Chapter 99 Something to Celebrate
Wednesday night, just before seven, Elena’s phone buzzed as she knelt beside Leo and his leaning tower of blocks.
Victoria: Dinner at my place Saturday? 6 PM? Something to celebrate.
Elena blinked at the screen.
“What’s up?” Alexander called from the kitchen.
“Victoria wants us for dinner on Saturday,” Elena said. “Says she has something to celebrate.”
“Did she say what?”
“Nope.”
She texted: What are we celebrating?
The typing bubbles came and went, hesitated, popped back up.
You’ll see. Just come. Please?
Elena held the phone up to Alexander.
He furrowed his brow. “That’s weird.”
“Yeah. Very weird.”
“Should we go?”
“She used the word ‘please.’ Victoria never says please.”
“Honestly? Good point.”
So Elena replied: We’ll be there. What should we bring?
Just yourselves. And Leo obviously.
Alexander grinned. “Mysterious.”
“Extremely.”
Leo glanced up from his blocks. “Where are we going Saturday?”
“Aunt Victoria’s place.”
“Does she have toys?”
“Uh…I have no idea.”
“She should have toys. All houses should have toys.”
Elena tried not to laugh. “That’s quite an opinion.”
Leo shrugged. “It’s a true, Mama. A fat.”
Elena laughed " Fact" She correct.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened the rest of the week.
School, dinner, bedtime, the usual routine they’d finally eased into since the trial.
Peaceful, almost—something Elena didn’t take for granted anymore.
Saturday showed up crisp and blue. Leo was adamant about bringing three dinosaurs “because Aunt Victoria needs to learn about them.”
They drove to Victoria’s place in Tribeca—fancy doorman building, twelfth floor, posh art everywhere. Leo gawked.
“Fancy,” he whispered, definitely not as quietly as he thought.
“Indoor voice,” Elena murmured.
He nodded, serious. “This IS my indoor voice. Just…excited.”
Victoria opened the door before they could even knock. She looked different. Softer somehow—her hair loose, sweater and jeans instead of the usual severe armor.
“You came,” she said.
“You said please,” Alexander teased. “Legally binding.”
“Come in.”
The apartment was all angles and clean lines. Victoria, through and through.
But wait—on the coffee table: crayons, coloring books, and a brand new stuffed elephant. Leo let out a little yelp.
“TOYS!”
Victoria looked faintly embarrassed. “Didn’t know what you liked, so I asked in the store. The clerk said elephants are popular.”
“I love elephants! My elephant’s named Ellyphant. This one can be his friend!”
From the hallway, a small girl appeared—seven-ish, hair the same dark shade as Victoria’s, shy eyes glued to her slippers.
She gave a tiny wave. “Hi. I’m Lily.”
Leo waved back. “I’m Leo. These are my dinosaurs.”
“I like dinosaurs,” Lily said.
“Really?”
She nodded. “Triceratops is my favorite.”
Leo gasped. “That’s a good one! Come see! I brought three! I have twenty-seven at home but Mama said that was too many for the car!”
Just like that, the kids were huddled on the floor, coloring and roaring and chit-chatting in their own particular language. Lily moved slow and calm; Leo all energy and noise.
Victoria watched, looking…vulnerable. Elena reached for her arm.
“She’s here,” Elena murmured.
Victoria nodded. “Michael dropped her off about an hour ago. She asked if she could have dinner at my place. First time she’s ever…asked for anything.”
“That’s amazing.”
“I had no idea what to make, so I ordered from Gramercy Tavern. I hope that’s not too much.”
“Oh, it’s a treat,” Alexander said, grinning. “You went all out.”
Victoria shrugged. “Wanted it to feel special. For her. For all of us.”
They followed her to the table—spotless, perfectly set, Pinterest-perfect. Too many forks. Fancy napkins. Candles.
“You really went for it,” Elena said, amused.
“I, uh, may have panic-Googled ‘how to set a dinner table.’”
Elena grinned. “Well, it’s working.”
The food was, honestly, ridiculous—roast duck, glossy veggies, bread that tasted like it belonged in a magazine spread. Victoria eyed the kids’ side of the table, a little worried.
“Do they eat this?”
“Leo’ll love the bread,” Elena said. “Maybe some veggies if we’re lucky.”
“So I made mac and cheese. The boxed kind. That’s okay, right?”
“That’s not just okay—it’s a guarantee he’ll eat something.”
Victoria set two small bowls by the kids, who cheered when they saw bright orange noodles.
“The orange kind!” Leo nearly squeaked.
“Is there another kind?” Victoria asked, eyebrows raised.
“There’s a fancy kind,” Leo said with a sigh, “but orange is best.”
“Duly noted.”
They fell into their own rhythms—grown-ups with duck, kids with noodles. Lily chatted about school. Leo explained (at length) that T. rex was misunderstood. The whole thing felt shockingly normal.
Victoria’s eyes found Lily every few minutes, as if she half-expected her to vanish.
“She’s okay,” Alexander murmured.
“I know. I just—sometimes it feels like she’ll realize this is weird and bolt.”
“It isn’t weird. It’s just dinner.”
“Dinner with the mom she hardly knows.”
Alexander just shrugged. “She’s here, though. That’s what counts.”
After dinner, the kids started coloring again, shifting to the living room. The adults sipped coffee nearby. Victoria let out a long breath.
“I’ve been going to her school things,” she said. “Dance recitals, parent nights. Just…trying to be there.”
