I placed my hand on my chest. “That makes me so happy.”
He gestured down to our son. “And of course, this guy gave me his permission, too.”
“You did, did you?” I tickled him.
“Uh-huh!” He nodded. “Can we get ice cream now, Daddy, since I didn’t ruin the secret?”
Tate winked. “A deal’s a deal.”
***
Two nights after our engagement, we got a surprise phone call. Taylor reported that Juliana had gone into labor that morning and given birth to their seven-pound, six-ounce baby girl.
He indicated that they hadn’t chosen a name yet, but said if we wanted to come by to meet her, visiting hours ended at eight.
So after we finished dinner, Tate, Nicholas, and I got into the car to drive to the hospital.
As we walked into the building, Tate seemed tense.
I rubbed his arm. “You nervous?”
“Anxious to meet her, I guess.” He shrugged.
When we got to Juliana’s room, it looked like there had been an explosion of pink balloons and flowers. I placed our own pink flowers on a table to get lost in the mix.
“Hey!” Taylor beamed as he walked over to greet us.
Juliana held the baby, who had dark hair like both of her parents and was absolutely precious.
Tate reachedout. “May I?”
“Of course.” Juliana lifted the swaddled baby toward him.
“Hey, sweet girl.” Tate rocked her, making his way to a seat in the corner. “Oh my God. She’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.”
“I definitely think so,” Taylor agreed.
“We might be biased.” Juliana smiled.
Nicholas walked over to where Tate was sitting. “Baby,” he cooed.
“Yeah.” Tate grinned. “This is your niece, Nicholas. Can you believe it?”
Everyone chuckled.
“You can thank your dad for that, little guy,” Taylor cracked. “Maybe someday we’ll get lucky and have our own reality show.”
Tate glared playfully at Taylor.
Relief washed over me. If Taylor was cracking jokes, we’d come a long way.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this…” Tate looked down at the baby. “But I’m your grandpa.”
And if that was true, then in my mid-twenties, I was a step-grandmother.Only in this family.But what a blessing.
The next time I looked over at Tate, his eyes were glistening. Then I noticed Taylor smiling, too. I realized Tate’s emotion wasn’t justgeneral overwhelm. He’d been looking down at his granddaughter’s hospital bracelet.
I leaned in and got my first look at her name. It was the ultimate act of forgiveness.
