This is bad. Why did I do that? Why did I say that? Shoot!  I shouldn't have done that. Mikey's mind is in a state of turmoil as he paces his living room floor. The events following his and Cheyenne's lunch was amazing, he was on cloud nine. On top of the world. He finally took a step in the right direction. The kiss he stole on the elevator ride up to their office was nothing short of magical. 

So why is it that a few hours into the night, his mind took a nose dive into its usual dark crevices of self doubt. When he got home, he did the usual. He showered, he changed and he started to make his dinner. Then the phone rang and that's where his night took a turn for the worse. He had completely forgotten about the dinner he promised to have with Caroline. So when she called to say that she was right outside, there was nothing he could do to prevent it from happening.

As he opened the door she breezed past him.

 "Hello Michael, you would not believe the day I had. My car broke down on the way to the hair dresser so I missed my appointment. I had to move it to 11:00 am.  I had a luncheon at 12:30 for the Fifty and Fabulous Women's Club and how could I go if I wasn't looking fabulous..." She set her purse on the settee and walked over to the kitchen. 

"Are you cooking?" she asked opening and closing the pots n the stove

"Hello, mother and yes I am. I completely forgot about our dinner."

"Michael are you feeling ok?"

"Yes why?" he asks skeptically

"You didn't call me Caroline which is what you do when you are upset with me"

"Well, I am but my day was good today surprisingly"

"Michael I am so happy to hear. Well since you are already cooking. There's no need to go to a restaurant, although I was looking forward to eating something gourmet. But this will suffice"

"Uh okay..." Michael went to stir the pot of fettuccine he had been boiling. The shrimp was already fried. "Its just shrimp fettuccine in a sauce, I found the recipe online."

"That's fine darling. Any who my hair was a complete mess. I had to call Simon and..."

The sound of the impostor's name ran cold through him. Suddenly the rush he felt that night when meeting him came back to haunt him. All feelings of bliss slowly drifted away. No Mikey. He thought to himself. You had a good day today. Nothing will ruin it. Not even your mother. His thoughts took him away from their conversation. So when she tapped him on the shoulder he jumped making the water from the pasta splash everywhere, a few droplets scorching his hand for a millisecond.

"Michael be careful!" She chastised. 

"Sorry what were you saying?" dumping the pasta in a colander to drain it.

"I was saying at the mention of Simon's name that I wanted to talk to you about that. I need you to understand that he is a good man."

"Let's talk over dinner. The food is almost ready, you should go wash up while I get the plates out." Mikey wasn't ready to think about these things yet. He knew where these thoughts would take him, he didn't want to go back there. Her in the bathroom would buy him some time. Stay calm Mikey and you will get through this. 

A few minutes later the food was ready and he shared each of their portions. They sat at the table close to the balcony. It truly was a lovely view he had of the skyline and city. At 7 o'clock, they were entering the twilight zone and the city was being lit by street lights and cars going by as the last red orange tints of the sunset disappeared over the horizon. 

"So this is nice Michael isn't it? Just a mother and son spending time together over dinner, that, by the way, tastes lovely honey . When do we ever get to do this?" She asks twisting her fork into the pasta.

"We would do it more often if you didn't betray my father and make me punch a man." She stops twisting and the fork clinks against the ceramic plate.

"Stop it! I did not betray your father! He was a good man and I loved him dearly!" She says pouring herself a glass of wine.

"Loved."

"Yes loved because he is gone. And you never visit. So I was alone."

"It has only been seven months. How could you be done grieving, what you gave it two months mourning and that's it?" The food that she described as delicious before was now tasteless in his mouth. 

"No Michael. I do still love him but he is gone. At some point you have to let go and live again. That's why I am so worried about you."

"Worried about me? That's a first." Mikey snorted as he  leaned back in his chair and looking away from his so called mother.

"Michael look at me! I know you think I am an awful mother but I tried. I did my best to raise you and keep our family together. And like it or not you are my son and I do worry about you. I just didn't know how to help you. I was grieving myself Michael"

"Why is it that the women in my life didn't know how to help me in the time I needed them the most?"

Caroline sighed. " I am sorry honey. I tried but you were always angry. You never spoke to me and you refused grief counselling even at church. What was I supposed to do?"

"You should have tried harder Caroline."

"That's not fair. And I will not apologize for finding a man who loves me and cares for me even if it only has been 7 months since your father passed. There's no time limit Michael!" Her voice was now at a different pitch signalling that she was at the brink of crying. 

"Well clearly there isn't because you went and found one as soon as you could." Michael. At this point no one was eating. The food was losing heat that seemed to only fuel their argument.

"You know what I have had enough of this. I do not know how to explain this to you so I signed us up for counselling."

"You did what?" Mikey asked getting up from his chair. He turned towards the balcony to ignore what Caroline had just said. I can't believe this woman. 

"Michael honey you didn't deal with your father's death well, you punched your cousin, you punched Simon. You are angry and aggressive. You need counselling." She got up to stand beside him.

" I can't believe you. I don't need counselling and I certainly don't need you trying to be a mother right now."

"Michael don't say that."

"I think you should go." He said staring out into the darkening sky that seemed to match the his current mood. 

"No I am not. We need to talk about a few more things."

