The next month passed quickly as Vanessa and I made plans for our stay in Wales. We found a rental house near the filming location. It was big enough for our family, plus my mom and dad. They would come for the first couple weeks just to spend time with us and then head back. It would be great to have them around to help while we all get settled.

I booked the tickets and found out how to get Nora enrolled in online school. Hunter College High was being very helpful in coordinating her absence. All her work with online school would transfer back to her school record. As the date neared, Nora seemed to be getting more excited about the whole thing, but she also seemed worried about leaving her mom. She stayed at her mom's more than usual, which was fine with me. Laura was attending rehab daily and had been sober for one month.

The day finally came when it was time to go. The flight was around 7 hours, so we decided to book an evening flight, so the boys would hopefully sleep on the way over. Francisco tanked out quickly, but Sebastian was unable to settle down. He babbled and whined well into the night.

We arrived in Cardiff around noon local time. We got a taxi to our little house and started looking around. There was a good-sized yard, so we were happy to have that for the boys to run around. Soon after we headed to lunch. Most of us got fish and chips, which we were told was one of the best British foods.

By mid-afternoon, Sebastian was getting incredibly fussy. He'd barely slept the night before. We planned to walk around the town a little bit and I ended up carrying him most of the time. When he got upset and tired, he was very clingy. Sometime during the walk, he fell asleep in my arms.

We decided to head home and relax for the evening. Our boxes had been delivered so they were all crowded in the various rooms. We'd get started on those tomorrow. Everyone hit the hay early, exhausted from the travelling and the jet lag.

In the morning, we were a bit spryer. We took it easy during the morning, just enjoying a slow breakfast and letting the boys play in the yard. Vanessa started to research some of the tourist attractions nearby, which included a lot of castles. I knew Sebastian would be thrilled. We decided to explore one that afternoon.

Nora was a bit quiet as we walked around the ruins. I'm sure she was thinking about her mother, wondering how she was doing. As the others walked ahead I hung back so I could talk to her. I put my arm around her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"You okay, kiddo?" I asked. She shrugged. Typical response.

"Are you thinking about your mom?" I ventured. She nodded, her arms crossed as we walked.

"I'm sure she's doing fine," I assured her. "Leslie's with her a lot of the time. Maybe we can FaceTime tomorrow."

"What if she relapses while I'm here?"

"Then we'll deal with it," I said. "But she seems to be on a good path. She's been clean for a whole month."

The weather was typical Britain – overcast and dreary. It started to rain lightly so we stepped underneath an awning.

"Say goodbye to the sunshine for a few months," I told her.

When we got home around 5, Nora decided to FaceTime with her mom before dinner. With the time difference it was around noon. She took her phone back to her bedroom and was back there for almost an hour. I tried not to think about the phone charges.

I figured she should be done by now, and we were almost ready to head to dinner, so I knocked on her door. She was laying face down on her bed, head in her arms, and I could hear her sniffling. I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and began rubbing her back gently.

"Sweetheart, what happened?"

"She drank last night," she reported through her cheers. My heart dropped. She'd been doing so well. She'd been sober for a month.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said gently. "Trying to stop is hard."

She kept crying softly and I wasn't really sure what to say.

"She looked awful," she continued.

"I'm sure if she needs more help, Leslie will take her to the hospital," I said as I kept rubbing her back. "Try not to think about it too much."

I gently pulled at her hip with my hand to get her to turn over. "We're about to go out to dinner. I bet that will help you feel better."

"I don't feel like it," she muttered, her face stained with tears.

"Okay," I said softly, not wanting to push her. "Want us to bring you back something?"

She requested a cheeseburger and fries and a Coke. I left her in her room and told the rest of the family she needed some alone time. My parents didn't know everything about Nora's mother. They didn't ask, not wanting to pry, but we ended up talking quite a bit about it at dinner. They just felt badly for Nora.

"It's a shame she can't get herself together for her daughter's sake," my mom commented.

"She's trying, mom," I argued. "Addiction's a difficult thing."

"Yeah, but to put your own child through finding you passed out drunk? How can she let it get that far?"

