How was your Christmas? Mine was pretty cool, as far as Christmases go. One of my best presents was FINALLY getting my license. Ooh, and the best movie ever--The Gnomemobile (mentioned in the PD story, Bust a Cap, a rare and exotic jewel with which you should all get acquainted.)

Anyway, sorry once again for the wait. I've been working on something new.

Ch. 26

After Michael left, I realized I couldn't sleep. It doesn't make sense that I've gone six years sleeping alone, and then go a few weeks with another warm body next to mine and then can't get used to being without it again. I'm a strong, independent woman! I don't need Michael snoring next to me to lull me to sleep!

But it's just...not the same. Even when he was pissed off with me earlier he was still there next to me. And now he's down the hall in Rene's room, probably sleeping perfectly fine without me.

I'm never going to sleep with this nagging though running through my mind. Maybe I should just find someone else to snuggle up with...Though who am I going to find at three am?

- - -

I opened my eyes the next morning to see Michael staring down at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked. His tone wasn't gruff or angry like it had been yesterday. But it wasn't warm and welcoming either, like I've come to expect it to be in the mornings.
"I was sleeping," I stated, rubbing my eyes and yawning. "But now I'm awake."

"I mean, what are you doing sleeping here?" He frowned at me.

I looked over at Olivia's sleeping form lying next to me and shrugged. "I was lonely."

His expression softened for a second. "Well, do you mind? I'd like to spend at least a few hours with her before I leave."

As carefully as I could, I hopped out of the bed and stood up. "Sure. Take all the time you need."

Without looking over my shoulder as Michael whispered in Olivia's ear to wake her up, I padded barefoot down the hall to my own room and ran into Rene on the way.

"Where'd you sleep last night?" I asked him, yawning at the same time.

He glanced shiftily down the hallway before motioning with his hand for me to follow him into my room. He shut the door behind us.

"What's going on?" I asked. If it'd been anyone else acting this weirdly, I'd be a little worried. But Rene's always been weird.

His eyes flitted around the room quickly, as if what he was about to say was so top secret the maids couldn't hear it. "He's leaving," he said finally.

"Who?" I asked. "You mean Michael? I know he is."

He frowned again. "You mean you're okay with it? I was expecting you to hit the roof! I mean, I know I've never exactly liked the guy, but he's Olympia's dad, and he's like, your soulmate or whatever you used to call him. You're just going to let him leave?"

I sighed and looked at the floor. "I have no choice. He doesn't want to stay and fight for us, and I can't force him to...Hey, how'd you find out he's leaving? Was he mumbling in his sleep again?"

Rene shook his head. "After you went to bed last night, I went into see him. I was worried about you, and your boyfriend sleeping in another room wasn't making sense. So I bugged him about it until he threw the pillow at me and told me the whole story."

"And what exactly did he say?"

"His words were choked, he didn't really want to be telling me any of it. But I got out of him that he thinks you think you're too good for him, and that you never had faith in the relationship. He said he didn't want to chase someone who thought like that, because there was no point."

Yeah, no point at all. After all, it's only his daughter he's losing by not 'fighting' for me. Not that he has to fight in the first place! Well, we have to fight Grandmere, but he doesn't have to fight me!

I shook my head. "I don't feel that way, and I never have. I'm not the one who cheated."

"He mentioned that. But according to Michael, it was only because he thought you guys were basically over."

"We weren't!" I insisted. "And besides, that didn't give him the right to just…just act like I didn't exist. I mean, I was still his girlfriend."

"He said that too," said Rene sagely. Jeeez. If Michael has an answer for everything, then why aren't we together? Was the answer to his peace of mind getting me out of the picture? "But you've got to admit, Mia, you didn't exactly shower him with affection."

"How do you know that?" I snapped.

"Because he told me. Besides, I saw you at the palace in Genovia all the time. If you loved him like you say, then why were you always leaving?"

Who does Rene think he is anyhow? "You don't even know what you're talking about. You've never been in love."

"I've seen a lot of movies," he replied easily. "But it doesn't take a genius to figure you two out." Yeah, I dated a genius for eight years and look how that turned out. "Obviously, Mia, you weren't ready to commit to Michael full-time. So you freaked out, especially with a baby in the picture."

He was so wrong. On all counts! What makes him think I got cold feet? You don't get cold feet after spending that many years with one person. Since when have I been scared to be with Michael? I mean, sure, I had been mortified about what he might do if he knew I loved him, but that was before I knew how he felt. Before he proved to me time and time again that we were completely made for one another.

