Thanks again to those who comment! It does keep one writing.
Here it is. The chapter. The last chapter I actually wrote (yet not the last of the story). I wrote it last because I had to see where the story was taking me, where Linda took me really—. I knew how I wanted this all to play out, but I wasn't quite sure how to get there until everything else had been written. It has certainly turned out to be longer than I expected! I hope it stays true to both the characters of Nick and Linda as we know them from the series, but also shows something new in each.
The next day Linda walked along the snowy campus, thinking about what Liam had said—how things had changed. She had apologised to Sam and Cassie, and that felt right. Now to fix things with her son. The change in Nick hadn't escaped her. She had noticed it almost from his first visit to see her in New York. Slowly but surely he was accepting, even enjoying, his life in Middleton. During those visits he would update her on his life: a two week trip to the Maldives to help on an archaeological dig, Cassie and Sam dating, Halloween Harvest and Lights festivals, Cassie and Sam's engagement and marriage, his decision to stay near Middleton for university, and the arrival of his twin siblings. It was hard, at first, for her not be just a little jealous of her ex-husband's new life and how her son's affinity for Middleton grew, yet she also knew he appreciated their time in New York—until a few weeks ago, that is.
According to the schedule Sam gave her, Nick's Biological Anthropology class was just about finished. They wouldsit down and talk she had decided. She came upon Douglas Hall, a main campus building, and watched as students filed in and out. Only a few minutes had passed before she saw Nick and a girl walk out of the building.
"Nicky," she called out. "Can we talk?"
Nick was, once again, surprised to see his mother, but not completely taken aback. He had had a long conversation with his parents and they had both suggested he, at least, hear his mother out before going through with his plan to cut ties between them. This was as good as time as any, he concluded.
"Uh, Molly, I gotta talk with my Mom. I'll catch up with you at the gym later."
"Sure, Nick. See you," she said smiling.
Linda approached Nick as if he might flee if she came up too quickly.
"Mom, what are you doing here?"
"Like I said, we need to talk and I am not leaving until we do," she said, determined.
"Fine," he reluctantly answered. "I have some time."
They walked toward the Student Union, snow falling and students rambling all around them. Each taking a seat with a cup of coffee, Nick stared at his mother.
"Well," he asked.
"Well," she said in return. "Nicky, what is all this? Where is this coming from?"
Nick laughed and shook his head. "You still don't know. You have no real idea?!"
"No, of course I get that you're angry about what Geoffrey did on New Year's Eve and that you are upset that your father and I didn't tell you the full truth about how your custody was decided..."
"No Mom!" He cut her off somewhat loudly. "Dad may not have told me the full truth, but you…you flat out lied. Dad never stole me from you, bullied youlike you said. Why? Why did you lie?"
A silence lingered between them. Nick continued, "Why did you give Dad full custody?" And finally, almost pleading with her for an answer. "Why did you let me go?"
Linda looked at him. She saw the pain and confusion of a little boy in the face of her grown son. Her heart went out to him. Reaching out and taking his hands, she said somewhat rhetorically, "Oh Nick, how do I start this so you will understand?"
"Start with the truth," he answered simply.
"Well," she considered, "as unreal as it may sound, your Dad and I did actually get along at one point in our lives."
"Yeah, he has said as much to me," Nick confirmed.
Linda nodded. "Yes, well, we were young, newly married in New York and both focused on our careers. Your Dad in the hospital and me working my way up in mergers and finance. Both of us actually making quite the waves in our respective jobs," she recalled smiling. Perhaps, she considered silently, that their differences had already begun as early as that early success, but she quickly put it out of her mind.
"And, when did I come in?" Nick asked, bringing Linda out of her thoughts.
"You, well you came in a couple years later," she smiled.
"When you were both beginning to 'make waves', as you put it."
"Yes…and no. I mean we were doing well financially. You had all the best toys, clothes, stroller, whatever was 'in' at the time, you had it," she said, a slight look of pride forming on her face.
"Whoopee for me," he said, unimpressed.
"Nick," she scolded.
"Mom," he retorted. "I was a baby. I can tell you I didn't care, I don't even remember, that I had the best crib or whatever, but obviously you did."
"Parents' prerogative," she tried to joke.
Nick's eyes rolled.
"You have to know you brought great joy to our lives, Nicky. Nothing you did caused our divorce."
"I know. Dad told me that a lot when I was little."
"Well, it's the truth."
"Then why did you choose London over me?" he persisted.
"It's not that simple," she said.
"It is for me, Mom!" he said loudly.
Linda looked around, but no one seemed to notice, to her relief. "Your Dad and I, in the end, wanted different things. Opportunities for growth at my job were booming. I was getting more projects, more responsibilities. I simply didn't want to let these chances pass me by, and your father and I began to…disagree…on how to move forward."
Nick sat quietly not saying anything, but taking in every word. She continued.
"As time went along things seemed to get more difficult. Our disagreements turned into arguments, arguments turned into fights, and they…well, that led to…" Linda couldn't finish. There wasn't more she felt Nick needed to know.
"The divorce. No custody issues." Nick finished for her.
"Nicky, London came along when it should have. You probably don't remember much, but towards the end things were not fun."
"Oh, I remember Mom. You'd be surprised how much I remember," Nick said. "It seemed like you and Dad were always fighting."
"Yes, well, as I said London came along at the right time," she took a deep breath, "It was…"
"It was…" he repeated.
"It was the best way to settle things between your father and me, really. The best choice to finish a bad situation."
"A bad situation," Nick echoed his mother again.
"It was a once in a lifetime career opportunity and it solved a lot. The only awful part of the whole scenario was leaving you."
Nick continued to just sit, in silence, as if in shock. "The best choice out of a bad situation, Mom," he finally said. "Is that all I was a 'bad situation'."
"No, no, not you. You're not understanding."
"What I understand, what I see, is that you were…selfish," Nick began getting up from his chair. "You were fighting with your husband, going through a bad divorce, trying to figure what to do with a child who was cramping your style and then here comes this 'job opportunity' and it solved everything." He shoved the chair back in its place. "So, you thought why I don't just take this job, leave my son in his father's custody, and problem solved!" He said angrily.
"That's not true. That never…" Linda began, but she was cut off.
"No, more explanations please," Nick said beginning to walk away.
"Nicky…"
"And, don't call me Nicky. It's Nick!" With that final request, he walked out of the cafeteria, a few on-lookers whispering to themselves. Linda got up slowly, tears on the verge of spilling, leaving the witnesses to their speculation.
Once out the door, Nick began to run, hard and fast. He hadn't run like this since his mother and father's divorce. He didn't know where he was running, he just ran. He ran off campus and into nearby woods. Finally, he slowed down as he crossed a wooden footbridge over a small creek that led to a magnificent waterfall. Not being a hiker of any sort, he wasn't familiar with the natural beauty that surrounded the area. He decided to stop and admire the site when he turned and was suddenly face to face with Abigail.