Page 108 of Man Seeking Woman

Epilogue

August

Three Years Later

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“Are you ready?” Pullingthe tiny jacket over my daughter's arms, I kissed the top of her head. “We need to go or we'll be late.” Scooping her up in my arms, I pushed her against my chest.

“Tonight's the big night?” my mother asked, picking up her purse to walk out with us.

“Yeah, we're going to go cheer her on.”

It took my mother some time, but once she realized that Ella and I were truly in love, she finally let her judgmental opinions go, and accepted her. Turns out my mother isn't as cold hearted as I thought. And she's been a great grandmother to our daughter.

“Call me later and let me know how it went. Is Kayla going too?”

“No, I invited her, but I guess she has a date tonight.”

“How fancy.” Leaning in, my mother kissed Dahlia, smoothing a strand of her hair that was out of place. “Bye, bye, love you.”

“Lub you too.” Dahlia wrapped her small hands around my neck, holding on tightly. “Lesss gooo!” she yelled, throwing one fist into the air and pointing forward. “Lesss gooo seee, Mama!”

“Yay, Mama!” I called out, following suit with her excitement. “Don't forget to say goodbye to Mr. Pink.”

Our cat was sprawled out on the counter, his small paws hanging over the edge as he looked at us from upside down.

“Bye, Mizta Pink,” Dahlia said, waving goodbye as I closed the door behind us.

Setting Dahlia in her car seat behind Jerry, I climbed in beside her, my stomach a giant bundle of nerves. I couldn't wait to see Ella, she had been spending so much time preparing for this day, that it felt like a lifetime since we had a moment to ourselves.

But this was her day, it was what she had been working for, and I supported her all the way.

Jerry drove us downtown, double parking out front of the building to let us out. Looking up the massive expanse of glass windows above, I chuckled as Dahlia followed suit, leaning back a little too much and losing her balance.

“Whoa,” she said, digging her tiny nails into the collar of my shirt and pulling herself back up.