Especially the loss ofhim.
Her chest squeezed tight. She missed him so much. Seeing him today had only reminded her how much.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and when she checked the screen, a smile spread across her face. She accepted the call. “Hi.”
“Is it okay that I called?” Josh’s voice buzzed with excitement.
“I would’ve been upset if you hadn’t.Josh, you have a son!”
His laughter was full of joy. “I know. Isn’t it the craziest thing you ever heard?”
“How’d it go? What did Will say? Is he open to a relationship? Are you just now leaving?”
“Slow down there, Mags. It went great. He’s always wanted toknow who his biological father is, and it sounds like his relationship with his dad is strained. He wanted to know all about how we found him and I relayed the whole story.”
“Was he upset that you didn’t tell him?”
“Not at all. He understood.”
“I’m so happy for you, Josh. I was just sitting here thinking about that. What else did he say?”
“He wanted to know everything about me and the family. He’d already done some research online. He’s smart as a whip, Maggie.”
“He gets it from his dad.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m pretty proud of him. That’s probably stupid when I had nothing to do with his upbringing.”
“He’s part of you, Josh. You’re allowed to claim that. How long did you stay? Did you talk to Robyn again?”
“Just for a bit, mainly to reassure her. She’s kind of freaked out. She’s had Will to herself all these years. I’m actually just now leaving. I have you on Bluetooth.” A long beat of silence followed. “I couldn’t wait to call you.”
The ragged edge of his voice scraped the corners of her heart. “I’m glad you did. I was dying to know how it went.”
“I wanted to check on you too. You must be so relieved.”
“Good news all around. Except now I feel so guilty for even questioning Ethan’s fidelity.”
“Me too. But be kind to yourself, okay? Give yourself a little grace here. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Thank you for saying that.” She wished it were that easy. “Well, now what? How’d you leave things with Will?”
“I made sure he was okay with me telling my family. And since we’re having our annual Labor Day picnic at Mom and Dad’s—you’re still invited by the way—I’ll tell them the news tomorrow.”
That was fast. But then, why delay such good news? “That’s great, Josh. They’ll be so happy. So surprised.”
“No doubt. And I meant what I said, Maggie... You’re welcome to join us.”
She so wanted to be with them. To be withhim. But her heart wasn’t ready for that. She was still in love with him and needed to put some boundaries in place, as hard as it might be. “This is your story, Josh. Your good news. Besides, a friend from school is having Zoey and me over for a pool party. She’s looking forward to it.”
Silence swelled across the distance. “I understand.” His words were weighted with sadness.
She hated that she’d deflated his festive mood. “I’d like to meet Will sometime if that’s okay. I mean formally.”
“I’d love that. If I have my way he’ll be at all the family functions from now on.”
“I’m sure your parents won’t settle for anything less. They’ll be ecstatic.”
“They will be. Will’s excited to meet them too. Robyn’s folks live out of state and don’t make an effort to see him, so he’s never had real grandparents.”
