Page 60 of Mia Amata

“You met Sal and Louisa! I’m sure they didn’t hold much back about you and Jacob, did they?”

Smiling, I said, “No, they were pretty clear they thought Jacob took after you and Donald, love at first sight type thing.”

“You don’t believe in love like that?”

Looking at Jacob as he joined me on the couch, “I didn’t until recently. Some days I am still on the fence, but then there’s Jacob.” He smiled, taking my hand.

“I didn’t think I did either. Then a friend talked me into going to a dance one night when we were in college, our freshman year. We walked in, there were a couple of men dressed in uniform. They were friends of some of the guys that went to the college. Donald and I locked eyes across the room. He made his way over to me and asked me to dance. I said yes. We were married two weeks later.”

“Really two weeks later? You never met before that at all?” I said.

Donald, who had joined his wife, shook his head. “Nope. We got married two weeks later and had one month together before I went to my first deployment overseas.” He took Nora’s hand. “This poor lady set up our new home and went through our first pregnancy without me. She also got her college degree. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Nora smiled at him. “Look at us now, we will celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary this year.” She turned to look at me. “What you said about Jacob, I thank you for that. He has grown into a wonderful man that we are proud of. It is obvious to us, even though we have only seen the two of you together here today, how much in love the two of you are. I don’t care how long you two have known each other, whether it be a day, a week, or years. What matters to me is how happy you both are.”

Jacob put his arm around me, pulling me close to him. “Mia Amata makes me very happy. I felt something from her the moment I saw her, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life making her happy.”

I smiled at him, “I’m very happy also. I didn’t think I could ever feel like this. I thought I would never find anyone like Jacob. I basically dragged my feet the entire way.”

We sat, visiting until Jacob looked at his watch. “I hate to be cut this short, but we really need to go.”

“What’s the hurry,” Donald asked, as we stood to leave.

“I’m moving in with Mattie today.”

“Need some help?” Donald asked.

“Thanks, but no, I don’t have a lot of stuff to move since the house was furnished when I rented it.”

Nora and Donald walked us to the door.

Nora took my hands, “I am so happy you came today. You are a wonderful addition to our family.” She gave me a hug, then hugged Jacob. Donald gave us both hugs too, then they stood waving at us as we climbed in the truck.

Jacob backed out of the driveway. As we turned onto the road back into town, Jacob reached out, taking my hand. “So what do you think of my parents now?”

I smiled at him, “They are great. I really like them.”

“They adore you.”

“They were so accepting of me and the baby. They are calling her their grandchild,” I said amazed. “Does that surprise you?” Jacob asked.

“Yes. For total strangers to be so accepting, welcoming us into their family after just minutes of meeting us, I’ve never had that before.” I thought about it. “I met some when I was younger that showed me most people are decent, but to accept me like that without a second thought…” I grew quiet, lost in thought.

Jacob squeezed my hand, “Are you OK?”

I smiled at him, “Yes. I just got tired, that’s all.”

“I’ll take you home, so you can take a nap while I go get my stuff.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, “I could go with you to help.”

“No, you should get some rest. It won’t take much to get my stuff in the truck. I should be home by supper time.”

“Home.” I smiled at him.

He smiled back. “I can’t wait,” he said.

“Me neither.” We drove the rest of the way to my house, soon to be ours, in silence, content to just be together. We got to the house; he pulled the truck to a stop. “Do you want me to come in with you?” I leaned over and kissed him. “No, it’s fine. Go get your things, hurry back.”

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