I wonder if my father was ever romantic with her. Did he treat her like Gunner treats me? Or how Jack treats Grace? Did he love her like Garrett loves Emma?
“The pleasure is all mine. It’s an honor to meet you,” my mother said.
I took Alex from Garrett and kissed her on the forehead. As I glanced over to Gunner, I saw him smiling at me with tears in his eyes. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him. His gaze held mine, and my heart swelled with so much love for him.
He’s my rock. He’s the air that I breathe. I don’t think I could have done this without knowing he would be right by my side.
I turned and faced my mom. The moment I saw her tears, I felt mine. I’m really going to do this. I’m going to open my
heart to her and trust that she won’t break it. I glanced one more time at Gunner, and he nodded and winked at me.
“Mom…” I barely got it out. I had to clear my throat. “I’d like for you to meet our daughter. Her name is Alexandra Eryn Mathews. We call her Alex for short. ”
My mother allowed her tears to fall like rain. She finally let out a deep breath as she looked me in the eyes. “She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen besides you, your brother, and Luke. Ellie, she’s…she’s…”
“Perfect?”
My mother laughed. “Yes! She’s perfect. How old is she?”
“Almost ten weeks old. ” I smiled.
“May I?” my mother asked as she extended her arms.
“Yes! Of course. ”
I placed my child into the arms of the woman who had hurt me more than I cared to even remember. At the same moment, the memories of all the times she’d loved me came flooding back into my mind.
I thought of a time when she had taken me shopping for an Easter dress.
As she was putting up my hair, she’d said, “Your eyes are the most magical things I’ve ever seen, Ellie. ”
Another time, she had taken me to the park, and we’d chased one another for hours. Whenever she would catch me, she would laugh and tickle me.
At night, she would sometimes read me a love story about a prince who saved the princess from a terrible dream, and then they lived happily ever after.
Oh. My. God. Why didn’t I remember any of this until now? Why has my mind been filled with all the bad memories?
My mom had been talking to Alex, saying how beautiful she was, while I was lost in my memories.
“The story. ”
My mother looked at me, confused. “You want me to tell her a story?” She laughed.
“No, Mom. I just remembered the story you used to tell me every night. It was the one about the prince who would come and save the princess from her terrible dream. She was trapped in a nightmare and wanted so badly to escape. ”
My mom’s smile faded just a bit.
“Mom…that was you, wasn’t it?”
“Ellie, how do you even remember that? You were so little when I told you that story. ”
I looked at Gunner. “Gunner, will you please take Alex for a bit?”
“Um…sure, babe. ”
My mother handed Alex to Gunner and then glanced between Jefferson and me.
“Can the three of us go for a walk?” I asked Jefferson and my mom.