A Wall Between

Chapter 54

From then on, they visited Abigail and her parents every other weekend. Every time, Cooper expected Abigail to be the same as she had been last time he'd been her, but every time she had grown a little and gained some new skills. It felt too fast, like he barely had the chance to get to know this tiny human before she grew and changed again. A baby, he was coming to realise, was an extremely fleeting thing.

It was a warm November day, and they were all outside in the garden having lunch, Abigail content on the grass, babbling at the chickens under Bianca's watchful eye.

"So," Logan said as he clanked the ice around in his glass with his straw. "We found a new place."

"Oh, wow!' Cooper said. "Congratulations!"

Mason eyed Logan with suspicion. "Why did you say it like that? Like it's a source of trepidation?"

"No, it's a good thing," Logan insisted. "It's suburban, but it's got plenty of space. Enough room for pets and a great yard for Abby to play in as she grows."

"But..." Mason prompted.

"Well..." Logan took a deep breath in. "Okay, so, it's getting close to Christmas, and I was talking to mum, and we thought maybe we could do a family thing at the new place."

Mason's reaction was immediate and less than enthusiastic. "I'd rather hang myself, but go on."

Logan grimaced. "Of course you don't have to, but hear me out. We've been going to family therapy, and it seems to be helping. She's actually making an effort."

"Don't care."

"She's even gone out of her way to buy presents for everyone. That includes your housemates, Cooper," Logan added, trying to sweeten the pot.

Mason, however, was far from convinced, sinking further into his chair and crossing his arms defiantly. "Her history of gift-giving is so legendarily shit that I've learned to expect nothing. So, no, that doesn't tempt me."

"She consulted with me, and I made sure the gifts were something you'd actually appreciate. The whole point was to get you something meaningful."

"What could possibly top the sheer joy of not having to see my mother's face for another day?"

"She has something to tell the two of you, and I think you'll want to hear it in person."

Mason narrowed his eyes. "Are you clickbaiting me into spending time with my mother?"

Logan could only offer a half-hearted shrug. "Is it working?"

"I don't get why you're pushing for this so hard. Even you can't possibly enjoy her company that much."

Logan let out a deep sigh. "It's... complicated. I haven't talked about it because I didn't want to jinx it, but we've been doing the therapy twice a month and we've gotten pretty deep into things. Plus, she's constantly over to see Abigail and, believe it or not, she's great with her. She's going to be in Abigail's life, hopefully in a good way. We don't need to pretend everything's perfect, but it'd be nice if, as Abigail grows up, we could at least be in the same room without any dramas."

"You know what?" Mason said. "Fine. I'll show up. She can try to impress with her gifts and play nice. We'll see how it pans out. That way, it's out of the way before Abigail is old enough to understand what I'm saying so I can speak my mind. No way am I being put in a situation where mum's still shit but I have to hold my tongue because there's a kid listening."

"Deal," Logan said. "And you're right. She's had the therapy now and we've worked through some things. If you still don't feel like she's making a real effort to treat you right, then you shouldn't be around her. I believe in rehabilitation, but there's a limit for your own mental wellbeing. We're aiming for around a week before Christmas."