“Look at this guy, giving up his freedom willingly,” joked Alex, the same teammate who’d once made lewd comments about Sunny that had led to a fight. They’d since found a tentative peace, though Liam would never consider him a close friend.
“Some of us don’t see it as giving up anything,” Tyler countered, helping Liam with his cufflinks. “Some of us see it as gaining everything.” The quiet understanding in Tyler’s voice reminded Liam of their conversation, when Tyler had shared his own experience with miscarriage. That little moment of connection had been a lifeline when Liam was drowning.
Left alone briefly as the others went to check on arrangements, Liam found himself reaching for his wallet. Tucked behind his driver’s license was a small, worn photo of Kate, smiling on their honeymoon. It had been taken the morning after their wedding, her hair tousled from sleep, eyes bright with love.
“I think you’d like her, Kate,” he whispered, running his thumb over her face. “She loves them so much. She’s made us all whole again, in a different way.” He felt a familiar tightness in his throat, but it wasn’t the crushing grief that had once accompanied thoughts of Kate. It was something gentler now, a bittersweet gratitude.
The door burst open and Maddie and Hailey tumbled in, a flurry of excitement in their flower girl dresses, pulling him firmly back to the present.
“Daddy, do we look pretty?” Hailey twirled, her dress — a pale blue that matched her eyes — billowing out around her like a cloud.
“The prettiest girls I’ve ever seen,” Liam said, crouching down to their level. They were growing so fast, changing every day.
Maddie, ever the more serious of the two, handed him a folded piece of construction paper. “We made this for you and Sunny.”
Liam opened it to find a drawing of four stick figures holding hands beneath a rainbow. In careful block letters across the top:To Dad & Sunny: Our Family Forever.
“Do you like it?” Hailey asked anxiously, leaning against his arm.
“I love it.” Liam blinked rapidly, his vision blurring. “It’s perfect.”
Maddie fidgeted with the ribbon on her dress, her eyes downcast. “Dad?”
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I went to see Mom yesterday. With Grandma.” Her voice was small but steady. “I told her about today. I told her it was okay for you to be happy again.”
Liam felt as though the air had been knocked from his lungs. He looked at his oldest daughter, seeing for the first time how much she’d processed, how much she understood. Kate’s eyes looked back at him from Maddie’s face, serious and wise beyond her years.
“Maddie…” He couldn’t finish, just pulled her into a fierce hug, then reached for Hailey to include her too.
“Don’t cry, Daddy,” Hailey patted his cheek. “It’s a happy day!”
Liam laughed through his tears. “The happiest,” he agreed, holding his daughters close and marveling at how far they’d all come.
The moment was interrupted by another knock. Liam looked up, expecting Tyler, but instead found his sister Morgan standing awkwardly in the doorway.
“Girls, why don’t you go find Grandma? She was looking for you,” Liam said gently, his eyes never leaving Morgan’s face. They hadn’t spoken face to face since their confrontation months ago, when she’d said such cruel things about Sunny and their relationship.
After the girls had gone, an uncomfortable silence stretched between them, even though Morgan had apologized over the phone.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” Liam finally said.
Morgan twisted her hands together. “I wasn’t sure I’d be welcome.”
“You’re my sister.”
“I was horrible to you. To Sunny.” She met his eyes, her own filled with regret. “Iwas jealous and bitter and taking out my own failed relationships on you.”
“Morgan—”
“No, let me finish.” She took a deep breath. “I was wrong. About everything. I see how happy she makes you, how good she is with the girls. I’ve been too proud to admit it until now.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a small velvet box. “These were Grandma’s. I’ve been saving them.” She opened the box to reveal a pair of antique gold cufflinks, inlaid with deep blue stones that matched his eyes.
Liam felt something long-knotted inside him begin to loosen. “Thank you,” he said simply, accepting the box.
“There’s something else.” Morgan reached back into her purse and withdrew an envelope. “I found these when I was cleaning out my storage unit last month. They’re from when we were kids.”
