Stranger

Lin

The next month passed quickly as Vanessa and I made plans for our stay in Wales. We found a rental house near the filming location. It was big enough for our family, plus my mom and dad. They would come for the first couple weeks just to spend time with us and then head back. It would be great to have them around to help while we all get settled.

I booked the tickets and found out how to get Nora enrolled in online school. Hunter College High was being very helpful in coordinating her absence. All her work with online school would transfer back to her school record. As the date neared, Nora seemed to be getting more excited about the whole thing, but she also seemed worried about leaving her mom. She stayed at her mom's more than usual, which was fine with me. Laura was attending rehab daily and had been sober for one month.

The day finally came when it was time to go. The flight was around 7 hours, so we decided to book an evening flight, so the boys would hopefully sleep on the way over. Francisco tanked out quickly, but Sebastian was unable to settle down. He babbled and whined well into the night.

We arrived in Cardiff around noon local time. We got a taxi to our little house and started looking around. There was a good-sized yard, so we were happy to have that for the boys to run around. Soon after we headed to lunch. Most of us got fish and chips, which we were told was one of the best British foods.

By mid-afternoon, Sebastian was getting incredibly fussy. He'd barely slept the night before. We planned to walk around the town a little bit and I ended up carrying him most of the time. When he got upset and tired, he was very clingy. Sometime during the walk, he fell asleep in my arms.

We decided to head home and relax for the evening. Our boxes had been delivered so they were all crowded in the various rooms. We'd get started on those tomorrow. Everyone hit the hay early, exhausted from the travelling and the jet lag.

In the morning, we were a bit spryer. We took it easy during the morning, just enjoying a slow breakfast and letting the boys play in the yard. Vanessa started to research some of the tourist attractions nearby, which included a lot of castles. I knew Sebastian would be thrilled. We decided to explore one that afternoon.

Nora was a bit quiet as we walked around the ruins. I'm sure she was thinking about her mother, wondering how she was doing. As the others walked ahead I hung back so I could talk to her. I put my arm around her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"You okay, kiddo?" I asked. She shrugged. Typical response.

"Are you thinking about your mom?" I ventured. She nodded, her arms crossed as we walked.

"I'm sure she's doing fine," I assured her. "Leslie's with her a lot of the time. Maybe we can FaceTime tomorrow."

"What if she relapses while I'm here?"

"Then we'll deal with it," I said. "But she seems to be on a good path. She's been clean for a whole month."

The weather was typical Britain – overcast and dreary. It started to rain lightly so we stepped underneath an awning.

"Say goodbye to the sunshine for a few months," I told her.

When we got home around 5, Nora decided to FaceTime with her mom before dinner. With the time difference it was around noon. She took her phone back to her bedroom and was back there for almost an hour. I tried not to think about the phone charges.

I figured she should be done by now, and we were almost ready to head to dinner, so I knocked on her door. She was laying face down on her bed, head in her arms, and I could hear her sniffling. I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and began rubbing her back gently.