Chapter 9 - The Apology My Children DeservedAfter dinner, Lucas approached me.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why did Aunt Mindy hate us?”
I crouched beside him.
“She didn't know how to treat people.”
“Was it because we're not their blood?”
I looked at him.
“No.”
I put my hand on his shoulder.
“Family isn't only about blood.”
“Then what is it?”
“It's about who protects you.”
He thought about that.
“Like you?”
I smiled.
“Exactly.”
Paige ran over.
“Daddy!”
She handed me a drawing.
It showed four people standing beneath a giant yellow sun.
Me.
Her.
Lucas.
And Courtney.
I stared at it.
“Who's this?”
“Mommy.”
My throat tightened.
“Why are we all holding hands?”
“Because we're a family.”
I looked at Courtney.
She was standing several feet away, crying quietly.
I walked toward her.
She wiped her eyes.
“I don't deserve that picture.”
“Maybe not yet.”
She nodded.
“But I want to.”
I took her hand.
“Then keep trying.”
She squeezed mine.
May you like
And for the first time since that dinner, I felt something I hadn't expected.
Hope.
