(Ravine POV)

After my meeting with Ms. Coppola, I went to a local diner to meet my beloved mother...not! I walked inside as fast as I can and sat at our table for me to get this thing over with already.

"Just make this quick, will you? It's already 4:40. I have to pick up my kids by 5 so you have 20 minutes to say whatever you want to me." I said.

"Vinny, I didn't come here to fight anymore. I'm too tired and too old to fight someone like you. I just want to make amends already." She said.

"Why? Do you want to have your share of the money I earned for my book?" I asked coldly.

"I don't care about any money. I just want to spend my remaining days here in this world with happiness and with my family. I would really love to meet my grandchildren, you know?" She said.

"That will be the day." I replied.

"Ravine, aren't you tired of being like this? Aren't you tired of being this cynical?" She said.

"You drove me to be like this, FYI." I told her.

"Ravine, I know I have done you wrong throughout the rest of your life but I paid for it anyway. What more do you want from me? You managed to make the entire world hate me with your book. You managed to ruin my reputation. You managed to convince your father to sever ties with me and cut his financial support. You won't even introduce me to my grandchildren. How can you be this hateful? You win, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? You win and here I am trying to make peace and ask for forgiveness but you won't even give me a chance to explain myself." She whined.

"You still haven't changed. You're still the same gaslighter mother that I dealt with so many years ago. Why are you so desperate for my forgiveness when you used to constantly abuse the fuck out of me everyday? Why are you begging for it when you have told me many times that no one cares for me and no one will love me for who I am because I am a faggot? If I am not that important to you, then why did you fly all the way here just to ask for my forgiveness?" I asked her.

"Ravine, please! Let's end this rivalry once and for all. I'm still your mom, you know?" She said.

"Wow! Now that you're about to die, you suddenly want to be my mother? I have a mother, Janet and her name is Sylvia Rochester! Do you want to know what I think? I think you're just a manipulative human being and now, you're manipulating me into forgiving you because according to your religious and fucked up belief, you will not be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven if I don't give you my forgiveness." I told her.

"That's not what I am trying to do at all." She cried.

"Save those crocodile tears. I've seen enough of those and I'm sorry but I am not going to give you that satisfaction. I am not required to forgive you so that's basically it. Goodbye, mommy dearest!" I said before storming out the diner and getting inside the car to pick up my kids.

After the confrontation, I couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time. I was crying because I felt a strong sense of pity for her and a tiny part of me wants to give in to what she wants me to do which is to forgive her but I am smarter than that. Luckily, my cynicism managed to hold me back and made me rethink this decision because I am sure as hell that she wasn't sincere with what she's saying. Honestly, I am not that sure anymore. One thing I do know is that I am not going to be that gullible. I was laughing because I still got that spunk and courage in me to say whatever the hell I want to say to her which made me feel powerful and free. After all, she deserves it. The rant that I made felt extremely cathartic and I think I am completely fine by me not seeing her for the rest of my life now that I had the fitting closure I wanted. I felt absolutely relieved and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders after that.

Later in the evening...

The entire mansion was jam-packed. I couldn't believe it. Ally and her friends are having a pool party. Roman and his friends are playing video games in the living room and here I am, having wine and cheese with J.T., Clare and Gwen. We could barely hear each other because of the noise of the other party guests which include some directors, some crew members, some low-key famous celebrities and some of my close acquaintances.

"God, look at you, Vinny! Who would have ever thought that you'd be a successful screenplay writer?" Gwen said before sipping her red wine.

"I know right. I didn't really expect 'The Forgotten Fairy' to be this successful. It's so unbelievable." I laughed.

"It's a box-office hit too. How did you do that?" J.T. asked.

"A miracle, I guess." I said in a half-drunken tone.

"I thought you don't believe in miracles?" Clare told me.

"Oh shit! Right...I...don't know why I said that." I told her.

All of a sudden, the lights went out again and everybody screamed. Not again!

"ROMAN!" I screamed before hearing an uproarious laughter from Roman and his prankster friends.

"Why are you blaming your son?" Clare asked in the dark.

"They like to pull this prank on me every single time. It's so annoying." I whined.

"Dad! Roman flipped the switch of the main breaker again!" Ally shouted from the pool.

"Yes, I know! Roman! Turn that thing on or you'll be grounded for a week!" I threatened to make him turn it on again but obviously, to no avail. Knowing how Roman is, he will not flip the switch on so that means, I have to do it myself then. I sighed.

"This kid right here really is getting on my nerves!" I said before using the flashlight of my phone to guide me all the way to the electrical panels. I flipped the switch on again, restoring the electricity in the house.

"I'm so sorry about that. My son can really be mischievous sometimes, I mean all the time." I said to my friends before calling for Selene.

"Selene!" I called.

"Yes, sir Vinny!" She said after approaching me.

"Where's Roman?" I asked.

"He went upstairs with his friends to play the Ouija board they bought two days ago." She reported.

"Oh...well, let them for all I care. Would you mind attaching some locks to the panel board so that Roman won't be able to mess with it anymore?" I said.

"No problem, Sir! I'll do it tomorrow morning." She said.

"Good! Thank you so much." I said before gulping the remaining wine in my wineglass.

"Little boys, they really are a handful." Gwen laughed.

"Tell me about it."