Chapter 41
The next morning, after a sleepless night of tossing and turning and mulling over what to do regarding Miles and Arthur, I get
dressed to go to Marsiel Gallery. I have a meeting today to finally sign my patronage contract, which is a welcome distraction
from everything else. Miles will be spending the day with Brian and his family.
However, as I’m pulling on my yellow sweater and a pair of jeans, my phone rings. It’s an unknown caller ID, and I ignore it
Instinctively, assuming it’s a scam caller. But when they call a second time immediately after, I finally pick up.
“Hello?”
“Iris?”
“Who is this?”
“This is Alpha Arthur’s Beta, Ezra,” the voice replies, and I suppress a groan. “Alpha Arthur has asked me to call you to ask if
you’ll meet him for dinner tonight, just the two of you. I can pick you up at eight.”
My eyes narrow suspiciously. “Why does he want to go out for dinner?” I ask.
Ezra hesitates for a moment before replying, “He just wants to talk.”
Talk Right. He’s probably just going to try to offer me more money, or maybe tell me that I’m not doing a good enough job
raising Miles, or-
“Mommy, are you going out with Daddy tonight?” Miles suddenly asks.
I whirl to see Miles standing in his bedroom doorway, rubbing his sleepy eyes, still in his pajamas with that stuffed shark
clutched to his chest. He looks… hopeful. And the sight breaks my heart.
“No, honey, I-”
“I think you should go, Mommy,” he says, meeting my gaze sternly–Goddess, he really looks like his father when he does that.
“You don’t smile as much as you do when you’re with him.”
Miles‘ words make my heart pause in my chest. I clutch the phone a little tighter, hardly daring to believe it. Yesterday, I thought I was rather sullen, and yet…
“Please?” Miles asks.
I sigh, passing my hand over my face. The Beta is silent on the other end of the phone, waiting for my response.
It’s not that I want to go out to dinner with Arthur, not one bit, but I can’t help but wonder if he has something important to tell me. And if he wants to go out to a nice restaurant, just the two of us, then maybe…
What if I get an apology? A sincere one, with a promise to make everything right?
I still hate him for what he did; and I won’t get over it for a long, long time. But if he apologized, truly apologized, then maybe…
+20 Bonus
Maybe we could co–parent Miles, at the very least. I want that for my son, truly. More than anything, I want him to have a father who loves him, even if I can’t bring myself to get back together with Arthur.
It feels a little too hopeful to assume that that’s why Arthur’s inviting me out, but I accept the invitation before I can think better
of it.
A little while later, I’m at the art gallery, signing my contract. The patron is still anonymous, but it doesn’t matter; I’m just happy to be moving forward in my art career, and looking forward to the next exhibition.
The curator informs me that the gallery will be holding an event in the coming weeks, where she’d like me to give a short speech and mingle as ‘Flora‘. I happily accept, and am genuinely excited to attend.
This feels like a big step in my career. A huge one. And I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for me.
However, when eight o’clock rolls around, my excitement turns into nervous anticipation. The Beta, Ezra, picks me up right on time and takes me to the restaurant. I’m surprised, or perhaps not that surprised at all, to find that it’s hardly more than a dive
bar on the south end of the city.
Suddenly, as I step into the smoky atmosphere of the dimly lit restaurant, I feel overdressed in my sleek black dress and heels.
Why would he pick a place like this?
And why, most of all, did I assume that he would do anything more?
i
I’m almost considering turning around and leaving when I spot him sitting at a table in the corner, wearing that damn disguise
again.
