“I was a college freshman, and my roommates got me to go.” Della grinned at her and explained, “I skipped a few grades to get through school sooner.”
Natalie wanted to know everything and nothing at the same time. “Did you get to pick who got me?” Had she known who her parents had been the entire time?
“No, that was all taken care of for me,” Della admitted. “I don’t know who made that decision. I was never even told.”
“Did you ever want more kids of your own?” Natalie asked.
“Yes and no. Yes, I always wanted more kids. But no because I knew I was never going to have any. You were big, and it was a difficult delivery. I had an emergency hysterectomy the day you were born.”
“I’m sorry.” Natalie’s heart broke for the girl her mother had been.
“It wasn’t your fault. It was nobody’s fault,” Della assured her.
“They kept the name you gave me,” Natalie said, though she knew Della knew her name was Natalie.
“I was happy when I saw that. They even had Hart as your middle name. I didn’t give you one of those.” Della smiled as she wiped her tears away.
“They loved Natalie because it meant Christmas, and they thought they were getting the best gift ever. My mom loved the Hart middle name and called me Natalie Hart all the time until she died. She thought it was like an endearment. Sometimes Dad uses it, too.”
“Most of our spouses use it as an endearment also,” Della said, looking out at the water. Then she asked, “Why did you have doubts that I was your mother?”
“I was talking to Zephyr, and she said you couldn’t have children. I figured I made a mistake, and it wasn’t you. I mean, look at me. Nothing like you at all.”
“Poor Zephyr. She thought she had said something wrong when we realized you were gone.”
“Don’t get mad at her, please.” Natalie didn’t want to get between the sisters.
“I can never be mad at Zephyr. She’s Zephyr. We didn’t even know about her until a few years ago when she showed up like you, but we weren’t looking for her. She was raised in foster care and has a hard time in groups. And our family does things as groups.”
“So, she knew about you? But you didn’t know about her?” Natalie asked.
“Yes. Zephyr knows why I can’t have children, but she didn’t put the two together. I should have told her it was you. I just thought I had time. Our birthdays.” Della looked out at the lake.
“You knew?” Natalie looked closely at her.
“Yes, almost right away. You act so much like Zoe, and you have my eyes. I had my doubts because you didn’t look like the picture I had of you, but then you said you had an accident. You’ve had facial work?” Della touched her own face.
“Yes, reconstructed cheekbone and jaw, so it changed how I look. The accident was bad.” Natalie didn’t go into any more details. She knew her father had gone over a few in the video. There was no way he could have skipped over it. It was so much a part of her life for so long.
“I wanted you to tell me. I just should have said it, but I was a little scared that I was wrong. I wanted her to be you.” Della held a tissue to her eyes again.
Natalie held out her hand. “I wanted my mom to be you too.”
Della put her hand in her daughter’s and asked, “Can I be a part of your life? Even just a small part? I know you have your dad, and he is your parent. I’m not asking to be a mom, but a friend. Family? Just something.”
“I hope you can. I do live far away, about five hours or so. That’s a long way.”
“I can drive that. I would drive anywhere to see you—even for just a moment. And there’s always room at the B&B for you and Sam. And there’s a family discount.” She smiled at her. “It’s no charge.”
“Sam and I are working out if wearea we right now.”
“You really looked in love, Natalie.”
“We might be, but it’s been a roller coaster this week. We have to get back to Landstad and see if we can take on the mundane life stuff,” Natalie admitted in fear.
“If you can handle the emotional stuff, the mundane is easy after the roller coaster,” Della replied.
“We have a couple of things to get over first: I was supposed to be married now, and he was my teacher once,” Natalie pointed out.