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Van had never really celebrated Mothers Day, even when she was a kid. Of course every year in school when they were little they would make some sort of craft for their moms. Van could remember being so excited to bring hers home in kindergarten and for Vicki to tell her that she didn’t need more crap lying around before tossing the hand print flower in the trash. In second grade they made little pinch pots for their moms and Vicki did seem to like that, using it as an ashtray till she threw it at Van in a drunken rage two weeks later.
After that Van stopped even bothering to give them to her, instead quietly throwing them out on the walk home. Her mother never asked why the gifts stopped and Van never even bothered with a happy mothers day, besides it was a weekend day which meant Vicki wasn’t even home, she far preferred her stool at the local bar over her role as Van’s mom.
Even the last Mother’s Day she was alive for while she lived with Van neither of them acknowledged it. She wasn’t nearly as bitchy as she was when Van was growing up but both of them knew without saying that her role as Van’s mother wasn’t one to be celebrated for either party.
Sometimes in high school if she was around the day before she would wish Tai’s mom a happy mothers day, one year she even brought over flowers for her when she came to hang out with Tai after her family had concluded their mothers day plans.
That was the extent of Van’s experience with mothers day though but that was before everything had changed. This was her first Mothers Day where she was taking on this role of a step mom with sammy which she loved so much but it was still unchartered territory
Last year at this time Tai was still trying to rebuild her trust with Simone and her relationship with Sammy and Van wasn’t even in the picture in that way. Now though things were far different. Since that first time she had watched Sammy on her own it had become something of a regular occurrence and with her reopening her store a few months back in the next city over she was in New Jersey more than she was in DC.
There had even been a few days after school where Simone had dropped Sammy off at the store because she had a late night meeting or because she just wanted to go out with friends. Van was more than happy to fill that role and take care of him. No one ever really talked about it in a defined labeled way, she was just Van and that was perfect.
Now though it was Mothers Day, or well Sunday was going to be, and her presence had been requested at the Mother’s Day brunch at Sammy’s school, along with Tai and Simone’s.They had met up with her outside the school and went in together.
There was a blonde woman sitting at the table with a name tag that read Ms. Jordyn, which Van recognized was the school's art teacher that Sammy raved about. The three of them walked up to the check in table and she smiled at them.
“You three must be Sammy’s moms, he’s going to be so so excited that you’re here!”
Tai and Simone both thanked her and Van just stood there a little shell shocked at being included in the grouping of being one of his moms.
She tried to shake off the shock a little as she walked down the hall a half step behind Tai and Simone, one of Tai’s hands finding its way reaching behind her for Van to hold. Van took it gratefully and the three of them continued down the hall into the gym where the room was full of second and third graders and their moms.
It was only a few seconds before Sammy spotted them and ran at them with a huge smile.
“Moms! Come this way, we have a table we can all sit at.”
Van was not going to make it to the end of this brunch nevermind Mother’s Day at this rate.
The three of them sat at a table where another boy was sitting with who Van presumed was probably his mom.
Sammy turned to the three of them as they sat down and gave out formal introductions, or as formal as a nine year old typically is.
“This is Cole, he’s in my class and that’s his mom.”
“Hi I’m Rebecca,” the mom reached out a hand to Tai, no doubt recognizing her from the news.
“Hi I’m Taissa and this is my ex-wife Simone and my partner Van.”
The two of them both smiled at the other mom, Van giving an attempt at a wave.
“It’s nice to meet you all, I have to say I wasn’t sure what to expect when Sammy told us all three of his moms were coming,” she said with a laugh and Van could tell she meant it as friendly and not as a dig but a part of her still felt defensive over what they had built over the last year or so.
Before anyone could reply one of the teachers went up front and announced it was time for everyone to grab some food, letting them know that the kids were going to be making plates for their moms and bringing them to the table.
While the kids scurried off to go make plates for their moms Rebecca turned towards the three of them.
“I can’t lie Taissa, I do already know what you do, but what about you two?” she asked, looking between Simone and Van.
“I am a comp lit professor,” Simone said and she looked over to Van.
“I own a video store, we actually just reopened a few towns over.”
“Oh that’s so great, all his moms have such different jobs that must be so fun for him.”
Tai laughed, “I’m pretty sure the only one of us who has a job that he cares about is Van, he loves being at the store.”
“Oh that’s so great, it’s lovely to see that he likes his step-mom so much.”
She said it with a smile but for the first time Van felt like she was being called a step-mom in a negative way. She could tell from Tai’s physical reaction that she got the same vibe. Fortunately they didn’t have too much time to think about it as the boys returned, Sammy with a teacher in tow to help with other plates.
Tai’s plate was just a waffle and fruit, Van’s looked similar just with a donut on the plate as well. Everyone else, including Simone, had bacon and sausage on their plates.
Rebecca looked over at Tai and Van’s plate, “Given the rumours I can understand why you don’t eat meat.”
Sammy looked over at Rebecca, “Van eats meat, she just doesn’t like sausage or bacon, we have pepperoni pizza all the time, but donuts are her favorite.”
That shut her up quickly and she went bright red.
Van was quietly pleased, she deserved to be put in her place after the comments she had been giving the three of them.
The rest of brunch was fairly quiet after that aside from the two boys talking to each other and Sammy asking whose house he was sleeping at tonight.
