EPILOGUE
Tennyson
Three weeks later…
Amelia Carlson was the spitting image of her mother.
Both of her little girls, Mia and JoJo, had Anita’s green eyes.
Thanks to Tom messaging Ten with Amelia’s number, he’d been able to reach out to Amelia and invite her to West Side Magick.
Amelia had left the girls with their father and Ronan at West Side Sweets.
Ten had heard Ronan ordering cupcakes for the girls as he brought Amelia to his reading room.
Ten hadn’t been sure if Amelia would be amenable to speaking with him, so he’d sent a text message with his phone number and hoped she would reach out.
A few days later, she had. It turned out Amelia knew all about Tennyson and West Side Magick, she was a huge Halloween fan and loved to come to the Witch City to enjoy Haunted Happenings every October.
It had broken Ten’s heart to know Amelia and Anita had been so close, yet so far.
“Are you ready to get started?” Ten asked Amelia.
“I am,” Amelia agreed.
“Anita? Are you here with us today?” Ten had spoken with Anita half a dozen times before this meeting. He knew she was here and ready to speak with her daughter.
“I’m here, Ten. Hello, Amelia.” Anita appeared beside Tennyson.
Amelia gasped, her hands flying to her face. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m so glad you wanted to see me,” Anita returned. “You’re so beautiful.”
“We look so much alike,” Amelia agreed.
When Tennyson and Amelia had first spoken on the phone, he’d relayed everything to her about the circumstances of her birth and Anita’s journey to find her.
Lastly, he’d explained what happened the day Anita drove to Amelia’s house.
It had been one of the hardest conversations he’d ever had.
Amelia had sobbed for her birth mother. Grief and guilt warred inside her.
Ten offered Amelia a free reading anytime she was ready to speak to her mother. Today was the day.
“Did you see the girls?” Amelia asked.
“I did.” Anita offered a smile. “They’re so sweet and Marc is so good with them.”
“I brought pictures to show you.” Anita dug into her purse for a small album. “Ten said he didn’t know how long we had together, so I wanted to show you my wedding day and the day the girls were born.”
“I’d love that.” Anita smiled through watery eyes.
“I’ll leave the two of you alone to catch up.” Ten got out of his seat. “I’ll be in the café with Ronan and your family. Take as long as you need in here. It’s so good to see you Anita.”
“You too, Tennyson. Thank you for everything.”
“It was my pleasure.” Ten left his reading room with his head held high.
He’d managed to reunite mother and daughter, not in the way in which either of them wanted it, but in the only way possible.
Seeing Amelia and Anita chatting nervously reminded Tennyson of the first time he’d reunited Erin with Ronan.
It had been slow going at first, but once the grief and the guilt were gone, they’d been able to build an incredible relationship.
A few days after the disaster in Ten’s reading room with Kim Defoe, Ten had reached out to her and let her know he’d seen Frank and was willing to reunite them when Kim was ready.
She’d visited West Side Magick two days after the call.
Kim hadn’t been able to see Frank, but thanks to Bertha, she’d been able to hear her husband’s voice.
Then, like now with Amelia, Ten had left the room to let Frank and Kim reunite in private.
Crossing from the shop into the café, Ten heard Amelia’s girls laughing with Ronan and their father. There was no sound happier or more filled with hope, than the voices of children.
Being able to reunite grieving families was Ten’s pride and joy. After seeing the happiness on Anita’s face when her daughter entered the room reminded Ten that he still had unfinished business of his own where David Grimm was concerned.
After the kids were tucked in bed, Ten was going to reach out to his father and try to get their relationship back on track.
Life was too short and sweet to hold angry grudges.
Ten was going to ask his father to forgive him.
Butterflies rioted in his gut at the thought of admitting he’d been wrong.
Ten was going to offer an olive branch to David. He prayed his father would take it.
THE END