Page 57 of Reclaimed Dreams
"He's so beautiful. So perfect. And he cried so strongly,” Dom said, his voice thick with tears.
Graciela, Adrian's mother, tentatively walked through the doors, leaning on her daughter Mahalia.
"Oh, Abuela Cici! He's here! Come and meet him!" Jo wrapped her daughter's mother-in-law in a big hug and hustled her back. Frankie rose to follow them, but her mother stopped her. "No, let us go alone. The rest of you wait for Enzo and Nat."
Watching Graciela fuss over her daughter and grandson warmed Jo’s heart. Sofia had found a good partner in Adrian, and she was happy he’d become part of their family. A marriage would be even better, but that was coming. Jo tempered her impatience.
When Frankie and Enzo came in with their partners to meet their nephew, Jo teared up again. Her family circle felt complete for the first time in years. Did she wish Gabe was here? Absolutely, but the ache felt smaller in the face of this joy somehow.
"Does little man here have a name?" Frankie asked.
"He does." Sofia cleared the tears from her throat and addressed the whole room. "His name is Gabriel Luis Valenti Villanueva."
Jo and Graciela burst into tears at hearing their beloveds' names honored with new life.
"You named him for your papá?" Graciela reached a hand to her son.
Adrian squeezed it and nodded. "And Sofia's brother. They were both men we'd be proud for our son to take after," he said.
Jo gasped out a sob and proceeded to drench Dom's shirt with happy tears. By the time the nurse showed up to shoo them all out, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
As she and Dom headed home to get some rest, Jo felt a lightness in her chest that had been missing for years. It took her a while to recognize it as peace.
