Page 96 of Coming Home

Rising, Dad walked to his wife’s other side. Kneeling beside her, taking her other hand. “My love, even though we will heal, we will still have scars, but we’ll learn to deal with them…Together. Our Evan wouldn’t want this. That boy was joy in motion. Smiles and laughter followed him wherever he went. Let his leaving us to go to Heaven be the same. Even if we’re not smiling, we need to talk about him. We need to do it as a family, and I think we need to see a therapist. It’s time…it’s time to talk.”

Mom let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”

“Mom, we’re strong enough for you. Let us support you. Let us hold your hand while you do hard things. Just like you held my hand until I was ready to walk on my own,” she said, clasping her mom’s delicate hands in her own, hoping each stroke coaxed her to say yes.

Gnawing on her lower lip, Mom looked between Nat and Dad.

“My love, we need you. You are our heart. We can’t work without you,” he said, brushing her satiny hair behind her ear.

“Alright.” One breathless word laced with every emotion etched across Mom’s face: sorrow, guilt, anger, longing, and the tiniest flicker of hope.

Rising, he pressed a tender kiss to her temple. “That’s my warrior queen.”

“I’m so proud of you, Mom.” Amazed pride spread in Nat’s chest. For both her parents.

Letting go of Nat’s hand, Mom held up the packet of papers in her right hand. “And I’m so proud of you, my girl. You don’t need me anymore. That’s what the frown was about. My children don’t need me anymore. I know it’s silly. Clayton used to need me to watch Fitz, but that stopped when Elle came along. Now, you don’t need me to run the business side of the clinic,” she sniffled.

Nat’s face lit with a silent chuckle. “Mom, we’ll always need you, but more importantly, we want you. I don’t want our relationship to be grounded in you taking care of me.” She looked at her dad with a smile, and then back to Mom. “I know it’s a tightrope to walk. You’ve been my mom longer than my colleague. You’ll always be my mom, and I’ll always want you, but maybe we can shift to friends. A relationship less about you taking care of me and more about just being with me.”

“Can I still harass you about the shortness of your dresses?” Mom asked with a watery laugh.

“They are a little short.” Dad chuckled.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

“Well, I am happy, and I won’t fret, but it does seem as if the more one gets the more one wants, doesn’t it?”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

The park brimmed with squealing children running across grass still damp from an early morning rainstorm. Sun poked through the gray sky, dissolving it into the soft blue of a sunny September day. Nat and Summer relaxed on the worn wooden bench overlooking the play area. Liam’s happy shouts danced in the soft breeze as he climbed up the big slide at the other side of the playground. Smiling, Noah was two rungs below him. Reaching the top, Liam sat, and Noah scooted in behind him. Noah’s hands were wrapped around Liam’s middle, the little boy’s arms waved in the air, and they both laughed as they slid down. Nat wasn’t sure whose expression of delight was louder—Noah’s or Liam’s.

“He’s so good with him.” Summer nudged Nat’s shoulder.

Nat’s sigh dripped with happy contentment.

“I know it’s early… but have you two discussed kids? You’ve always wanted kids. Does Noah?” Summer’s eyes followed Liamas he and Noah ran to the metal jungle gym near the center of the park.

“He does.” A goofy grin spread across her face.

Oh, my goddess, was she sitting at the park watching Noah play with Liam and daydreaming about the day he ran around the park with their kids?Abso-fucking-lutely!

“You are so ga-ga for that man.” Summer’s laughter came out like a bass drum.

Leaning her head against Summer’s shoulder, she gushed with the fervor of a crush-sick teenager. “I am totally Lady Gaga for that man. I won’t even pretend.”

“Dork,” she snorted. “So, are you two ready to tell your families tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve tackled a lot of big talks this week. This one will be a piece of cheesecake. I’m so proud of you and love calling you my best friend.”

“Aw, youloveme.” Nat made kissy faces at Summer, who batted her away.

“You ruin all our moments,” she laughed.

“Mom!” Liam’s gleeful yell drew their attention.

They smiled and followed Liam’s finger, which was aimed at Todd as he sauntered toward them, a huge grin on his face. A tail-wagging white huskie trotted beside him on a red leash. Nat and Summer rose and walked toward Liam and Noah, reaching the pair just as Todd did.

“Mom, look.” Liam’s voice reached a new octave of happiness. “She’s so pretty.”

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