Tiny Tim

As soon as Aaron’s lawyer sent over the necessary paperwork, I transferred the money the judge had awarded him to Mom’s personal account, so she could deal with it when the time came. My bank account was dangerously thin now, but I had continued to funnel cash into my paypal account and, now that the divorce was final, transferred enough into my bank account to pay all the bills. Now the waiting game started, to see if he would hold up his financial obligations as well.

Which he did. But he couldn’t stop himself from getting one last punch in.

“This is the entirety of the child support until he turns eighteen, plus the reimbursement I apparently ‘owe’ him.” Aaron said in a cold tone after handing Mom a check over $5,810 dollars. “I want nothing to do with that boy, and I don’t want you to mention him to me ever again. You’ll get your maintenance monthly.”.

Then he got up from the table and left Mom - and both of their lawyers for that matter - in stunned silence.

I did not learn about this happening until a few days later. Mom’s amped up affection was already a little over the top since my breakdown in the bedroom, but now it became almost concerning. She literally hung onto me whenever she had the chance, reassuring me that she would never abandon me again. It became borderline creepy when she started sending me little text messages throughout the day, something she had never done before. Things like “Going grocery shopping. Anything you want? Love you, Darling” or “Dinner at seven. Love you so much”.

Since Dinner in our house had always been at seven, I suspected those messages were solely a means to remind me how much she loved me. It took me a while to coerce her into finally telling me what exactly happened between Aaron and her. I admit, after I learned the facts, I couldn’t help but appreciate her efforts.

Three weeks went by like this, until the next big event happened. Actually, it was bigger for Ava and Mia than me, since it was time for senior prom.

Just like for our Valentine’s date, I decided to pull all the resources my bedroom closet had to offer, and go all out for them. I rented a limousine, booked a photographer, and paid for Ava’s dress. I even agreed to accompany Nora when she wanted me to get a suit that would match her daughter’s prom dress, despite her telling me that said dress would be a sparkling rose gold in color.

The tailor did a fantastic job, though, and I surprisingly acknowledged that I didn’t look half as ridiculous as I had feared. The suit itself was a regular black suit with a white shirt. But he made me wear a vest and tie that were apparently made from the same material as Mia’s dress, in addition to stuffing a strip of leftover cloth from her dress into my breast pocket. It wasn’t anything I could wear ever again, but, according to Nora, this was an extremely important memory for a girl and had to be perfect.

When the date ultimately arrived, I learned that she was right. Ava and Mia spent almost the entire day getting ready at Mia’s house. I went ahead and picked Ava’s date up, so we could meet the girls together.

Ava’s date, however, surprised me, as the guy had been out of the closet for a good two years at that point. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the guy, and we had a lot of fun making jokes about my sparkling getup during the drive to Mia’s house. It just reminded me of Ava’s reluctance to look for a partner. I just hoped she would pick that back up once she entered the college scene.

Our first stop, after enduring a lengthy photo-op with Mia’s parents, was the local park, where the professional photographer I had booked waited for us. Much to Ava’s and Mia’s delight, I might add. After the photosession came the candlelight dinner in a Brazilian steakhouse, before we drove to the hotel ballroom the school had booked for the event.

With me being the sole male junior at the senior prom, I had worried about feeling out of place. That did not happen. Mia and I danced, laughed and kissed, and her friends had all come to accept me. It became pretty clear, however, that the evening would not play out like I had seen in Hollywood productions.

The main reason for this prom was for the seniors to spend a special evening with each other before they all parted ways and dispersed across the country. So, I let Mia take the lead and decide what she wanted to do, and was completely happy with her decision to spend as much time as possible with her friends. Even when prom ended - and, no, we didn’t make Queen and King - they opted to relocate the party into an all-night diner, since they simply didn’t want it to end. But, eventually, it did.

Ava’s date had taken a taxi home at about two in the morning, so, when it was time for us to leave as well, the three of us were alone in the Limo.

“Muffin...” Mia started, about then minutes before we arrived at her home. “There’s something we need to talk about.”