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“we cannot change the past, but we can start a new chapter with a happy ending.” – Unknown
***
Jill was grinning ear to ear, wiping her happy tears from her face as she finished up her video call from Sofia. They had been yelling and cheering delight at the news, one they knew had been coming for a while. Matt, Sofia’s now fiancé had come three days earlier to their house, before they had both left for their weekend in Greece and asked for their blessing. Jill knew how happy he made Sofia, she could see it from how well he treated at her and the way he looked at her – it reminded her of how she looked at Carlos. Carlos had gone upstairs after a few moments after the news was broken. He seemed a little out of it which made Jill worry but she brushed it off as shock and excitement of the happy news.
She opened the refrigerator excitedly to the champagne, waiting to be opened. She tip-toed to reach the two champagne flutes in the top cabinet, struggling to hold them both in one hand, the cold champagne bottle in the other as she set up the stairs to meet Carlos.
Her mind was still replaying Sofia’s delight as she showed off the sparkly ring, her voice thick with emotion as she retold the story of how he had taken her to the beach to watch the sunset and had proposed.
She reached the top floor and started talking as she headed towards their bedroom. “I think it’s time to open this, don’t you…?” She walked in on Carlos was sitting on the floor of their bedroom, albums spread open around him and photographs splayed across the rug. He was crying, she could tell by his hunched shoulders and how he tried to hide his red eyes behind his curls. “Carlos?”
He rubbed his red eyes and sniffed as he tried to tidy up at the sight of her. He cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. I’ll be down in a second.”
She stepped forward, setting the champagne and the glasses aside to kneel beside him. When he didn’t meet her eyes, she placed her hands on either side of his face, tugging gently so he faced her. “Hey… Talk to me. What’s going on?” She asked softly.
His barrier melted easily, another tear slipping through his wet lashes and down his cheek. Jill’s heart felt like it was going to break as concern flooded her.
“She’s all grown up,” he said thickly, his voice cracking. “She doesn’t need me anymore.”
Jill felt all his anxiety in those words, felt the potency in which he loved their daughter and how her engagement felt like the first step in losing her. She felt herself wrap her arms around him as her brows furrowed to stop the tears. Carlos’ arms wound around her tightly as he rested his head against her chest, and she brushed through his graying curls.
“That’s not true, Carlos.” She pressed her lips to his hair. “She still needs you, just not in the way she used to.”
They stayed like that for a moment, comforted by each other’s presence and accepting that the overprotective parents they had been all those years ago, were not the parents Sofia needed anymore. She was an adult, had been one for a while, but it had taken them a little longer to let go. It was one of the few things they had always known was coming – one of the many things they had never prepared for.
Carlos sat up straighter, wiping the tears from his cheek as he looked down at the albums spread open around him and the photographs splayed across the rug. Jill sat down beside him as she flipped through each laminated card, remembering each moment – every exaggerated smile and embarrassed expression. She almost felt young seeing herself, seeing Carlos and Sofia. There was an ache in her heart, the warm flutter of nostalgia, that made the tears spill down her cheeks and past her smile.
There were a few photographs that were more special. Ones that made her laugh, ones that made her cry harder. She had taken a quick snap of Carlos as he had finally unraveled the wrapper holding her pregnancy test and saw the positive lines; he was staring past the camera and up at her with an expression that reminded her of the sun. There was one she had taken of a three-year old Sofia slathering face paint on her dad, his expression somewhere between exhaustion and delight Carlos had taken another of ten-year old Sofia laughing as she sat on her shoulders when they had gone camping. Sofia’s boyfriend at the time had taken one of the three of them at Sofia’s high school graduation, Carlos and Sofia pulling goofy faces while Jill was mid eye-roll. She had found a slightly shaky one of them kissing on their wedding day, the orange glow of the sun setting behind them outlining their figures.
She handed the photograph over to him with a miserable smile. “When did we get so old?”
Carlos laughed at her words before looking over their past selves. He turned to her with a soft expression that made her heart flutter. “You haven’t aged a day, Supercop.”
She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t resist the smile that tugged on her lips.
He leaned closer, his eyes shifting between hers. She could see the tears that still stained his cheeks and reached out to dry them. She felt the tension between them electrify as he closed his eyes, leaning against her fingertips. Her thumb brushed against his skin, touching the corner of lips and she watched as his warm brown eyes fluttered open to meet hers.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
She bit her lip to hold back her delight and leaned closer towards him. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
He pressed his lips against hers softly, always so gentle and warm with his touch as he slid his palm behind her ear, his fingers tangled in her hair. She smiled into the kiss, that same sense of euphoria stealing her senses from her as he pulled her close.
They broke apart for breath.
“Are you happy?” He asked quietly.
She looked at him like he held the sun. “Always,” she said sincerely. “Are you?”
He grinned, something like laughter rumbling in his chest as he echoed, “Always.”
“Good.” She smiled and he pecked her lips. “Now let’s open up this damn champagne and pretend we’re still in our twenties and not graying.”
He laughed again and reached for the glasses as Jill opened up the champagne. “Yes, ma’am.”
They toasted to their past memories and their future ones, downing as much champagne as they could, giggling away at the ridiculous amount of photographs they had. More tears were spilled, and more smiles were shared. And with each second that past, Jill couldn’t help but think how lucky she was to have him, despite almost leaving him, and to know that he loved her, and would always love her.
Just like she would always love him.