All familiar characters are Janet's.
A few days later, I was holding my daughter while Steph spoke to my mother, and my father stood beside me attempting to impart some words of wisdom.
"Olivia isn't Julie," he told me.
"I know."
"Then you also know you aren't going to repeat the mistakes you think you've made."
Olivia looks sleepy and incredibly adorable in her tiny ladybug pajamas. "I promised her," I said, lifting her higher on my chest, "and Stephanie that I will always be here for them. I've told Julie the same, only recently has she begun to believe it."
"Julie understands more than you think ... and she knows she's irreplaceable to you. As for my little Olive-bud here," he said, kissing her outstretched hand, "the best thing you can do for her is show her how much you love her mother so she'll never settle for less from anyone. And I'd say you love Stephanie with your whole heart, because you've yet to take your eyes off her for longer than thirty seconds since we arrived."
"I don't see a reason to," was my only response.
