At my smile, a gasp escaped her and she didn’t ask permission. She wrapped her arms around me and drew me in for a tight, warm hug, her body quaking the entire time. I lifted my arms to hug her back and listened to her shaky whispers of, “Oh, Mina,” and “My little girl.”
I swallowed through the thickness in my throat and squeezed her tight. When she pulled back, her eyes were wet, but she was smiling. “Where are my manners?” She motioned to us all. “Please, come in. John and James are out back.”
I swiped away the stray tear I didn’t know had fallen and followed her inside, with Lev and Lidi trailing behind me. As we walked down the hall, I saw pictures of new family members of all races and backgrounds. I smiled and asked, “More sons and daughters?”
She smiled weakly and shrugged. “We only do temporary fostering now. No more than six months at a time.”
She didn’t say much about that, but I had a feeling that was my fault.
Maggie held my hand as we entered the backyard. “John. James. Look who’s here.”
A much pudgier-looking John than I remembered stood from his place at the table. He smiled wide and didn’t waste time; he came forward and wrapped me up in a bear hug. “Oh, Mina, Mina. What am I going to do with you?”
We separated and I smiled kindly. “You look good, John.”
He chuckled and patted his belly. “Yeah, sure do. I’m surprised you haven’t asked when I’m due.” He laughed good-naturedly.
But the man who stood by his chair, looking at me as though I’d betrayed him in the worst possible way, caught my attention. “James,” I breathed.
He was still handsome as ever in that All-American way. His sandy brown hair cut neatly, his blue eyes clear, he looked harder than I remembered. There were no smiles spared for me that afternoon. He uttered offhandedly, “Mina. Nice to see you.”
The way he said this indicated that his statement was a lie. A big, fat one.
“Yeah.” My voice was small. I absently rubbed at my forearm. “You too. Where are the twins?”
John rolled his eyes but he did it smiling. “At a friends house. Teenagers.” There was a thick moment of silence before John cleared his throat. “Well, are you going to introduce us to this fine-looking fella, or are we going to have to guess?” He smiled wider. “Because if I had to guess, I’d give him the name Thor.”
My smile returned full force. John hadn’t changed a bit.
I stepped back, allowing Lev to place his arm around me. I looked up into his warm cognac eyes and announced. “This is my…my…” My smile softened. “This is my Lev.” His arm tightened around me. He bent down to kiss my forehead. I leaned into him and added, “And the little princess on Lev’s hip is his daughter, Lidiya.”
Maggie came forward, took one look at Lidiya, and beamed. “Hello, princess. Would you like a dolly to play with?” She looked up at Lev and explained, “I’ve got tons of toys if she wants to play with something.”
Lev stared at Maggie a long moment before placing Lidiya on the ground. My heart pumped hard before it slowed in relief as Lidi took Maggie’s hand and blinked up at her. “I pay a dolly?”
Maggie looked down at the cuteness that was Lidiya before announcing, “Of course you can play with a dolly.”
That was the good thing about Maggie. She spoke fluent baby.
As Maggie disappeared inside with Lidi, John gestured to the table and we sat. “What are you having, Mina? And Lev, was it? What can I get you to drink?”
I smiled. “I’ll have a glass of juice.”
“Same,” Lev responded.
John clapped his hands together. “It will be done. Give me a second.”
He left us with James and, the coward I was, I refused to look him in the eye when I asked, “How are you, James?”
I felt his eyes on me. I felt his anger at my small talk. Truth was, I wasn’t ready to discuss what happened. Not just yet.
After a long pause, he responded a low, “Just fine, thanks.”
I nodded. He didn’t ask about me. My guess was he wanted to throw me out of this house and gladly never see me again.