Page 54 of Reclaimed Dreams
Chapter17
1 year ago
Jo held Sofia’s hand and coached her through another contraction. As the tension in her daughter’s grip began to ease, Adrian burst through the door of the hospital suite, his eyes frantic.
“Sofia?”
“Here, my love. I’m fine. It’s fine. We’re having a baby,” Sofia said as he leaned over the bed to kiss her forehead.
“Thank God you weren’t alone.”
“Honey, I haven’t been alone for nine months. But yes, having Mom with me was a blessing.”
“And now that you’re here, I’ll just step out to the waiting room.” Jo kissed the hand she’d been holding. “Call me if you need me. I love you, baby.”
“I love you too, Mom. Thanks for everything.”
Jo walked out to the waiting room and found Dom sitting by himself. “Hey there, handsome. Is this seat taken?”
Dom looked up and shook his head, and Jo sat down, her shoulder pressing against his. “How’s she doing?”
“Our girl is strong. She’s doing just fine. Better now that Adrian is there to calm her down.”
“So, we’re gonna be grandparents, huh?”
“We sure are. You ready for this?”
“I don’t know. Are you?”
Jo eyed her husband, trying not to let sarcasm take the lead. “I’ve been trying to get ready for a while now. You might have noticed.”
Damn, lost that battle.
“I’ve been trying too, in my own way.”
“And what way is that? Working yourself into the ground?”
Dom turned to look her straight in the eye. Whatever he was about to say was not the snark she’d anticipated. “No, I’ve been seeing a therapist to help me get past why I’ve been working so hard the last few years.”
Jo sat in stunned silence. Never in a million years would she have guessed that was what he’d been up to.
“A lot of decisions I’ve made over the past few years have come from a place of fear and needing to regain control wherever I could. I was so afraid of losing anything else after…”
After losing Gabe. Jo heard what he couldn’t say. Dom shrugged and kept talking.
“Anyway, he suggested maybe it’d be good for you to see someone too. And maybe for us to see someone together.”
Dom was waiting for her reaction, and she struggled to find the right words.
He leapt into her gap. “Or not, I mean, it was just an idea. If you don’t want to, that’s—”
She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I do. I think it’s a good idea, Dom. Let’s do it. You know, this grandparent gig is just one of the things I’d hoped to share with you in our retirement. If you’re working on a way to get there, I’m happy to do that with you.”
“I’ve been working on getting us there for years. Everything I’ve ever done has been for the good of this family.” Frustration leaked from his voice and through his eyes. “And you haven’t seemed that happy.”
“You might have been working for your family, but you sure didn’t work with us. Most importantly, you stopped working with me, Dom. You cut me out.”
“I didn’t—”
