Don't Let Us Go

Mother's Instinct

The night was far and in-between for Spencer after insisting a nervous Olivia leave him to get rid of his mom alone. So when Mama Grace entered his home, receiving a heistant hug from her son, she knew something was up.

"She's living here with you?" She questioned moments later, upon Spencer revealing that Olivia had been staying with him during her time in New York.

"It's the most convenient thing for Cici, Ma. I couldn't let the mother of my child stay at a hotel." Spencer stressed, leaning against the refrigerator.

"Convenient for who, Spencer? You? Don't tell me you two are sharing a room? Are you sleeping together again?" Grace asked in obvious discontent.

"She has her own room." Spencer replied truthfully, despite his every desire to change that fact.

"Please tell me you two haven't jumped head first back into a relationship?" His mother inquired, her eyes glaring over her son suspiciously.

"It's not a relationship. We are reconnecting. Seeing if there is still something there." He shrugged, not adding special attachment to the current state of his rekindlement with his ex-girlfriend. "No big deal."

"Not to you, maybe. But have either of you thought about how this may look to your daughter?" Grace scrutinized his decisions. "That little girl is probably thinking her parents are back together and that you guys are going to live happily ever after." She stressed the bigger picture. "You are giving your daughter false hope that will only hurt her when she leaves with her mom without you."

"Yeah, but it's only temporary, Ma." Spencer argued. "Liv and Cici are leaving in a few days, true, but I plan to follow them to Portland in a few months. Once playoffs are over, I will announce my retirement and move to Portland."

His mom crossed her arms, and her straightened her lips in thought. "So you decided that you are retiring after all." She retorted, thinking back to the months Spencer spent juggling over his decision to retire or risk playing another season.

"I can't take reckless hits like the one that caused my skull fracture again. Especially not when I have a daughter who depends on me now." Spencer summed up, believing there wasn't much of a choice here. "I will open up a business in Portland or start coaching. First, I gotta see how my meetings with these investors go. If I can't open a fitness gym, I will find something else." Spencer concluded to weigh his options. "Either way, I'm moving to Portland by year's end."

"So you've thought this through," Mama Grace muttered, unable to quarrel with his choices when they didn't sound so impulsive. "You are going retire from football, settle down in Portland, and start a family with Olivia. This isn't some split second decision you made in order to have a chance with Olivia?"

"Don't get me wrong, Ma. I'm not letting Olivia go again. I decided that the moment she walked into the diner a few days ago and stole my breath away like we were in high school still." Spencer voiced confidently. "But everything I am doing is for Gracianna, first and foremost."

"Good." Mama Grace nodded. "I'm glad to hear it."

Spencer smiled, pleased that she was softening up from her tense position.

"I apologize if it seems like I am second guessing your decisions." Grace apologized, not wanting to overstep, acknowledging that her son could make his own choices. "I know you are grown, and free to live your life how you choose, sweetie. But I have to make sure as far as my grandbaby goes that you thinking with your head, and not with your...." His mother insisted, causing Spencer to glow five shades of red.

"Ma!" He groaned, causing her to laugh.

"So I take it, my grandbaby is sleep?" She immediately inquired of Gigi.