Chapter 14 - The First Time Noah Asked About MarkNoah was six when he found an old photograph.
Mark was holding me on his shoulders at a county fair.
“Who is that?”
“Your uncle Mark.”
“Do I know him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
I sat beside him.
“Because he made choices that weren't safe.”
“Did he hurt me?”
“He tried to take you away from me when you were a baby.”
Noah frowned.
“Why?”
“Because he thought he had the right to decide where you belonged.”
Noah looked confused.
“But I belonged with you.”
“Yes.”
Then I corrected myself.
“You belonged with people who kept you safe.”
“Is he bad?”
I thought carefully.
“No.”
Noah looked surprised.
“He did bad things,” I continued. “That's different.”
“Can people change?”
“Yes.”
“But what they did still happened.”
“Yes.”
That was enough for now.
I would not give my children an inheritance of fear.
They deserved childhood first.
Years later, Aaron proposed.
He asked me.
Then he asked Lily and Noah if they were comfortable with him becoming part of our family legally.
Lily's only concern was whether Aaron's olives would remain in the refrigerator.
They eventually approved.
We married quietly.
Ethan's watch was tied inside my bouquet.
May you like
Not because I was marrying two men.
Because the life that ended remained part of the life that continued.
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