Page 79 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“Thank you,” Joseph said, his face white as a ghost, as he consulted Phillip.
Unsure of how to handle such a situation, Phillip nodded his approval, but he really had no idea if Joseph was making the right decision in giving up the children. Was this what Penelope would have wanted? No one knew. But with every paper that Joseph signed, Phillip decided that the Penelope he’d known would have wanted the very best for her children, and this was the most logical option that they had for giving the girls a better life.
“And what about Grace?” Joseph asked.
“I’ve found a lovely family in Tennessee. They, too, will keep her name.”
Fear swam around in his face, his cheeks turning pink. “They’re going to be split apart?”
Phillip couldn’t imagine what it would be like to find out one day that he had a brother he’d never met. He couldn’t fathom it. The little babies were so young; they’d never know the difference, but it seemed awful to split the sisters up. They would become girls, then teenagers, then women, have families of their own, and never know that they had each other out there. Would they ever find out the truth?
“Both families are amazing, loving people, Joseph,” Rhoda said. “These girls will be treated like princesses in their new homes.”
Joseph ran his hand along their names on the forms as a tear streaked his cheek. “I can’t even afford to feed them,” he whispered, his lips quivering and his face empty from the pain that seemed to have drained him of every expression he had. He’d lost his wife and now he was losing their children.
Phillip wanted to tear up the papers, figure out how to save Joe from this. He had all the money Joe needed and yet he couldn’t give it to him. It belonged to his family and Joe had been right: they weren’t about to give it up as charity for the rest of their lives. He should have known; they’d made that abundantly clear with Penelope. Phillip stood by, helpless, as the grieving father’s pen hovered over the paperwork, the last shred of Penelope’s love slipping away from them both as Joseph signed his name.
* * *
Rodanthe, North Carolina
When Joe had finished telling the story, Lauren was frozen in her chair, all of the events now coming together. It was slowly dawning on her—the real reason that Stephanie’s mother in the photo had looked exactly like her own mom. She peered over at the bride—her cousin—who was dancing with her new husband, as Dave and his crew caught every move. A wave of wonder washed over her at the fact that Stephanie had actually had their own grandfather walk her down the aisle. It was incredible, something that could only have happened with a little help from above.
“I got to see Anne grow up, get married, and have Stephanie. I had to grieve on my own when she passed away. I never knew Grace or met her children. And it has always been a hole in my life.”
“I think I can help you with that,” Lauren said, finding her words as she looked her grandfather in the eyes. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her photos until she located an old snapshot of her mother a couple of Christmases ago. She turned it around for Joe to view. “Does this person look familiar?”
Joe peered at the phone, his eyes filling with tears. “Grace?”
Every hair on her neck stood up. “I’m Grace’s daughter.”
His mouth hung open, a look of utter astonishment in his eyes.
“I knew I wasn’t crazy when I saw you that day and thought you were Stephanie,” Brody said with amazement.
Lauren smiled at him, still in a fog of delight and disbelief.
Joe looked over at the bride and then back at Lauren.
“When are you going to tell her?” Lauren asked.
The man smiled wistfully at his granddaughter. “I was afraid to tell her for so long, afraid to change her world even more after her parents’ death. I thought about it so many times… But now, the day is here. It’s right. I’ll tell her after the wedding.”
“Okay. I’d love to be there with my cousin, when you do.” She liked the sound of the word “cousin” when referring to her new friend.
Clearly incapable of hiding his emotions, Joe stood up and opened his arms. Lauren followed and embraced him. “I have my family again,” he said with a sob.
Lauren gave him a loving squeeze, her heart overflowing. “Yes, you do. I can’t wait to call my mother.”
Brody shook his head. “I can’t believe this, Joe. You’ve had this secret and you haven’t shared it with anyone at all?” Then his face crumpled. “If my grandfather witnessed all this, why wasn’t he…” He seemed to struggle to say the words, Lauren hanging on every one of them to figure out what he might be thinking.
Chuck spoke up. “I asked Joe, too, if my father had witnessed all of this, why wasn’t he a better father himself?” Remorse fell over his face. “You can say it: and I followed right in his footsteps.”
Joe sat back down. “Your father was a very complex individual. He confided in me that when he married Alicia, he held on to a lifetime of guilt for being able to have a family when Penelope couldn’t. He told me once that he couldn’t love you all in the way you deserved, so you were better off if he just stayed away.”
“I never understood that about him,” Chuck said. “I always thought he put work above us because taking care of people meant working to provide for them.” He addressed Brody. “And I was scared that your interests wouldn’t give you what you needed to be a provider, and I was hard on you because of it. I’m sorry.”
Brody nodded, still obviously hurt.
