Page 127 of My Destiny

“It means even more to me now than it did the day your mother gave it to me.”

“I’m glad,” I say, smiling. “I have something else.” I pull out the album.

“What’s this?” he asks when I pass it to him.

“Mum made me an album before she passed. It’s full of photos of the both of us. A lot of me when I was little and growing up. There are some beautiful ones of her in there too. I had copies of the images made for you.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Bringing his legs out from underneath him, he sits beside me. I smile as his hand gently runs over the cover. The moment he opens the first page and finds the image of my mother holding me just moments after my birth, his hand flies up to cover his mouth as a strangled sob comes from the back of his throat, and tears once again rise to his eyes. My own eyes well up as I watch him. “I have no words,” he says, shaking his head. “No words.”

“It’s a cute place,” I say as John pulls out my chair at the restaurant. We ended up staying at the gravesite for over an hour, going through the album I gave him as I told him stories to accompany the pictures. We had a few laughs and a few more tears. He told me I gave him a glimpse into my past, something he thought he’d never get. It was nice to be able to give him that.

“It’s changed hands a few times over the years, and while the new owners have put their own stamp on the place, the food’s still delicious.”

“Good, I’m starved,” I say, reaching for the menu. “You must like it if you still come here.”

“I’m a creature of habit. And a small part of me always hoped I’d run in to your mother. She loved this place too.”

My eyes move around the room, taking it all in. It’s hard to comprehend that over twenty-seven years have passed, and here I am sitting here with him, just like my mother once did.

“So, tell me, how did you get into dancing? From the pictures in the album, you’ve been doing it for a long time.”

I place the menu on the table to give him my full attention. “Music was always my first love. Miss Jones, the lady who looked after me when my mum was at work, taught me to play the piano.”

“You play?”

“Yes.”

“I’d love to hear you sometime.”

I nod my head. “A dance studio opened up down the road from where we lived, and it was the music that first drew me there. I used to hear it playing as I passed by on my way home from school. One day I went inside. That’s when I saw the dancers, and I was mesmerised. I went every day for weeks and just sat and watched them. I even used to go home and practice all the steps I’d memorised. One day the teacher approached me and asked if I’d be interested in taking lessons.” He smiles as he listens intently. “She gave me a price list and a roster to give to my mum, but I knew she couldn’t afford it. Oh, I wanted to do it so badly, but we lived pay to pay most weeks.”

“So what happened?”

“I stuffed it into my school bag, and I stopped going there.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, reaching across the table and placing his hand on mine. “I hate that you both had it so tough.”

I shrug. “Anyway, a few weeks passed, and then one day Mum came home with a pair of ballet shoes. I’d never mentioned anything about the classes to her, so I was confused. I found out later that she’d found the paperwork in my bag, and went down to the studio to make inquiries. When they told her I’d been going in there after school to watch, she signed me up for a class. The rest is history.”

“What a beautiful story.”

“She didn’t have much, but she always went out of her way to give me everything she could. She was a great mum.”

“I wish I’d been around to make life easier for you both.”

“If I learnt one thing growing up, it’s that money doesn’t buy happiness. Sure, I went without a lot of things, but I had a good life. If I could change one thing, it would be that my mother didn’t have to work as hard as she did. It was my dream to open up my own studio one day so I could look after her, just like she had done for me.” I sigh before continuing. “Not being able to do that for her upsets me.”

“You have a big heart,” he says, “just like your mum did.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Logan

When my mobile phone rings, I turn away from the window in my office and approach the desk. An uneasy feeling settles in the pit of my stomach the moment I see Brooke’s name on the screen. I have things I need to discuss with her, but not now, not over the phone. I take a deep breath before answering it. “Babe.”

“Hey, Hot Stuff.”

“I was just thinking about you,” I say because it’s the truth, I was.