CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Complete
Craig buried his head in his hands and started to cry. A tearful Manuela reached over and comforted him, her hand as moving up and down his back.
"We hoped that giving you up would ease some of the burden of living our lives -- but it was the complete opposite," Manuela confessed. "Sure, financially it was better. I went back to school, to friends that stuck around." She paused for a while and she looked into my eyes. "But there was nothing that could replace what I lost." Craig cleared his throat and regained his composure, adding,
"The arguing didn't stop. In fact, I think we fought and argued even more. So a few weeks after giving you up for adoption, we gave up on each other and ended our relationship. At that time, I think you were the only thing holding us together."
"I moved in with my bestfriend, Emma, and her family," Manuela told me. "Craig and I didn't see or speak to each other for almost a decade, if you can believe it. I - I think that we reminded each other of the pain that we so much wanted to forget."
"Wow. A decade?," I asked incredulously. "How did you finally get back together?"
"It was gradual," Manuela said with a small smile. "We met at a function. I was just starting this fashion boutique in downtown Toronto and needed to advertise, and Craig was a photographer looking for clients."
"We became friends again," Craig said. "We got to know the grown-up versions of each other and fell in love, just like before. Three years after that function, I asked for her hand in marriage."
"We had Ryan that year, and then Jake two years after... You were a constant memory in our hearts, Cassie. Even after several years after we'd given you up, I'd be downtown and I'd catch myself looking at babies in strollers, hoping I'd recognize and see you again." I pursed my lips, giving her a half smile.
"I never actually stayed in Toronto," I told them. "My adoptive parents brought me to the west coast. I grew up in Vancouver for most of my life."
"How - How are your adoptive parents?" Manuela asked meekly.
"They've been really great. My Mom -- ," I hesitated and flinched, thinking of how insensitive I was, as I saw Manuela quickly look away when I said the word 'Mom' and wasn't referring to her. "Sh-She was the one who really pushed me to come look for you guys." I looked at them both and slowly let out a deep breath.
"I'd really like you to know that whatever answers I came looking for today, they weren't going to change how I viewed my life before. I now understand what you both did for me, and I'm thankful. I'd live this life a million times over, even with all its disappointments and moments of weakness and feeling so alone even in a roomful of people.
Meeting you has made me feel complete and I want you to get to know me better." My eyes brimmed with tears as I quietly added, "I want you in my life."