I laughed, the memory vivid. "The disaster with the burned spaghetti?"
Dad groaned, shaking his head. "I had one bad night, and you two never let me live it down."
Mom nudged his side, a teasing glint in her eye. "One bad night?"
Gavin's grin widened. "The fire department had to come, Dad."
"I don't know how you and Gavin survived after we left." Mom shook her head, but a smile played at her mouth.
Dad snorted. "We ate takeout. Alot."
I watched their easy banter, and something shifted inside me. I'd always thought of them as permanently apart, two separate entities. But here they were, proving that love could return, that broken pieces could be mended.
It gave me a flicker of hope. If they could find their way back to each other, maybe anything was possible. Maybe even...
Nope. I shut down that train of thought. I couldn't gothere.
Dad turned to me, his eyes warm. "How's school going, kiddo?"
I brightened, pushing aside the bittersweet ache in my chest. "It's great. The kids are adorable. One of them asked me today if the moon was a giant cookie."
Mom’s face lit up. "Oh, I love that."
Gavin grinned at me. "Did you tell them it was?"
I snorted. "I said no, but they didn't believe me. Apparently, I'm not as convincing as the big brother who once told me the sun was a spaceship."
Gavin held up his hands. "Hey, you believed me for years."
Dad chuckled, shaking his head. Then his gaze settled on me, pride shining in his eyes. "You've always been great with kids. They're lucky to have you."
The compliment warmed me from the inside out. It meant more than he probably realized. After everything I'd been through, after the heartbreak and the loss, my students were my saving grace. They brought light back into my life.
I met Dad's gaze, my throat tightening with emotion. "Thanks, Dad. That means a lot."
Mom reached over and squeezed my hand; her touch was gentle and understanding. She knew the deeper meaning behind his words, the unspoken history.
The front door opened, and Nathan walked in with Elle trailing behind him. My stomach flipped at the sight of him, and I quickly looked away, busying myself with setting out the silverware.
Elle made a beeline for Gavin, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. "Hey, Uncle Gavin!"
Gavin's face split into a grin as he returned the embrace. "There's my favorite niece!"
Elle pulled back, rolling her eyes. "I'm your only niece."
Oof. That hit me right in the feels. He’d had a niece for about thirty seconds, but now, Elle would always be his only niece, even if only in his heart.
She barely spared me a glance, her voice flat. "Hey."
I forced a smile, even as my gut clenched at the coldness in her tone. "Hey, Elle."
Nathan watched the exchange, his brows slightly furrowed. I could feel him looking at me, but I kept my eyes on the table, arranging and rearranging the forks.
Gavin cleared his throat, breaking the awkward tension. "Nathan, you remember Mom. And Mom, this is Elle."
Mom beamed at them, her smile warm and inviting. "I remember you as a very young man, and then Xavier mentioned you often. He said you were always around."
Dad grinned. "Practically lived here."
