Bookish
Page 23
I didn’t recognize the rest of them, although I saw bits of Madeline in the elegant older couple standing awkwardly a few feet away. I recognized Isaac’s siblings, spouses and their children from photos on Madeline’s Facebook account.
It was his entire family.
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to rage at them for putting him through hell all this time, but part of me was elated that they’d come through for us and our child.
“I would like to be the first to apologize,” Isaac’s dad said and took a step towards me. “We are stubborn in our family, and sometimes it gets in the way of us being decent human beings.”
“I’m sorry,” Isaac’s mom said, “Please forgive us.”
Isaac came to my side, put his arm around me and said, “It’s up to Aubrey. She’s the one who was hurt the most by your actions.”
I sighed, stood up with Isaac’s help and looked at them all, standing there expectantly, waiting for my response.
I felt our baby kick, and I felt another cool breeze wash over me. I looked up at Isaac, took his hand and squeezed it.
“Of course I forgive you” I said with a smile, “I’m so pleased you were able to come see us.”
With that, the tension was gone. I was surrounded by family and love, talking and laughter. They felt my belly and asked about the baby. We showed them ultrasound pics and we chose a restaurant for dinner.
In short, it was a typical day with the family, and it was exactly what Isaac and I had been needing to make our lives complete.
In case you were wondering, Abby Olive James was born almost exactly a month after that. Named for my late Auntie, she was big and healthy and has filled our world with more love than either of us knew existed.
Isaac had proven that it was possible to fall in love with somebody at first sight, and our daughter proved to both of us that it was possible to do it over and over again.
I would never tire of falling in love with Isaac James.
The end.