Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
He looks over at me and smiles, then turns back to Julia, who has her head down as she silently cries. “It’s nice to meet you,” Max tells her, and she just looks up at him.
“Can I have a hug?” she says, and Max takes her in his arms. She wraps her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry,” she finally says when she steps back. “It’s just…” She shakes her head. “He would have gotten a kick out of meeting you,” she shares, and I look up at Michael, who just smiles at me. “He would have probably had some choice words about the situation, too,” she continues, and my mother gasps.
“Julia.” She hisses her name, and we all laugh.
“But he would have loved to meet you,” she finally says.
“The pleasure would have been all mine,” Max responds graciously.
“Why don’t I take some of this stuff in the kitchen? So the moms can talk,” Julia says, looking at Allison and my mother.
“I’ll take these.” Max picks up the boxes, and Michael looks at me, not sure what to do.
“You go and help your dad and Julia,” I suggest and then lean in. “Let her get to know you.”
He nods, not sure he should leave me alone. “It’s a girl thing,” I say, and he just looks at his father for some advice. Max silently nods his head at him, and they turn to follow Julia into the kitchen.
“Gosh, this is hard,” Alex ponders. “Do I want to stay and see the moms cry?” She points at our mothers. “Or do I want to go into the kitchen and listen to Julia gush over my dad, making me want to gag,” she says. “I’m going to go for gagging.” She walks out of the room.
“I’m so sorry,” Allison says. “She speaks her mind. I want to say she gets it from her father.” She wrings her hands. “But she doesn’t.”
“Please sit.” My mother points at the couch, and my mother sits on the couch facing her. My mother leans over and grabs a couple of tissues.
“I would like to start by saying that we couldn’t be happier and prouder of Jillian.” Allison looks over at me, and I walk to the single couch and sit with my hands in my lap. “And I know what our son did.”
“He did nothing wrong,” I say, my voice quivering. “Nothing wrong.” Allison tilts her head to the side as she smiles at me for protecting him.
“You’ve raised a strong woman,” Allison praises, and my mother looks over at me.
“I have to be honest,” my mother says, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I did not behave in a way that I’m proud of,” she admits, looking at Allison, wringing her hands in her lap. “It was a shock, and the only thing I worried about would be how hard it would be for her.” She looks over at me and smiles at me with tears running down her face. “But hopefully, she can forgive me.”
“Mom.” I get up and go to her. “There is nothing to forgive.” I put my hand around her shoulder.
“We want to be as involved as she will let us be,” Allison says, grabbing her own tissue. “I know we can be over the top.” She laughs. “But the one thing we do is we love, and we love hard.” She looks at me. “We want to be there for you and Michael and the baby. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.” I wipe my own tears away. “You say the word, and we are there.” She takes a deep breath. “We’ve been talking, and we want to be there for everything, and the thought of not being around is almost too much to bear.” I get up and walk over to her side of the couch.
“I want you to know…” I have to stop for a second to compose myself. “When I found out I was pregnant, the only thing that ran through my mind was making sure my baby would have love.” I put my hand on my stomach. “I will never ever make this baby feel like it took something away from me or it stopped me from doing anything.”
“That’s for both of us,” Michael says as he walks into the room. The three of us look over at him. “I’m sorry for interrupting,” he apologizes. “But I wanted to just tell you I’m sorry I wasn’t there from the beginning.” He swallows, and I get up to walk to him. “But nothing and no one would have kept me away from them.”
Alex and Julia walk into the room and look around at us. Julia turns back to Alex. “Tequila?”
“Tequila,” Alex confirms, and they walk back out of the room. I shake my head, and Michael puts his hand up to wipe away the tear.