“Excuse me?” My eyes widened in shock.
“You heard me.” Now her gaze was directly on Melanie. “I will not welcome someone in my home that hurt you.”
“Ma.”
“No.” She pointed a finger at Melanie and then to me. “Does she know what she did to you? Does she know that you came running here, to my arms when she tore you apart? Does she know that I was here every single second that she wasn’t?”
“Mrs. Moran,” Melanie stood up beside me.
“I’m sorry darling but this is not the time for you to intervene.”
“I honestly think this is the time, ma’am.” Melanie stood tall beside me, taking my hand in hers. “I didn’t know all of those things but I’m glad I do now. I’m glad I know that Jack has a mother he can go to that will take care of him. My parents are far away from Atlanta and when I was in California, I was by myself for a year. I understand what it’s like to be alone when the worst hits but I’m glad that Jack has someone that he can go to.”
“Do you have any regard to what you did?”
“I do.” Melanie sounded confident in what she was saying. “I know I hurt him. I know that I said things that I can never take back but I also know that I learned from what happened. I learned that Jack had been the person in my life who finally made me shine again. He was the person that made me feel like I could have a family again and it not just be me and my daughter. Your son has been the one person in my life that has finally made me feel like smiling every day isn’t such a bad thing. He’s the reason that moving on finally wouldn’t be so horrible, even when he says that I don’t have to move on.”
I watched as my mom’s stance visibly changed in front of me. She went from the strong defensive mom to almost weeping with a hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.
“Melanie,” Mom finally said her name and where I thought it might sound like venom, it sounded like she might just accept Melanie into our family. “What is it you want from my son?”
The question caught me off guard. I looked from where my mom was standing to Melanie next to me. She stared up at me, a look in her eyes that I wasn’t sure about. However, I knew one thing: that no matter what, Melanie was going to stick out the night. She was standing up to my mom and not just that, she was standing up for us.
“I want a life with him.” Melanie turned to me, taking both of my hands in hers. “I want him to know that I’ve been privileged to know before what it’s like to wake up to someone every day and know when you get home from a long day, they will be there for you. I want to show him how great it is to have a daughter and even sometimes how miserable it is, because there will be those days.”
“And I’ll gladly take them on.”
Melanie’s declaration was no longer for my mom but for me. It was like we were the only two in the room as she stared me in the eyes. She wanted us to have the life her and Wade never got to finish and damn I was lucky that she wanted to spend it with me.
“I want you to know that I’m never going to leave you again. I might push you away but I’ll never walk out and I’ll never ask you to leave.”
“I want you to know that I’ll never leave, no matter what. I’ll be there for you and Amelia for as long as you will have me and for the love of god, Melanie,” I took my hands out of hers and placed them on her cheeks. “I hope that it’s forever.”
“Jack,” I looked up to my mom. “I’m so sorry that I acted like this.”
“Ma, it’s okay.”
“It’s not. I can clearly see that Melanie is family and I disregarded that. I let my own emotions get in the way of yours.” She whipped away a tear that managed to escape and then composed herself again. “Melanie, I hope you understand what this means.”
“Ma’am?”
“That you’ll be mandated to be here every single Wednesday for family dinner. You and that little girl of yours. It’s tradition and I do not accept excuses.”
“I will absolutely be here,” Melanie responded to my mom. I looked back down to Melanie, a smile spread across her face.
“We’ll be here, Ma.”
“Good. Now can we get back to dinner?”
I laughed, taking my seat next to Melanie as we continued our dinner as if nothing had happened. Conversations started between everyone at the table and when I looked across that table, it felt like a family. I felt like this was exactly where I was meant to be, with Melanie on my arm and my family around me. Amelia wasn’t here but next week she would be and for the rest of my life, too.
“I love you,” I leaned down and whispered into Melanie ear.
“I love you more,” she whispered back and they were the best words I’d ever head.
Epilogue
Four Months Later
