It’s my turn to reintroduce Sophie to my relatives. Unlike me, she has no qualms about knocking and then stepping forward to give my dad a big kiss on the cheek when he opens the door. “Michael!” She beams. “It’s been so long.”

Dad’s face lights up when he sees her, and he can’t hurry her in quickly enough. “Sophie—I’m so glad to see you again. Cole finally pulled his socks up, hmm?”

“He was always a bit slow, but he usually gets there in the end.”

Sophie and Dad laugh like old friends while I wait patiently for my father to say “hello” to me. Instead, he waves me toward the kettle. “Make us some coffee, will you, Cole? Or would you prefer lemonade, my dear?”

“Lemonade would be lovely.”

“Lemonade, Cole!”

Dad has ushered Sophie into the living room, which is open plan to the kitchen. She looks over her shoulder at me and grins. There’s a sparkle of mischief in her eyes, almost smugness.

“You look wonderful,” Dad gushes, putting on his glasses to get a better look at Sophie. “You haven’t changed a bit. If anything, you’re even more beautiful. Almost out of this one’s league, I’d say.” He jerks a thumb backward in my direction.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Look at her, Cole! She could still be twenty years old.”

Sophie blushes and laughs. “Michael—still the charmer!”

“What are you doing with yourself these days, sweetheart?”

“I’m still working at the bank.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

“Actually, I do.”

“Then that’s all that matters now, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely.”

I enter the living room with a pitcher of lemonade and three plastic tumblers. I pour each of us a drink and sit down beside Sophie on the wicker-and-floral furniture that Dad has had since forever.

“I wish Anna could see you now.”

A pang of regret courses through me. My mother had adored Sophie and had been thrilled when I’d brought a fiancée home. I think she’d been hoping that Sophie would keep me in the States—close to home, and close to Mom.

When I left Sophie, I left them, too.

“I heard she passed—I’m so sorry.”

“It seemed too soon, but I guess the time comes for us all.”

Silence envelops the room. I decide to break it. “I saw Sophie’s sister last night.”

“Lena! How is she?”

“She’s not my biggest fan.”

Sophie laughs lightly. “Lena has a very one-sided perspective on our relationship, but things are never that simple, are they? There are always two sides to every story. Cole had his dreams, and I had mine.”

“You two are back together,” Dad says. “That’s what matters now.”

Sophie grins. “I think so.”

“I couldn’t believe it when Cole said you’d run into each other again. He said you’d met on the cellphone. On an app, he said. What was it called again, Cole?”

“Tinder. And that’s not how we got back in touch, Dad. You’re getting a bit confused.”

“Cole was playing the field,” Sophie explains, casting me a cheeky glance. “He met a woman called Sophia on Tinder and messaged me by mistake when he tried to contact her on his cell.”

Dad holds his hands up in the air and makes a face. “It’s bunk, all this technology. Back in my day, you met in real life. I met Cole’s mother when we worked at a chip factory. She salted the chips, and I loaded the vans.”

Sophie and I exchange amused glances. Even in the short time that Sophie and I were together in the US, she had the chance to hear this story at least a dozen times.

“It’s a very sweet story.”

“Better than Cole sending a text to the wrong woman! My son; hardly Romeo. You know, I had to court Anna for months. I used to take her to the flicks on a Saturday afternoon. Her brother came with us the first three times because she was only fifteen.”

“And you asked her father before you took her to a local dance,” I finish. “Things have come a long way since then.”

“How are your parents, Sophie?”

“Well.” Sophie nods. “Thank you. They’re both doing really well.”

“What do they make of all this Tinder business, and you and Cole?”

Sophie looks down at her lemonade with a guilty laugh. “I haven’t told them yet. I’m not sure how they’d take it. My mom, in particular, was against the marriage in the first place.”

“I remember. Anna and I were thrilled. We both believed that Cole needed a down-to-earth girl to get his feet planted back on solid ground.”

“You make it sound like I was some listless dreamer,” I object. “I won awards, you know.”

