The resemblance was too similar to be ignored. “Who is this?”
Gia swallowed. “My deceased husband.”
Starr leaned more of her weight against her father. “Why…why does he look like me?”
Gia opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. There was still a great possibility that all of this was just a coincidence.
“You gave up a child for adoption,” Daniel said slowly. “And Hilary and I adopted a child.”
Gia nodded.
Daniel looked as though he needed to sit down as well, but he continued to stand and support his daughter. “We received a letter today,” he began.
Gia’s heart leapt to her throat. “I received a call.”
“ F-from whom?” Starr asked.
“The Independent Adoption Agency out of Atlanta.”
“Ohmigosh.” Starr clamped a hand over her mouth. “You’re my mother.”
The next four days passed in a blur as Gia, Starr, and Daniel got to know each other. The hardest part for Gia was explaining the circumstances surrounding Starr’s adoption. But she took great pride in telling Starr about her real father. To be sure, Gia and Starr took a DNA test.
After nearly fifteen years, mother and daughter were finally reunited.
For Christmas Eve, Gia invited Daniel and her daughter over to her place for a small get together. Close friends and a few associates gathered for the opportunity to meet Gia’s daughter.
Being that it was going to be her first Christmas with Starr, Gia had also gone on a mad shopping spree that amazed Bernie. She was driven by a need to give her daughter anything and everything her heart desired. So when Daniel and Starr showed up with their own armloads of gifts they were completely blown away by the amount of packages stuffed under Gia’s tree.
“Ms. Hunter, you shouldn’t have,” Starr said with wide eyes.
“Please, call me Gia,” she said, though in her heart she longed for her daughter to call her Mom. Maybe one day.
It became an exciting time for Gia and Starr; however, things grew a little awkward between Gia and Daniel.
“Hey, what are you doing hiding in here?” Gia asked, entering the kitchen.
“Oh, nothing. I just came in here for...for a few minutes.” Daniel set his cup of eggnog down on the counter.
Gia drew a breath when she realized Daniel was going out of his way to avoid making eye contact.
“Have things changed between us?” she asked bluntly.
His gaze still refused to meet hers. “I don’t know.”
She nodded and braided her hands together. “I’m not trying to steal her away from you.”
“Are you sure?”
Gia sucked in a breath, but waited until he finally looked at her. “I fell for you long before I knew about Starr.”
“Now that you know?”
“I hope to always be a part of her life...even if it doesn’t work out between us. Though I hope that it does.”
“Why?”
She drew a breath but held his gaze. “Because you taught me how to love again. You pulled me out of a dark place, introduced me to jazz, and taught me how to love Christmas.” Gia dried the corners of her eyes before the tears had a chance to fall. She couldn’t tell if rejection was on the horizon and she felt stripped and vulnerable.
At last, Daniel smiled and closed the distance between them. “It has been a magical few weeks. I, too, didn’t think that I would ever find love again.”
“Love?” she asked in a shaky tremor.
“Am I going too fast for you?”
“Actually, this whole thing has felt more like a wild roller coaster: fast but exhilarating.” She stared into the mirrors of his soul. “I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.” A wide smile ballooned across her face.
Daniel leaned forward and savored a light kiss. “That makes two of us.”
Starr and Neve stepped back from the kitchen and grinned at each other.
“Wow,” Neve whispered. “Your wish came true. I wouldn’t have never believed this if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”
Starr had a hard time believing it as well, but she couldn’t deny that she was ecstatic about the whole situation. Gia Hunter was all that she had hoped for. After learning the circumstance of her adoption, she knew there was no way that she could hate her real mother. Not when such great parents had adopted her.
Yes, everything was just how it was suppose to be. “You know, Neve, this really is going to be the best Christmas ever.”
Gia jumped away from Daniel when her phone rang and then laughed at herself. “Jeez, I’m being a lousy hostess,” she said, heading toward the phone’s wall unit. “Can you take those hors d’oeuvres out to the guests for me?”
“Certainly,” Daniel answered with a chuckle. “Don’t be too long. Your friends keep asking me when I’m going to propose.”
“Oh yeah? When are you?” she asked, picking up the phone.
“Soon.” Daniel replied. “Real soon.” He exited the kitchen with a wink.
Shaking her head, Gia placed the phone against her ear and answered.
“Hello, Gia? I-it’s me-Byron.”
Chapter 11
Christmas, Talboton, GA
After the flight from hell, Gia rushed through the doors of Baptist Meriwether Hospital by noon with her heart lodged in her throat and tears streaming down her face.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” a woman inquired from behind a nurses station.
“Y-yes.” She glanced around, and then swiped at her face with the back of her hand. “I’m here to see Maybelle Jackson. Can you tell me what room she’s in?”
Daniel and Starr finally caught up with Gia while the nurse typed into the computer. “I’m showing she’s in room three-twelve.”
