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Post by marsha on Jul 19, 2010 1:06:47 GMT -5
As soon as the boys left Mia flew into an explanation. "I didn't know you weren't home. I wouldn't dream of trying to do something behind your back. I thought you would be here and when Jeff opened the door I didn't know what to do. He recognized me, he knew who I was," she started crying a little. "I didn't know what to do. I've been watching Jeff for years, on t.v. and a few competitions. I never thought he'd be close enough for me to see..."
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Post by alexanderdupont on Jul 19, 2010 23:31:52 GMT -5
Patrick moved closer to Mia, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to apologize for anything," he assured her in a comforting tone. "You're here now, and I'm glad. Even if he doesn't necessarily realize it just yet, it will do Jeff good to have you around. I'm the one that should be sorry. To put you in that position, with nobody to turn to." The way he looked at her, it was as it had been nearly twenty years ago, only there was something more.
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Post by marsha on Jul 20, 2010 3:37:57 GMT -5
"You didn't know," Mia sighed. "It's not your fault." Mia assured him. In everything that had happened in her life, she didn't blame Patrick for any of it. She made the only choices she could and she had to live with them. "He's amazing," she said of Jeff. "He looks like you... He looks like me..." She finally burst into tears.
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Post by alexanderdupont on Jul 20, 2010 21:41:06 GMT -5
Patrick smiled as he listened to Mia talk about their son. When she started to cry, he felt a lump in his throat, and moved so that he was sitting beside her. He lightly held her close to him, brushing her hair from her face. "I can only imagine what you've been through, but- it's been so hard, hasn't it? he asked her softly.
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Post by marsha on Jul 20, 2010 21:52:52 GMT -5
Mia tried to quickly dry her eyes, She didn't want to be seen as some weak woman. "It wasn't easy," Mia didn't want to recount everything that happened. "But I don't regret having him. I just wish I was able keep him, care for him..." Mia sighed. "I had him for a year, I don't know if you knew that. I lost my job, was evicted and I couldn't imagine living on the street with a baby..."
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Post by alexanderdupont on Jul 20, 2010 23:01:38 GMT -5
"I don't doubt for a minute that you did what you thought was best for Jeff," said Patrick. "I know this won't make anything that has already happened hurt any less, but you're family now. I want you to be a part of our lives. And if you're not ready to open up about certain things just yet, I understand."
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Post by marsha on Jul 20, 2010 23:22:05 GMT -5
Mia smiled at him. The weight of the last 17 years flying off her shoulders. She was grateful for his understanding. "Thank you for being so kind." She meant that. "I don't... Some of it I don't want to think about... Maybe I should tell Jeff the whole story before you, if you don't mind." She still felt like there was so much she owed Jeff.
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Post by alexanderdupont on Jul 20, 2010 23:41:46 GMT -5
"No, I don't mind. It's so good to see you after all these years. I've thought about you, wondering what happened. Even though we were only together for a week, other than Alyssa, no one has ever made me feel the way that you did," he admitted. "You're a very special woman, and I know you'll be a good mother to Jeff."
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Post by marsha on Jul 20, 2010 23:50:18 GMT -5
"I'm sorry... for your loss," Mia said sadly. "He called me Mom and I nearly broke down," Mia admitted. "I would love to be his mother if he wants me to."
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Post by alexanderdupont on Jul 22, 2010 0:05:34 GMT -5
"The past nine months have been very difficult, but I'm not so much thinking about my own loss as I am about Troy's," Patrick said slowly, taking a few moments to steady his own voice. "He's been so brave, not ever wanting to let me see him cry or be sad. Sometimes I still wonder if I'll be able to be a good father, or it will be enough to help him become the man she wanted him to become."
"But as for Jeff, just give him time," he said. "If he can open up to you the way he did tonight, I think things will get easier."
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Post by marsha on Jul 22, 2010 0:27:22 GMT -5
Mia nodded. "He's a wonderful little boy. He's very smart and kind." Mia smiled. "Seeing you with them I know that you're a wonderful father."
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Post by alexanderdupont on Jul 24, 2010 13:06:53 GMT -5
"Thank you, Mia," said Patrick appreciatively. "It's just... I wonder if it will be enough. I messed up so badly with Alyssa. I thought I was doing the right thing all these years, but it turned out I was so wrong." He paused and sighed, looking away for a moment, the pain clear on his face. "Do you know any of what happened?"
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Post by marsha on Jul 25, 2010 21:45:19 GMT -5
"I don't know what happened to your wife. Jeff didn't want to talk about it in front of Troy." Mia sighed. "I know that you were only doing what you thought was best."
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Post by alexanderdupont on Jul 26, 2010 1:11:39 GMT -5
"That I did," Patrick acknowledged. "We started dating in our senior year of high school. I had been attracted to her for years, but somehow I just could never get myself to ask her out on a date. I didn't think I was her type, or that she saw me as being more than just the star quarterback. Alyssa, she- seemed out of reach, but eventually I got over my fear of being rejected and just asked her out. To my surprise, she had had her eye on me all this time. Her dad though, was another story. For years, he never treated me with much respect, and acted like I wasn't good enough for her- that I always had to prove myself to him."
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Post by marsha on Jul 27, 2010 23:03:00 GMT -5
"Fathers can be tricky," Mia said with an understanding nod of her head. "It says a lot that you still tried to make your father in law happy. Many people wouldn't have even bothered. Clearly your wife loved you."
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