And maybe even for forgiveness.
He wasn’t wrong.
The meeting was tear-filled and emotional, but watching her eyes light when she held her grandkids for the first time, watching how instantly enamored Theo was with his grandma made it all worth it.
One of these days she’ll come out here, I’m sure. Someday when she’s ready. Until then, I’ve made peace with accepting the fact that she wasn’t able to be the mother I needed her to be—and that I’m not doomed to repeat her mistakes.
“All right,” I say after another fifteen minutes of play time. “Time to head in and get baths and jammies.”
Theo moans, throwing one more pass to his dad, and I scoop the baby into my arms. We head inside, our perfect little family, and make our way upstairs to run baths.
Moving to Richmond with Talon was, unquestionably, the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. It wasn’t easy, throwing caution to the wind, walking away from a generous job offer, but I can’t imagine my life with my husband and the two beautiful children we’ve made.
Sometimes you have to close your eyes and leap—and sometimes, if you’re lucky, your best friend will be right there, holding your hand as you jump into the vast unknown together.
“Hey,” Talon says, stopping me when we’re outside the nursery.
“Yeah?”
“I love you,” he says.
“That’s all?” I ask, chuckling. For some reason, I thought he was going to tell me something else.
He leans down, kissing the top of Bette’s head before kissing me. “That’s all.”