"No we do not" He marched over to the settee to grab her purse then towards the door. " I have nothing more to say to you". As he opened the door to let out his mother, there stood a beautiful curly haired blond in the door way who seemed as if she was about to knock.

"Is this a bad time?" she asked.

......

"Chrissy? What are you doing here?" Mikey whispered. He did not want Caroline to know that she was here. It would just make his night a whole lot worse. He closed the door a little not knowing what to do. A curse word came to mind that described the situation he was in but he dare not say it aloud.

"Michael this non-sense. I am not leaving." Caroline said coming over to him and yanking her purse away. "And why are you standing awkwardly at the door like that?"

"Uh no reason?" he said trying to shut the door before she had the opportunity to look outside.

"Hi? Mrs. Brooks?" Chrissy said and Mikey whipped his head around to look at her What are you doing? She only smiled. She knows exactly what she is doing. 

"Is that Chrissy?" Caroline said moving around him to get a view of the person in the door way. "What are you doing standing outside, come in. Michael why are you being so rude?"

This is it. He has lost and his worst nightmare is coming to life before his very eyes. He stood and watched as his mother sat Chrissy down on the settee and went to get her water. "I didn't mean to intrude on your dinner" he heard Chrissy say. Caroline brushed it off and continued to act as if they weren't having a heated argument only a minute ago. This woman is unbelievable. 

Accepting defeat Michael went to clear the table. Both of their food was barely touched but Caroline's wine glass was practically empty. 

"So you came to see Michael?" Caroline said, her voice a  bit too up beat considering the most recent events.

"Uh yea, I saw him yesterday and I just wanted to come by to talk"

"You saw him? where?"

"At church, we-"

"You went to church together? That is so nice. Any chance of getting back together?" Caroline said with too much excitement

Chrissy looked over her shoulder at Michael who was scraping all the uneaten food into a plastic container. He looked up for a moment and their eyes met. She smiled. 

"We will see. I hope so" she replied returning her attention to Caroline. 

"I hope so too" she gushed. "Well I should go and leave you two love birds to talk. Michael?"

"Hmm?" Mikey was busying himself with washing the plates. He was doing all he could to avoid any type of three-away conversation. He really couldn't handle it. Chrissy's presence alone made his heart race. His mind drifted back to the events of the previous day and questions started to arise. Questions he wanted to ask but was afraid to get the answers to.

"Michael the sessions are at 5 pm on Tuesdays and Thursday. I will text you the address. His name is Dr. Phillips, he is amazing."

Mikey just stares at her. If she thinks I am going, she's sadly mistaken. " Well then I am going to get going. I love you Michael and Chrissy lovely to see you again". The two females hug and in a few seconds Caroline was out the door; leaving Chrissy and Mikey alone.

....

Mikey continues to pace the room as he contemplates his next move and the severity of his words. His heart rate increases as the conversation with Chrissy replayed in his mind. I need water. With a glass of water in hand he decides to check the time. It is 11 pm. He should be in bed but he is up waiting for her to return with a duffel bag of clothes. What was I thinking? She said she was only staying until Thursday. Then she can go back home to stay with her parents, they are on a cruise.

After Caroline left. The room got heavy. Mikey was unsure of what to say or do with her. So she talked. She said she was sorry about the night that they  had sex. She said that she still loves him and that got Mikey deep as she was crying when she said it. He never liked to see a woman cry. 

She explained how her living situation was a mess. Since her and Matt broke up, she had no place to stay as she had been living with him for the past two months. Jonathan and Raquel were now out of town so that left him. When she explained her situation he was confused again. What should he do? It was obvious he still cared for her. She was his first love... maybe still is. She had gotten up to leave, when he stopped her and told her she could stay for a while, until Raquel came back or she could go stay with her parents. 

He had offered to follow her to Matt's house to get clothes but she said it would not be necessary, since he was working the night shift as a security guard. He still didn't know why they broke up. He didn't ask and she didn't say. This week he would find out.

Mikey you are an idiot. He thought as he sat quietly in the kitchen contemplating what he is going to say to her. His apartment had a small spare room opposite to his bedroom. She can sleep there. He took a deep sigh. How am I going to explain this to Cheyenne? I told her that I like her today and now I have my ex girlfriend staying with me. God, I know you are there. What am I doing? I know this will probably make life worse, but it will get better right? It's not a train its the light at the end of a tunnel. He tries to reassure himself as he recalls the painting Cheyenne showed him earlier that day. It feels like it happened ages ago. Its the light at the end of a tunnel.

As the memory surfaces in his mind the door opens and  Chrissy enters with two bags on her shoulders. 

"Hey, I grabbed most of what I could." she says shedding the weight at the door.

" Need some help?" 

"Sure." Mikey grabs the bags and proceeds to what will be her bedroom for the next few days. He places the bag next to the bed and turns to her.

"This is it. The sheets are fresh and the bathroom is right down the hall. Its one bathroom so we have to share. I wake up at 5:30 for work so I hope I don't disturb you." He turns to leave but she touches his arm gently and places a quick soft kiss on his cheek. 

"Thank you Mikey". Mikey can only manage a nod then closes the bedroom door behind him. He walks straight into his room a flops face down onto a pillow. Oh God what have I done?