"I don't know, mom, but we're all doing the best we can," I said. "Having her with me full time is obviously the best thing for her right now."

"I'll say," my dad commented. I threw back the rest of my beer as the waitress cleared away our plates. Since Nora wanted to be by herself, we decided to hang out a little longer. They had a little play area outside, so we took the boys out and found a picnic table.

When we got home, Nora was sitting out on the porch barefoot. The boys were asleep, so my parents carried them inside and up to bed. I took a seat next to Nora on the little bench and passed her the take out bag with her dinner.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She looked at me, confused. "What?"

"It's an expression," I explained. "What's on your mind?"

She unwrapped her burger and took a bite and chewed.

"I'm thinking the Welsh don't know how to make a good cheeseburger," she scrunched up her nose.

"That good, huh?" I reached into my jacket and pulled out a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar. Chocolate was one of the few things the British did right food-wise. "At least there's some chocolate to redeem them."

Nora accepted the gift and put it to the side. I figured the chocolate couldn't hurt.

"Dad, did you ever think about marrying my mom when you were with her?"

That question threw me a bit off kilter. I'd never really thought about it. I sat back and pondered it for a moment.

"Not really, honestly," I told her. "We were both really young and we were only together for about a month."

"Why did you sleep with her so fast?"

"Nora, that's not really an appropriate question to ask your father," I told her.

"Why not?" She pushed back.

"I'm not talking to you about that," I said. "It's private."

"Is that really a good example to set for me?" she asked. "I mean, do you want me sleeping around like that when I get older?"

"Nora, what's with these questions?" I asked her. She shrugged and shoved a few fries in her mouth. "When you grow up I just hope you'll wait until you're in a committed relationship before you choose to...go down that road."

"You mean have sex?" She said bluntly.

"Yeah," I said. "It's a special thing and you should be with someone you really love."

"Did you love my mom?"

Man, this kid was killing me. I knew I needed to be honest. She deserved honest answers.

"Well, not exactly," I said sheepishly. "I cared a lot about her. We had a lot in common."

She just nodded as she kept chewing. Vanessa pushed the door open and popped her head out.

"Lin? Sebastian's asking for you," she said.

I reached over and stole a fry from Nora then stood up to see what was up. I walked upstairs to find little man in his bed, looking unhappy.

"What's up, buddy?" I sat on his bed and gave his tummy a little rub.

"I want you to read me a story," he said.

"Didn't mommy already read to you?"

"Yeah but she doesn't do the voices like you do," he said, and I smirked. That's what I get for being in entertainment. My kid is always expecting elaborate story times. I couldn't deny a request for a story so I told him to pick out one. I scooted to the head of his bed and he climbed into my lap with the book.

As I read he giggled as I did the voices. I rested my chin on his head, smelling his hair. Both my boys had their own scents and I couldn't get enough. When I finished, I tossed the book onto the floor and moved Sebastian off my lap. I tucked him in and kissed him goodnight.

The adults stayed up a bit longer and Nora disappeared into her room. When it was finally time for bed, I climbed in next to Vanessa. She wanted to know how Nora was doing.

"When she FaceTimed her mom, she said she'd relapsed. Drank last night," I reported, and she sighed.

"She was doing so well," Vanessa commented.

"I know," I shrugged. "Had an odd conversation with Nora earlier."

"Oh yeah?"

"She was asking me about my relationship with her mom and whether I loved her and why did we have sex so fast," I explained. "She was getting really personal."

"She's probably just curious about how she came to be," Vanessa explained. "That's good she can talk to you about that sort of thing."

"Well, I'd rather not," I said honestly. "Isn't that your job?" I teased.

"She's your daughter," she pointed out, smiling. "I'm already having to talk to Sebastian about how it's not polite to stick his hands down his pants in public. Just like his dad."

I gave her a gentle push in protest. She giggled and leaned forward to give me a kiss.

"You should be glad she's talking to you," she said. "A lot of teenagers shut their parents out."

I nodded, seeing her point.

"I love you," I whispered.

"Love you too," she whispered back. We cuddled together in bed before finally drifting off to sleep.