“I did! I spent every penny I had,” Barbara pleaded, stepping closer. “But they told me you were moved abroad. I was entirely powerless. I tried to convince myself you were doing well, living a grand life. And then… suddenly, I saw you thrashing on my hospital bed. I recognized you instantly by your scar. Daughter, please believe me. I did not betray you.”
Mia looked up at Barbara, her vibrant green eyes overflowing with heavy tears. The anger instantly evaporated, completely washed away by the undeniable truth shining in the older woman’s face—the face she had seen only in her most comforting, forgotten childhood dreams.
Without another word, Mia gently placed little Sue safely into the wooden crib. She turned back and threw herself entirely into her mother’s desperate, waiting arms.
“My mommy… my dear mommy,” Mia wept, burying her face into Barbara’s neck. “And I actually thought you would only be with me in my dreams forever.”
“Both in your dreams and in reality, I will always be right here with you,” Barbara whispered fiercely, closing her eyes and breathing in the sweet, familiar scent of her beautiful daughter’s blonde hair. “With you, and with my perfect granddaughter. I am so incredibly sorry you had to live without me for so many agonizing years. I am so sorry you suffered so much in the dark. But we’re going to fix absolutely everything. We’ll start our lives over again.”
“You’ll be happy, for sure,” Mia choked out.
“We will all be happy,” Barbara corrected her softly.
Mia pulled back slightly from her mother’s shoulder, looking deeply into her warm eyes. They both laughed brightly through their heavy, exhausted tears. From the wooden crib beside them, little Sue offered a wide, toothless smile, blissfully kicking her legs as she watched the two most important women in her entire world.
Finally, after thirty agonizing years of silence, pain, and separation, three kindred hearts were beating side by side beneath the exact same roof.