Part Four
In the middle of Sarah's tenth summer, Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald returned home, tired of years of endless drifting and ready to make peace with his past.
Sarah and Martin found him, wandering the pier looking lost.
Gwen didn't know what made her daughter take the stranger's hand that day. Years of well-meant lectures should have taught her better.
Antonio looked rugged and tired, and the bittersweet quality of his smile when he came face to face with Sheridan again after so many years touched something within Gwen's dormant heart.
Sheridan wiped the sand from her hands and greeted Antonio with an awkward smile. She took her son's sun-bronzed bare shoulders in her hands and made the introduction that begged to be made as her children gathered around her in a protective circle. "Meet your uncle Antonio."
Gwen and Sarah joined them for an afternoon ice cream cone and went home afterward.
It wasn't the last time Gwen and Antonio's paths crossed.
Despite the distance between their mothers, Sarah and Little Ethan enjoyed a closeness that sometimes mystified Gwen.
When Sarah told Gwen that Ethan and Theresa had finally been successful in conceiving another child together, Gwen felt a residual pain in her heart.
Sarah's joy at the prospect of being a big sister gradually won her over.
Everywhere around her, families grew and loved each other.
In the deepest part of her that would never admit to such a thing, Gwen wanted to be the parent that gave Sarah another sibling.
Though the years had been kind to her father, he wouldn't be around forever, and Sarah was growing up fast.
For the first time since she'd allowed Eric to claim a little piece of her heart, Gwen admitted the truth to herself.
She WANTED love.
Sarah's frequent visits to the Lopez-Fitzgerald's bustling home continued, a mainstay in their lives since returning to Harmony.
Little Ethan, Sarah, Martin, and Maria made a lifetime vow of friendship in Sheridan and Luis's backyard, becoming blood brothers and sisters, much to Pilar's ire.
Months after the fact, Gwen still laughed over Pilar's reaction that day. The expression on her face had been priceless.
Through Sheridan and Luis, Sarah came to know Antonio as he renewed his tattered ties to his family.
Through Sarah, Gwen came to know Antonio.
Antonio was patient with her impressionable daughter, fielding her questions about his adventures at sea with thought and quiet enthusiasm.
The pair became unlikely friends, and Sarah's unfettered acceptance of Antonio for who he was, Pilar would tell Gwen many years later in confidence, helped set Antonio free.
It was only natural that Sarah turned to Antonio for comfort when a heart attack ended Jonathan Hotchkiss's life unexpectedly in the waning days of summer.
Finding comfort in Antonio's arms for herself, however, was something totally unexpected.
Thanks so much for the kind words, roselily29!
They put a big ole' smile on my face.
:D
Thanks so much for reading!
Feedback is love.