Born Again

The day I drove us to where she had called home for years proved rather interesting. When she knocked on the front door, it was opened by one of the staff. Given I was with her, I was invited in without question, and within seconds, I was greeted by the face of my ex-wife. What I didn't expect was that she was as beautiful as I could remember. Nothing like Juliette, who had a real classical beauty, but the years had been kind to my ex-wife.

I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Mark?" Carly asked in surprise. What caught me by surprise in return was the slight smile on her face.

"Hello, Carly."

"What... What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up some of my things, Mum," Jessica replied for me, "I'm living with Daddy now."

Carly opened her mouth to say something more than once before she nodded. "You know he's going to cut you off."

"I don't care."

Jessica kissed my cheek and disappeared upstairs, leaving me alone with Carly. "Do you still hate me?" she wondered after a minute or so of silence.

"Nope. What's the point? I've moved on. I'm still a little pissed off after all this time about some of the shit you pulled, but having Jessica back has healed most of the scars."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Are you really?" She nodded firmly so I had to ask, "Why?"

"Because despite what I thought, my life isn't better. Sure, the big house and the fancy car are nice, and I guess having money is always a bonus, but there's no love. Lucas hasn't loved me in years. As for our son, I don't recognise him any longer. He's not the young man you would remember. I lost him to Lucas long ago. And now I've lost my daughter."

"Why don't you just leave?"

"Because I'm no better than him, Mark. And I'm sure Jessica knows more than she lets on. Lucas is rarely here nowadays, and I know why. I rarely see Charlie even though he still lives here."

Leading me to a nearby couch, she disappeared through a door, returning a couple of minutes later with a bottle of beer and a topped-up glass of wine for herself. Sitting next to me, I looked her over and felt a small pang of regret. She noticed and blushed. "You're looking good yourself, Mark," she said, "I keep myself fit. And though Lucas suggested it, I avoided going under the knife. I'm going to age as gracefully as possible."

"Why'd you do it, Carly?"

She sighed, sculling her wine until there was only a third of a glass, before shaking her head. "Because I was an idiot. I knew what Lucas was like. But when he started showing me all that attention, flashing me all that cash, showering me with lots of presents and promises of what sort of life we could have together..."

"Did you sleep with him while he was doing that?"

"No. I told him I would not share his bed before I separated from you. I still made him wait until three months before our divorce was finalised." She chuckled bitterly. "He's absolutely hopeless in bed, Mark."

"I guess that should make me feel better."

"It should. You loved to make me orgasm. He barely eats pussy and thinks five minutes of ordinary missionary will get me off." She blushed for a moment before laughing to herself. "God, I'm talking to my ex-husband about this."

"The kids, Carly. Why did you take the kids from me?"

That's when she needed to wipe her eyes. "He spent months working on me, Mark. He can't have kids, so he wanted Charlie. He didn't care about Jessica, that was just pure spite on his part, but he wanted a son. And given our previous relationship, and all the work he put into me, turning Charlie's head with all he could offer, our son didn't stand a chance."

"But you just stood to the side and let it happen?"

"Deep down, I knew it was all wrong, but I thought I loved him and that he loved me, and I was willing to do absolutely anything to make him happy. He was pleased when I told him how you reacted to each knife to the heart. That should have told me everything about him, but I was so blinkered by everything he was offering..."

"I can thank you for one thing, Carly. Without doing what you did, I would have never met Juliette and I wouldn't have my two daughters we share."

"I know. Jessica loved to rub my nose in it, the fact her father was happy in his marriage with his new family while all I've done is regret everything for the past few years. And none of my so-called friends would care. My parents dote on Lucas something fierce as well."

Sipping at my beer, Jessica appeared in the doorway, gesturing for her to sit in the armchair close by. Turning to Carly, I eventually said, "When all that shit was going down, I dreamed of some sort of revenge on you. Honestly thought about grabbing a crowbar or maybe just a hammer and smashing his skull in. As for you, well, I'm not sure what I would have done. Nothing physical, you know I'm not built that way, but I might have thought of something. But I slowly learned to let the anger and the hate go. It wasn't healthy, and once I met Juliette and we fell in love, although I still carried the wounds, I knew life wasn't all that bad."

