“She’s nine years old, Alex.”
“And she’s old enough to know. You need to be grateful that Monica had the sense to leave her with you in the first place. At least she did something right. She thought about the safety of her daughter, and she knew you could give her a better life than the road she was heading down. My father never thought that way because if he did, he would have left me with the people I lived with for the six months while he was in jail. From the little I know, it sounds like she got her life together, and she made sure it was together before coming here. She can’t take Lily away from you. You made sure of that when you stripped her of her parental rights. But you need to let your daughter make her own decision about Monica. Trust me, Stefan.” I grabbed his hand. “This is the only way to do this. Lily will love you even more for it.”
“What do we do? Sit her down and tell her everything?”
“You tell her that Monica is in town and wants to see her. It’s up to Monica to tell her the reason she left her. Not yours. We’ll tell her together and we let her decide. I will be right there by your side.”
He brought his hand up and ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a sigh.
“Didn’t you tell me that mistakes can turn you into something better than you were before?” I asked.
“Why are you throwing my words back at me?”
“Because if you didn’t believe it, you wouldn’t have said it. You said Monica told you she’s been clean for four years now, right?”
“That’s what she said.”
“She will be battling that sobriety for the rest of her life. She’s doing it, and I think she deserves to see Lily because of it.”
“How are you such a forgiving person?” He brought his hand up to my cheek.
“Isn’t that why you fell in love with me?” I smirked.
“That and many more reasons.”
“Then it’s decided. We’ll sit Lily down tomorrow and have a talk with her.”
“If she decides she wants to see her, we have no way of getting in touch with Monica. Oh well, nothing we can do about that now.”
“Well, I got her phone number before we left the restaurant.”
“Of course, you did.”
“Do you still love me?” I asked as a smile crossed my lips.
“Forever and always, baby. Forever and always.” His lips brushed against mine.
Chapter 45
Stefan
I got up early and met my brothers down at the beach to go surfing before Alex and I sat Lily down and talked with her.
“Where’s Simon?” I asked.
“I don’t know. He said he’d be here,” Sam said.
“So, what happened last night?” Sebastian asked as the three of us put our boards in the water.
“We’re going to talk to Lily today and have her decide if she wants to see Monica or not.”
“You’re okay with that?” Sam asked.
“I don’t really know. Alex said it’s the right thing to do, and I trust her.”
“Hey. Why are you douchebags starting without me?” Simon put his board in the water and paddled out to us.
“You’re late,” Sebastian said.
“I know. I was waiting on some information about Monica.”
“You ran a check on her?” I asked him.
“Yeah. I did. I’m a detective. It’s what I do.” He smirked. “Plus, you know I always have your back.”
“And?”
“Everything she told you is true. She lives in Portland Maine with her husband, Mark Winters, in a three-bedroom three bath home with a golden retriever named Miley. He’s a veterinarian and she is a marketing manager for a company called Dobson Marketing Group.”
“Thanks, bro. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. What did you and Alex decide?”
“We’re going to let Lily decide if she wants to see her or not.”
“Good idea. You’re doing the right thing. Now, let’s hit some waves.”
Later that afternoon, Alex and I sat Lily down and told her about Monica. I could see the tears in her eyes, and I wanted to stop the conversation, but Alex wouldn’t let me.
“It’s okay, Dad. I want to hear more about her.”
We talked for two hours, and Lily decided she wanted to see Monica.
“Are you sure, baby girl?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll set it up.” I wiped my eyes, got up from the table and walked down to the beach.
After a few minutes, Lily walked down to where I stood and took hold of my hand.
“I know you’re upset, and I don’t want you to be. I love you, Dad, and I know you’re trying to protect me, but I’m okay, and I will be okay. I haven’t told you this, but I’ve been thinking about Mom a lot lately.”
“You have?”
“Yeah. Maddie’s cousin was over at her house, and we were talking about our parents. She doesn’t know who her father is, and she said she wants her mom to find him. That’s when I started thinking about my mom. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I didn’t know how because I didn’t want to upset you.”
I knelt in front of her and lightly gripped her arms.
“I love you so much, and I don’t ever want you to feel like you can’t talk to me or come to me about what you’re feeling. You are the most important person in my life.” I pulled her into me.
“What about Alex and Henry?”
I broke our embrace and smiled at her.
“Of course, they’re important. All three of you are.”
“We’re a family, Dad. And that’s how it’s going to stay, but I do want to see my mother. I barely have any memories of her at all. Even though she abandoned me, I forgive her because she left me with the most important person in the world. You’re my person, Dad, and you always will be.”
Tears streamed down my face as I stared into the eyes of my daughter. A nine-year-old little girl who was so brave and strong.
“And you will always be my little girl no matter how old you are.”
“I know.” She smiled. “Is it okay if I go over to Aunt Julia’s? She made apple turnovers.”
“Only if you bring me one back.” I grinned.
“I will. She said she made a lot of them.”
Opening the sliding door, I walked through the kitchen and found Alex laying down on the couch. She held her hand out and told me to come sit down as she sat up.
“Are you okay?” She rubbed the back of my neck.
“I’m okay. I called Monica and she’s coming over tomorrow afternoon. She asked if it would be okay if her husband came, and I told her yes.”
“Good boy.” She kissed my cheek. “You’re doing the right thing, Stefan.”
“I know I am, and I have you to thank for that. You were right about me looking at things in a different perspective. You were also right about something else.”
“What else was I right about?”
“Lily had been thinking about Monica lately, but she didn’t know how to talk to me about it because she said she didn’t want to upset me. She would have hated me in the years to come if I didn’t tell her about this now. She told me she forgives Monica because she left her with the most important person in the world. Did you have something to do with that?”