As I released him, I could tell he looked different. His eyes shone brighter, his energy was higher, and, dare I say, he looked younger than he really was.
“What about your other old man?” Lenz asked as he pulled me into his broad chest. I wrapped my arms around him. Lenz truly was an amazing father figure to look up to, and while I loved my dad, I would be lying if I said Lenz didn’t have a major impact on how I grew up. Jack was a lucky son. But I was a luckier daughter.
“I can’t believe you guys came!” I exclaimed, wiping the stray tears from my eyes. God, I had only made it through two people, and I was already getting emotional.
But these weren’t just two people. This was my family—Jack, Lenz, my dad, and now the baby growing inside of me made me feel so damn fortunate my heart hurt.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure there will be more surprises to come.” My dad threw me a wink. I gave him a funny look. Something about his comment, paired with Lina’s back at her cottage, gave me a feeling there was still something I didn’t know about.
But I forgot all about it when I was bombarded by everyone at the party. Dozens of people had shown up to celebrate, and our entire living area was filled with the kindest souls I could ask for. After hugging possibly the twentieth person who wished me a happy birthday and congratulated me on having the baby again, Jack guided me to Mike, Alvita, and Lina, who were talking in the kitchen.
“Happy birthday, babe!” Lina rushed to hug me.
“Shut up,” I laughed. “You knew about this the whole time?”
Lina held my arms and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t think I wasthatgood a liar, did you?”
More laughter ensued. “I did not. I’m going to have to watch out with you now.”
“Well, it wasn’t only me.” She motioned to Mike and Alvita. “These two were the real superstars. Jack and I wouldn’t be able to put a party together for shit without them.”
The adorable couple laughed and looked at each other with so much love in their eyes. “Oh, we didn’t do that much.” Alvita swatted her hand. “Just handled some catering and such. This was all Jack’s idea. Hope he kept it secret enough from you.”
An inevitable smile took over my face as I turned to the man who constantly surprised me these days. “He did.” Jack met my eyes. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
He gave me a look that said all I needed to know.
You’re my wife. You deserve anything that makes you happy.
Us against the world, baby.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“And thank all of you so much.” I hugged Mike and Alvita individually before Jack pulled me against his chest and kissed my neck from behind. “I just can’t believe all of this.”
“Maggie!” A voice boomed from a few feet away as another pair of arms wrapped me in a hug. Felix Aguado kissed me on the cheek, a traditional Argentine greeting, and gave me a smile. “Happy birthday, you old woman.”
A laugh bellowed out of me. Felix was notorious for having a few different personalities throughout the club—hothead on the field, playboy at the parties, asshole to the sponsors—but he always gave me his best. And not just because he knew Jack would beat the shit out of him if he didn’t. “Thank you, Felix.Y gracias por sus ayuda en mi cumpleaños.”
“Hey, look at you with the Spanish! We’ll have you speaking it like an Argentine in no time.” His playful grin came out as soon as his eyes skipped to Lina. I took that as my cue to get the hell away and let them have it out.
Lina’s gaze slipped to mine with a,help melook, but I gave her a big smile and mouthed,thank you!I knew I would hear about this later, and honestly, I couldn’t wait.
I backed away, looking for Jack, when something else caught my eye. A table behind the couch held four childhood photos of me and a few trophies I had won in my junior and interscholastic polo leagues. Walking closer to inspect the images, I reminisced about each one. The first was of me sitting on my baby blanket in the middle of my dad’s barn aisle. My left fist was in mymouth, covering a big, toothless smile, and my right hand held a miniature stuffed horse with brown and white spots. I couldn’t have been older than six months. The second and third were photos of me on a horse, one with a mallet and all of my polo gear, and the other with the horse bareback, me standing on her back while holding makeshift lead rope reins. I chuckled. I was a fearless little horse girl, knowing no limits to the acrobatics I could do on horseback.
The fourth photo made me catch my breath. It was from when I was around seven years old, my hand placed on the neck of one of my dad’s old polo ponies. A second hand was also on the horse, the arm reaching out of the frame. I knew without thinking that it belonged to my mother. That she was cut out of the photo, just like she chose to cut herself out of my life.
I would never know the actual reality of why my mother left her young daughter at home the way she did. Without a note. Without a trace. Without wanting to be found. But…as I thought about it, it didn’t bother me in the way it used to. It didn’t make me feel insecure or unwanted. It didn’t make me feel hatred toward my mother, only misunderstanding. If the woman who gave birth to me wanted to be in my life, she would come back. But just because she hadn’t done it didn’t mean I had lost anything. It was all about perspective, I realized. I chose to keep the people I loved in my life. The people who would go to the ends of the earth for me, with the knowledge that I would do the same.
It dawned on me that Jack had probably felt the same way throughout the last few months, possiblyyears,since he’d had a conversation with his mother. I hoped that he had come to peace with it. And if not, it was his journey—his realization. I wiped a small smudge off the photo with my mother cut out, and put my negative feelings about her to bed. I had ababy. My love was needed elsewhere.
My focus on the photo faded when I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find Alvita, her presence always providing a sense of calm in the storm.
“Enjoying everything? I thought the photos your dad brought added a nice sentimental touch.”
Unable to resist the four-thousandth wave of emotions that came over me, I pulled her into a hug and suppressed a few tears. This night was too perfect. My fake husband, too thoughtful. This woman, too sweet. “I love it. I love it so much. Thank you for everything.”
“Maggie, you deserve the world. You are the most wonderful wife to Jack, and you’re going to be such an amazing mother.” She squeezed my shoulders before pulling away.
