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"Cassius, I'm so sorry. Is she okay?" I asked, wanting to hug him and comfort him but aware that an increasing number of people were staring at us.
"She's fine. She's going to be fine. But it made me realize something. I let that relationship with my parents fall apart. And it took something really terrible happening for me to realize that I wanted a relationship with them. It also made me realize that I want a relationship with you. You and Makayla, you're my family. Please, tell me I'm not too late," he said, his voice pleading.
I could already feel my heart melting, but when he said that and looked at me with those hazel eyes of his, the last of my reserve vanished. My heart swelled with affection for him.
"Mommy," said a voice at my side, "He said sorry, so that means you should forgive him." I looked down to see that Makayla had run over to us. Cassius crouched down next to her.
"I have to apologize to you, too, Makayla," he said. She tilted her head, confused.
"For what?" she asked.
"For not keeping you safe. And for not paying enough attention to you," he told her. "But I promise, from now on, you're the priority. Being a good dad to you is my most important job."
I opened my eyes wide and blew air up into them to try and keep myself from crying when he said that. In my wildest fantasies, I'd maybe imagined someone saying all those things that he had just said to me, but I'd never dared to dream I could find someone who would love Makayla the way that I did.
"Is that okay with you?" Cassius asked Makayla.
"That's okay with me," she said, then she smiled and hugged him. He returned the hug and picked her up, hugging her tightly as he turned to me.
"Deira? What about you? Is it too late?" he asked softly.
I shook my head, blinking away tears.
"No," I whispered, "it's not too late." His face broke into a grin, and he leaned down to kiss me. The crowd around us cheered, and we both looked around, embarrassed. I'd forgotten that anyone was here but us.
"So," Dani said at my side, "we're not getting on the plane, huh?"
I laughed.
"No, Dani, I'm sorry. I think I'm going to have a fresh start right here."
"Oh, by the way," Cassius said, still hugging Makayla, "my parents want to meet you."
A few days later,I was standing outside a hospital room, fidgeting with my dress. Cassius took my hand, pulling it away from the floral garment.
"You look great," he whispered. "Don't worry." We were about to go into his mother's hospital room, where his parents were waiting to meet Makayla and I for the first time. Makayla was bopping excitedly beside me. She had been on cloud nine ever since Cassius and I had explained that she had grandparents, and they were waiting to meet her. I, on the other hand, was very nervous.
"Ready?" Cassius asked. I took a deep breath, and nodded.
It turned out that I didn't have anything to be nervous about. Cassius's father immediately stood up and gave me a warm hug, and his mother insisted I come sit by her so she could hold my hand and talk to me. They both were very kind to me and, more importantly, to Makayla. Just as she'd been with Cassius, Makayla seemed instantly at ease with them. It didn't take long before she was chatting away to them, talking about school, and then about how Cassius was taking her to the amusement park next weekend, and then asking them if they'd like to go to the amusement park as well.
"Makayla, baby, Mrs. Reade has to get better before she can go anywhere like that," I interjected.
"Oh, please," his mother said to me, "you don't have to be so formal. I'd really like it if you could call me Susan, and my husband George. And you, Makayla," she said, taking Makayla's hand in her own, "whenever you feel ready, you can call us Grandma and Grandpa, okay?" Makayla thought about this, and then nodded seriously.
"I'll take that under consideration," she said, repeating her new favorite phrase, which she had just learned from Cassius the day before.
"Makayla," I said helplessly while everyone else laughed.
"Oh, she seems smart," George said, winking at her. "Cassius was just like that at her age. Smart as a whip and always repeatingeverythingwe said. We had to learn to be very careful."
"Oh, I bet he was cute at that age," I said wistfully.
"He was very cute," Susan said, smiling softly. "Once I'm out of the hospital, we'll have you guys over for a meal, and I'll get out the baby pictures."
"Mom, I don't think that needs to happen," Cassius said quickly, blushing.
"Oh, no. That's definitely happening. I need to see those pictures." I laughed. "Right Makayla? We want to see pictures of your dad when he was little."
