Nick jerked in his seat as a cup of coffee was placed in front of him. His hands shook as he tried to lift the dark drink to his lips. He clasped the cup in both hands, taking a deep gulp, and ignoring the singing of his tongue. He lowered it, then watched as a gentle paw placed a small muffin beside it. "And, that's when I wake up, mom. And my heart just pounds until I check to make sure they are okay and I haven't really snapped."
"Nick, that just sounds horrible. When is the last time you've had a good night's sleep?" Mrs. Wilde sat down, resting her head in her hands as she urged Nick to take a bite of the muffin. She wrapped her tail in her lap, watching her son jitter with bags underneath his eyes.
"Two weeks. Since the...incident." Nick flinched as he remembered. "What's wrong with me? I'd never hurt Judy. I couldn't hurt June and May, they are my heart. The only good things to come out of all of this. I couldn't ruin anything else for them, right?" He raised the mug again, before his mother placed her hand over the lip and held it down to the table.
Mrs. Wilde shook her head, then rubbed her son's cheek. "Nicolas Wilde, I will not let you sit here and doubt yourself." She pinched his cheek, then lowered her brow as her gentle smile left, replaced with a mother's stern frown. "And I will not let you deny any of my grandchildren a good father."
"But mom...she's not..." Nick tried to pull away from his mother's grasp, but the pinch on got worse as she raised a wooden spoon. "Mistake doesn't belong to us. She's that crazy sheep's daughter! I never wanted her!" Nick silenced as the spoon crashed into the muffin, crushing the plate beneath it.
"Her name is Nym. Don't you dare call her a mistake again. She is just as much your daughter as May and June are." She finally released Nick's cheek, then stood to pick up the shards of broken muffin plate. "You know how it felt to not have your dad around. Or did you forget that? Imagine how that child is going to feel. Her mother gone, and her father just denying her existence."
"It's not the same. Dad.." Nick reached for a piece of the plate, but his hand was slapped away. He waved his hand to shake away the light pain. "Mom, you just don't get it. If I accept Mist...Nym, I have to accept that I was a failure of husband. That I did something that I can never take back."
Dumping the broken plate pieces into the trash, Mrs. Wilde paused, then sighed. "And what's wrong with accepting that something happened. You aren't the only one who suffered. But here you are whining and taking it out on a defenseless child." She sat down, then reached her for son's hands. "Nicolas, what about Judy? Why aren't you telling her any of this?"
Nick frowned and lowered his head. "She's got enough stress as it is. I don't want to add to it. She doesn't remember all that happened to her. If we didn't have Nym, then maybe she wouldn't have to..you know think about what I did. Then we'll never have to think about Bellwether winning."
"Wrong." Mrs. Wilde squeezed his hands, then smiled. "You think she'll forget about it? More importantly, you think you'll suddenly forget it? That's not how this work honey. Nicolas, what that sheep did to you two, I can't forgive. But I'm not going to blame my little Nym for it. And I'm not going to blame you or Judy either. So you need to stop doing it as well, right this instant." She pulled Nick to stand, and dragged him to the mirror to look at himself. "Don't you get it? She's winning because you are letting her destroy your marriage and stop you from being the best father."
Nick stared at the tired and broken fox looking back at him. "I get what you are telling me, I do. Deep down, I don't hate Nym. I just see her and I see Bellwether mocking me. Taking Judy away from me. He rubbed the tears from his eyes before they could fall. "Mom...what am I supposed to do?"
"Oh dear, you are a Wilde." Mrs. Wilde rested her head on Nick's shoulder then straightened his disheveled tie. "They tried to take your manhood from you. They hurt your wife, they called your children freaks, and even named one a Mistake. Someone screwed with your family. You already know what to do." She patted his back as Nick's eyes gleamed, and the sly smile slowly grew again on his ragged face. "You get even."