Page 195 of Steel Queen

Irene readily scooted over to me and settled herself on my lap. “Mom.”

Is she callingmethat? I wondered, staring at her.

“I dreamed of you and my mother last night,” she said, playing with a blond lock of my hair. “We were right here in this room.”

“Were we playing with your dolls?”

She shook her head. “We were making flower garlands. There are so many flowers growing around the house now. We picked baskets of them.”

Twisting around to look at me, she added, “You looked pretty with flowers in your hair.”

A chuckle escaped me. “Thanks, I guess, but sweetie, why do you keep calling me ‘mom’?”

“My mom said you were going to be my mother from now on,” said Irene in a suddenly grim voice. Her blue eyes widened as she stared deep into my eyes. “Are you going to be my mom, Azalea?”

An emotion hit me right across the chest that I couldn’t quite name.

I’d adopted Irene to protect her but to be a mother...Was I even capable of that?

My thoughts went to my mom. Her beautiful face lit up with a soft smile flashed across my mind. Could I ever be the way she was to another human being?

Irene rose on my lap and placed her hands on my cheeks. “Will you be my mom?” she asked in a very serious tone.

“I would like to be but I don’t know if I can be a good mom,” I said, answering her honestly.

It was surreal to have this conversation with a seven-year-old.

“You’re already a great mom,” she said, winding her thin arms around my neck. “You take care of me, you give me hugs and kisses, you play with me, and you even buy me pretty clothes and dolls.”

“I guess I do those things.”

“Even Uncle Nick never did all that for me. Only my mom used to do those things for me.”

I held her to me in a gentle hug. Irene always brought me so much warmth and joy. Her honesty touched my heartstrings in a way that I did want to be her mom.

“I’m going to call you ‘mom’ from now on,” she said in a decisive voice and unwound her arms from my neck. She climbed off the bed and headed into the bathroom while I was left in a vortex of intense emotions.

After a few minutes, I heard the flush of the toilet.

The door opened and Irene stepped out. “I’m going to see Noah today,” she said, reminding me of the reason why I’d come into her room this early. “I want to wear my new tiara.”

“Sure, honey,” I said, moving to open the closet.

My eyes stung from the tears I was struggling to contain. The child had no idea what she did to me by deciding to call me ‘mom’. The door of the wardrobe gave me a little privacy to brush away my tears hastily.

“Did Noah ask about me yesterday?” Irene asked from the bed.

“Of course, he did,” I said, pretending to choose a dress for her.

Noah was kept under observational care over the past three days, so only his closest relatives were allowed to visit him. Today would be Irene’s first visit to the hospital to see him.

“Did you pack the cookies I made him?” she asked.

“Yep. All packed in those lovely boxes.”

“What dress am I wearing?” she finally asked after losing her patience with me.

I hastily brushed away my tears and grabbed a red princess grown with silver sequins. “What about this one?” I said, turning around to show her the dress.

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