Mugs

After storming out of Chris's home, Persephone jumped into the Sequoia hurriedly and drove out of the property- she couldn't get out of there quick enough, however, a new uncomfortable feeling emerged the moment she was outside the gate: she felt displaced, vulnerable and exposed.

And she had nowhere the go.

Not for the first time since she began dating Chris, she began to question if she was cut out for relationships and every undesirable binding attached to them, which included family members she wasn't too fond of. Micaela was no problem, but Persephone was in no mood to see his mother since she was still nursing the wounds from Christmas day as it was... nay, she was seething from them. She did not trust herself to remain calm and collected in the face of rude remarks tonight, even if they came from the woman that bore the only man she had ever loved.

She drove around aimlessly with a gaping wound on her chest that prevented her from breathing normally. She wanted to go home- to her home, not to some home she moved into where a guy was already living.

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised when she found herself longing to be close to her former residence.

An hour after fighting the urge to loiter on her old street, Persephone found herself sitting on a wooden bench in the back of a storefront that sold ceramic housewares surrounded by brown and beige paint and a sea of soup mugs that needed painting. The space was large and cold, and it smelled strongly of chemicals and paint.

The room was full of plain rectangular tables covered in newspaper, the edge of which flapped in the wind every time the back door opened, and more people arrived. Some groups came together and took up whole tables, and other small groups sat with other small groups making a small cluster of possible new friends.

As for Persephone, as soon as she walked inside, her eyes went to the very back of the space where it was desolate and devoid of others. She wasn't in the mood to meet new people tonight so she immediately took many trips from the table to the shelves bringing back as many soup mugs as she could carry. Ultimately, she decided on ten mugs because she figured they would keep her busy enough through the end of "visiting hours".

Nearly two hours later, Persephone had meticulously painted the eighth mug with dark brown paint on the inside and a soft beige on the outside. She had been hunched over so long without a break, her neck and her back muscles were starting to feel strained. She stood and stretched her body a little before tackling the last two mugs.

"Are you planning on going into the coffee mug business or are you just obsessed with the things?" A newly familiar masculine voice called from behind her as its owner made the journey across from her. "Mind if I sit down?"

It was close to ten o'clock when Persephone felt ready to face Chris and it was all thanks to an unlikely ally. Wyatt invited Persephone back Munch House & Buy Coffee after ceramics. He prepared her a latte and invited her to join him in his office so they could tale in peace. Which they did, like old friends. Just being able to talk to someone in person who was not related to Chris in any way helped get her out of the emotional funk she found herself in earlier.

Wyatt made her laugh easily and he inspired trust in her. She spoke to him about her life before the lottery win, and about her decision to move to Seattle to get away from her sad existence in California and to be alone. She didn't say much about her relationship with Chris on purpose other than he made her happy. The guy was obviously attracted to her, and she recognized she wasn't indifferent where he was concerned but that was one of proverbial can of worms she was not going to open.

She found out Wyatt was a stockbroker before opening the coffee shop- and a rather successful one at that, but like her, he didn't want to sell his time to someone else. They spoke about art museums in the city, and theatre. They had a lot in common.

She noticed his employees began coming into the office near ten o'clock to put away the nightly tills. Not wanting to be in the way, Persephone picked up her unfinished cup of coffee and said goodbye. rejecting Wyatt's invitation to stay longer if she wanted to.

By the time she left the coffee shop, her bad mood had lifted completely.

When she pulled up to Chris's home, she realized there was an extra car in the driveway, meaning he still had company. Persephone took a deep breath to consider whether or not she was ready to face Maggie Ericson or if she should just book a hotel room for the night and return tomorrow morning.

She couldn't run away forever she mused just as Chris appeared through the door. She shut off the engine and opened the door just as Chris opened the passenger side door.

"Where have you been?" He asked in a serious tone. "Mom is here to apologize, she's been waiting for hours."

Persephone sighed, snapping her gaze toward him, taking a deep breath before responding. "Well, I've been waiting for that apology since Christmas day." She managed to utter calmly, noticing as Chris reached for the coffee cup in the cup holder.

