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Zoey
“I want to show you both something.” Jay holds out his hands to the girls and they each place theirs in his. There is no sense of pause, and I love how they trust him so freely. When he told me he loved them I wasn’t surprised because I could sense it in his actions. The way he included them in everything. The way he looked at them when he thought no one was watching. And he still does, only now he is protective and caring. He’s all the things a father should be that their own dad never was.
“What is it?” Regan asks as together they begin to climb the steps leading to the upstairs of Jay’s house.
We’ve been to his place a few times, bringing the girls over so they could play on their play gym. But we’ve always ended back at my house so we can put the girls to bed at a decent time. It’s incredible how he always seems to put them first.
“Is it a present?” Riley asks excitedly as I follow them up. When we all reach the landing, Jay glances over at me, offering a smile.
“It’s a surprise,” he tells them as they both look up at him eagerly. “I wanted it to be perfect before I showed it to you.”
My heart is racing, as he releases their hands and steps forward turning the knob to one of the rooms. It opens wide, and immediately my heart feels like is swells, as tears fill my eyes.
Both Regan and Riley start to oh and ah, moving into the bedroom and pausing in the middle. Jay follows close behind and I fill the doorway, watching the girls take it all in. “It’s so pretty,” Regan whisper yells to Riley. Linking hands, they start to turn in a full circle, ensuring they can see every little thing.
The room is two to three times the size of their bedroom at home. There are two matching beds, both white, and so beautiful. The comforters are fluffy and soft looking, one pink and the other purple. Each bed has cute little hearts, circles, and even a crown shaped pillow on them. Sheer curtains on the two windows, long and just barely touching the floor, each side tied back with sparkly ties.
“Who lives here,” Regan asks in awe, and I place my hand to my chest.
Jay moves closer to them, kneeling down on the floor before the two of them. “I’m the only person who lives in this house for now. But I wanted the two of you to have a place to play and call your own whenever you visit.” They both stare at him. “This room is yours, and everything in it. Do you like it?”
“I love it.” Regan leaps forward and wraps her arms around Jay’s neck. I cover my mouth with my hand, because seeing me little girl so happy, it rocks something deep within me.
Riley slides in, and Jay wraps an arm around her too, pulling her into their little circle. “Thank you,” Riley smiles up at him andthen glances over to me. “Mommy, we love it,” she tells me, and all I can manage to do is smile at her, because inside I feel so incredibly raw with emotion.
When he releases them, they start moving around the bedroom exploring everything. They’re picking up the books on the shelves, the toys positioned around the room, showing each other everything new they find.
Jay moves over to where I’m standing and leans his shoulder against the wall at my side.
“This is beautiful,” I tell him, glancing over to find him watching me. “Did you pick all the colors?”
“Dean helped,” he admits, and I smile imagining the two of them creating this space. “And Grams,” he adds. “She said that no little girls’ room is complete without all the cute decorations, and it has to be colorful.”
“It’s like their own little play land.” I point toward the partially opened door at the end of the bedroom. “Their own bathroom?”
“Yeah.” He smiles. “It’s all sparkled up too.”
“Grams?”
“No, that was Emma and Lucy.” I smile knowing they had their part in this. Jay is right; Emma is protective of me, and of my girls. “They helped me pick out all the decorations, and Emma insisted it be princess themed. I’ve never seen so many sparkly things all in one place.”
“You’re incredible,” I confess, smiling when Riley finds the matching tiny recliners in the corner with a reading lamp in between. “Everything, all the little details, it’s too much.” I try not to cry, but it’s almost impossible to hold it all back.
“Baby, this is just the beginning.” Jay moves in closer and kisses the corner of my mouth. “All I want is for the three of you to be happy.”
“We are,” I confess, leaning myself in closer to him, nuzzling him as he places his arm around me and holds me tightly to him.
Together we watch the girls, until we move out into the hallway and go back downstairs leaving them alone to enjoy their new space.
I’m not sure they’ll ever want to leave.
“They are so beautiful, Zoey,” Alice Lincoln says as she sits in the rocker next to me and stares out in the backyard. Riley and Regan are climbing the rock wall and giggling as they look over their shoulders at Jay. He’s standing guard, with his hands outstretched like he’s afraid they’ll fall and wants to make sure he’s there to catch them if they do.
“All Michael ever wanted for him and for Mattie was for them to find love. He wanted them to build a family and experience the real joys of life.” I look over to find Alice watching Jayson, her eyes shining with tears. “I’m so happy to have him back here. To have him and Mattie in Magnolia Grove with me. I’ll always miss Michael and no day will ever feel completely whole but having them here, it eases the ache. The both of them are my joy, the way they look out for me and make sure I have all I need. What they don’t realize is they are the best parts of my days.”
“You’re a big part of his too,” I assure her, reaching out to place my hand over hers and offering a gentle squeeze.
Together we sit in silence watching as my girls and Jay run around playing together. He gets right in there with them, laughing and playing along. It’s the most adorable thing I have ever seen.
