“Oh my goodness,” Darcy sobs. Standing up, she runs around the coffee table and hugs me. “When do you get to meet them?”
“Soon.”
****
“Don’t worry. I’m right here, Georgie. You look beautiful, and besides—they’re the ones eager to meet you. Remember that. They’ve been looking for you for a long time, babe.” Sean kisses my cheek and then takes my hand as he leads me to the front door of a lovely estate. Surprisingly, my grandparents and relatives don’t live far from us. Since it was just the two of us and our security team, who would wait outside, and about twenty of them, we decided to make the drive to their house.
I can see a bunch of curious eyes looking through the curtains, eagerly awaiting. They’re planning a barbeque, so most of the family will be hopefully relaxed and cool. We don’t even get a chance to knock on the door when it opens and a little woman comes out and gasps. An older man who looks about sixty-five steps out beside her.
“Georgiana, aren’t you beautiful.” I look at the older woman, and I’m shocked by the similarities in her appearance to me.
I blush and then look to my husband, who scowls and then smiles at me, remembering how I yelled at him for calling me beautiful.
“Thank you.”
“I’m Erica, and this is my husband, Colby Moore, Sr. Please come in.” I can see they want to hug me, and so I go in for the hug. Sean is nearly on top of me, watching for protection, but it’s clear that they aren’t trying to hurt me.
We pull apart and then I follow them into the house where we make introductions to about twenty other people including adults and small children. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’m sorry that I didn’t meet you so much sooner.” I feel the weight of the loss so much. Even though I had my sisters, I missed out on a lot of other family members who seem to actually care.
“We’re so glad to have you here. All we’ve had were these images of you. He loved you so much. His last letter we had from him is included in the album.” They handed over a photo album full of baby pictures at the hospital with my father holding me close to him. He looked so happy and loving, tears in his eyes. Sitting down, I let the tears fall as I read his words.
Mom and Dad,
I know she doesn’t love me. I’m just a man to get her through a rough time, but she gave me the most precious gift. I love my little Georgie with all my heart. She’s perfect and I’ll do anything to see my little girl again. I miss her sweet coos and I hold her photo with me as I head out, praying that I’ll return to my little angel. Take care of my little girl. She’s the best thing to happen to me.
Love,
Colby.
My heart is breaking for the man I never met, the man who died and loved me. I stand up, dropping the letter onto the coffee table. Holding my hand to my mouth, I run and look for the bathroom. A female cousin of mine guides me to the nearest one.
Sean is directly behind me along with the others. “Georgie, babe.” I get super sick and Sean rubs my back while one of them brings me a wet cloth.
“Poor girl.”
I try to calm down as the emotions rip at me, tearing my heart apart and putting pieces of it back together stitch by stitch. “I’m sorry,” I mutter, feeling awkward for making a scene.
“It’s okay, my love,” Sean says, kissing my temple. “I think our baby has something to do with it.”
“Oh my goodness. A baby,” my grandmother gasps.
“Yes,” I grunt, feeling my heart ache more with the sound of her happiness.
“Sorry, give us a minute, please.” Sean helps me up and closes the door so we can have a minute of privacy.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to blurt that out, sweetheart.” I wash up as my husband continues to apologize. Once I’m clean, I can finally speak properly. “Sean, it’s fine. It’s best they know about the baby. I’m sure this little one means a lot to them. So far, in a matter of an hour they have shown me more love than I’ve felt from my parents at any given time in my life.”
“It’s fucking sad that you can say that, but I’m glad we’re here. You need a better family around you besides your sisters. Are you ready to go back out there?”
I nod, and we return to my family. Smiling, I accept their hugs and congratulations. We spend the rest of the day at their estate before going home. They share tons of stories about my father from when he was little until the time he left for his last tour. He was a good man, and it’s a shame he couldn’t be here to see me.