“How’s it going?” Elena asked quietly.
Victoria actually smiled. “Good. Strange. But good. She waves at me now. Last week, she drew this…” She pulled out her phone, handing it to Alexander.
A stick-figure family: Mommy. Daddy. Me. Aunt Victoria.
“She included you,” Alexander said.
“I’m…in her family now. I taped it to my fridge. First thing I’ve ever put there.”
No one talked for a minute, just listening to Lily coach Leo on staying inside the lines while Leo insisted his triceratops lived on the sun.
Victoria broke the quiet. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you miss it? Work. Building things. Having…purpose outside just…being.”
Alexander nodded. “Yeah. I really do.”
“Me too.” She stared into her coffee. “I love having this time. I love Lily. But I miss solving messy problems. I miss being the best at something.”
“It’s not the same kind of challenge,” Alexander said. “Parenting is just…hold-on-tight-and-don’t-break-anyone.”
“You’re both plenty good at parenting,” Elena said.
“It’s not the same,” Alexander replied. “That was expertise. A whole different part of me.”
Victoria looked relieved. “Exactly. I like having time for Lily, but sometimes at her recitals I’m planning business strategy in my head and then I feel…guilty for not being a hundred percent there.”
Elena smiled. “You can do both. You love her and you miss using your brain for big stuff. It doesn’t mean you’re doing either wrong.”
Victoria nodded slowly. “Maybe I’ll do something smaller. On my own. Something with ethics I can control.”
Alexander grinned sideways. “I’ve been thinking consulting, too. Choosing my own clients.”
Victoria’s lips twitched. “Want to work together? You do ops, I’ll do strategy.”
He laughed. “Not the worst idea ever.”
She nudged him. “Hey. Be nice. It’s actually pretty brilliant.”
Elena sat back, watching the ease return between them—banter that felt new and old at once.
Soon, Lily appeared, tugging at Victoria’s sleeve. “Can Leo stay longer? We’re building a castle.”
Elena checked the time. “Maybe half an hour more. School tomorrow.”
Lily’s face lit up. “Yes!” She ran off toward Leo. “We have thirty minutes!”
“That’s a whole lifetime!” Leo declared. “We can build a million castles!”
The kids returned to their kingdom of blocks. The grown-ups just…talked. Nothing important.
Just Saturday night stuff—shows, books, ridiculous headlines. For a little while, things were easy again.
When Leo finally started yawning, Alexander scooped him up.
“We should head home,” he said.
Victoria stood, walking with them to the door. Lily trailed after, clutching the stuffed elephant.
“Thanks for coming,” Victoria said quietly.
“Thanks for having us,” Elena said, meaning it.
Lily gave Leo a fierce hug. “Bye, Leo. Next time?”
Leo nodded, eyes drooping. “We have to finish the castle. And I have to tell you about Velociraptors.”
Victoria smiled. “Anytime, Lily.”
In the elevator, Leo snuggled his new elephant. “Lily is awesome. Can we go back?”
Alexander tousled his hair. “Absolutely.”
“Good. She needs to know about Velociraptors. She doesn’t know enough.”
“That’s a real emergency, bud.”
“I KNOW.”
Halfway home, Leo passed out in his car seat.
“That was good,” Elena said, her voice low.
“Really good. She seems…it’s like she can breathe again.”
“She is. And honestly, so do you.”
Alexander glanced at her, startled. “What do you mean?”
“You two actually admitted missing work out loud. That’s huge.”
He was quiet for a moment. “We’re not jumping back in—”
She smiled. “I know. But you’re thinking about building something new. That’s big.”
They pulled into the garage, carried Leo upstairs, slid him into pajamas and tucked him in amidst dinosaurs and a new member to the herd. The routine felt comfortable—safe.
“Two elephants,” Elena whispered. “He’s starting a collection.”
Alexander grinned. “Next up: twenty elephants.”
“Don’t plant ideas.”
They stood outside Leo’s door a minute, just watching him sleep, the ceiling stars painting soft patterns above.
“Today was good,” Alexander said.
“It was. Victoria’s really trying. And Lily’s starting to trust her.”
“Yeah.”
Once alone in their room, the old pattern took over—teeth, pajamas, lights low.
Elena’s phone pinged before she turned it off.
Victoria: Thank you for coming tonight. Thank you for letting Lily see what family looks like. Love you both.
Elena showed the message to Alexander.
“She never says stuff like that,” he said.
“I know.”
He looked at her. “Should I…?”
“Yeah. I think you should.”
So Elena typed: Love you too. Same time next month?
Victoria replied almost instantly: Yes. I’ll try cooking next time.
Elena: Please don’t. Gramercy Tavern works for us.
Victoria: Fair enough.
Elena finally set the phone down and turned out the light. Alexander pulled her close.
“Things are changing.”
She smiled, eyes just closing. “The best kind of change.”
“What do you think happens next?”
She let her breath out. “I have no idea. But for the first time in a long time, I’m actually okay with that.”
He squeezed her hand. “We’ll figure it out. Like always.”
“Always together.”
The city murmured outside. Her family slept. Down the hall, Leo dreamed of castles and elephants and the future.
Victoria was building something with Lily. Alexander was dreaming again. Elena, for the first time, was just…content.
No crisis to brace for. No threats lurking. Just the world moving, breath by breath, into something new.
And, honestly, that was everything. That was enough.
Tomorrow would be tomorrow.
They’d meet it, hand in hand.
The way families do.