Page 157 of One Touch

It was Ava’s present, but I was struggling to contain my excitement, too. Over dinner, Ava and I made wild guesses about what could be inside the package. I felt pretty sure that the present was a telescope, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, so I guessed that it could be a baby giraffe, or, failing that, a miniature model of the Eiffel Tower.

After we were done eating, we played Uno for a couple of hours, until the sun started to dip beneath the horizon, painting the sky shades of crimson and gold.

We headed outside. Ava was bouncing on the spot with excitement.

“Can I open it?”

“Go for it,” Ethan said, nodding.

It was a joy to watch her tear the gift wrap off. When she was done, Ava let out a squeal of delight. “A telescope? A real one? For me?”

“For all of us,” Ethan said, ruffling her hair. “I thought we could do some stargazing together.”

“I love it! Thank you, Dad!” she said, giving him a hug. Then, she gave me a hug. “And thank you, Mom.”

My breath caught in my throat. She’d never called me that before. I didn’t know what to do.

For a moment, she looked embarrassed. “Sorry, Lily. Is it okay I called you that?”

I felt tears welling in my eyes. “It’s better than okay, honey. It’s about the best thing anyone has ever called me.” I pulled her in tight, closed my eyes, and thanked the universe for bringing this wonderful little girl into my life. “You can call me Mom any time you want to.”

Ethan watched us, misty-eyed. I hoped he felt all right. I didn’t want to take away from Marie’s place in Ava’s memory.

I watched as Ethan carefully set up the telescope, his strong hands moving with surprising gentleness. He referred often to the instructions, taking great care not to damage any of the sensitive parts.

All the while, Ava bounced on her toes, pelting him with questions. “Will we see Mars? What about the Big Dipper? Ooh, can we find Orion’s Belt?”

Ethan chuckled. “I hope so!”

As he fiddled with the settings, I couldn’t help but marvel at the scene before me. My little family, bathed in the soft glow of twilight, about to explore the cosmos together. My heart swelled with a love so fierce it almost hurt.

“All right,” Ethan said, straightening up. “I think this is good to go. Want to give it a spin, Aves?”

“Yep, yep, yep.”

Ethan lifted her up, positioning her eye over the lens. “Okay, what do you see?”

“Uh . . . it’s all blurry,” Ava said, her voice tinged with disappointment.

“Here, let me show you how to focus it,” Ethan said, guiding her small hands to the adjustment knobs.

I leaned in, whispering, “Take it slow, one step at a time.”

Ava nodded, her tongue poking out in concentration as she carefully turned the knobs. Suddenly, her whole face lit up. “I see it! I see a star! It’s so bright! And big!” She let out a loud laugh and clapped her hands together. “They’re so pretty, and there are so many of them! The sky looks so empty but there are tons of them.”

“Sometimes,” Ethan said, looking straight at me, “you can be looking at something for years, but not see how perfect it is.”

“You just need the right lens.” I reached and gave his hand a squeeze.

Loving Ethan was easy.

As we took turns peering through the telescope, Ethan pointed out various constellations and planets. I was impressed by how much he knew—apparently, my firefighter boyfriend had also been busy boning up on astronomy.

“Wow,” I said, “just make sure you let me know when you see the Droopy Caterpillar.”

“Look, there’s the Big Dipper!” Ava exclaimed suddenly.

Just then, to my amazement, a brilliant streak of light blazed across the sky. We all gasped in unison.

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