The Journey Home

/> I instantly felt sick. “Thank God she didn’t.” I barely whispered.

“Well, one night, when we were at a bar, she broke down crying. She said that Maddie still had everything. A rich and powerful boyfriend, a job she loved, and friends who cared about her. She even talked about trying to hook up with Maddie’s boyfriend after having the baby.”

I leaned back in the chair, trying to take it all in. I knew most of this already, but hearing it from Zoey’s cousin just made it all so real.

“So Zoey was never in love with me.” I said. “She just wanted me because Maddie wanted me. She got pregnant out of fear that I would leave her. I get all of that. But how long was she going to keep this all up? Didn’t she think about her own life when she came up with this whole pregnancy thing?”

Lori shrugged. “I don’t think she thought it through. The further along in her pregnancy she got, the more she pulled away from me. She told me once that she didn’t think she was going to make it through the entire pregnancy. She really didn’t think the baby would, either.”

I sighed as I dragged my hands over my face.

“Cale, the only reason she did any of this is because she wanted what Maddie desired. What Maddie dreamed and fantasized about. Once she found out you where the Cale Maddie had been talking about, she was going to stop at nothing to make you hers. To hell with her own health or other people’s feelings. She wanted to take you and keep you from Maddie. But the only thing she ended up doing was taking her own life.”

I CAME OUT of the memory when I head a female voice clearing her throat. I opened my eyes and saw the nurse standing in front of me smiling.

“Are you ready to meet your daughter?”

My heart beat rapidly in my chest. My daughter. Our daughter.

MY EYES FELT heavy as I forced them open. I could hear Cale talking, and it sounded like he was talking to our baby. My eyes opened and focused as I saw Cale standing there holding our baby. I instantly started crying. Cale glanced over to me.

When a tear rolled down his cheek, I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to hold my sobs back. The nurse came in and asked if I was feeling okay. I was sitting up just a bit, as I looked around the room. I nodded and Cale came closer. When he turned, all I saw was the most amazing, beautiful, perfect, precious face staring back at me.

“Say hello to Mommy, Paige Evelyn.” Cale smiled. To me, he said, “She’s been waiting patiently for her mommy to wake up.”

A girl. We have a girl. I could no longer hold back my emotions. As Cale placed our daughter in my arms, I began crying like a baby. I could hardly see her through my tears. I pulled back her blanket and checked all her toes and fingers.

“She’s so beautiful and perfect,” I said.

Cale ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my forehead. “Yes she is,” he said. “Just like her mother.”

I looked up at him and I couldn’t believe how my heart felt. It was as if this was the moment I’d been waiting for since that day I first walked away from him.

My journey home was finally complete.

“Maddie, stop turning around and checking on Evie, she’s fine.”

I chuckled as I spun back around and looked out the window. It had been two months since she was born, but I couldn’t help myself. “I thought we were going to pick up Lily from your mom’s?”

“Mom decided to bring Lily to Crystal Bridges to play outside. Since it was such a beautiful April day and all. You know how much Lily loves the flowers there.”

I smiled and nodded. I’d stopped by the library last month with Evie and introduced her to everyone. I’d quit my job when Cale had his accident and had loved being home, but I did miss it sometimes. I glanced down and looked at the charm bracelet Cale had given me last year on Mother’s Day. I spun it around on my wrist as I thought back to the moment he gave it to me. I hardly ever took it off. Cale had added another bird to the charm to represent the birth of Evie.

We pulled up and parked at the front and Thomas, one of the gardeners, greeted us. “Cale, Maddie, how are you both?”

I stepped out of the car and smiled. “Wonderful! How are you doing?”

He chuckled and said, “I can’t complain. The flowers are beautiful right now. Mary and Lily are down playing by the large field.”

“Great. Thanks, Thomas.” I turned and looked at Cale. “You’re not leaving the car here are you, Cale?”

“Um…”

“Let me park it for you,” Thomas said. “I have nothing else to do right now and the three of you can head on down.”

I gave Thomas a huge grin. “That is so sweet of you.”

Cale handed Thomas the keys and winked. “Thanks so much. For everything.”