"I did have princess things to do," I said uncomfortably. "This isn't all my fault, you know. It's just as much his problem. He's the one who can't accept me. And I don't think of myself as better than him, not at all! It was hard for me to walk away, and I couldn't deal with the letters. He just doesn't want to understand."

"What letters?"

"Michael wrote me letters once a year, telling me about life without me and how Olivia was faring. But I didn't read them until recently, and he feels that I only read them because I needed to. Like I needed them for my 'plan' to work. But I don't have a plan, Rene. None of this was supposed to happen this way!"

"Have you spoken to him about all this? Have you told him exactly how you feel?"

"He won't listen!" I said, nearly on the brink of tears. "He can be really stubborn sometimes, and once he has an idea in his head, nothing and no one can change it."

"So why don't you do what he did then?"

"Leave?" I asked slowly. "No, I did that already, and I'm still paying for it."

"No, no," interjected Rene. "I mean, why don't you write him a letter? Tell him everything in it. And if he wants to leave without ever reading it, then so be it. But at least you tried. Just like he did with his letters."

I stared at him, not believing that I can get such a straight forward pep talk from the cousin who is known for his infidelity with women, and who hasn't had a long term relationship since... Well, ever. When did he get so smart? He's like Dr. Love.

"Thanks, Rene. I might do just that."

He reached out and gave me a hug. "No worries. Like I said, I don't particularly like the guy, but Olympia needs her dad. And you need your soul mate."

"Olivia," I corrected.

"Who?"

I smiled. "Never mind."

- - -

While Michael took Olivia to the beach to build sandcastles, I wrote his letter.

Well, I should actually say letters, since I wrote about a hundred of them. And by the time I had the letter perfect, the room was scattered with balls of paper.

But at least I had a letter for him. I reread it one last time, and then sealed it in an envelope, with a Genovian crest wax seal. I'd just laid it on my bed when Grandmere crashed through my door without knocking.

"Oh, Amelia, hello. I wasn't expecting you to be here since I saw the boy and Olivia leave a little while ago. How come you're not with them?"

I ignored her question and instead asked her one myself. "If you didn't expect me to be here then what did you come for?"

She raised an eyebrow at me and took a second to answer, as if she was trying to think up an excuse.

"Well, I wanted to see if you had a dress all picked out for tomorrow night, of course."

"Why do I need a dress for tomorrow night?"

"Your father's coming down, along with Sebastiano and the rest of the family. We're welcoming Olivia to the family."

I took note of the fact she didn't include Michael in the 'welcoming' part, even though she still thinks he's staying.

"That's a nice idea, Grandmere, but I don't think any of us are quite ready for a party or anything. And you know how Olivia is around new people, she's so shy."

"All the more reason to get her acquainted with everyone early."

I sighed. "I guess."

"Good. Well dinner will be at seven tonight, like always. Please be prompt."

With that, she turned and walked from the room.

- - -

Olivia and Michael returned about fifteen minutes before dinner. I'd spent the entire afternoon pacing my bedroom, waiting for him to come in to get his bags.

And when he finally did, I almost couldn't give it to him.

"Have fun at the beach?" I asked awkwardly.

"Sure. We always have fun. And she had no idea it was the last time we'd be hanging out, so she wasn't as if she was crying uncontrollably or anything."

"So when are you going to tell her?"

He looked at me for the first time since he walked in the room. "When the time is right."

"So you're not leaving tonight?"

He shook his head. "I rang the airport. There's a flight at noon tomorrow, and I'm on it."

I nodded my head. "I see...Look, I have something for you."

"My sanity? I seem to have left that in New York."

"Very funny," I snapped, picking up the letter and nervously jiggling it in my hands. "It's a letter."

"Ah, a letter, huh? I didn't think you were a fan of letters."

"Would you just shut up and read it? Or...If you don't want to hear what I have to say, then you can file it away for another six years and then drag it out. You can do whatever you like with it, just take it." I handed it to him and then realized that I couldn't be around to see if he actually read it or put it to one side. Or ya know, threw it in the fire. "I'm heading down to dinner. Grandmere'll kill me if I'm late."

He looked up from the letter and there was something in his eyes. Something I couldn't quite place. "Right. Well, you wouldn't want to make Grandmere unhappy."

With one last look at him, and at the letter in his hand, I ran from the room.

What does the letter say? What will Michael say? What will Michael do? And of course, the most prevalent question of all--what would Uncle Jesse do?

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