“She is, and so are you,” Summersaid.
“Can you believe we’re here? After all the shit, we’re sitting here, married, and with ourdaughter.”
“Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I look at you, Jackson, and I’m in awe of what you’ve overcome. I fall more in love with you each day, as you grow, as you change into the most wonderfulman.”
“You mean I wasn’t wonderful before?” Iteased.
“Conceited, for sure; wonderful, of course. What you are now bears no resemblance to the man you were,” she said with a quietchuckle.
I tightened my arms around her. “It’s all because of you,” I said, nuzzling herneck.
“Do you ever wonder what it was that your dad had to say to you?” she asked, somewhat randomly. I looked ather.
“No. I assumed he wanted a reconciliation but the fact he left everything to Perri showed he hadn’t. Maybe he wanted to torment me one last time, his last little kick before he fuckedoff.”
“Will you ever tell Bryony about your parents, she’s sure to ask at somepoint?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. I guess we just say they’re dead and nothingmore.”
We fell silent for awhile.
“Will we ever have thatconversationagain, the one you don’t want?” Summer said, glancing at Bryony as shedid.
I sighed. “Baby, I’m still traumatised by what happened. I look at you, and her, and the thought either of you might not be here right now, cuts me to the core. Give me a little moretime?”
Bryony was only a year old but Summer was broody. I was stillterrified.
She smiled at me, and placed her hand on the side of myface.
“You know what we could do? We could pretend that we’re practicing to get pregnant,” she said with asmirk.
“Pretend that we’re practicing? Mmm, I think I could do that. That’s like, three steps away from getting pregnant…I’m good withthat.”
I stood, carrying her in my arms to our bedroom. She laughed as I dropped her, unceremoniously, on thebed.
I watched as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, and before she had a chance to remove her jeans, I climbed on beside her. I kissed her stomach, letting my lips run over the faint silver lines that criss-crossed her skin. We were both scarred but for very different reasons, and we loved ourscars.
After all, pain is good if something beautiful comes out ofit.
TheEnd
