Third Time’s A Charm Bonus Chapter 2

I grip Izzy’s warm hand in mine as the guests begin digging into dessert. “You ready to see your surprise?”

Ava teeters on her tippy toes beside Matt. “What is it?”

“Follow me,” I motion towards the side yard. “It’s hidden between the pines.”

We slowly trod across the lush green grass. Tears prick my eyes when I look behind me, see Matt smiling as Ava skips beside him.

Our little family.

All brought together through a series of unexpected, perfectly-timed events.

I still can’t believe this is my life. When I was sitting in that doctor’s office a few years ago being told this might not be a reality for me, something inside of me broke. My whole life I’ve always learned everything the hard way. I’ve made mistakes and taken too many risks–too many chances. Been wrapped up in the wrong things trying to find the right things.

I’m not making excuses for my behavior. Now that I know better, I’m doing better. It just took me a little longer to figure it all out.

But I still figured it out.

Izzy gasps when it comes into view. She and Ava take off running towards the Cape Cod-style playhouse soaked in a honeyed haze as the sun sinks in the sky. There’s a little door and white shutters. A tiny front porch with a white railing. The soft yellow color twinkles in the rays of evening light.

The girls disappear inside when Matt’s arms wrap around me from behind. His chin rests on my shoulder as he tightens his grip on my waist.

“I love you,” he whispers.

I sigh. “I love you, too.” A moment passes before I say, “Thank you.”

“For what?” he chuckles against my cheek.

I turn my head so I can gaze into his brown eyes. “For letting me do this for them. The treehouse in my backyard was always my safe place when I was younger. I wanted the girls to have the same thing. To have somewhere to escape to if they needed it. Not to escape us or our marriage, but to escape–“

“I know what you mean,” Matt gazes down at me. “You want them to have someplace to run to when they need a moment. When they need quiet.”

“Yes,” I agree, thankful we’re on the same page.

“What about you, Fal?” Matt asks.

“What about me?”

“Where do you go when you need quiet?” He slips a strand of white blond hair behind my ear.

I swallow hard. “You. You’re my treehouse, Matt.”

He chews on his bottom lip. “You’re my treehouse, too.”

“Dad!” Ava hollers from the open window, pulling our attention back to the girls. “Get in here! We’re making tea!”

“But the guests,” Matt furrows his brow.

I wave a hand through the air. “The guests can wait. Let’s go have a tea party.”

We duck inside the tiny cottage and take a seat at the child-sized table in the middle of the room. Izzy finishes opening the rest of the windows while Ava warms us up some make-believe tea and pretend scones.

Matt’s knees almost reach his ears as we sit in the small chairs and wait to be served.

I notice Izzy doesn’t make her way back over to the table, but is lingering in one of the windows, her elbow propped up on the windowsill and her chin tucked in her hand.

I crawl over to her and sit beside her as she continues to stare outside.

“Are you O.K.?”

Izzy turns to face me, her hazel eyes stormy and uneasy. “I miss my mom.”

My heart splits wide open as she stares at me. “It’s O.K. to miss her.”

“Do you miss your dad?”

The question is a hard one. I don’t miss him all the time. I don’t miss the yelling or the way he’d hit my mother. I don’t miss his drunkenness or the way he’d pass out on the couch every evening watching the news.

But I miss the hope I had for him. The hope that someday he might change. He might stop drinking. He might become the man I needed him to be.

“I miss him sometimes,” I honestly answer.

“Will it ever go away?” Izzy frowns.

“The missing someone?” I clarify.

“Yeah,” she nods as she climbs into my lap and plays with my hair. “Do you stop missing people?”

I hug her closer to me. “I don’t think you ever stop missing people.”

“Even though I have you?” she glances up at me

“Yes.”

She continues to play with my hair while she mulls over what I’ve said. “What happens if you die?”

I wasn’t prepared for this conversation tonight, but I knew it was coming. “Then you have Matt and Ava. But I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.”

She gives me a small smile. “I’ve never had a sister before. I kind of like it.”

I look over my shoulder at Ava serving Matt an empty pink tea cup. He pretends to slurp and sip the hot tea. “I think Ava likes having a sister, too.”

“This was a good surprise,” Izzy tells me as she gets out of my lap and motions for me to sit back at the table. “Can we sleep in here tonight?”

“Not tonight,” Matt laughs. “We’ve got a wedding reception to get back to.”

“We could bring our sleeping bags in here!” Ava’s face lights up.

“We’d need a flashlight,” Izzy adds.

“And lots of blankets,” Ava grins, looking like her father’s twin.

We finish up our make-believe tea in the little cottage until the sun is hidden behind the mountains and the girls have our camp-out next week all planned out.

Our guests are still enjoying the warm summer night when we resume our places at the table.

Jenny strides over and hands us plates with cake. “Hope you don’t mind, but we skipped letting you smash cake into each other’s faces. We voted as a collective group that marriages where they do the cake smashing don’t last as long as marriages that don’t do it. So, you’re welcome.”

“Thanks, Jen,” Matt graciously accepts the plate.

“I wasn’t planning on smashing cake in your face,” I quietly tell him.

“I wasn’t either,” he winks back at me.

I feel a hand on my shoulder as I dig into the first bite. I turn to see my mom sitting beside me. Her eyes are tired and weary, but there’s a reassuring peace hidden in their depths.

My mom’s been through a lot over the past few months. She lost her husband, endured a life-saving surgery and sold the house I grew up in. Now, she’s living in a condo a few streets over from Matt and me.

“I’m so proud of you,” she gives me a watery smile.

My throat dries and heat builds behind my eyelids. “Thanks, Mom.”

“I mean it,” she sniffles. “You’ve made a beautiful life for yourself and I know how hard you’ve worked to get here. You did it all on your own.”

I peer around the backyard at all the people who are here–Kyle and Jen, the Kearns, Bruce, Matt, Ava, Audra, Ace, Izzy, my former co-workers.

“No,” I shake my head, “I didn’t do it alone. I had help.”

My mom’s hand finds mine and she squeezes it gently. “I’m sorry I haven’t–“

“Don’t apologize,” I interrupt. “You did your best and I don’t blame you for any of it. You did what you had to. We’re in a good place how and that makes me happy.”

“Me too,” she swallows hard. “I’m glad we’re here, too.”