Epilogue

Veronica

I opened the door quietly and peeked inside, a smile coming to my lips when I saw the sweet tiny eyes looking back at me. I walked into the nursery and gazed down into the crib at my daughter.

"Hi, sweet baby," I said. "How was your nap?"

I reached in and gently lifted my newborn daughter into my arms and curled her against me. She fit so perfectly into my arms and against my body that it felt as though I had been crafted just for the purpose of holding her. I walked over to the window and pushed the curtains out of the way, allowing the late morning sunlight to wash into the room. I looked around, smiling at the beautifully transformed nursery. There were still touches that reminded me of how the room looked the first time I saw it, but there was light and freshness in the space now that seemed to make it shimmer.

Jude had brought Michael into the nursery that had been designed for him but that he had never been able to use and they spent a few hours sharing stories, talking about their lives, and continuing to strengthen the bond that was long overdue to build between them in this room. When they emerged, smiles on their lips, laughter in their voice, and tears on their cheeks, I knew that it was different. It was time that the nursery was passed to the next baby of the family.

The rocking chair was the same but now all the books on the shelves had been read and joined by many others. There had been many evenings in the three weeks since my daughter had come home that Michael had sat in that very chair, cradling her in one arm or gazing at her in the bassinet that he drew close to her, and read through the books that had been meant for him. It seemed only right that he be the first to hear them, even if he read them himself. Three nights ago, I had witnessed a moment that I knew would stay with me forever when I peered into the nursery to find Michael sitting on the floor in front of Jude, holding the baby in his arms as my husband read to them. He was a grown man, but in that moment, he was Jude's little boy, finally hearing the bedtime story that was rightfully his.

A shelf on one wall held a few of the diapers, powder, and decorations that had been in the original nursery. On the wall at the end of the crib was a new touch added specifically for her. I carried the baby over to it and lifted her so that she was looking at it. I doubted that her brand new eyes could even see the picture, but I would continue to bring her to it. I would continue to show it to her every day and soon it would begin to settle in and become a part of her heart.

"This is your grandfather," I whispered, pointing to the smiling face of my father through glass no longer coated with dust. "This is your grandmother. This is your Aunt Lessie. And this is your mama a long time ago."

I touched the image of my face, innocent young eyes that looked back at me with trust that had not yet been shattered and a heart that had not yet been broken. I knew what was to come and I wanted to reassure her, to comfort her, and tell her that even in the darkest moments that were to come, she should never feel hopeless. I wanted her to know that a day would come when that heart would be mended and that trust restored.

"Are you ready?"

I looked toward the nursery door and saw Jude smiling at us.

"I just need to get her dressed."

He walked up to us and touched a kiss to the baby's head.

"Choose something pretty. She wants to look beautiful when she visits her brother."

Half an hour later we drove down a familiar street and pulled up in front of a house brimming with light and life. Michael stepped out onto the porch and waved at us, his face bright and happy. As Jude took the car seat out of the backseat, I walked up the sidewalk and hugged him.

"The flowers are coming in nicely," I said as we parted.

He nodded and looked at the flower beds to either side of the porch.

"The team does a good job."

The purple flowers that created what looked like a thick carpet across the ground, accented by larger blooms that filled the space with color, had been Nana's favorite. She would be so happy to see that they were still finding their place in these beds each year.

"Hey, Pop," Michael said as Jude came up onto the porch.

They leaned against each other in a modified hug in deference to the car seat that Jude held, and then Michael opened the front door again so that we could step inside. I looked around at the changes that he had made to my grandmother's house and realized that I no longer needed to think of it that way. This was his home now, a place for him to consider his own and where he could dig down the roots denied him by the largely nomadic lifestyle he had experienced as a child as they eluded police he never knew were after them until the day the man who raised him handed him the letter and walked away.

Jude set the car seat on the sofa and put the handle back before releasing the harness that held the baby. Michael grabbed her toes and bounced them, then turned to smile at Jude. Warmth tingled in my chest and filled me with happiness. Watching their relationship grow and deepen had been one of the most beautiful things that I had ever seen and I knew that the future ahead of us was one that we would share as a family.

Michael would never forget the man who raised him.

Jude would never forget Ellery.

I would never forget my parents, sister, or grandmother.

But we could move forward.

I was taking some time to be with the baby before I went back to dancing and Jude said he was teaching with greater passion and a fresher perspective than he had had since he first started. Michael had settled in and was slowly unraveling what had happened and trying to reconcile the two halves of his past.

Together, we were healing.

We acknowledged that we would never be able to get back all that we had lost, but we were doing everything that we could to make up for lost time. All that had happened to us was a part of who we were and though we respected all that we had gone through both on our own and together, we were ready to make the most of everything that we had now.

Jude came up to me and wrapped his arms around me, ducking his head to kiss me. I felt the rush through my body that happened every time he touched me. I could never get enough of him.

"I love you," he murmured to me before patting me on the butt and following Michael toward the kitchen.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

THE END