A Long Way Home

A Blessing On Your Head

The day Edie was christened, it was a snowstorm. Mia trekked down to Greenwich Village in a dress and snow boots. She had fully intended to look cute but the snow had deterred her plans. She had seen Max and Mike on and off since the wedding. It was always in perfectly curated instances of meetups aka going to a brunch where twelve other people were already invited or seeing their new home during a housewarming party. She and Max had never spoken about Max's wedding day and as far as Mia was concerned, it could stay that way. She hated confrontation. She also had better things to focus on. The day after the wedding she applied to be a freelance writer for a magazine. They had been slowly giving her more work over the course of the year and by the time Max announced she was pregnant, Mia was made a part-time editorial assistant. She'd only been at the job three months but they loved her work. Not that she would ever tell Max this. The last thing she wanted was for her own dreams to be ruined by Max's pessimistic attitude.

By the time Max gave birth to Edie only a year after her wedding, Mia was splitting her time doing both jobs and finally making some semblance of headway in the editorial world. Sure, it wasn't political journalism but it was journalism nonetheless. She needed to remind herself that she was worthy of being her own hype woman.

By the time Edie was baptized, Mia had finally figured out how to balance her schedule in such a way that journalism took priority. She reduced her hours as a receptionist and started getting paid more for her pieces. Which is why she felt semi-confident going into Edie's baptism. She at least had something to share if anyone asked. But when the snow storm came, everything got discombobulated. The majority of people who would serve as a buffer between her and Max couldn't make it because of the weather and most of Max and Mike's extended family also got grounded because of the snow. That left a small, "intimate group" of family and friends as Max had texted her the day before. Intimate, Mia dreaded the thought of being in the room with anyone from Max's life in such a small capacity. But she had no choice. She was still technically Max's oldest friend.

When she arrived at the church she loitered near the back until Max's mom gave her a wave to come forward. Approaching the small group she recognized a few faces. There was Max's sister and brother-in-law, her parents and of course Mike's parents. Mike's brothers' were roughhousing in a church pew. Outside of that, it was her until the doors of the church opened and she saw Drew and Casey walking down the aisle.

It was like a scene from a movie. They entered arm in arm walking down the aisle together with ease. Mia couldn't help but imagine what they would look like on their wedding day. They were that magnetic and attractive to the eye.

"Don't worry. He made it on time. The Godfather couldn't miss the ceremony." Casey gave her a conspiratorial wink as she brushed some snow from Drew's suit jacket.

"Thank god you're here." Max walked past Mia skipping a hello and headed straight for Casey. She embraced her in a warm hug before moving onto Drew. Mike then thrust baby Edie into Drew's arms and Mia stifled a laugh. Drew looked helpless holding a sleeping newborn. Edie for her part lay still and quiet, ever the gentle kind soul. But Drew looked awkward and uncomfortable trying to figure out how to cradle her.

"Just hold her head, you'll be fine." Mike gave brief instructions before turning to talk to the priest who had begun ushering them towards the baptismal font.

"Um" Drew was looking around like a scared animal.

"Here, like this." Mia reached up and rearranged Drew's hands. Everyone else had moved forward leaving him semi helpless to take care of Edie.

"Thanks." He awkwardly bent down to give Mia a half hug but seemed reluctant to move his arms.

"How are you Em?" He shifted his hands around Edie's small body and Mia helped to make sure Edie's head didn't loll around in his arms.