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His eyes become clear again and he chuckles. “All the decorations are up in the attic. I’m an old man and can’t get them. My little lovebird in there has been too busy taking care of me.”

My chest aches for Sandy. She’s a good mother and daughter.

“Maybe she’ll let me take care of her for a change,” I suggest with a shrug. “I’m sure trying.”

“The gals in this family are filled with fire. It’s worth the burn, Son.”

Skeeter skitters over to us and then hops into Amos’s lap. He chuckles as he scratches the dog behind his ears. A little chirp from the corner steals my attention.

“That’s, uh, I forgot her name. It’s my girl’s bird.”

“Claudette,” Sandy calls from the kitchen. “Keep her in the cage until I finish up with dinner. These budgies are too nosy for their own good. Too many hot pots and pans.”

I talk to Claudette through her cage and promise to rescue her after dinner. I’m relaxed as I can be until I hear the back door open.

My stomach does a painful twist.

Swallowing hard, I turn toward the sound, eager to finally meet my daughter. Seconds later, she enters and peels off her coat. She’s an exact replica of her mother at that age when she was pregnant. I may or may not have flown to New York one day to check on her when she was late in her pregnancy.

“Dad!”

I stand completely frozen and in shock at Nora’s excited response at seeing me. In a flash, she throws her arms around me, hugging me tight. Eventually I snap out of my daze and hug my little girl back. Someone sobs.

Ahh, the sobber is me.

“It’s okay,” Nora says, voice sweet and perfect. “We’re together now. We’ll make up for lost time.”

My entire body trembles as I attempt to reign in the crying. I didn’t expect to be so overcome with emotion. She starts to pull away, and I kiss the side of her head, murmuring how much I love her.

Because I do.

I always have.

The second Sandy told me she was pregnant, I was smitten.

I’ve spent an entire, lonely existence nursing my broken bleeding heart, but it’s finally being repaired. When I glance over at Sandy, she wears an expression of guilt and despair. I start to go toward her to offer some comfort, but she shakes her head, disappearing back into the kitchen. Nora follows after her. I’m grateful.

“Upton,” Elias says, shaking my hand. “Nice to officially meet.”

“I remember you running around here as a youngster,” I tell him with a grin. “How are Rudy and Maggie?”

We chat about his parents for a bit, but I can’t get my mind off Sandy’s stricken face.

The ache inside me to hold her is almost too much to bear.

When Nora returns without Sandy, her eyebrows are pinched with worry.

“Goldie? Is that you?”

My daughter flinches as Amos grins her way. “He gets confused,” she mouths to me. Then, she walks over to her grandfather. “I’m Nora, your granddaughter, remember?”

He shakes his head and then darts his blue eyes my way as if he needs my help. I approach them and put my hand on Nora’s shoulder.

“This is my daughter,” I tell him. “Sandy’s daughter.”

Amos blinks and then his smile returns. “Where is my little lovebird?”

“She’s in the kitchen, Grandpa,” she says to Amos and then whispers to me, “and barely holding it together.”