"Guess you came out better in the end," Carly suggested.

"I should hate you for everything you've done, Mum," Jessica stated, "But I don't because from what Daddy just said, hating you won't do anything for me. What I am going to do is live with Daddy and Juliette said I can stay as long as I want. I need a little space for the time being, but I don't ever want to see Lucas or Charlie again. He's got no excuse any longer, Mum."

"I know. I know," Carly murmured bitterly.

"But you're still my mother, and one day, I will find it in myself to forgive you. Just like Daddy has."

Carly opened her eyes wide. "You forgive me?" she asked me.

"I did long ago because I realised the best revenge was of a life lived well. The only reason I'm here now is that I thought you might be here, and we could finally talk. Now that I know the truth about everything, I don't feel any better or worse. We both have regrets, but that's just life at the end of the day. We all make mistakes, no matter how old and apparently wise we are."

"I'm ready, Daddy."

Jessica had a suitcase and a couple of smaller bags that I carried outside to my ute. My daughter did hug her mother when leaving, and when I saw my ex-wife break down, a small part of my heart did go out to her. She was now suffering a sense of loss like I did. I could have stood there feeling smug about it. Instead, I asked Jessica to ensure she left an avenue of communication open so her mother could stay in contact. That earned a grateful smile from my ex-wife while Jessica kissed my cheek once we were back on the road, stating that her daddy was a good man at heart.

Sitting down for dinner that night, my wife sat next to me as always, with our two daughters across from us, with the table large enough for Jessica to sit in between them. I know I sat there with a large grin on my face, feeling that my family was complete.

*****

Epilogue

My little girl was getting married. Amelie was now twenty-two and had only been with Wayne since she was sixteen. I smiled at the thought she was marrying her high school sweetheart. She'd met Wayne when he was the same age as her, and I gave him the same speech I'd given to all of Charlotte's boyfriends, while I'd done the same when Jessica had met her husband. Amelie had giggled, playfully slapped my forearm and told me I was being silly, that she loved Wayne and that he loved her.

My little girl was proven right as he proposed while they were both at university and were now ready to start their lives together.

I'd walked Jessica down the aisle when she'd married her fiancé at the age of twenty-five. Having missed so much of her life, or so it felt, I barely kept the smile on my face while she gripped my forearm so tightly with each step. I'd barely kept it together when stepping into the room to see her dressed in her wedding dress for the first time.

Charlotte wasn't married or even engaged. She was currently living at home with her parents as her last relationship ended badly. The sort of badly where she ended up on her parents' doorstep in tears and her father was quickly in his ute to sort shit out. I returned a couple of hours later with bruised and bloodied knuckles, suggesting police might show up at our door in a day or two. All Charlotte did was hug me tightly and thank her father for doing it for her.

Amelie's Maid of Honour stuck her head through the door. "Another five minutes or so, Mark," she said, "Juliette will be out in a minute too."

Juliette did appear within a couple of minutes, looking resplendent in the gown she'd chosen. Even at her age, she still got my motor running incredibly easily. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, she hugged me before Carly appeared through the doorway, as beautiful as ever. She blushed when we both looked at her.

Yes, Carly was invited to the wedding. She was also at the wedding of Jessica. Within a year of Jessica moving back home with me, the news of her leaving Lucas Wilson was all over the news. Moving into a small apartment on the outskirts of the CBD, she started divorce proceedings as soon as possible. To my surprise, it didn't get as ugly as I thought it was. In the end, Lucas agreed to pay her off instead of paying her spousal maintenance.

As for Charlie, he sided with Lucas in the divorce, even turning his back on his own mother. It was disgusting and Carly disowned him as did his sister. As for me, I hadn't heard a word from him since well before the day I signed those adoption papers. I'd long since changed my mind about my children and I now thought I was the father only to three daughters.

I wouldn't say I was friends with Carly, but thanks to the significant pay-out she got, I wasn't the only one surprised when she moved far closer to her daughter. Jessica eventually forgave her mother for what happened, and I was pleased that Jessica now thought she had two mothers. When Juliette started to meet with Carly for coffee every so often, I couldn't help smiling as Juliette was so worried about how I would react to it.

