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“Hugs are a good way to say you’re sorry, so yeah, I’ll give you a hug.” She walked over to me, and I lifted her.
“Let Gammy hug you, okay?” Vi told the little girl. “We don’t want to accidentally hurt her if you hug her.”
Mom wrapped her arms around Love Bug and pulled her in just enough to give her a light squeeze before kissing her cheek. “Ah, my sweet baby. Gammy needed this so much today. Thank you for coming, for having such a big heart, and for forgiving me.”
I blinked back a wave of fresh tears as she met my gaze while she spoke. Those words were meant for Vi and me more than Love Bug. If Vi hadn’t said she forgave my mom, I wasn’t sure I could have either, because even as I’d walked into the room, I’d been torn. Loyalty to the woman I loved was at odds with the fear of losing my mother forever. And those emotions had warred inside me until Violet had given voice to her forgiveness.
“I love you too, Gammy,” Love Bug said softly, kissing her on the cheek extra carefully. She wiggled in my arms, and I gently placed her on the edge of the bed beside Mom. “Do you feel sick?”
“Just a little,” Mom told her, holding her hand. “I had a really big headache.”
Worry filled my daughter’s beautiful eyes. “My other daddy went to heaven because he had headaches.”
“It wasn’t the same kind of headache,” Mom rushed to assure her, and Love Bug released a deep sigh of relief. “And now, my headache is all better.”
“Oh.” Love Bug sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, exactly like Vi did when she was thinking or worried. “When I get sick and start to feel better, Daddy lets me have ice cream. Since you feel better, do you want ice cream, Gammy?”
“That sounds so yummy,” Mom said with a grin. “Maybe Poppy will be kind enough to get us both some ice cream.”
“Poppy?” Love Bug looked straight at Dad. “Gammy needs extra ice cream since she’s feeling better now. But I don’t think she’s telling the whole truth. Her face looks like when Daddy hit the running back for Seattle and made his helmet fall off. Daddy didn’t tackle you, did he, Gammy?”
Laughing, Mom carefully shook her head. “No, sweetheart. Daddy didn’t tackle me.”
“Okay, that’s good. If he did, you would have to put him in time-out. Daddy doesn’t like time-out very much. One time, Mommy put Daddy in time-out for so long, he had to sleep on the couch. And then he was really grumpy the next day, and he tackled Atlanta’s receiver so hard that—”
“It wasn’t that hard,” I interrupted.
“Yes, it was, Daddy. Don’t lie. I was there. I saw it. You tackled him so hard, he threw up all over his shoes.”
“You have an incredible memory, Love Bug,” Dad said with a deep laugh. “Do you remember Gammy’s favorite ice cream?”
“Vanilla with all the toppings,” she answered without hesitation.
“Then I need you to come with me to get it, so I don’t forget.” He held out his hand, and she hopped down from the bed to run over to him. “We’ll be right back, baby,” he told Mom. “Love you.”
“Be right back, Gammy. Love you!”
“I love you both,” Mom called after them. Once the door was closed behind them, Mom lost her smile and looked back at Vi and me. “Thank you both for coming. I truly am so very sorry—”
“Layla, I forgive you,” Violet told her before she could get worked up. “I meant it. Please, let’s focus on you getting better and not the regrets from the past.”
“Your mom told me you would forgive me, but I didn’t think it was possible.” Mom touched her swollen nose. “I doubted a lot of things last night. Not getting the chance to see you both again and apologize was something I feared. But then Harper told me she suspected something, and I had even more reason to fight to get through everything so I could see you all again.”
Her gaze dropped to Vi’s stomach. “Are you pregnant, Violet?”
I cupped my hand over Vi’s flat stomach, causing her to look up at me. She stroked her fingers over the back of my hand, and she grinned. “Do you want to tell her?”
“Mom,” I said without looking away from Vi’s eyes. “Vi’s having twins.”
“Two babies?” We turned at the excited squeal from Love Bug. “Mommy’s having two babies?”
Dad gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry if you didn’t want her to know yet. I forgot my phone. But I’m not sorry I didn’t miss the announcement.”
“Yes, Love,” Violet confirmed. “You’re getting either two brothers or two sisters. They’re identical.”
“Yes!” Love Bug cheered, dancing around. “I totally beat Grier! I get two, and she only gets one. I win! I win! I win!”
“It’s not a contest, Love,” Violet admonished.