Gia turned and collided into Daniel. Before she had a chance to react, he gently kissed her forehead, and slid a supportive arm around her waist.
“C’mon. We’ll help you find her.”
Starr favored her mother with a nervous smile and it suddenly occurred to Gia that the young girl was within seconds of meeting more members of her real family of all things on, of all things, her birthday. How traumatic would it be for her to meet her maternal grandmother on the day that she…
Gia reached for her daughter’s trembling hand and the small family walked down the hospital’s empty hallways looking for room three-twelve. They rounded the corner and stopped when they saw a crowd spilling out of one of the rooms.
Family members-young and old-all stared at Gia slack-jawed. Slowly, she inched toward them. Once the three of them maneuvered through the crowd to reach the door, Gia hesitated. What was she going to say?
“Baby,” Daniel whispered. “You can do this.”
Gia drew strength from him and lifted her head, but it took the squeeze from Starr’s hand for her to push open the door.
The room was cold and dim.
The nerve-racking sounds of machines beeping and pulsing sent a shiver of fear racing down Gia’s spine. Her attention locked on the outline on the bed and as she moved farther into the room, her gaze traveled its length.
A loud gasp came from someone sitting in a chair, but Gia blocked out the person as her eyes finally settled on the sleeping face of Ma Belle. It was a face both familiar and foreign to Gia, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by guilt.
“What are you doing here?”
Gia finally lifted her eyes to Glenda’s hard gaze.
“I called her.”
Gia jumped and turned around to see her brother Byron enter the room behind Daniel and Starr.
Glenda seethed. “I told you-”
“She’s got every right to be here,” Byron said with a dismissive tone, and then stared at Gia. “Ma Belle’s been askin’ for you.”
Ma Belle drew a deep sigh and shifted in her bed, but her eyes remained closed. “Ya’ll goin’ keep all this racket up or are you goin’ to let an old woman get some rest?”
Gia smiled. He
r grandma was going to be cantankerous to the end.
Byron maneuvered around the small crowd and moved toward the bed. “Ma,” he said, taking her plump hand. “There’s somebody here to see you.”
“Honey chile, I’m too tired for more guests right now.” She winced and shifted to get comfortable again. “Tell ‘em to come back in the mornin’.”
Gia immediately took a retreating step, but had once again bumped against Daniel’s chest.
Byron motioned Gia to the bed. “Ma, I think you want to see this person tonight. She came all the way from New York on account I told her you wanted to see her.”
“New York?” Ma Belle questioned and finally pried open her eyes.
On trembling legs, Gia approached the bed. She was unprepared when Byron grabbed her hand and placed it atop of Ma Belle’s. Her grandmother’s hand felt more like a block of ice and it trembled as much as her own.
“G-Gia?” Ma Belle questioned. “Chile, is it really you?”
Gia opened her mouth but her warring emotions had choked off her vocal chords and she was unable to speak.
A smile slowly carved its way across Ma Belle’s face. “My Lawd, I never thought I’d see your face again.” She squeezed Gia’s hand. “Glad to see I was wrong. ’Course, I realize I’m the reason you ran from town.”
“No,” Gia whispered.
“Just ‘cause I’m dyin’ it’s no reason for us to start lyin’, chile. I pushed you to give up your baby and I had no right. It’s just...”
“It’s okay.” Gia glanced over at Starr who also had tears brimming her eyes as she clutched her father. “Things worked out just fine, Ma.”
“I tried my best with what little I had,” Ma Belle went on. “I know you chil’en think I was always hard on you, but I treated you like my folks treated me. I always wanted the best for you and maybe I just didn’t know how to go about gettin’ it to you. I need you to forgive me because I had no right to-”
“I made the choice, Ma.” Gia forced the truth out her mouth. “Me. I wanted to blame you. I tried to blame you, but it was my choice. You don’t need to seek forgiveness from me because you did nothing wrong. I ran from Talboton trying to escape myself-but it didn’t work.” She sighed, thinking about the years, she had spent in depression and then her thoughts turned to how things have changed. She didn’t need pills to get through life anymore. Somehow, some way a miracle had been performed this Christmas. She had her daughter, a man of her dreams, and now the chance to mend the tattered bridge between her and her family.
“Ma, there are some people I’d like for you to meet.” Gia motioned for Daniel and Starr to come forward.
Ma Belle turned her head. “My Lawd, chile. Do you know who you look like?”
“She looks like her father,” Gia said.
` Ma Belle’s face pinched with confusion. “You mean to tell me...but how?”
“I’m not sure how myself,” Gia chuckled with fresh tears.
“Gia, this is your daughter?” Glenda asked equally astounded.
“Yes. Her name is Starr Davis. Isn’t she beautiful?”
Starr blushed and fidgeted with her hands.
“My prayers have been answered.” Ma Belle’s tears streamed down her face. “Praise be to Jesus, chile. Come over here and give your great grandma a hug.”
Starr blinked and glanced over at her father.
