Page 105 of Always Be Mine
My hope for you is that this exercise has taught you that you don’t need to go it alone. Live a full life, son. Let others in. Trust them. Learn from them. And maybe even love them.
We weren’t put here to do life on our own.
Life is rich and full when it’s shared with someone else.
I hope that’s a lesson you can pass on to Meredith as well.
All my love,
Dad.
Tears streaked down Craig’s cheeks by the time he finished reading the letter. He folded it and carefully put it back in the torn envelope.
“Dammit. Kat was right.” He laughed at himself and wiped at his face.
The cat chose that moment to join him in the kitchen. With a loud mewl, Garfield jumped up first onto the chair and then on the table, where he flopped down on the letter and sprawled out in front of him.
“The letter from your dead parent will get you every time, won’t it, buddy?” Craig ran his hand down the cat’s furry belly. Garfield’s purring filled the kitchen. “It sure got me.”
He let himself drift into thought while he stroked the soft fur.
He’d been so caught up in what didn’t matter, that he’d missed all the things thatdid.And his dad was right. The last few months with Lucy had been amazing. He’d spent too much time trying to be everything to everyone that he hadn’t seen what was missing from his life.
And now…
He exhaled slowly, suddenly exhausted. “What do you think, Garfield? Will she come back?”
The cat lifted his head and meowed before dropping it down again.
“I hope so, too, buddy. But in the meantime, I think there’s something else we need to take care of. Something I should have taken care of a long time ago.”
Meri held the stuffed unicorn with the purple cape that Lucy had given her for her birthday, and stroked her pink tail as Craig spoke.
He hadn’t wanted to waste anymore time, so after their dinner of chicken fingers and fries, Craig had sat his daughter down in the living room to tell her the truth about her mother.
“Do you have any questions?” he said after relaying all the facts.
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment before speaking. “My mom didn’t want me?”
His heart squeezed.
Craig reached for her hand. “No. That’s not it at all. Your birth mother wanted you very much. She wanted you to have the best life and be surrounded by people who loved you more than anything in the world. Like Auntie Charli and Auntie Kat. And Uncle Asher and Uncle Chase. And?—”
“Lucy?”
Craig swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes. And people like Lucy.”
Meri accepted that answer.
“It’s important that you know how loved you are, kiddo.”
“I do. But…”
He knew there would be questions. As ready as he thought he would be, there was nothing that could properly prepare a man for such a situation.
“Why doesn’tshewant to love me?”
“I know this is hard to understand, kiddo. It’s hard for me, too. But sometimes people know they can’t be the kind of mother or father their kids deserve, so it’s actually an act of the greatest love to make room for other people to do that loving.”
