Taking the ring from the box, I slide it onto her finger. Rising, I pull her into my arms. “This is the happiest day of my life.”
“Mine too.” She sniffs. “Do you mind if we get cleaned up and go tell the twins?”
“Nothing would make me happier.” I have a family. A real family. Coming to Harmony Glen changed my life in ways I never could have dreamed.
Ihave lived all over the world, including for a few hundred years in the United States, but this is my first Thanksgiving. Tilda and Max are hosting at their very large house in the woods northeast of town. It’s the perfect setting and size appropriate for my granddaughters’ mates, a giant and a Sasquatch.
The meal was served early, and now Sam and the twins are playing a video game in the other room.
Mari pours more wine and sits next to me while Max and Tilda wash dishes.
Lori sits with a sigh and fills her glass as well. “They refuse to let me help with the cleanup.”
At the sink, Tilda and Max laugh and speak in low tones. I make an effort not to eavesdrop. “I think they enjoy the process, my love. Don’t be offended.”
With a shrug, Lori sips her wine. “They are welcome to do the dishes at my house if they like it so much.”
Mari laughs. “That makes me wonder where the two of you are living?”
We spend every night together, but the question is interesting. “Currently, between the two houses, however, we have plans to build a new home.”
Leaning forward, Lori studies the overly large dining room and the high ceilings. “We do need a house that will be comfortable for the entire family. I might like to host holiday dinners, and neither of our current residences is suitable for Max and Sam.”
I sit forward, take her hand, and kiss her fingers. “My thoughts exactly.”
“That is very thoughtful, but no one expects you to build a house suited for a giant.” Mari looks from Lori to me.
With her fingers locked with mine, Lori cocks her head and meets Mari’s gaze. “I never expected to have more family than my girls. I thought a life without love was my penance for the poor decisions I made in my youth. I could never have guessed that I would find love and become part of a wonderfully diverse family, any more than I would have dreamed that Seth would check himself into rehab. Yet all of that has come to pass. My daughters have aunts and uncles and a father.” She squeezes my hand. “I really hope Seth gets his life together and can be part of their lives, but even if he goes back to his old behavior, they will always have Ion.”
“I hope that for them too.” Mari sighs. “It is wonderful to have children in our lives.” She caresses her very round belly. With two months to go, the giant growing inside her is already larger than a full-term human baby. The local doctor is monitoring her closely and says all is well.
Sam and the twins roar with laughter from the living room.
Watching the girls climb all over their giant uncle, Lori grins. “Ion and I looked at a very nice property on the edge of town. We plan to make an offer. There’s plenty of room for a large house with high ceilings and big lower-floor rooms. Our plan is to have human-sized bedrooms on the second floor.”
“You’ve really thought about this.” Mari’s voice is soft and filled with wonder.
My heart is so full, I can hardly bear it. “We’ve done more than that; we’ve had an architect draw up blueprints.”
Tilda sits on Lori’s other side. “You’re building a house?”
Max joins us in one of two larger chairs. “That’s a big step.”
“I can show you the plans, if you’re interested.”
“Yes,” Tilda and Mari say at once.
Laughing, Lori crosses to the door where she left her handbag. She digs out her tablet and returns. Calling up the plans, she hands them to Tilda.
With careful study and several slides of her finger across the screen, she looks up. Tears well in her pale blue eyes. “This is what you want.”
Taking Tilda’s hand, Lori nods. “We’re family. Ion and I will be married soon. We want the entire family to be comfortable in our home.”
While she hands the tablet to Max, Tilda pulls Lori into a hug.
“This is very kind and a fine-looking home.” Max passes the plans along to Mari.
I watch Mari’s face brighten, and say, “We also want your child to be comfortable when he visits. I suspect human-sized things will be a bit small for the little fellow. I’m very fond of your meditation tower. I may ask Sam to build one for me once the house is finished.