I gave Cale a funny look as he reached into the back and took out Evie’s car seat. He held out his hand and we started our way over to one of the paths that lead to the trails surrounding Crystal Bridges. I was instantly brought back to the night that Cale had asked me to marry him next to the LOVE sculpture. Cale and I chatted about Lily’s first official Easter egg hunt next week. She would be two in July, and last year she hadn’t been walking enough to do any kind of hunt at Easter. This year, she was ready. My father’s company was planning a huge event for all of the employees and their families. I smiled as I thought about how different my dad had become. But my smile faded when I thought about the letter I’d sent to my mother telling her about Evie. She’d sent me a reply that simply stated, “Congratulations on the birth of your first child.” That was it. I ended up sitting on the back deck with Monica and burning it in a small trashcan as we toasted to not being like our mothers. Then we both got drunk. I was pretty sure I’d had amazing sex with Cale that night, too.

“What are you so deep in thought about?” Cale asked as we walked along the trail. The smell of the flowers was washing over my senses—it had such a calming effect.

“Last month, when Monica and I got drunk. I’m pretty sure we had some hot sex and it kind of pisses me off I don’t remember it.”

Cale smiled and nodded. “Oh, I remember it. Believe me, it was fucking amazing.”

I hit him on the shoulder and laughed. We rounded the corner and I gasped as my hands came up to my mouth. “Oh my. Cale, I…it’s...”

There was a beautiful white arbor sitting in front of the LOVE sculpture. White lilies were everywhere as my father, his wife Michelle, Cale’s parents, and Jack and Monica all stood to the side. Lucy and Craig were now seven months old and they were both sitting in a playpen. Lily was running around the playpen, making Lucy laugh.

Lily was wearing a darling, light green dress that matched Monica’s. I moved my eyes over each person. Jack was dressed in jeans and a dress shirt and light green tie. Mary was wearing a long, flowing dress that was a shade darker than Monica’s. Mitchel was wearing jeans and dress shirt with the same tie as Jack. I looked at my father and he was dressed the same way. Michelle’s dress matched Monica’s. It all hit me.

“Our wedding,” I said as Cale walked up and set Evie’s car seat on a chair. He cupped my face with both hands and brought my lips up to his. When he pulled away, he looked lovingly into my eyes.

“Maddison Powers, today I will make you officially mine.”

I started to cry as Cale wiped my tears away with his thumbs. Before we’d left the house, he’d insisted I wear a long white dress that his mother had bought for me. I couldn’t figure out why he was being so insistent, but when he said his mother had been feeling down and that it would cheer her up to see me in it, I didn’t think twice about changing. It was now that I realized my white dress matched Monica’s and Michelle’s.

Cale was wearing jeans and a white button down shirt, and I hadn’t even questioned it. Mitchel walked over and handed Cale a light green tie. He put it on, the whole time keeping his eyes on me.

I finally found the strength to speak. “We’re getting married?”

He nodded his head and reached for Evie. “Yes, we are.” He took

my hand and led me to where Pastor Leonard was standing. Monica handed me a bouquet of white lilies.

I looked back and saw Mary ushering Lily to stand next to me. She tugged on my dress and said, “Mommy? Up, peese?”

I looked at Cale who smiled and nodded. I turned and picked up Lily, holding her as Pastor Leonard began the ceremony.

Lily was perfectly quiet. When I turned around, Mary was holding Evie and feeding her a bottle. My heart almost exploded. Cale’s mother had been such a huge part of my life over the last two years. She was the mother I’d never had, the mother Cale had never known, and a grandmother who loved our children with every ounce of her being. I mouthed, “I love you” to her and she mouthed it back as she wiped away a tear. I turned back around and listened to Pastor Leonard. Cale and I exchanged vows as we both stared into one another’s eyes. When I thought Pastor Leonard was going to pronounce us husband and wife he paused, pointing.

“Maddie, Cale would like to present you with two gifts.” I let out a sob and attempted to wipe my runny nose in a ladylike manner.

“Princess, can Mommy set you down for a few minutes?” I asked. “Maybe you can go sit next to Grammy and your baby sister?”

Lily nodded and bounced on over to sit with Mary.

I focused on Cale as Jack handed him a jewelry box. I couldn’t help but look down at my charm bracelet and smile. If I knew Cale, he was about to give me a charm, and probably a bracelet for Evie.

He stepped closer, took my left hand, and began playing with my charm bracelet. “I’ve been holding onto this charm, trying to decide when to give it to you. I had it made a week after the birth of Evie, and was just waiting for the right time to give it to you. Then it hit me. A wedding present. I would give it to you as a wedding present. That meant I had to throw a wedding together with the help of our best friends and our parents. I know you really wanted to get married on our beach…”

My cheeks flushed and I looked down briefly.