. It was still pretty cool outside, but it felt good to get the fresh air in here.

Over the next week I kept myself very busy. I was back to work two days after we landed, and I had new clients to work with and study up on when I got home. I wasn't ready to really face the public, so Isaac went to the store and got groceries. I knew I couldn't avoid life forever, but I would go for as long as I could.