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“If you love her and you are really as okay as you say you are about Ireland, then you have to fight for her. Make her see the man we all know you are. It sounds like she knows it too and you haven’t done anything to make her doubt you, but with her past you’re going to have to work extra hard. Sounds like she’s worth it though, son.”
“She is. They both are.” I say with confidence.
“Well, that settles it then. You two can stay up and come up with the plan for ‘Operation Get The Girl Back’ but this old man is tired and hittin’ the hay. I’ll see you two in the morning.”
“Night, Dad.”
“Night, Mr. F and thanks for listening.”
“Anytime, son. Night boys.”
The next morning Robert is having his coffee and reading the paper in the kitchen, Kate is still asleep and Liam and I are getting ready to head out to The Gym when Fiona asks me to help her with something in her room.
When we reach my room, which I insisted they take while they’re visiting, I ask, “Whatcha need, Mrs. F?”
“Have a seat, Jonathan,” she says as she shuts the bedroom door.
I take a seat on the bed and she moves the little chair from the corner of the room over so that she’s sitting directly across from me. She is scaring the hell out of me and I feel like she’s about to give me some very bad news or I’m about to be scolded for something. I can’t think of what I could have possibly done wrong in the time since they got here. This woman, who is all of five feet tall, has me feeling twelve again.
“Is everything okay, Mrs. F?” I ask cautiously.
“Everything is fine, sweetie.” She takes one of my hands in both of hers and gives it a squeeze. “Jonathan, you know that I would never try to replace your mother. I don’t ever want to over-step my role in your life, but I think you know that I think of you as my son and I love you just as much as I do those other two yahoos down the hall. You know that, right?”
I can barely breathe I am so filled with emotion. It takes everything I have to whisper. “I do.”
If she only knew just how important she is to me.
“Good, now as you know I have to sleep with the window open no matter the weather—so please know I was not eavesdropping—but I did hear your conversation with Robert and Liam last night, about Emily.”
I exhale the breath I was holding and with it the huge ball of anxiety that had been sitting in my chest. I let out a soft chuckle when I say, “You want to talk about my love life?” She nods her answer. “Thank God! I thought you had something serious to tell me.”
“There’s nothing more serious than love, my boy. From the sound of it, that’s what you and Emily have but she may not be able to accept it yet?”
“I keep telling myself that we were only together nine days, and that was five years ago but I just know . . .”
“What do you know, Jonathan?”
“I know that she’s the one and I love her. I’m sure that everybody thinks I’m nuts, but my time with her made me a better person; made me look at strangers differently because she treated everybody the same whether she knew them or not. She’s an amazing person and she makes me better. I know that for sure.”
“Jonathan, you were your mother’s world. Her biggest wish for you was that you find somebody to love and that one day you would be whole and happy again. Your dad really was the love of her life and she was his. Your momma would want you to find somebody that you love just as strong as she loved your daddy. I wish you had been able to see how wonderful they were together. It was a sight to see, Jonathan. They loved each other from the day they laid eyes on each other and nothing was going to get in their way.”
“You know, I used to wonder why my mom never found anybody else. Why she never remarried, but I get it now. When you find the person you’re supposed to be with nobody else compares, and that’s how I have felt since the day she walked away from me.” I look up to the ceiling and say, “I understand now, mom.”
Fiona gives my hand a squeeze and continues. “If you love her as much as you say you do, and she is worthy of your love, then you go and get her and her little girl.”
“That’s the plan, Mrs. F.”
“You ready and willing to be an instant family and become this little girl’s daddy if you fight for her?”
“I am.”
Wow, I never really thought about that but by asking her to try it means the possibility of becoming somebody’s daddy. That’s kinda huge. I get why she wouldn’t just jump in so easily and why just the sight of Courtney was enough to slow her down.
“You ready to lose them both if this doesn’t work out?”
“I can’t let that happen. It’s not an option.”
“But if it does it’s gonna hurt twice as bad, kiddo.”