Dad scoffs and gestures to Sophie. “And look at what you lost.”

Sophie’s cheeks flame, and she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear shyly. “Cole’s very talented, Michael. I never resented him for that—I simply wasn’t ready for how far it would take him. His success came on very suddenly, and I wasn’t prepared.”

Dad pats the back of Sophie’s hand. “You’re a very sweet girl.” He turns to me. “She believes in you, you know.”

“I know. She always did.”

I catch Sophie’s eye and feel another swell of regret. Although Sophie never wanted me to leave her to pursue my own ambition, she never doubted for a second that I’d make it. My parents had always thought photography was a pipe dream, but Sophie had proclaimed my talent to everyone who would listen from day one. She loved and supported my career one-hundred percent until she started to feel it taking me away from her. Even now that I’m a washed-up once-was, she’s full of praise for me. She’s the most loyal woman I know.

“What’s for you two now?”

Sophie and I look at each other, and matching smiles spread across our faces. She smiles and offers a small shrug.

“One day at a time.”

“We want to give it another go,” I say. “We know that things went wrong the first time around, but we’re older and wiser and ready to give it another shot.”

“Good.” Dad nods. He turns to Sophie. “The women he’s dated since you have been airheads and floozies.”

“Dad!”

“What? You know it’s true.” Dad leans forward towards Sophie conspiratorially and lowers his voice as if I won’t be able to hear him. “One woman he brought to meet me tripped over her heels on the way in and on the way out. She was like a newborn calf. God knows how many others I didn’t get to meet at all. If a woman isn’t someone you want to bring home to meet your old man, that should tell you something about her. I hardly get to meet his recent women, let alone having him waltz through the door with a huge grin and the declaration that he’s getting married.”

“You’re hardly selling me to her, Dad. You’re making it sound like I’m out with a different woman every night of the week.”

“I wouldn’t know if you were.” He leans in towards Sophie. “He’s very hush-hush about his lady friends.”

“Jesus Christ.”

Sophie’s not offended. She throws her head back and laughs. “I forgot how funny you were, Michael!”

I glance at my watch. “Right, Dad. Sophie and I have a lunch reservation, so we’ve got to get going.”

“All right, I get it. You two need your ‘alone time.’” Dad rises from his chair and embraces Sophie. “Wonderful to see you again, my dear. Don’t be a stranger now.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

I say goodbye too, and we leave my dad’s house, starting to walk toward the nearby restaurant.

Sophie has the giggles. “He knows exactly how to embarrass you! I’ve never known anyone to make you blush, but your dad’s a pro.”

“A different experience from when I saw Lena! My parents always adored you and were crushed when we split up. They thought I made the biggest mistake of my life.” I sigh, then look across at Sophie and smile. “In hindsight, maybe they were right.”

Sophie comes to a stop and takes both my hands in hers. She looks up at me with wide, adoring eyes. “I think everyone’s been a bit hard on you, myself included. You had a talent, a dream, and you went for it. It took courage. If anything, I was holding you back. At the time, I was devastated, but if you’d stayed, you would only have grown to resent me, and we’d have faced a messy, bitter divorce a few years later. I want to put the past behind us. No bitterness, no resentment, no blame. Yes, you left. But if you’d stayed, I’d have been the villain instead. It was a no-win situation. Things are different now. Let’s be grateful that we don’t have to make that choice again. It’s just me and you, simple and easy.”

“That’s all I want,” I say. “These last couple of weeks have been incredible. All those simple things—eating dinner together, making breakfast, laughing, joking, sleeping in the same bed. That’s everything I want.”

She looks up at me and smiles. “It’s enough for you?”

“You, Sophie Ellis, are far more than enough. I’m happy with you. I hope you’re happy with me.”

“Happier than I’ve been in the longest time.”

She takes my hand, and we start walking again. There’s a spring in my step. It feels like everything has fallen into place. After years of failure and rejection, I’ve circled back to the woman who makes me feel whole.