November 21

"Well this should be fun" Talia smirked sitting in the kitchen waiting for Abbey to enter.

Pop grabbed hold of Abbey's arm as soon as she came within reach, he would not let her go without a fight. This is what is reassuring grip to her. Abbey made a small nervous smile towards her mothers as they walked down the crowded hallway into the dinning room.

"Abbey do you want something to drink?"

Her mother asked her already getting a clean glass from the cabinet soon to be filled and drained of Izzy's famous Sangria. Abbey mumbled a thank you and began to seat herself before she realized that Todd was missing. She searched the sea of brunettes and found no site of him. Jumping up from the table Abbey called out, "Todd". He was lurking in the entrance hallway unsure what to do with himself covered in dirt and light European features. Abbey grabbed her son's hand, Pop continued to hold onto her arm and so the three of them were joined awkwardly stretched from the dining room table to the foyer. She pulled Todd harder and he reluctantly entered the room flashing a 'Richard' smile.

"What were you doing out here?" Izzy asked as her mother placed the cup of Sangria in front of her. Abbey swallowed in large gulps oblivious to the taste or magnitude of wine her sister had managed to include within the punch.

"I was picking Todd up form soccer and I was just around the corner...thought I would maybe say hello". Her voiced trailed off, she realized how foolish she had been in choosing to just 'drop by'. Richard was going to just love hearing about this.

"You thought you would just pop by? For a quick visit, catch up on six years of life before picking Todd back up?" Izzy crossed her arms and took a seat across the table. And so the interrogation begins, Abbey thought to herself.

"Isabell, don't pick a fight", her mother warned. Moments like this had only existsed in her dreams, she could not let her daughter ruin this.

"Ma, I'm just asking" Izzy retorted razing one eyebrow enough for Abbey to know that she would not rest until she had gotten all the answers.

"Iz... I don't know what you want me to say... I shouldn't have come," Pop hit her arm lightly, he frowned. "I know, I know I've made a mess of everything. You know I never meant for this... this sort of separation to happen".

Everyone sat in silence, Izzy expected more, she was waiting for a full detailed apology but Abbey did not have one to give. She was hardly sure if she had even made the right choice speaking at all. Todd's cellphone began to vibrate lightly from inside his shorts. He looked up at his mom eager to take the phone call and leave the room full of drama. It was worse than anything he had ever witnessed. This sort of silent fighting... the kind that caddy middle school girls were all about; the kind he avoided like the plague.

"I swear to god Ashely, that had better not be your phone going off again!" Talia scolded looking at her daughter who was totally mesmerized by the change of events. 'No' Ashely thought to herself, ' but oh my god do I have people to text as soon as I figure out how to get away from this bunch'

"No aunt Talia, it's mine" Todd spoke out. His voice was lower than anyone remembered. Ma tear up finally registering her grandson was in the room.

"You have a cellphone?" Gail questioned in her usual goofy way. She reached for it from where she was still planted at the table. Todd laughed nervously unsure if he could trust this woman, trust anyone in the room. The phone stopped buzzing, it would go to voice mail.

There was really, too many questions to ask of each other. About who they had become, why they hadn't fought harder to save their family. Abbey's head began to swirl as she tried to get her story straight. There was no good place to begin and this was surely not the ending she had hoped for. She laid a hand on top of Pops. They spoke briefly without words and she knew all was forgiven with him. It was more than she might have hoped for but it was still too much. Abbey pulled his hand from off her arm,
"Come on Todd we need to go".

He shot up from his seat eager to say his goodbyes. As Abbey turned her back on her family sister Gail spoke out, "Abbey, you'll never guess who I ran into on the train the other day".