Fireflies & Family Ties

by Rachel Hanna

  Julie had made sure she didn't feel pushed out, and she said she didn't. She wanted to be closer to work, although she was intent on finding a new job soon.

  Meg and Christian had already found a great crib at a consignment store. He was helping her design another nursery at his new apartment in the spare bedroom. She was going to split her time back-and-forth until they figured out their relationship. Julie thought they would certainly get married, but Meg didn't want to make a decision until after the baby. She wanted to make sure it was for love, and not obligation, that she and Christian were getting married. Plus, she said, she wanted the whole big wedding with a much smaller wedding dress than the one she could wear now.

  As she looked through the racks of clothing, she picked up every girly, frilly, pink thing she could find. Of course, there was always the chance that the baby wouldn't be a girly girl, but until she could make those decisions for herself, Julie was determined to dress her like a beauty queen.

  She paid for her purchases and walked out of the store, a smile on her face. She was going to be a grandmother soon, and she couldn't wait.

  She had sat by her daughter the night before when Meg had finally called and told her father about the pregnancy. At first, he was really upset that he didn't know until she was just a few weeks away from delivering. Eventually, he forgave everyone for keeping it from him and got really excited that he was going to be a grandfather. He would be coming to town soon to see Meg and meet Christian.

  Julie tried not to think about the fact that Victoria would be considered the baby’s grandmother too. She just couldn't go there in her mind right now.

  She walked down to the bookstore to relieve Dixie who had a doctor’s appointment. She put her bags behind the counter and tried to get herself back in the mindset to work. Tourist season was in full gear, and the store was busy from opening to closing.

  When she heard the bell ring, she didn't expect to look up and see Tiffany walking into the store. She had hoped maybe the woman had left town, but no such luck.

  "Good afternoon. Is there something I can help you with?" Julie said, gritting her teeth and trying to smile.

  Tiffany, her hair bigger than Julie had ever seen it, smiled that fake, toothy white smile of hers.

  "I'm looking for a book about traveling to Australia. I'm going to be taking a trip next year, and I want to learn all about it."

  "Our travel section is in the back on the right."

  Tiffany started to walk to the back of the store, but then stopped and turned around. She looked at Julie carefully.

  "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

  "We met at the reunion."

  "Oh, that's right. Dawson's girlfriend.”

  "Right," Julie said, not wanting to correct her.

  "You're a lucky lady. He's a very handsome man."

  "Yes, he is."

  She started to walk again, but turned around one more time.

  "You know, I hope he told you that I didn't mean to cause any harm."

  "What?"

  "I mean, yes, I might have thrown myself at him a bit while he was doing the renovations on my new house. But I didn't know y’all were that serious until Dawson got mad at me. I thought you were just a date he brought to the reunion."

  "I don't know what you're talking about. Renovations?"

  "Yes, Dawson renovated a little fixer-upper I bought to flip for profit. I've been in town for the last few weeks, and he was working on my house."

  "Oh, I didn't know that.”

  "Yes, and I think I might've driven him a little bit crazy. He got mad at me a few times during that process, but we finished up last week, and the house is already in escrow.“

  "So you're leaving?"

  "Yes. I got quite a settlement from my divorce and a lot of money from this house, so I'm going to do some world traveling. Look for a beautiful man with an accent," she said, giggling like a schoolgirl.

  So, Dawson hadn't been cheating on her with Tiffany. He had been working on her house, probably not wanting to tell Julie so she wouldn't be jealous or worried.

  She felt like the world’s biggest fool. Would he even forgive her?

  Now, she felt a bit like a trapped animal, caught in the cage of the bookstore, unable to leave until they closed. She wanted to run straight to Dawson and apologize for being a jerk.

  “You have a good man there. Don't let him go,” Tiffany said before going to look at books.

  Julie wondered if that advice was a bit too late.

  Julie drove over the bridge to the island, going a lot faster than she normally would. For some reason, it felt like time was ticking away, like if she didn't get to Dawson soon, she would explode.

  Her mind raced as she wondered if he would forgive her. Would he understand why she had done what she did?

  She pulled into his driveway, his truck sitting there, as expected.

  She jumped out of her car and ran up to the front door, knocking frantically. He was probably going to think she was insane.

  Lucy opened the door. "Oh, hello, Miss Julie. How can I help you?"

  "Hi, Lucy. Is Dawson around?"

  "Oh, honey, he's down on the beach. He's been spending a lot of time down there lately."

  The sun was just starting to set, so Julie opted to walk down there and try to find him. She thanked Lucy and jogged toward the beach.

  When she got down there, she found Dawson, a small fire going beside him in the fire pit. He was sitting in a chair, staring out over the horizon, watching the sun set.

  She stopped for a moment and stood there. What was she going to say? What if he told her he didn't want to get back together? What if she wasn't worth all this hassle?

  For a moment, she thought about turning around and going back to her car. Maybe it was better to just leave things alone. Maybe she didn't deserve a great man like him.

  Sensing someone was behind him, he turned around.

  "Julie?"

  She stood there, like she was frozen with her feet in quicksand.

  "Hey."

  He stood up slowly, not walking toward her, but instead standing there, his hands in his pockets.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "I'm so sorry. I was so wrong."

  "What?"

  "I thought you were cheating on me with Tiffany."

  His eyes opened wide, his mouth hanging open. "How on earth could you think that?"

  She was finally able to make her feet move, so she slowly walked closer. "I saw you exchange cards at the reunion, and then one day I saw you coming out of a restaurant together."

