Reminders of Him(92)

Ledger eventually gives me an encouraging nudge, so I open the door. Diem looks up and sees Ledger and me standing on the back porch. She gives me a quick glance, but when her eyes land on Ledger, she lights up. She runs to him, and he catches her in his arms.

I get a whiff of strawberry shampoo.

I have a daughter who smells like strawberries.

Ledger sits on the back porch swing with Diem and points to the empty seat next to him, so I take a seat with them. Diem is in his lap, looking at me as she curls up to Ledger.

“Diem, this is my friend Kenna.”

Diem smiles at me, and it almost sends me to the floor. “Do you want to see my turtle?” she asks, perking up.

“I’d love to.”

Her tiny little hand grips two of my fingers, and she slides off Ledger and pulls me. I glance at Ledger as I stand, and he gives me a reassuring nod. Diem takes me to the grass, and she plops down next to her turtle.

I lie down on the other side of her turtle so that I’m facing Diem. “What’s his name?”

“Ledger.” She giggles and holds up the turtle. “He looks just like him.”

I laugh, and she’s trying to get her turtle to come out of his shell, but I can’t stop staring at her. Seeing her on video is one experience, but getting to be near her and feel her energy is like a rebirth.

“Want to see my jungle gym? I got it for my birthday—I turn five next week.” Diem is running toward her jungle gym, so I follow her. I glance back at Ledger, and he’s still sitting on the porch swing, watching us.

Diem pokes her head out of the jungle gym and says, “Ledger, can you put Ledger in his tank so he doesn’t get lost?”

“Sure will,” he says, standing.

Diem grabs my hand and pulls me inside the jungle gym, where she sits down in the center of it. I feel more comfortable here. No one can see us, and that puts me a little more at ease knowing people aren’t judging how I interact with her in this moment.

“This used to be my daddy’s,” Diem says. “NoNo and Ledger put it back together for me.”

“I knew your daddy.”

“Were you his friend?”

I smile. “I was his girlfriend. I loved him very much.”

Diem giggles. “I didn’t know my daddy had a girlfriend.”

I see so much of Scotty in her right now. In that laugh. I have to look away from her face because the tears start to fall.

Diem notices my tears, though. “Why are you sad? Do you miss him?”

I nod, wiping away my tears. “I do miss him, but that’s not why I’m crying. I’m crying because I’m so happy I finally get to meet you.”

Diem cocks her head and says, “Why?”

She’s three whole feet away from me, and I just want to hold her and hug her. I pat the spot right in front of me. “Come closer. I want to tell you something.”

Diem crawls toward me and sits with her legs crossed.

“I know we’ve never met before, but . . .” I don’t even know how to say this, so I just say it in the simplest way. “I’m your mother.”

Diem’s eyes fill with something, but I don’t know what her expressions mean yet. I don’t know if that’s surprise or curiosity. “Really?”

I smile at her. “I am. You grew inside my tummy. And then when you were born, Nana and NoNo took care of you for me because I couldn’t.”

“Did you get a bigger car?”

I release a laugh. I’m glad they gave me that tidbit of information, or I would have no idea what she’s referring to. “I actually don’t have a car anymore. But I will soon. I just couldn’t wait to meet you, so Ledger gave me a ride. I’ve been wanting to meet you for so long.”

Diem doesn’t have much of a reaction. She just smiles. And then she crawls across the grass and starts flipping tic-tac-toe squares that make up a part of the wall of the jungle gym. “You should come to my T-ball game. It’s my last one.” She spins one of the letters on the wall.

“I would love to come watch you play T-ball.”

“Someday I’m gonna do that thing with the swords, though,” Diem says. “Hey, do you know how to play this game?”

I nod and move close to her so I can show her how to play tic-tac-toe.

I realize that this moment isn’t nearly as monumental to Diem as it is to me. I’ve played out a million scenarios in my head of how this would go, and in every scenario, Diem was either sad or angry that it took me so long to be a part of her life.

But she truly didn’t even know that I was missing.

I’m so grateful for that. All these years of worry and devastation have all been one sided, which means Diem has been whole and happy and fulfilled.

I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. It’s like I just get to slip into her life without so much as a ripple.

Diem grabs my hand and says, “I don’t want to play this, let’s go to the swings.” She abandons the game, and we crawl out of the center of the jungle gym. She climbs into a swing and says, “I forgot your name.”

“It’s Kenna.” I say that with a smile because I know I’ll never have to lie to anyone about my name again.

“Will you push me?”

I push her on the swing, and she starts telling me about a movie Ledger took her to see recently.