I don’t know what to say. Or do. So I follow my gut, drop Lee’s hand, and hug his mom back just as tight.
“He’s easy to love,” I tell her honestly.
“I know,” she whispers. “It’s a Beckett thing.”
I laugh, but don’t let go.
“Uh, Mom. You think I could have my woman back now?” Lee laughs.
“No, you can’t,” she snaps and continues to hug me tight.
“Dee, baby, let go of Lee’s woman and let them come inside.”
I open my eyes at the new voice and look up into Lee’s father’s eyes. If I thought he looked like his mom, I was wrong. Lee is the spitting image of his father and I have no doubt that when Lee gets older, his good looks will only become richer. John Beckett, or Beck as I’ve heard so many call him, has the same thick dark brown hair as his son. His strong bone structure a mirror to his son’s. You can tell that he laughs hard, and often, because the smile lines on his tan face are deep, even when he’s just smirking.
Lee’s dad is smoking hot.
Of course, his mom is downright stunning too, so it isn’t a shock to me that Lee is as handsome as he is.
“You look like my Leelee,” Molly states in awe.
“Hey, sweet girl, I sure do. Want to know why?” Lee’s dad asks her.
“Yup!” she shouts.
Lee’s dad chuckles deep in his throat, “That’s because he’s my Lee too. We’re his mom and dad. He looks like us just like you look like your mom.”
When Dee lets go of my body, I turn and watch Molly move her eyes from Lee’s smiling face, back to his father’s. Then in typical Molly fashion, she gives out more of her love.
“Yay! That means you’re mine too. I get to keep you and I’m never, ever, ever going to give you away! Do you want a makeupover?” she exclaims in rushed excitement. “Mommy, yay!” she finishes at a whisper. “We get more.”
And just like that, a sense of calm I never thought possible earlier today rushes over me and I smile at my daughter. “We sure do, little bird. So much so, that we have everything.”
Lee reaches out and grabs my hand, this time not to give reassurance in the face of my nerves, but to confirm that we do, in fact, have everything.
“Right,” Lee’s mom speaks, but pauses to clear her throat. When I look back to her, her eyes are misty and she gives me a smile. “Well, now that that’s settled. Molly, do you want to come and help me make the table?”
Molly gives Lee a hug around his neck, kisses his check, and then asks, “Can I go play with your mommy, Leelee?”
“Call me, Dee, baby. I have a feeling that will change soon though,” she oddly adds, making her husband laugh low in his throat
“Leelee, can I go play with mommy Dee?”
God, my girl.
Lee gives her a nod and with a smile, sets her on her feet. She doesn’t waste a second taking Dee’s offered hand and following her into the house.
“Nice to finally meet you, Megan. You’ve made our boy real happy,” his dad says when Molly and his wife move out of sight.
Turning back to him, I take his offered hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Beckett,” I respond and stiffen when he starts to laugh. The lines around his eyes deepening with his mirth.
“Call me Beck, honey, everyone does.”
“All right, Mr. Beck,” I confirm.
He laughs harder. This time Lee annoyingly joins in.
“Just Beck, drop the mister. We’re family here and Megan . . . welcome to the family.”
Family. I nod, not trusting my voice. Just like that his parents have openly accepted both Molly and me, giving us the family I always wanted for my daughter. One that loves without reservations and opens their arms immediately, no questions asked, to give that love freely.
When Jack and I were married, we knew that we would never be able to give Molly this. My parents, being the drunken, drug filled messes they were, have been long since forgotten. Jack’s parents were just as bad. His mom died when he was younger and his dad; never able to put the bottle down before that, never fell into his role as a parent. Thus, Jack was just Jack. We learned his father had passed away a few months after we married and left town. Knowing all that, we were okay that Molly would have only us. It wasn’t until recently that I realized how much it had bothered me that she wouldn’t have a large family full of love.
I look up at Lee and smile, brightly, thankful for yet another gift this man made a reality, when his unwavering determination to make us an “us” has paid off. It was through his strength and love that we have a future so bright it burns.
This time, that burn, one I had felt differently before, was welcome. Before I had no ashes left to be reborn from, because the pain burned too strong. But now, because of the burn of his love on our life, taking away the ashes left from my guilt and suffering, I just know the new life born from the last will be overrun with love and happiness.