Giving in

ERIKA

"Hi ma'am, it's nice to finally meet you," Erika spoke out, putting her hand out for Julia to shake even if Julia herself looked stupefied. She wasn't expecting this as her eyes moved from Erika, scanning her face, to her hands. Nigel stepped closer to them and stared at his mother expectantly, mirroring Erika's expression. Julia broke into a small smile.

"I was dying to meet you too. We need to have a long chat indeed," Julia, with a small smile, shook her hand gently. That's what told her that if she wanted to fix anything, she had to do it all herself. Erika knew what that meant and it didn't just account for Julia but everyone else.

And she would. For herself. For them. For Nigel.

She knew that before getting her hopes too up and watching it all eventually crumble, she had to take slow but productive steps. She knew she shouldn't try to butt her way into their lives but if she wanted to do this the right way, she had to make sure she was at least taken under consideration an