Ramiro was finally sleeping, so Mama T put him inside his bassinet and came to sit next to me on the floor. Immediately, she began to help me cut the tags off the pile of new clothes.
She continued where she left off. “We won’t dwell on the past anymore. It’s all behind us now. You and my grandbabies will never have to worry again, that’s for sure.”
“Mama T, please don’t make me cry right now. You have no idea how happy I am that y’all are back in my life. This truly feels like a dream come true.”
“Release those tears, honey. Crying is good for the soul. I’m happy we’ve been united again too. You’ve always been special to Reason, and one of the only people who ever made my son genuinely happy.” She stopped cutting tags and looked into my eyes. “I knew you and Reason would find a way back to each other. I didn’t know how, nor did I know when, but all I hoped was that it happened before I took my last breath.”
“How did you know that?” I inquired.
“Because it’s something I never stopped praying for.”
I couldn’t control the stream of tears flowing down my cheeks.
She continued. “I’ve always known you two were made for each other. I wasn’t accepting anyone else as my daughter-in-law but you. Plus, not to put my son’s business out there, but none of those women he entertained were up to par, so they made my job easy.”
I had no idea Mama T felt this way. I found myself moving closer to her and wrapping my arm around her waist as I lay on her shoulder.
“Ember, I love you so much.”
Hearing those words from a motherly figure was foreign to me, but it felt so good and comforting.
“Mama T, I love you just as much. Thank you for always accepting me into your family.”
“You are family,” she responded.
I finally knew what it felt like to have a family of my own. I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.
“Ember!” I heard Reason calling from our bedroom down the hall.
I hopped up at the sound of Reason’s voice. “Mama T, I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be right here. Hurry and go see what your man wants.” She ushered me out of the nursery room with her warm, contagious smile.
I entered our bedroom, looking around for him. There was one last place to look, and that’s exactly where I found him, on our wraparound balcony that overlooked the ocean.
We had private access to the beach, and it had become our favorite place to enjoy each other’s company. There was a remote operated elevator in our bedroom that went down and opened to the path that led to the sand. It was one of the best things on our property.
I joined Reason on the balcony as he looked out into the crashing waves. I still couldn’t believe this was now my life… our life. “Hey, baby, you called me?”
“I did, gorgeous.”
I loved hearing him call me everything but my government name.
“Everything okay?” I asked because he looked like he was deep in thought.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
I positioned myself in front of his handsome self. “I’m listening, babe.”
“You know I would do anything for you, right?”
“Yes… yes, I know.”
“I would do anything to make you smile… Anything to keep your heart overflowing with my love… Anything you want, and anything you need is my responsibility to provide.”
Today was the second time I found myself crying. I’ve always been an emotional person, but the only difference now was my tears stemmed from happiness instead of tears from trying to survive.
Reason wasn’t done yet. “When your heart aches, mine does too. And even then, I’ll still find a way to turn that ache into joy, Em Baby.” He wiped away the tears from my cheeks and under my eyes with his thumb.