“You are sleeping at my house tonight because tomorrow we are celebrating mothers day with Nana and then you’ll spend Saturday night and Sunday with mom and Van.” Simone answered and Van clocked that Rebecca was paying attention to the conversation.
*
The minute they were back in their car Tai and Van were on the same very annoyed page.
“That was so cute but oh my god Van I nearly lost it on that woman.”
“Yeah I’m not the most well versed in like suburban moms and their shit but I feel like that was pretty insane.”
“I mean to comment on the fact that we weren’t eating meat, like did she expect some Yellowjackets expose at the elementary school brunch? Not to mention that comment she made about you.”
“I don’t really consider myself a step-mom, you know that, but her comment felt kind of like a dig.”
“It was definitely meant to be one, but Van you’re his step-mom, he was very clear that your attendance was mandatory at this Mother’s Day Brunch.”
“I’m just here to be whatever he needs,” Van said, trying not to smile at the thought of Sammy seeing her as a step-mom.
“Have I told you I love you recently?” Tai asked and Van laughed before pulling out of the parking lot to head home.
*
It was just after dinner Saturday when Simone dropped Sammy off. There wasn’t a ton of time left so the three of them just made some snacks and watched a movie which was Van’s idea of a perfect Saturday night.
She and Tai were curled up on the couch with Sammy sitting in front of them building something vaguely shapeless with legos.
Sammy had been fairly quiet since he had come over, Van figured he was just tired from a day out with Simone’s family.
It was when they were putting Sammy to bed that she realized something else might be at play. She was pretty used to Sammy choosing to talk over having a story read to him. She was always a little fearful that one day the questions would be centered around the crash but she figured he had a few years before he started asking about that.
Although she did think for a brief second she might rather talk about that then the conversation they entered into.
Tai was just finishing cleaning up downstairs when Van walked into Sammy’s room where he was already in bed.
“Hey bud, a story tonight or do you just wanna talk?”
He was quiet for a second, “Van, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah of course, what’s going on?”
“Do you not want to be my stepmom?”
“What? Wait, hold on, rewind, where is this coming from?”
“Well I was talking to Cole yesterday after the brunch and he said that his mom said it was weird that I have three moms and that you’re just moms girlfriend and that's all and that because I call you Van and that you don’t want to be my stepmom. Then I was with my cousins today and my cousin Nathan said that maybe you don’t want to be my step-mom like Cole’s mom said and you’re just trying to be nice to me.”
Van was going to fight this mom and maybe his cousin when she figured out how old he was.
“Sammy, no, that’s not no. I just never wanted to force anything on you. I know you’ve been through a lot with your mom’s breaking up and I never wanted to like force myself to have place in your life that you didn’t want me to fill.”
“But you take care of me just like my moms do.”
“Yeah of course I do.”
He was quiet for a moment and Van felt like she might die on the spot.
“I want you to be my mom, Van.”
Van took a deep breath, trying to hold it together. “I’d be honored.”
A few seconds later Tai came in and Van wasn’t stupid enough to think she hadn't been standing outside the door for most of, if not the entire, conversation.
The two of them finished the night routine and left him to go to bed.
The door of their room was closed for less than three seconds before Tai said something.
“So, Mom?”
Van threw her head back, “Yeah yeah I know you’ve been telling me that for months,” Van said with a smile.
She got serious for a second before turning to Tai, “I am ready to fight that Mom though Tai, and maybe that cousin do we know how old he is because I don’t want to fight a child but if that’s like a teenager or something telling him that I might.”
Tai walked over and kissed Van’s temple, “We can’t fight kids, which I’m pretty sure the cousin is, but that mom I’m also ready to fight.
Van laughed and turned her head into Tai’s collarbone, Tai wrapping her around Van and the two of them just standing there together. Van thought to herself for not the first time how lucky she was to have this life.
*
The next morning when Van woke up she was beyond surprised. She woke up to breakfast in bed and a handmade card and a little pinch pot on the tray next to her food.
Sammy was standing next to the bed with Tai a few feet behind him.
“Hey, good morning, what’s all this?”
“Sammy woke me up early this morning because he wanted to do this for you.”
“Thanks bud but what about your mom?”
“Oh don’t worry I got a card and a pinch pot too but he wanted to do something special for your first mothers day.”
Van thought she might start crying but she pushed it down so he didn’t think that she was upset and she leaned over to hug him.
The rest of the day had been perfect. There was one point when Sammy asked where Van’s mom was and why she wasn’t seeing her at all but she explained that Vicki had died but that she was at peace now so it was okay. He took that answer in stride and Tai squeezed her hand while she told him.
It was later that night, after a day of movies and board games, while Van was putting the card and pinch pot on her dresser when she thought about Vicki again. She thought about that shattered pinch pot that was thrown at her when she was a little younger than Sammy.
Van had never planned or really wanted to be a mom, even before the crash. It was just never something she felt called to. Then after the crash she knew it was just not the path she wanted to take and given both Tai and Shauna’s experience with motherhood Van was pretty sure she had made the right choice.
Still despite that she was so beyond happy with the role she had taken in Sammy’s life. Sitting there looking at the pinch pot she wondered how her mom ever didn’t love this role she played. It was her loss she figured because Van’s life made her feel like she had won the lottery.