Page 93 of Moonlit Kisses

I give her a small smile. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

She squeezes my hand. “Thank you, Molly. You’re being very gracious. Perhaps someday you’ll share stories about growing up and tell me all about my grandson.”

I nod. “I’d be happy to.” I fidget with my bracelet. “I don’t really know all that much about Mom’s childhood or teenage years, so perhaps you can tell me more about her?”

She smiles at me. “Of course. I still have all of her photo albums. I think I’ve even got some videos.” She chuckles. “Though I may need to get them transferred into another format, since I don’t have a video player anymore.” She pats my hand and climbs to her feet. “I’ll grab the photo albums. We can look at them now.”

Joanna comes back carrying several albums. When she opens to the first page of the first album, a gasp escapes me. “Oh my gosh. She was so cute. I’ll have to bring the few baby photos I have so we can compare how much I looked like her.”

She studies me. “You hold a remarkable resemblance to Nicole, even though you have some of Martin’s prominent features. I’m sure you looked just like Nicole when you were a baby.”

Joanna spends the afternoon showing me photos of Mom until the age of seventeen, when the album abruptly remains starkly blank. We’re both silent for long moments at the reminder of the years she’s missed. Christian breaks the moment when he suddenly wakes and starts barking at nothing.

I remember I’ve got some more recent photos on my phone, so I show them to her. Tears fill her eyes as she sees her daughter as a grown woman with the family she made for herself.

After long quiet moments, I decide now is the time to invite my grandmother to my wedding. “Uhm, Joanna. I have something I would like to ask you. Max asked me to marry him and I said yes.” My tummy still flips when I think back to his proposal on the beach.

Her face lights up. “Oh, he seemed like such a lovely young man. He cares very much for you. I’m thrilled you’ve met such a wonderful man.”

“Me too.” My lips spread across my face, thinking about Max. “I was wondering if you’d like to come to our wedding? We don’t have a date or time just yet, but it will be next month.”

“Oh, I’d love to. Thank you for the invitation.” She jumps up from her seat. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

I’m puzzled by her abrupt departure, but I stand to look out of the window at the shared gardens while I wait for her. My grandmother has a peaceful view out of this window. Perhaps I should call her grandma or something?

Joanna returns with a small box. She hands it to me with a timid smile. “This is something my mother gave me to wear at my wedding and I had hoped Nicole would wear it for hers.” Her smile becomes somber. “I would be thrilled if you would consider wearing this on your special day.”

I open the box and my mouth drops open. Inside is a beautiful sparkling pendant. I tip my eyes back up to Joanna. “This is beautiful. I would love to wear this, though I don’t know what the design of my dress will be yet.”

She raises her hands to her chest. “Oh, you’ve made me so happy. It’s meant to represent the stars in the night sky.”

“Max proposed to me under a moonlit sky, so we’re planning to get married at sunset. This would be amazing. Thank you.”

CHAPTER47

–molly–

Max has his nephew,Austin, over for the afternoon to ‘help’ him change the tires on his Dodge. Austin was almost exploding with excitement when he arrived to spend the afternoon working on his uncle’s car. The day Max offered Austin the opportunity to help him in the future with his tire change, I figured it was lip service because Austin’s so young. But I should have known better. Max is a man of his word and he didn’t hesitate to include his nephew in his afternoon plans. It was so cute how Austin turned up in overalls, much like the ones Max wears. He’s going to be such a great daddy one day.

I thought I’d leave them to their male bonding afternoon and spend the time getting to know my siblings. When I phoned to organize this afternoon, I half expected Noah and Holly to make up some excuse to avoid me. After all, I’m a complete stranger who happens to share their dad. I wouldn’t blame them, but they were as keen as I am for us to get to know each other.

I’ve set up our afternoon snacks on the picnic blanket at the park near the workshop. I wasn’t sure what type of snacks to bring, so I brought a little of everything. Whatever’s left over, I’m sure Max will eat, but if I remember correctly, there won’t be anything left with a teenage boy around. If Noah’s anything like Ethan was, he’ll have a bottomless pit for a stomach.

My breath catches in my lungs when I realize I thought about my brother without my heart splintering into a million pieces. Sure, the memory of him has pain attached, but I’m starting to feel less bogged down by it. I know my sense of loss associated with my family will never go away, but I hope that when I think about them, it won’t always result in me breaking down in a sobbing fit. I need to remember there were a lot of good times, happy times. The only truly sad memory of my family is that they’re no longer here.

I make a promise to myself to focus on the happy times as much as possible.

Dragging my backpack across to me, I check that I have what I need inside and pull out the sketch pads and pencils I brought. I promised Noah I would start teaching him how to sketch today. I figured Holly and I could show him some simple techniques to get him started. There are loads of sketching opportunities for Noah at this park.

When I glance up, I spot Noah and Holly walking toward me, matching smiles on their faces, one with dimples, one without.

I stand as they close the distance. “Hi, guys.” I’m not sure if I should hug them in greeting or not. I always hugged my family and I hug Max’s family too. I decide to do what I’ve always done. They can let me know if they don’t like it. Stepping forward, I hug Holly. “Hey, Holly.” Then Noah. “Hey, Noah. I’m glad you guys could make it today.”

They each return my embrace. “We’ve been looking forward to spending some time with you. We were bummed we missed out on dinner with you and Max.” Holly smiles at me, then glances at her brother.Ourbrother. Geez, that’s hard to get used to. “Right, Noah?”

Noah nods. “Right. I can’t wait for you to teach me how to draw as good as you.”

Holly’s brows tighten. “I could have taught you how to draw, you know. All you had to do was ask.”

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