Waving goodbye to the customer exiting the store, Joe began straightening a few odds and ends on the counter. It was about time to close for the day.

As he worked, Joe heard a soft cry emerge from the basket near the wall. He hurried towards it, reached inside and lifted out the small blanket-wrapped person. Usually Maggie was home with three-month-old Olivia, but a young woman about to give birth to her first child had requested her presence last night. Joe didn't mind. He understood that while Maggie had agreeably given up full-time nursing, she did have a need to leave the house and be who she used to be sometimes.

In addition, Joe just plain enjoyed having his daughter near. Although he would have been reluctant to put the feeling into words - especially not to the men in town who would mock-compliment his maternal skills whenever they came into the store and saw Olivia - Joe felt blessed. The baby was a tangible reminder of this second chance in life that God had given him. It wasn't so long ago that Joe had been mired down with grief, convinced the best part of his life had died with Lisette. Then, abruptly, everything had changed, with the arrival of a quirky young nurse from England. Joe still might not have taken the chance, had he not been faced with her near death. And now? The idea of being the bachelor he'd been just a year earlier was unimaginable.

Picking up the basket containing his daughter, Joe headed out the door. Just as he was closing it, he spotted Maggie heading down the street. Her weariness was evident even from a distance, but as soon as she noticed her husband and daughter, her face lit up.

Joe sat down on the steps outside the store and waited a moment for Maggie to catch up. When she did, she kissed Joe, then scooped up the infant.

"Livvy!" she said, kissing the top of the downy little head. Their daughter had been named after Joe's mother, as she had been born on the anniversary of her grandmother's death. Maggie had approved wholeheartedly. Although the two Olivia Moodys would never have the chance to meet, Maggie liked the idea of women connecting in some way to a previous generation. She considered the fact that the two had corresponding significant life dates as more than a coincidence.

"Want to have dinner at the hotel?" Joe asked, still conscious of her obvious exhaustion.

Maggie laughed. "Have I ever said no to someone else cooking?"

The two began the short walk to the Royal Brookfield. Their life together would likely never have the excitement of Maggie's previous travels, but it was rich and full of friends, family and meaningful moments. As far as both were concerned, their current journey was the right one.