Chapter 25
Ellie's thirteenth birthday was a big celebration.
A teenager now.
She was beautiful and smart and kind.
She had Marcus's strength.
And my determination.
And Eleanor's warmth.
All the older children came home for the party.
The grandchildren were there.
Daniel and his wife.
Aunt Margaret.
All our friends.
It was a perfect day.
Later that night, after all the guests had left, Ellie found me in the garden.
She sat down beside me on the bench near the tulips.
"Mama?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Tell me about Grandma Eleanor. Again."
I smiled.
Ellie never got tired of hearing stories about her namesake.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Tell me how you met her. Tell me about the Christmas dinner when you brought the quadruplets to Colorado. Tell me about the court case. Tell me about when she got sick."
I took a deep breath.
And I told her.
I told her about Daniel leaving me while I was pregnant with her brothers and sisters.
About raising four babies alone.
About building a business from nothing.
About the text from Daniel, inviting me to Christmas dinner.
About arriving at the house with four children who looked just like him.
About Eleanor realizing she had grandchildren she'd never known about.
About the court case.
About Eleanor getting sick.
About her death.
About Marcus and me falling in love.
About the adoption.
About the foundation.
About her birth.
About everything.
Ellie listened, her eyes wide.
When I finished, she was quiet for a moment.
"That's a lot," she said finally.
"It is."
"But it has a happy ending."
I smiled.
"Yes, it does. A very happy ending."
She leaned her head on my shoulder.
"I'm proud of you, Mama. For everything you went through. For everything you built."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Thank you, baby."
We sat there for a long time, watching the stars.
The tulips were in bloom.
Eleanor's tulips.
"She's here, you know," Ellie said quietly. "Grandma Eleanor. She's in the flowers. And in my name. And in all of us."
I squeezed her hand.
"Yes, she is. She's always with us."
Marcus found us there a little later.
He sat down on my other side.
"What are my two favorite girls talking about?"
"Life," Ellie said. "And Grandma Eleanor. And how lucky we are."
Marcus smiled.
"We are very lucky."
He put his arms around both of us.
And we sat there, the three of us, surrounded by the flowers and the stars and the memory of the woman who'd brought us all together.
Life was good.
May you like
Better than I'd ever dared to hope.
And I was grateful for every single moment of it.
