Page 15 of Forever Writing You

I looked at her and held back a laugh.

I’d never seen her wear anything on her feet other than stilettos and designer shoes, and she screamed whenever we saw dragonflies or mosquitos in Central Park.

“You do know that you’ll have to spend countless hours outdoors to farm, right?” I asked.

“I know that the people I hire to run it will.” She smiled. “I can’t be a mom and be outside all day. Unless you want to hold off on starting a family?”

“I don’t.” I shook my head. I’d already waited long enough…

“Are you sure you don’t want to invite your father to our wedding?” she asked.

“I don’t have a father, Carmen,” I said. “You know that.”

“I know, it’s just…” She tapped her lip. Imagine how he’ll feel years from now, knowing that you’ve married, and you didn’t want him there.”

“He’ll feel the same way he does now.” I refused to budge on this topic. “He hasn’t been there for anything.”

“You don’t believe in forgiveness or second chances?”

“Not for people like him, and I need you to drop this subject.”

“But—”

“Now.”

“Okay, fine.” She kissed my cheek. “I’m sure you’ll be an awesome dad when we have kids.”

“I will be.”

“Here.” She pulled a small teddy bear charm from her pocket and handed it to me. “I bought that for you today. Whenever we get pregnant and pick a name, you should get it engraved.”

I rolled it around my palm. “My child won’t hate me like I hate my father,” I said to her. “I can promise you that.”

“I believe you.” She kissed my cheek. “I won’t bring up that topic again. Let’s get dinner.”

NINE

Dahlia

Dear Mr. Everett Anderson Sr.,

My name is Carmen Reese, and I’m your future daughter-in-law.

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet, but I’m sending you these flowers in hopes that you’ll consider coming to see your son marry me at our wedding.

He asked me to personally reach out to you, because he was worried about the distance and time. He’s worried that too much has gone by but…I told him it doesn’t hurt to try, and family is everything.

No matter what.

Your formal invitation is included, and I hope you’ll consider joining us for a three-day event to celebrate our love.

Sincerely,

Your future daughter-in-law,

Carmen

I tore off the day’s top order and stuffed it into my pocket. Then I archived it before anyone could make the mistake of processing it.

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