Accidental Time Traveler-InutaishoxOC

Starting Over

Layla goes to a café with Sakura. Ailbhe meets them and they finally put things out in the open.

"Here's the booster seat you requested, love." The male barista, a good-looking man in his mid-twenties, winked playfully at Layla and positioned the high-chair at the end of the table.

Layla blinked at the man's obvious attempt to flirt. Had he brought the chair over as an excuse to talk to her? "Um, I didn't request that. Sakura's not old enough to sit in one of those."

In her baby carrier Sakura snoozed on, oblivious to her surroundings. How she slept through the ambient noise of the cafe was beyond Layla.

The barista realized his attempt had failed. He smiled awkwardly. "Your cappuccino will be up in a few."

"Uh, and my chocolate chip muffin." She reminded him.

"Right. Of course." The barista agreed and returned to his post behind the counter.

"Something strange is going on, my little manatee." Layla pulled a blanket up to Sakura's chin. One tiny had twitched reflexively over the cartoon teddy bear printed on the blue fabric, but the baby didn't wake. "When American men see a woman with a baby, they sprint in the opposite direction. For some reason, I've become catnip to the male population. Maybe it's an Irishmen thing?"

Drool trickled out of the corner of Sakura's mouth. Layla wiped it away with a napkin and continued her diatribe. "It freaks me out. I'm glad your daddy didn't come with us. Otherwise, we'd be peeling that man out of the brick wall."

If the barista was lucky.

His dog demon nature made Toga highly territorial.

Layla wadded up the napkin and picked up her phone. "Your grandma is late. I should have just picked her up at the airport, but she insisted taking a taxi to her hotel before meeting me here."

Rain rolled down the plate glass window. Layla propped her chin in her hand. "I'm getting tired of the rain. Why does it rain so much here?"

The bell over the door jingled as someone entered. Sakura continued to sleep peacefully.

Layla sighed. "I really don't want to do this. Why did she insist on a public place?"

"So, our discussion remains civil, Layla." Her mother's cold voice interrupted her.

Tensing, Layla turned her head toward the end of the table. Ailbhe's red hair was scraped back into a knot at her nape. More lines fanned out from the corner of her icy blue eyes and the corner of her mouth but overall, she looked great for a woman in her fifties.

Seeing her mother was a painful jolt to her heart. Layla pointed to the other side of the booth. "Sit and I'll hear you out." She said, a little sharply.

Ailbhe raised her perfectly shaped brows. "There's that temper. How often have I told you to think before you speak?"

Layla swallowed her initial response and continued in a flat tone. "We have some things to settle, mom. I met my dad."

Ailbhe's hand curled into a fist on the table. "I know. Your Grams told me."

"Kieran has more than one screw loose. He told me something of your relationship and how it ended." Layla chose her next words carefully, not wanting to mention magic or faeries in public. "I look like him, disturbingly so."

"I know." Ailbhe's eyes misted, the first hint of vulnerability. "He trapped me in hell. I'll never forget what that madman put me through." Her voice shook. "I was lucky to escape alive."

"Why him, mom?" The question had baffled her often since meeting Kieran.

Ailbhe sucked in a breath. "I was nineteen. Do you remember what its like to be nineteen? I was naïve and impulsive. Assumed I knew what love was." Her face crumpled. "I was a fool who let myself be swept away by a handsome face."

"Well...mom...you're not the first woman in history to fall for that trap." Layla said charitably.

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Ailbhe gave her a watery smile. "I'm sorry, Layla. I let what happened with Kieran cloud our relationship. You can't help looking like him. Emotions aren't logical. I wish I had handled things better when raising you instead of leaving it to my mother."

Layla glanced at Sakura. Her own daughter. The anger she had toward Ailbhe wouldn't vanish overnight. It would take time, and nothing could erase her mother's mistakes. But she could learn from those mistakes and not repeat them. "All my life you've hurt me, mom. I wondered what I did to make you so cold toward me."

"Layla-" Ailbhe started.

"No. I'm not finished." Layla cut her off. "You will listen to what I have to say. You owe me that much."

"Very well." Like a cloak, Ailbhe donned her cold mask, hiding any previous hint of emotion. "You are entitled to have your say."

"Thank you." She replied just as stiffly.

The male barista brought over her cappuccino and muffin on a plate. "Here you are, love." He flicked a lock of brown hair out of his eyes. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask." With a wink he swaggered away.

Layla pinched the bridge of her nose. What an idiot.

Ailbhe followed the barista with her cool gaze. "I hoped that if you fell in love one day, you'd choose an ordinary man like him. Instead, you have fallen into the same trap as me."

Layla bristled. "Mom, that's out of line."

Ailbhe was stubborn. "No, it's not. I don't want you to find yourself in the same position that I did with Kieran."

"Toga isn't Kieran. He's a kind, honorable man." Layla said gently, her love for her husband seeping into her voice. "I love him with all my heart, and he loves me. We are soulmates in the truest sense."

"I hope you're right." Ailbhe said, deciding not to argue further. "I'll make up my mind when I meet him."

"You'll meet him at dinner tonight." Layla bit into her muffin and swallowed. "Now, to get back on track. Mom, I don't know if we can get past things but I'm willing to try."

Sakura began to stir. Her beautiful daughter. Layla smiled. "Before I gave birth to Sakura I promised myself to do better than you did."

"What are you saying?"

It was time to lay her cards on the table. "I'm saying I'll give you a second chance for Sakura. I want you to be a better grandmother than you were a mother."

Ailbhe was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, her expression was thoughtful. "I forgot how direct you can be."

Sakura opened her eyes, now fully awake. Upon seeing Layla, she smiled and clapped her hands.

Undoing the straps holding her in the carrier, Layla lifted Sakura into her arms. "Did you have a good nap, little one?"

A spit bubble popped in Sakura's mouth. Layla giggled. "I'll take that as a yes." She turned the baby around in her arms, so she faced Ailbhe. "Mom, meet Sakura. Sakura, meet Grandma Ailbhe."

Ailbhe reached a trembling hand across the table to rest on Sakura's scalp. "Nice to meet you, Sakura. I'm your grandma."

Sakura burbled in response and Layla thought her mom might cry again.

It was a new beginning for all of them.