"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Sarah asked as she leaned against the counter.
Mike shook his head "It's Quiche." He remarked.
Sarah nodded "Ok. I just feel useless standing here." She said quietly.
"You could set the table." Mike suggested.
Sarah smiled "Okay, where are the plates?" she asked.
Mike pointed to a cupboard behind him where a display of bowls were perched against it "Get four, Ryan usually stays for dinner." He murmured.
"Oh. That's nice." Sarah said, trying to remain calm and not show any fear.
She grabbed four from the cupboard and turned around to walk towards the dining room when the side door opened "Mike?" she heard someone call out before shutting the door.
Sarah stood in place from shock as she watched Ryan and Grace walk into the house, Ryan huffed "Whose Beetle is out…" he trailed off as he finally saw Sarah.
"Oh." Ryan said, unsure of where to take the conversation.
They stood silent for a moment, Grace standing next to Ryan and looking around at the group of adults who couldn't find a word to say.
"Daddy, who is this?" Grace asked.
Sarah turned to Grace and was in awe, unable to make a sound as she stared; Mike looked at Sarah, and then turned to Grace "Uh, well, this is…" he wasn't sure what exactly to say.
"I'm Sarah." Sarah finally said, letting a smile escape on her lips "I'm a friend." She continued.
"A friend from work?" Grace asked.
Sarah and Mike looked at each other before Sarah shook her head "No. I'm a friend from a long time ago." She said.
"Like when daddy was little?" Grace asked.
Sarah laughed "No. Not that long ago." She said.
Mike sighed "Hey, dinner is almost ready, so Grace, why don't you change into something else and Ryan…well…do whatever." He said before walking away from the oven and grabbing silverware.
The three adults waited quietly as Grace went upstairs and Sarah walked into the dining room, giving Ryan and Mike a minute alone.
"Mike," Ryan said with a forced smile "What is she doing here?" he asked.
"She's here to meet Grace. Don't worry." Mike whispered as he pulled out all the silverware and turned around just as Sarah was walking back in.
Mike handed her the silverware and watched as she walked back into the living room before he turned back to Ryan who crossed his arms "Don't be stupid." He muttered quietly.
"I'm not." Mike said, walking to the oven to check on dinner.
"Where do you live?" Grace asked with stuffing bites of dinner into her mouth.
Sarah smiled "New York."
"New York, New York; or just New York?" Grace asked.
"New York, New York." Sarah responded.
Grace took a moment to swallow another bite of dinner "What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a nurse." Sarah responded.
Grace just nodded at the answer before taking another bite of dinner; there was finally silence in the house as everyone filled their mouths with food.
Ryan cleared his throat "So, Sarah, Mike told me that you drove in from Maine."
Sarah nodded, letting a simple 'yeah' escape before she continued to eat her slice of Quiche.
"Are you going to go back to Maine or stick with New York?" Ryan asked her again.
Sarah shrugged "I don't know. I mean, I grew up in Maine, but I've gotten so comfortable with New York."
Ryan nodded, it was obvious that he wasn't okay with the situation; but he was trying to be civil especially with Grace around.
"So, Grace, your dad told me that you both are building the EifelTower in the living room." Sarah remarked, putting the focus back to Grace.
Grace nodded "Yeah."
"Are you having fun putting it all together?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah. Daddy says that we might be able to finish it this weekend!" she said, letting a big smile out.
Sarah turned to Mike who did not look as excited as Grace was about finishing the EifelTower in the living room "I don't know. That seems like a three person job." Sarah said, turning back to Grace.
Grace shrugged, finishing her slice of Quiche before she put her fork down and sat back in her chair like she usually did when she was done with dinner.
"Grace, you're excused." Mike said, taking another bite of his slice.
Grace looked at Mike before turning back to Sarah "Do you want to help me and daddy build the Eifel tower?" she asked.
"Maybe later." Sarah remarked.
Grace nodded, jumping out of her chair and running into the living room; leaving the adults alone at the dinner table.
Sarah was uncomfortable as Ryan and Mike dodged glances at each other, she looked down at her almost empty plate when Ryan finally had had enough of the silence and put his fork down.
"Okay—look, I don't know what your big plan is…but you better stop it!" Ryan told her.
Sarah raised an eye brow at him "Plan, Plan? What plan?" she asked him.
"The plan where you come into this house and you fuck everybody's' shit up." Ryan remarked.
She was taken aback as she looked at Mike for a moment before she turned back to Ryan "Ryan, the only plan I have is to start over with my life, and meet my daughter." She told him.
Ryan shook his head "I don't believe that."
Sarah shrugged "Well, that's too bad; because it's the truth." She said, looking at both of the men in front of her.
"Excuse me." She said, leaving the table and walking out into the living room.
Mike clenched his jaw as he turned to Ryan "Seriously? You can't just see where this goes for two seconds?" he asked.
Ryan huffed "No. I can't. Mike, I mean it when I say that this isn't going to end well." He told Mike.
"Could you just trust me? This isn't about getting back together with her, or anything along those lines—this is just me giving a mother the opportunity to connect with her child." Mike said, excusing himself from the table and leaving Ryan alone.