“Aunt Judy, I need you so bad right now. You have always been so strong and I feel so alone right now,” I whisper, feeling tears start to gather in the corners of my eyes. “Deep down, I knew this day would come. I just wish you were here to share it with us. Lucy is going to love her father so much.”
I must have sat there longer than I realized because suddenly I am startled out of my thoughts by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Who could it be? Luke? I rush downstairs and peek out of the curtain. An unfamiliar car is in my driveway. I pause a moment before opening the front door. Standing there is Luke’s mother, Camillia.
“Hi, Camillia. How are you?” I greet her cautiously.
“Hi, Shayne. Well, I am still shocked, that is for sure,” she says, her eyebrows raised. “May I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure,” I agree. “Come on in and I will make us some coffee.”
Once inside, I start the coffee and then excuse myself for a moment to compose myself. When I return, Camillia is placing our coffee mugs on the table. Before I have a chance to sit down, she pulls me into a tight hug. When she finally pulls away, she takes a seat at the table and grabs a hold of both of my hands. When I look up into her eyes, she has tears streaming down her face.
“I am so sorry, Camillia,” I begin.
“No, Shayne. I’m the one who is sorry. Now before you say anything, I want you to listen to every word I say to you. Can you do that for me?”
I nod my head, indicating that I can.
“First of all, both Vincent and I want to apologize for what happened seven years ago. This is all our fault, splitting the two of you up like we did. Our family was being threatened and we had no choice but to leave. We had to protect our children and as a mother,” she pauses as she wipes a tear from her eye. “I know you can understand that. Now I know my son has told you why we left like we did and he has also told us you don’t know the whole story. I promise you, someday you will, but today is not the day. Today is about the fact that my son has a daughter he knew nothing about. I am not going to sit here and say we are not disappointed or hurt that we have missed out on so many years of her life, but I am not here to hurt you.”
Reaching over, she places both of her hands on top of mine. “I am here to tell you that Vincent and I could not be happier about this. When I talked to my son this morning, it was clear he is hurting right now and is very mixed up, but he is mostly scared out of his mind. He has no clue how to be a father. I told him no one knows how to be a parent; that there is no perfect parent. Once he lays eyes on that little girl for the first time, it will come to him.” She squeezes my hands. “Give him time, Shayne. He loves you and he has never stopped. The hardest part about leaving here was having to leave you behind, but we were not about to put you in danger. I only hope that someday you can forgive us for what we have done. Vincent and I love you like a daughter.”
By this time I can’t control my emotions anymore and I let everything out. The past, the present, and the future, as I give in and let the tears fall.
I was so totally unprepared for her words, but yet, so grateful. I stand up and hug her as tightly as I can.
“Thank you for that, Camillia,” I pull back and tell her through my sobs. “You are not to blame yourself for this. I did what I thought was best at the time. My reasons for doing what I did need to be told to Luke first.”
“As they should be, my dear,” she says. “I am not here to ask for reasons. I am here to offer you my support and to let you know I love you and that you are not alone.”
Sitting back down I reach across the table and retrieve a napkin to wipe the tears from my face and hand one to Camillia as well. She dabs her eyes and folds the napkin back into a neat square before continuing.
“I do not want to overwhelm her, but we want to meet her so badly and to become a part of her life. So when you think she is ready, we will be waiting.”
“I don’t think it will take my little girl very long to be ready. This is going to be a huge shock for her at first, but she is such a good little girl and almost too grown up for her age. She is not shy at all and is quite the attention getter, too. You are going to love her.”
Camillia’s face lights up with my words and a big smile spreads across her face. “Without even meeting her, I love her already, my dear. Luke showed us her pictures and she is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen, quite the combination of the two of you.”
“I don’t know about that. I think she looks so much like her dad with her green eyes and black hair.”