A Second Chance

Chapter 14

“Kiana, what are you doing here,” a shocked voice cried out. Ally’s head snapped away from the child and to the storm door. She saw Evan and a woman standing there. The woman was frantically reaching for the door knob. Sensing Benny was already spooked, she yelled out to the couple to not open the door. “I need to secure Benny first,” she explained. She quickly put him back in his cage, and then motioned for them to come in.

Kiana glared at the woman as she entered the house. “Geez Miranda are you trying to scare the bird away? I’m sorry Ally. Miranda likes to ruin things.”

The woman looked hurt, and she looked to Evan for help. “I’m sure she didn’t realize he might try to fly out the door Kiana,” Ally tried to quell some of the awkwardness. “Coriene asked Kiana to bring me some food, and she asked to meet Benny. He’s usually not a flight risk, but with the flight and the new surroundings he’s been a little nervous. Hi, I’m Ally the consultant that will be working with Evan for the next few months,” she extended her hand to Miranda.

Miranda reached out to Ally tentatively. “Hi, I’m Miranda. I’m Evan’s girlfriend.” Ally could see Kiana scrunch up her face. There was obviously some tension there “I live with Evan and Kiana in the main house. I am sure we will be seeing you around,” Miranda replied.

They stood in silence for a few moments until Evan cleared his throat. “Kiana we should be going.”

“But I want to see Benny,” the girl whined. “I’m not a baby. I can walk back to the house on my own.”

Ally heard Benny strike the side of the cage with his beak and make his “karate chop” sound signaling he was agitated. “Kiana I’m sorry, but Benny is in a mood now. I don’t want to risk you getting bit. He’s a good bird, but he can get snappy when he’s agitated. Maybe we can get him out on Wednesday evening?”

“I guess,” Kiana replied with her voice dripping with disappointment.

Evan looked over to Ally and nodded to show his gratitude as he gathered up his daughter and girlfriend and shuffled out the door.

Ally popped the plate of food into the microwave. While the awkward interaction wasn’t ideal, she did not have anything to make for dinner. The plate of food was a welcome sight. She would need to figure out the grocery situation. She didn’t see a*****e within walking distance while she was driving in. A quick phone call to Coreine confirmed her suspicions. Coriene gave her the exact address for the guest house as it could be reached from the main driveway for delivery.

She pulled up her grocery app and found a nearby store. She spend time scrolling through her options and finding all her needed staples. Ally’s plan was to be as independent as possible just like with any other client. Just because she was on their property didn’t mean she needed to be in their business after work hours. Thankfully her shopper was able to find the place with her instructions.

Once the groceries were put away, Ally covered up Benny, slid into pajama pants and a hoodie, and then settled down to watch a show on Netflix. She stumbled through logging into her account on the new TV. Why couldn’t they have an easier log in process? She had just pulled up her Kdrama when there was a knock at her door.

She padded to the door to find Evan standing there. “Hey…I just wanted to talk to you about Miranda.”

Ally let him in. “She seems lovely,” she replied. “I don’t know how much she knows about me, but I can imagine she has some concerns with me being here. Now…those are unfounded. I’m here to help you and your team. I have no interest in messing with your personal life.”

Evan ran his fingers through his hair and still seemed really nervous. “Its just she knows how I left things and is afraid that door might still be open.”

Muted rage boiled to the surface. Ally tried her best to stick to the facts, but her eyes betrayed her as they filled with tears. “Let me make something crystal clear. You leaving just leaving after letting your mother treat me like trash and with no further explanation or discussion broke me Evan. I trusted you. I wasn’t naive enough to think we would be together forever, but I never thought you would end things like you did. You left a mess in your wake…not that you would ever have known since you never looked back. It took so much for me to undo that damage and realize *I* was never the problem Evan. I had to figure out how to forgive myself and to do that I had to forgive you, but do not mistake that and my kindness as an intention to reinsert myself into your life.”

She quickly tried to wipe the tears from her face. “You can tell your insecure girlfriend she has nothing to worry about. Is that all you had to discuss?”