“I don’t want to dance anymore.” Her little lip wobbles.
“How come? You are such a beautiful little dancer. Are you not enjoying it anymore?” I ask my niece softly.
“No. I love dance,” she says as a tear falls. “But some of the girls were making fun of me for not having a mom. They said I wasn’t allowed to come to the year-end mommy and me dance because I don’t got one,” she says, and my fucking heart breaks for her. What kind of asshole children are these parents raising?
“Maysie,” Jade says, taking Maysie’s hand. “You know, my mommy is in heaven too,” Jade tells her, and the whole table goes silent, watching the interaction.
“She is?” my niece asks, looking up at Jade.
“Mhm. And so is my best friend’s mommy.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And you know what? When I was in college, they had a father daughter dance, and because my daddy is also in heaven with my mom, I didn’t have a dad to take.”
“So did you go?” Maysie asks her.
“I did.” Jade smiles. “Instead of a dad, I took a really great man that was like a father to me instead. And my friend? She brought her grandpa. So you see, just because you don’t have a mommy here on earth, it doesn’t mean you can’t go to the mommy and me dance.” She smiles at my niece, and I glance at my parents, who have smiles on their faces. “I’m sure your Grandma or Aunt Wren would love to take you,” Jade tells her.
“That’s right, kiddo. I’ll come, and we will show those girls who the real losers are,” Wren says, popping a potato in her mouth.
“Jade is right, sweetheart. I would love to come to your dance with you,” Mom says with a tear in her eye.
I swallow a lump in my throat because I know how hard that was for Jade to talk about. I look at Dad, who’s watching me, and when I meet his eyes, he just nods. He feels it too. Jade belongs here.
“Hmm. My friend Calla has two mommies. She gets to bring both. Does that mean I can bring Grandma and Auntie Wren?” she asks, hopefully.
“I think that’s a lovely idea, Maysie,” Mom says.
Cade mouths a thank-you to Jade, and we go back to finishing our meal on a happier note.
“Thanks for supper, Ma. If it’s okay, I’m going to take Jade outside and show her around.”
“Of course,” my mom says.
“Thank you so much for including me tonight, Mrs. Donovan. Everything was delicious.”
“It’s just Astrid, dear. And of course. You are welcome back anytime. I hope we get to see more of you,” she says to Jade with a smile.
“I hope so too.”
Grabbing our plates, I take them back to the kitchen before hauling Jade outside.
“So?” I ask. “What do you wanna see first?”
She scans her surroundings, taking it all in, then says, “How about we just walk?”
“Sure.”
We walk hand in hand around the farm as I point out the animals, my mom’s garden, the tree line that Hayes’s house sits on the other side of, and everything else you’d expect to see on a farm.
“What’s that pen over there?” She points to a pen on the side of the barn that’s smaller than the others.
“Oh, that’s the paddock Hayes used to use for practice until he got his own yard.”
“Is that where Wren had her accident?” she asks as we get closer, coming around the side of the barn so it’s right in front of us.
“It is.” I nod.
