Chapter 9 - Mistakes and Chances Anew

Rhiannon and Glynnis aren't very good at bonding, but they try the best that they can.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"What can I do to make you smile again?"

The fact that even her kid daughter's seen just how worn and exhausted Rhiannon is getting makes her feel both uncomfortable and warm inside. She looks down at Glynnis and forces a faint smile.

"Kid, just sitting here with you tonight makes me smile. You just keep being you, okay?"

Glynnis grins.

Quiet nights of bonding are at an end, however. That evening, the both wake up from Rhiannon's labor pains.

"MOM! Mom, what can I do?!"

"There's nothing you can do, kid," Rhiannon pants, rubbing her belly as she pulls out her apartment keys. "Just lay down, all right? I'll be back before you go to school."

Because fate likes to deal twisted hands, Rhiannon ends up with a pair. Two daughters: Athena and Tiara.

Glynnis didn't quite believe her mother when she said she'd be back in the morning, but sure enough, when she emerges from the bedroom she finds Rhiannon pouring two bowls of cereal, Glynnis's two half-sisters dozing in the cheap cribs that Rhiannon could only barely afford. Glynnis notes the disappearance of the television in the corner. She has no idea how bad their financial situation is with all of these maternity days, but she doesn't need to.

Glynnis grabs her bowl of cereal and looks up at her mother seriously as she begins to eat. Rhiannon chuckles. "Don't you wanna see the other kids?"

"Are you okay, Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay. Good." And then she begins to eat, even though she's clearly antsy. She finishes her breakfast before meeting the two babies, which both amuses and touches Rhiannon. Even if she is a crappy mother, her kid's got a sense of loyalty to her. How bizarre.

But the next few days diminish that belief considerably.

Rhiannon tries her best. She really does. She throws herself into caring for the two babies and in helping Glynnis with her homework as much as she can, but by two days afterward she is a sweaty mess. When Tiara finishes eating, suddenly Athena needs to. And then Tiara needs her diaper changed. And then Athena needs a snuggle.

By the end of that second day, Rhiannon knows she is a failure as a parent. But she refuses to break down. She refuses to acknowledge the strain everything is putting on her. Instead, she ignores the colicky cries of her babies and takes a long, hot shower, making herself look pristine. And then she makes a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Matthew." He'd called her once before to invite her to a party, but she refused to go outside with her pregnancy, especially since the twins made her walk as ungainly as they did already. But she has yet to contact him since then.

"Rhiannon?" He sounds surprised, but not displeased. If anything, he simply sounds curious. "Wow, hey there. I thought you'd dropped off the face of the planet for a while there."

She leans her head back against the wall of the bathroom, listening to her two babies finally begin to quiet down, most likely from sheer exhaustion. With the silence, she can pretend they don't even exist. "I had some things to take care of. But I started thinking about you tonight. I wanted to check up on you."

"Yeah? Things are all right. Shooting with Emmy Star's driving me up a wall, but-"

"Hey, Matthew?"

"Yeah?"

"Still interested in picking up where we left off?"

There is a moment of silence before he speaks again, his voice low and slightly rough. "Just where were you thinking of picking up?"

"I asked myself that tonight, actually. I asked myself that a lot. In the shower."

There is the soft sound of his breath drifting across the receiver, faint but enough that Rhiannon draws power and confidence from it. "And did you come up with any answers?"

"Oh, I came up with a lot of answers. I'm interested in trying them all."

"When?"

"Tonight."

He chuckles softly, a soft hint of gravel in the laugh. "That sounds wonderful. I've thought about you a lot, too. Every night since I met you." He drops his voice to a silky murmur. "It's like you put a spell on me that night."

The drinks come to mind. She decides now might not be the best time to mention it. "I'm serious. Feel like going on a little adventure tonight?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Dodge the paparazzi. Come to my place. Meet me on the tenth floor."

"Rhiannon, I have another shoot in like five hours. Do you even know what time-"

"I can make it worth your while, Matthew. Just a little time in the elevator."

He groans softly. "Give me fifteen minutes. You'd better be ready for me."

"Oh, but Matthew," she purrs. "I already am."

She takes that fifteen minutes to apply perfume and makeup and to fix her hair and clothing, and by the time that 1:30am rolls around she's snuck outside her apartment doorway. There is a long tense three minutes where she paces, every inch of her skin quivering, and then the elevator door opens.

She isn't disappointed.

He looks perfectly coiffed, just as she suspected, but there is a fire in his dilated pupils that takes her breath away. He approaches her, but she sidesteps with a coy smirk. "Now, now, Matthew," she murmurs.

"You tease me now?" he growls, reaching out a hand to her but having it fall short. "When I had to spend half an hour with you dancing around in my mind in nothing but my scarf? I don't do well with teasing, Rhiannon."

"There are cameras everywhere," she breathes, backing into the elevator button and pressing it. "Except perhaps...for the one place it really matters. All hail technical difficulties."

When the doors part again, she slips inside and he follows. They're barely shut before he takes hold of her.

As expected, Matthew departs shortly after the quickie, barely looking over his shoulder at her as he emerges from the elevator. She likes it like that. He's got commitment issues, just like she does. It sort of makes them fit.

She scrubs her skin of his scent before she takes herself to bed. Glynnis doesn't need to know just how much of a whore her mother really is, no matter how fulfilled she feels right now.

When she wakes up the next morning, she remembers it is her birthday.

She feels older now...but cougars certainly have their place in society these days.

And what follows shortly after that is really no surprise this time around. Rhiannon can't even find it in herself to be disappointed or upset. If she's going to take care of twins, she might as well add another baby onto this list. But the first second that she has the money...she's getting her tubes tied. No questions asked.

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Remember when Rhi used to wear things other than maternity clothes? Yeah, me neither.

CURSE YOU AND THE TWINS, BARRY. Rhiannon was literally at a red plumbob level for the entire first few days before Matthew called her and they chatted on the phone and she rolled a wish to WooHoo with him. Really, who was I to deny her when she'd been having such a hard time of it?

Of course, she got pregnant again. I'm not a saint, after all. xD