"You went to see that guy?" He reproached with a look of anger.

While still sitting in the vehicle, Persephone crossed her arms and looked at Chris. "After I walked out of here, I had nowhere to go, Chris. I remember Wyatt mentioned the ceramics painting workshop, so I went there, and he happened to show up. From there, we went to his shop for coffee, and we talked like friends. And it was nice," she stressed. "And despite your tone and whatever thoughts you're having, I can look you in the eyes because I respected you and our relationship all night. So no, I did not go to see that guy."

She grabbed her purse and exited the vehicle in a huff.

She stormed inside the house to see the sisters sitting in the living room. Their eyes turned to her when she walked inside.

"Hello, darling," Micaela immediately spoke as she stood up, not allowing the moment to usurp any awkwardness. "Did you have a nice evening?"

Persephone nodded. "It was grand," she said dryly as she walked to Micaela to greet her with a hug. She turned to Maggie and simply nodded curtly. "Maggie."

Persephone noticed Chris's mom looked uncomfortable. "Hello, Persephone."

Chris walked inside then.

After a moment of silence and no move from Maggie that pushed the meeting toward an apology, Persephone spoke again. "If you'll excuse me, I'm tired so I'm going to head upstairs to bed."

"Erm, before you go," Micaela's words halted her. "Maggie has something she wants to tell you."

Persephone sighed. She just wanted to get this over and done with so she could go to bed.

"Yes," Maggie immediately stood clasping her nervous hands. "Persephone, I owe you an apology for the way I behaved on Christmas day."

Persephone shrugged. "Fine." She was about to head upstairs but Micaela grabbed her arm.

"There's more, darling, you know I'm on your side where this is concerned but I feel you need to hear Maggie out." Micaela motioned for her to sit next to her.

Before sitting, she gave Chris a quick glance. He sat next to his mom, reaching for her hand. He was looking at his mom.

Maggie looked at Persephone. "I'm sorry for inviting Michelle. I shouldn't have tried to push her on Chris, especially in front of you." She spoke softly. "You see, Paul and I always wanted a large family," she began, "but Chris was all we got. And now he's our only hope for a large family."

Micaela laughed out loud. "Maggie! Stop being so emotionally dramatic!" She leaned forward. For the first time. Persephone noticed a laptop on the coffee table. "The truth is, my private investigator found Michelle's Peep Show profile. Are you familiar with Peep Show?" Micaela asked her.

Persephone nodded. Peep Show was an app where people could offer subscriptions for risqué interactions. which may include nudity or sexual acts online.

Micaela logged into the computer and opened up an e-mail message. She spun the computer toward Persephone. Pictures of Michelle in full naked splendor, pre and post breast augmentation were displayed in front of her - as was every inch of Michelle.

Micaela chuckled as she pointed to the pictures. "Maggie didn't think this was proper mother-of-her-grandchildren material, especially since she was fully exposing where said children would be coming out of."

Persephone laughed and nodded. She turned to Maggie. "Do you know I earned a living as a human butt pillow for a while there?"

She nodded.

Chris immediately added. "After the misunderstanding with Carter Hansen, I told her."

She nodded and stood. "Okay, well glad it's all out there." She began walking toward the stairs. She'd had enough of today and just wanted to get it over with.

Realizing she held the power, she stopped. "Oh, but there's one more thing," she held a finger up as she spun around to look at Maggie. "It's up to me and Chris if and when we decide to have children. I don't want any more ill feelings between us Maggie, let me assure you I can get past this," she motioned around her, "but you need to back off where kids are concerned. Do you agree to that?"

Maggie sighed and looked down. She nodded.

Satisfied, Persephone went upstairs. She went through her bedtime routine and dressed in a black tank top and pink pajama shorts. She grabbed her laptop and began looking for properties. She didn't care if she lived in a hobbit house, she just needed her own space.

Chris walked in moments later. He placed his hands in his pockets as she stood at the end of the bed. He sighed. "Thay's my mom, babe," he spoke softly. "What did you want me to do?"

Persephone stared at him. "Your house has six other bedrooms. You can sleep in one of those tonight."