Daniel gave her an encouraging nod and then watched as his daughter was enfolded in the elder woman’s arms. His eyes stung with emotion watching his little girl with her newfound family. His gaze swept toward Gia and he was overwhelmed by the love he saw radiating there. The fact that she was looking at him confirmed that there was indeed a future for them-together.
“If I remember right, today is your birthday, chile.” Ma Belle said, gazing into Starr’s eyes. “I’m ‘fraid I ain’t got anything for you.”
“That’s okay,” Starr swiped her tears and then reached for Gia’s hand, and then motioned her father over. “I’ve already gotten the best birthday and Christmas gift ever.”
Daniel’s gaze again returned to Gia’s. “That goes for me, too.”
“And who are you?” Ma Belle asked, squinting up at him. “You a handsome devil. I’ll give you that much. And you even look a little respectable, too.”
“I’m Daniel Davis,” he chuckled. “I’m Starr’s adoptive dad.”
“My dad,” Starr corrected.
Daniel winked at her. “Starr’s dad...I’m also the man who is in love with your granddaughter, Gia. I’m hoping that she will have my hand in marriage.”
Gia and Starr gasped.
“Well, well, now.” Ma Belle’s smile broadened. “The gifts just keep on comin’ this Christmas.”
“Oh, Ma.” Gia returned her attention to her ailing grandmother. “We should be letting you get your rest.”
“Rest, hell. What is it you do for a livin’, Mr. Davis?”
“I’m a doctor.”
“Humph. I don’t care too much for them.” Ma Belle said bluntly and rolled her eyes. “The one I’m seeing is tryin’ to tell everyone I’m dyin’. I’m fine I tell you. Women in my family live a long time. I just needed some time off my feet that’s all...and maybe get some of these chil’en’ to quit worrin’ me so much.”
Starr slapped a hand across her mouth and snickered.
“Anyways, I hear that doctorin’ makes a pretty good livin’. You think you can take care of my Gia?”
Gia glanced at Daniel again. Even in that cold and dim hospital room the intensity in his gaze stirred her butterflies.
“I think we’ll do a good job taking care of each other,” Daniel responded.
“We’re going way too fast,” Gia said, shaking her head.
“There’s no such thing.”
Joy burned the backs of her eyes while hope bloomed within her heart, but somehow words failed her.
“Gia,” Glenda hissed under her breath and then a small smile curved her lips. “I think he’s waiting for an answer.”
“We all are.” Ma Belle said, glancing from Daniel to Gia. “If you love him, marry him.”
Gia blinked in surprise. She suddenly realized that the room was slowly filling with the Jackson clan.
“What can I say?” Ma Belle shrugged. “I ain’t too old to change. Do you love him?”
All eyes turned toward Gia as tears leapt over her lashes. “I love him with all of my heart.”
“Then that’s a yes?” Starr asked, clutching Gia’s hand.
Gia nodded. “That’s a yes.”
The Jackson clan applauded as Daniel pulled Gia into his arms and kissed her soundly.
“Well, chile,” Ma Belle whispered to Starr. “Strange enough, it looks like your mom and dad is gettin’ married.”
“It’s not strange. It’s a wish come true.”
Epilogue
One year later.
“Four, three, two, one...”
The lights flashed on and the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was once again a magnificent sight. Everyone with the Davis family squeezed their eyes shut and made a wish.
“What did you wish for?” Daniel whispered, cozying up to his beautiful wife.
“I wished for us to always be this happy for the rest of our lives.”
“Sounds good to me.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“What about you?” she asked, gazing up at him. “What did you wish for?”
Daniel gently roamed his hands across the bulge of her belly. “I wished or a girl with your eyes and smile.”
Gia glowed. “You’re not disappointed that it’s not a boy?”
“Heck, no. With boys you’re a hero for a few years, but girls love you for a lifetime.” He kissed her again. “Plus, there’s always next time.”
Gia laughed and tightened her arms around her husband.
Starr sighed as she watched her parents and then turned toward Neve. “Aren’t they cute together?”
“Hardly,” Nev
e moped.
Starr frowned, and then followed the direction of her best friend’s gaze. “I wasn’t referring to your mom and Principal Hedley.”
“Yeah, well I was,” Neve said. “Of all the men in New York, why in the world does she have to date him?”
“Hey, she looks happy. I thought that’s what you wanted?”
Neve grunted. “Do you know how uncool it is for your mom to have a thing for the principal? It’s humiliating.”
“She looks happy,” Starr sing-songed.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“So what did you wish for?” Starr asked.
“For them to get married after I graduate.”
Starr chuckled and turned toward her other guest. “What about you, Ma Belle?”
“I wished for ya’ll to get me out of this damn cold. Good Lawd, it must be thirty below. How in the world do any of ya’ll stand it? I get better and now ya’ll tryin’ to give me pneumonia.”
Wishing On A Starr Page 8
