Page 31 of Our Forever Moment

“You all know that I’ve recently reconnected with Adam.”More murmurs and a few giggles.“It’s been really nice to get to know him again after all these years, and we’ve decided to meet in person.”

“What?”

“That’s great!”

“When?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Cool.”

The responses were as mixed as she’d expected when she decided to tell the children about her upcoming trip over their family dinner.She hadn’t been expecting Cal and Milena’s announcement, however, which was going to make the details of her trip an even bigger deal than she’d originally anticipated, planning it so close to Christmas.

She took a breath, put a smile on her face, and told them the details she’d previously arranged.

“Whoa.”Ian was the first to protest, the way she knew he would.“You can’t be serious.”Out of all her boys, Ian had experienced most of the fallout from his father’s betrayal all those years ago.He’d taken his role of the eldest very seriously and had become theman of the houseat the tender age of eighteen.Although he’d been supportive when Declan had found Adam, he was still the most concerned about her.

He protected and looked out for her.It was sweet, really.

Only, Maureen was a grown woman and didn’t need protection.

“I’m very serious.”She calmly reached for the jug of iced tea and poured herself a glass.

“You’re going to travel across the continent to meet a man you only know through letters?”Ian shook his head.“Why is it that you haven’t spoken on the phone?That’s weird.You do know there’s a thing called video chat, right?”

“It’s not weird.”She fixed her gaze on her eldest.“I’ve explained this before.We write letters because Adam is working in very remote parts of Africa.It’s an easier and more reliable way to communicate.People have been writing letters back and forth for hundreds of years, Ian.”

“I think it’s sweet.”Gwen gave her a wink.“Very romantic.”

“It is ridiculous.”Mitch was the next to object.He set his cutlery down and folded his hands over his plate.“The entire world is connected,” he continued.“There’s no reason you have to be so old-fashioned.”

“I happen to like being old-fashioned.”

It was true that letter writing had its drawbacks, but she’d grown to enjoy it and look forward to the letters.She agreed with Gwen.Itwasvery romantic.Every day, she was excited to check the mailbox and her heart would skip a beat, just as it had when she was a girl, when she saw the envelope with the familiar handwriting.And with the letters, unlike with email, there was no pressure to respond immediately.Instead, she had time to read and reread each letter and carefully think about the response before sitting down to write her own letter.Somehow, it had felt a lot more natural the way they were doing it.

“I don’t like it.”Ian shook his head.“What do we really know about this guy, Mom?”

Maureen almost choked on her iced tea.“Excuse me?”

“What are his intentions?”

Intentions?

“Mom, at your age—”

“Enough.”Maureen pushed up from her chair, put both hands on the table, and glared at her son.“First of all, I do not appreciate your tone, young man.”

Ian opened his mouth to protest the way she addressed him, but fortunately for him, had the good sense to close it again.

“Second, Adam is a few years older than me.And he isnotold.Nor am I.”She waited for Ian to acknowledge her with a quick nod.“I assure you I have plenty of life left in me, son, and part of that life is going to involve reuniting with an old friend, which frankly, is none of your business.”She looked around the table at each of them in turn.“I do apologize if I gave any of you the impression that I was looking for your opinion on the matter.I am not.”

Maureen didn’t make a habit of raising her voice at her children.She never had, even when they were a pack of rambunctious boys trying every one of her last nerves.So when she did, it had the desired impact.Ian and Mitch, particularly, looked properly chastised.

After a moment, Maureen took her seat and, with a shaking hand, took a sip of her iced tea.

“Okay.”Declan stood up from his spot at the table.“I think Mom’s made her point.”He smiled in her direction.“And it’s a good one.I would just like to add that Adam Lancaster is a respected optometrist who has a very successful practice on the East Coast.He’s spent most of his career traveling to impoverished countries to provide free optical care for people in need, only returning to Canada and his practice to raise more funds for his charitable work.He’s dedicated his life to his philanthropic causes.”He offered Maureen a supportive smile.“But most importantly, he’s an old friend of our mother’s, and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t all be anything less than supportive.”

Maureen let her shoulders relax, as the tension she’d been holding in them released a little.“Thank you, Dec.”

---