I smiled.
Their voices drifted up the stairs, filling the house with a kind of noise I hadn’t realized I had been missing.
When I joined them, Julia had already set three plates on the table.
Mark looked at my ring and smiled.
“Still saying yes?”
I held up my hand.
“Still saying yes.”
Then I turned to Julia.
“Have you thought about what you need? Clothes, school supplies, anything like that?”
She looked surprised.
“I don’t know. I didn’t bring much.”
“Then we’ll make a list,” I said. “And we’ll figure it out together.”
Her expression softened.
“You don’t have to do all that for me.”
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.”
She lowered her eyes, trying to hide her smile.
I understood then that welcoming Julia into our home wouldn’t mean pretending everything was simple. We would need to learn about each other, establish boundaries, and help her navigate the complicated feelings that came with discovering a father she had never known.
