His eyes widened in surprise before he quickly sank down beside her.
“What are you scared of, Diana? What can I do to help you?”
“There is nothing you can do to help me in this,” she replied, though his immediate desire to make things better for her had already eased her mind some.
“Tell me, Diana. What is it that scares you?”
“The baby,” she said slowly. “I worry… what if I am like my mother? I wish to do better, but… I am frightened, Matthew. I am frightened that I will not.”
“Ah, my dear, you shall not become like your mother. You are not that person. Think of the way you have taken care of your sisters. The way you have supported them and encouraged them. The way you have loved and cared for them. You shall continue to do that with our child. I know it.”
“But what if I do not?”
“We shall help each other, love. I have not had a good model for how to treat a child either,” he reminded her. “Yet, I will do everything I can to be a good father for our child, and if I am not, I will count on you to correct me.”
“You have already learned so much about how to be loving and supportive,” she encouraged him. “And I know that you will be a good father.”
“I hope that you are right. But if I am not, I hope that you will inform me immediately. And that you will guide me.”
“Just as you will guide me,” she said, finally realizing just what it was he meant.
“We shall help each other. And in doing so, we shall be the parents that our child deserves.” He held her close, and shecould not help but smile. “I love you, my dear Diana. And I always shall.”
“And I love you, Matthew. Forever.”
The End?