  He laughed and shook his head. "And that made you think I was cheating on you? What kind of man do you think I am?"

  She shrugged her shoulders. "I thought my husband was a loyal, good man."

  He shook his head. "I can't take the blame for your husband's sins. I'm not the same guy that he is.

  "I know that now."

  She took a few steps closer.

  "I thought you would've already known that," he said, sadly.

  "Tiffany came into the bookstore today. She let it slip that she had made some moves on you while you were renovating her house. Why didn't you just tell me you were doing that job?"

  "Because I didn't want you to worry. I didn't want you to even have to think about it with everything you had going on."

  “She told me that you got mad when she made a pass at you."

  He nodded his head. "Because when a man is in love and loyal, he doesn't put up with that sort of thing, Julie. No other woman can hold a candle.“

  Love? They hadn’t said those words to each other yet. She stared at him . "Wait. You love me?"

  He finally started to walk toward her, a smile on his face. "Yes, I love you. Do you love me?"

  She let out the breath she had been holding. "Of course, I love you."

  "Then why are you fighting so hard to mess this whole thing up?"

  "I guess I wanted to hurt you before you cou
ld hurt me."

  He walked over and put his hands on her cheeks, looking down into her eyes. "Well, you definitely hurt me."

  "I'm really sorry. I was an idiot."

  "Well, you're my idiot," he said, leaning down and kissing her.

  “So you forgive me?”

  “Of course I do. But, please don’t ever doubt me again. Talk to me. Ask me.”

  “Agreed.”

  “There is no other woman I would want in my life, Julie. And especially not Tiffany. That woman is a nightmare. God bless the man that ends up with her.”

  Julie laughed. “I’m so glad to be here with you right now.”

  “Ditto.”

  He pulled her back over to the chair, and she sat on his lap, his arms around her waist as they stared and watched the sun set together. She never felt so at home in her life.

  "So, I hear you're going to be a grandma?” Julie squealed with delight. This was going to be the best time of her life. She just knew it.

  Epilogue

  Julie wished she could do something. As Meg screamed and pushed, the baby didn’t seem to be budging a bit. Finally, the doctor made the call for a c-section, mostly due to Meg’s tiny stature. The baby just couldn’t come out the natural way.

  As she paced in the waiting room, Dawson tried to soothe her. She’d been up all night, ever since Christian had called and said that Meg had gone into labor. She’d been staying at his new apartment as the due date approached, mainly because it was close to the hospital and made Meg feel more at ease.

  “I hope everything’s okay in there,” Julie said, craning her head for the hundredth time to look at the swinging doors they wheeled Meg through over an hour before.

  “I’m sure it’s fine, Mom. The doctors do this all the time,” Colleen said. Tucker sat beside her, furiously drawing on his tablet, probably designing a new toy.

  Colleen had quit her job a week ago, opting to take a newly formed position at Tucker’s company. She was handling intellectual property for them, and it made Julie happy to see that Colleen had finally found something she loved to do. Of course, working with Tucker also seemed like something she loved.

  Janine walked back into the waiting room with William, both of them holding cups of coffee.

  “Here ya go. Cream and extra sugar,” she said, handing it to Julie. “And for Dawson, black and manly,” she said in a deep voice.

  Dawson laughed. “Puts hair on your chest if you drink it black.”

  “You don’t need more hair on your chest,” William said, smacking him on the shoulder.

  “Anybody want a cookie?” Dixie asked, pulling out a container full of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies she’d brought. She never went anywhere without sweet treats to share.

  “No, thanks. I’m keyed up enough without chocolate and sugar,” Julie said, looking down the hallway again.

  “Honey, please sit down,” Dawson pleaded again.

  “I can’t. That’s my baby in there. What if something goes wrong?”

  “Are you Julie Pike?” a nurse asked as she walked around the corner.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Your daughter asked me to come get you.”

  “Is she okay?”

  The woman smiled. “Absolutely. She and the baby are doing just fine. Would you like to come see her?”

  “Yes!”

  “Come with me.”

  Julie grinned and waved at her friends and family before following the nurse. They walked down the hallway and turned down another one before stopping in front of a door.

  “She’s right in there.”

  Julie slowly opened the door, poking her head inside. She saw Meg, exhaustion on her face, lying in bed. She was holding the tiniest bundle of joy against her bare skin. Julie could hear the sounds that newborns make, and her heart melted.

  “How’re you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m tired, but I’m so thankful. She’s amazing, Mom.”

  Julie walked to her bedside and saw her granddaughter’s face for the first time. She looked like an angel. Her big blue eyes were open wide like she was taking in everything she could.

  “She’s beautiful, Meg. Oh my goodness. My heart is so full.”

  Christian stood on the other side of the bed, his face beaming with pride as he looked down at his daughter. Julie felt so much love as she witnessed the new little family.

  “I had Christian call Dad. He should be here soon.”

  “Good. He’s going to be thrilled to meet… Wait, what’s her name?”

  Meg smiled. “Genevieve Olivia Bisset. She’ll have Christian’s last name.”

  “Genevieve?”

  “It means ‘God’s blessing’ in French,” she said, smiling down at her daughter. “We’ll call her Vivi.”

  “It’s perfect.”

  It was all perfect. As Julie watched her daughter with her own daughter now, it felt like a full circle moment. Her daughters had both grown into strong women, and maybe they wouldn’t need her as much anymore. But, now she had a granddaughter who would.

  Life hadn’t always been perfect, and she had taken some curveballs to the head at times, but the destination was better than anything she could’ve imagined on her own.

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