"Mom, dad." Gina said as they walked into the cafe with a baby carriage.
"Is this my granddaughter?" Mrs. Darrien asked as they approached the table.
"This is mine and Roger's daughter Lynda." Gina told her looking down at the sleeping baby.
"She's beautiful sweetheart. She looks just like you when you were a baby." she said smiling down at her.
"Everyone says she is the perfect mix of me and Roger." Gina said sitting down.
"I can see that. Hello Roger. You look wonderful. Fatherhood agrees with you." Mrs. Darrien said smiling at Roger.
"Thank you Mrs. Darrien. You too." he told her smiling sitting next to Gina who was leaning in the carriage to uncover Lynda.
"So you two got married last year? How are you liking it?" she asked smiling over at him.
"I love it. It's better than I dreamt it would be." he answered smiling at Gina.
"Good for you. You two seem very happy. You look great Gina. I'm glad you're taking care of yourself." she said as Roger and Mr. Darrien exchanged awkward looks.
"Thank you mom." Gina said smiling at her mother as Mark and Mimi walked in.
"Hi Mark, Mimi over here." Roger called out as he and Gina stood up to greet them.
"Mom, dad this is Mimi, my best friend and Lynda's Godmother and her boyfriend Mark. He's Roger's best friend and her Godfather. They live above us." Gina said before hugging Mimi.
"Hi Mr. And Mrs. Darrien. It's nice to meet you." Mimi said holding her hand out to Mrs. Darrien.
"I hope you don't mind. I invited them to join us." Gina said smiling at her mother.
"Of course not. We're happy to have Mimi and Mark join us." Mr. Darrien told her smiling at them.
"So how long have you known each other?" Mrs Darrien asked trying to break the ice.
"I met Mimi 4 months after I moved here. We actually live in her old apartment. I bought it when I got here and didn't realize that the guy playing the guitar above me was Roger until I saw him playing here one night about a month after I got here." Gina said smiling at Mimi.
"Yeah, Gina helped me through heroin withdrawal. I used to date Roger but then I left and my friends found me and Gina wanted to help me put my life together. It's because of her me and Mark are together." Mimi said as Mr. And Mrs. Darrien looked at Gina surprised.
"You did that for Roger's ex girlfriend?" Mrs. Darrien asked smiling at her daughter.
"Yeah, I mean, everyone took me in and accepted me for who I was when I met them, so I thought I could return the favor and help Mimi. We fixed up Roger and Mark's old place together and just became best friends." Gina said drinking her water.
"That's wonderful sweetheart. It takes someone with a big heart to do that for someone else." she told her smiling at them.
"Well she has that Mrs. Darrien. She was always there for me. Every day she would come up first thing in the morning with a cup of french vanilla coffee and we would talk. I wanted to hate her at first because she was with Roger, but when I saw how happy they made each other, I couldn't. I love her. She's my sister." Mimi said as Gina hugged her.
"And you know you're my sister too." she told her smiling.
"I am so happy to see you like this Gina. It's been a long time since we've seen you this happy." Mr. Darrien told her smiling at her.
"Not since high school when you and Roger were together the first time." Mrs. Darrien commented as Roger smiled at her.
"Well Mrs. Darrien, I've always loved Gina. We were always supposed to be together." he told her caressing Gina's back.
"We realize that Roger. We're really sorry for all of the trouble we've caused you both. We weren't being fair to you Roger. We didn't think you could provide a good, stable life for Gina, but we realize there's more to life then stability. There's the love you two obviously share. And that's important." he said smiling at them.
"Thank you sir. That means a lot." Roger said leaning over to kiss Gina's head
"Well we're just sorry it took us so long to realize it. If there's anything you kids need, please do not hesitate to ask. We have a lot to make up for." he told him as his wife took his hand smiling up at him.
"Daddy, we're fine. Really. Roger's working and I'm selling some of my stories. We're doing great." she told him smiling up at him.
"Your father tells me you still have that car Roger built for you when you passed your road test. Do you need another car. Maybe a mini van or something?" Mrs. Darrien asked smiling at them.
"No mom, really. I love that car. I would never get rid of it." she told her as the baby began to stir.
"Can I hold her? Please." she asked as Gina reached down to get her.
"Sure mom." she told her handing the baby to her.
"Well hello there Lynda Marianna Davis. You look just like your parents." she whispered to the girl as Roger smiled down at Gina.
"We named her after Roger's mother and Mimi. Marianna is her given name." Gina said as Roger put his arm around her.
"That's a beautiful name sweetheart." she said looking up at Gina.
"Thanks mom." she said smiling back. She hasn't felt this close to her mother in years. It felt good to be with her parents and Roger like this. She hadn't felt this good in years.