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“I do.” She accepted the mug with snowmen painted on it. “Thank you.”
Tracy placed the other mug on the coffee table. “When you’re done talking, you’re more than welcome to join us in the kitchen. We’re baking extra cookies for you to take home with you.”
“Aw...thank you. But you don’t have to.”
Tracy waved away her worries. “We want to.” Just then Paul returned with a photo album in his arms. “Let me know if you need anything.” And then she walked away.
Leah liked her—a lot. Paul was lucky to have found her. And Leah felt very fortunate to get to know both of them and the boys.
Paul sat on the couch next to her. “My mother used to make photo albums for the family. This is one she made for my high school graduation. So, your mom isn’t in every photo, but she’s in some of them.”
Leah nodded. “So, you two were high school sweethearts?”
He nodded. “We started dating in tenth grade. I played football, and she was a cheerleader.” He opened the photo album. “These are pictures from when I was little. You probably don’t want to see them.”
“Actually, I would love to see them…if you don’t mind.”
His brows rose, and then he shrugged. He held out the photo album to her. “Why don’t you hold it, so you can see the pictures better?”
And so, she took the photo album. She paused over his kindergarten photos. And then there were photos of him in each grade. There were also some candids from birthday parties, Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. She could see bits and pieces of herself in the photos.
And then she got to the junior high photos.
Paul reached over and pointed. “This was eighth grade. Your mother was in my homeroom.” He pointed. “That’s her there.”
Leah stared at the smiling young girl, who most definitely had her mother’s eyes. “Was she always so happy back then?”
Paul paused as though to give the question some thought. “Yes. I believe she was. I remember her laughing and smiling most of the time.” His gaze turned to her. “Is that how you remember her?”
Leah shook her head. “She wasn’t that happy when I was growing up. She had her moments, but most of the time she was quiet and withdrawn.”
“I’m sorry. I wish you could have known her the way I knew her. She was fearless and spontaneous. When she loved, she loved with her whole heart.”
Leah looked at him. “Did you love my mother?”
He nodded. “I did. I wouldn’t have married her if I didn’t. But we were just kids when we flew to Nevada after graduation. We were supposed to go to Florida with a group of friends, but your mother got it into her head that we should go to Vegas. The next thing I know, she wanted to go visit a little wedding chapel. I didn’t think she was serious, but she was. I was supposed to go away to college on a football scholarship, and she said if we were married that she could go with me.”
“I found your wedding picture in my grandmother’s attic. It’s the first time I’d ever seen your face. My mother, she refused to talk about the past—about you.”
“I’m sorry. If I had known that you existed, I would have been there for you. I know that it’s easy to say now, but I really would have been a part of your life.”
“So, my mom never told you she was pregnant with me?”
He shook his head, and it was then that she noticed tears in his blue eyes. “Her last words to me were that she would never speak to me again. And...and she kept her word.”
“I saw the marriage license. It looked real.”
He nodded. “It is. We were married, and when we got home our parents were furious. They said we were too young to be married. My parents wanted to get the marriage annulled, but your mother refused. It was a real mess. When I tried to make peace and find a compromise, she accused me of not loving her. I tried to tell her that I did love her, but our parents were right. We were too young. But your mother didn’t want to hear any of that. It was like she was changing right in front of me.”
Leah didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. She couldn’t imagine being that in love at eighteen.
“As the time drew closer for me to leave for college, I tried to get your mother to agree to an annulment. She accused me of never truly loving her. She swore that night that she’d never talk to me again. I thought she just needed some time to cool off, and we’d talk again. But then I found out a few days later that she’d left town. She’d told her parents that she was going to stay at a friend’s house for a couple of days, but instead she disappeared. She left her mother a note and told her not to try and find her. I know it broke your grandmother’s heart. I didn’t know what to do.” He expelled a heavy sigh. “It probably sounds awful, but I was relieved when she left. At eighteen, I wasn’t equipped to deal with all of it. My parents filed the divorce on my behalf. No one contested it. I always felt awful that things had gone so horribly wrong. If I had said no about going to Las Vegas, things would have ended differently. Maybe she wouldn’t have left town.”
“Did you go to college?”
He shook his head. “After everything that happened that summer, I no longer had the ambition. I stayed busy mowing lawns. I found I had a green thumb and a love for the outdoors. I started doing some landscaping here and there. Business picked up to the point that I needed help. It kept growing to the point where I now have ten employees. Some work here in Kringle Falls and others work in the next town over.”
Leah continued to stare at the photographs of her mother and Paul going to the prom. They looked so happy together. She wondered what would have happened if their parents had supported their marriage. Would they have raised her together?
