Chapter 24

On the drive to Leah's house, Joe thought about how well Leah seemed to fit in with his family already while Leah wondered why Joe hadn't mentioned what happened with Shane. Arriving at her house, he helped her load the boxes from the store into her car.

"Are you tired?" He asked concerned about her when she suddenly had a weary expression cross her face.

"Thinking about ghosts from the past." Leah sighed. "Would you like to come in for coffee and stay for dinner?"

"Sure." Joe said curious about the ghosts but not wanting to push her.

After making coffee, they settled on her couch. "Thank you for lunch and taking me with you this afternoon. I enjoyed spending time with Shane and Oliver. They're both lovely people." She paused for a minute before deciding to take the bull by the horns. "I'm sorry about what happened with Shane last month. Originally I thought Shane's mom came for the Thanksgiving holiday."

"Anna was supposed to come for the holiday but caught an earlier flight when Shane went to the ER. When did Shane tell you?" Joe asked surprised Shane revealed what happened.

"While you were outside with Oliver. I asked about the star while we were packing up. Oliver is an incredibly thoughtful husband. You raised an amazing man. Joe why didn't you tell me?" Leah asked looking at him curiously.

"Oliver was a good kid but has always been extremely reserved. It was never easy to get him to deviate from his comfort zone or to talk about what he's thinking. Shane's been good for him getting him to talk more openly and try new things." He sighed, "I'm not sure why I didn't tell you except that I wasn't sure how to explain why it upset me as much as it did. The entire situation impacted me more than I thought it would. It's hard to know how to feel. How do you grieve for something you didn't know you even had then lost after the fact?"

"You feel whatever comes to you, Joe. Whether it's anger, sadness, or regret. There's not really a right or wrong thing to feel." She said looking at him tenderly.

"I was looking forward to them having children. They didn't know she was pregnant when she went to the ER in pain. I wasn't sure how they were handling what happened and I've been worried about them both. Oliver's always tended to bottle things up and not deal with issues. I was afraid this would come between them if he didn't deal with what happened."

"They seem to be supporting each other. It's not easy to go through. I told Shane my sister had several miscarriages having her children." She looked away before addressing the ghosts. "I told you my husband and I never had children. It was because I couldn't have children. We'd been married a couple years when I got in a car accident. I had to have a hysterectomy because of complications from the accident."

He took her hand holding it. "I'm sorry."

"At first my husband was understanding that I couldn't have children. I tried to convince him to adopt but he wouldn't even discuss the option. As we got older it bothered him more. Eventually he left to find someone who could give him what he wanted. I focused on my teaching career and tried not to look back. There were so many children that came through my classroom that needed love over the years."

Joe pulled her closer to hold her. "What he put you through had to have been incredibly difficult. You're not any less of a woman because you couldn't have your own biological child. Oliver's not my biological son."

"He's not?" Leah responded in surprise.

"His mother had an affair before and after we were married. We were together when Oliver was born. She tried to be a mother but always struggled being tied down. Eventually she left to be with Harvey. She got sick and died when Oliver was a teenager. Oliver is every bit my son regardless of biology. You're every bit a woman regardless of whether you could have children or not." He had not planned on telling her this way, but he'd learned from Oliver to trust the timing. Cupping her face with his hands, "The woman I fell in love with is vibrant, funny, compassionate, loving, and it's a pleasure to just be in the same room with you."

"Joe, really." Leah said through tears.

"Yes, really." He brushed his lips across hers gently before wiping away her tears.

"I kept telling myself it was too soon, that it was just infatuation, that I had been lonely. I came up with a million reasons why I couldn't possibly be in love with you." She shook her head. "Every time I thought about living my life without you it broke my heart. I realized it could only be because you had my heart to break. I'm so in love with you."

Leah put her head on his shoulder. "Joe, you told me once Shane saved your life. Will you tell me what happened?" Leah wanted to know everything about the man to which she'd fallen in love.

Joe told her about Oliver misunderstanding why his mother left, their estrangement and Shane pushing Oliver to reconnect. After going through the camping trip as well as the story of Sandy, Leah commented, "I'd say you've received several gifts from God." They made dinner together talking late into the night about their past lives and the dreams they still had for the future.