"Carly needs a true friend," I assured her, "I remember the last conversation we had. If I thought one thing, it was that she was completely alone."

"And that proves your good heart, Mark," she replied, giving me one of those kisses that promised we would be having a lot of fun that night.

Amelie's Maid of Honour appeared again, letting me know my daughter was ready to get married. Juliette and Carly kissed a cheek of mine each. I was still surprised whenever Carly did that, and even more surprised that Juliette never showed a hint of jealousy though she just told me that Carly knew the score. I belonged to Juliette, and she'd scratch the eyes out of any woman who thought to mess with me.

Amelie turned to face me, and I barely kept it together, Amelie's smile absolutely lighting up the room as I took her in my arms. "You look utterly beautiful, sweetheart," I whispered before I sighed, "I can't believe you're getting married. I still remember holding you in my arms the day you were born."

"I'll always be your little girl, Daddy," she whispered back, "And you love Wayne like a son already."

She wasn't wrong. I already called him 'son' all the time. Did the same thing with Jessica's husband. Considering he was estranged from his own father, Jessica loved how close we were.

Walking her down the aisle, everyone was smiling as they watched us walk past. Amelie had surprised all of us by wanting to marry in a church. Wayne wasn't religious, but Amelie had always been open-minded when it came to religion, and though she wasn't practicing, she did manage to get permission for a church wedding.

It went off without a hitch, and after all the usual goings on of a wedding, we gathered in a nearby hotel ballroom for the meal and reception. There were the usual speeches before food was served and the dancing began. Charlotte and Jessica wanted a dance with Daddy after Amelie loved the traditional father-and-daughter dance, Juliette practically humped me on the dancefloor, whispering in my ear that the room was ready whenever I wanted it. But then it came to dancing with Carly, she rested her head against my shoulder and sighed.

"I remember our wedding, Mark. It was so simple. but it was a day of love," she said softly, "Nothing like my second wedding."

"Any plans for a third?"

"God no. At most I'll find a man for companionship, maybe warm my bed occasionally, but I'm done with it. I threw away a good man."

"Have you forgiven yourself? It's been years now, Carly."

"I have, but that doesn't mean I don't have regret on days like this. You married a wonderful woman in Juliette. And the daughter we share, and the two daughters you share with Juliette... I think we've done a wonderful job." She leaned back to meet my eyes. "But I must thank Juliette for putting you back together. I did a horrible thing."

"Don't think about it today, Carly. Today is a good day."

"You know I still love you, right?"

"I'm not blind. The important thing is that I've forgiven you and, despite not liking it from time to time, I do think of you as a friend nowadays."

That earned a trembling lower lip before she buried her head against my chest. Juliette appeared and joined our dance. "I'm not going to share my husband, Carly, but you are welcome to visit whenever you wish. If you'd like, you could always head out for the night with our daughter."

Carly had to let me go, leaving a soft kiss on my cheek before hugging Juliette tightly. It was amazing to me that my wife and ex-wife were rather close nowadays, but I'm glad they had a friend in each other. Juliette snuggled against me as we slowly moved around the dancefloor before she looked around and led me to the bride and groom so we could say goodnight.

"Have a good night, Daddy," Amelie stated, winking at me.

As soon as we were in our room, my wife asked me to help take off her gown, and she smiled as my eyes drank in her form. Even at our ages, she still turned me on something fierce. No need for chemical assistance just yet, my wife just knew I needed far longer to recharge the old batteries.

Making love with my wife was every bit as wonderful more than twenty years after our first time together. But what was always special was snuggling together afterwards, our hearts beating almost in unison. Her fingers ran through the grey and silver hair on my chest as I kissed her forehead.

My wife understood just how much I loved her, appreciated her, and how devoted I'd been to her since the day we'd met. We'd enjoyed a long and happy life together, and I had promised to spend every day of my life trying to make her as happy as she had made me. I'd been a shattered man when I'd met her, and it was through her love that I'd been put back together, and I felt born again.

It had truly been a wonderful life so far and could only look forward to many happy years ahead.

*****

A/N - Hope you enjoyed the story. I don't speak French so anything above is purely from Google Translate. Type the sentence in English, it gives me the literal French translation.