Part Two
�Hey, sis,� Paul greets me. He wraps me tightly in a hug, and we hold onto each other for a long time. Finally, he lets me go. �How are you holding up?�
I shake my head. �Not too good. It�s not every day you lose your mother, you know.�
He smiles wryly, sadly, in understanding. �I know.�
I�m so glad that after everything our parents went through, and put us through, Paul and I managed to remain on such great terms. We may have had different fathers, but we had shared the same womb.
�How about you?�
�About the same as you.� He pauses. �It�s hard to believe, isn�t it? I always thought that Mom would be, I don�t know, the last to go out of everyone. She always seemed so strong, invincible almost.�
I look around, and the �everyone� that Paul referred to were all scattered around the living room, into the hall, all around the house. Although there is a permeating sadness in the air, I can also sense the smiles and laughter of those present as they remembered, and celebrated, Mom�s life.
�She was strong,� I remind him. �It wasn�t her strength that failed her. It was that goddamned-� I stop suddenly, realising that my voice had gotten tight with anger. Paul places a hand on my shoulder, and I smile wanly at him. �I�m sorry.�
�Don�t be,� he says, shaking his head. �I understand.� He stops, and for a minute we stand together in comfortable silence.
�I hate him,� Paul finally spoke up, his voice suddenly resonating with the same anger I am feeling. I know exactly who he�s talking about. �He�s damned lucky that he also died, because if he was still alive�� He trails off.
�If he was still alive, I�d have killed him myself,� I finish silently for him, but I say nothing. I am a big believer in justice, not revenge. But more often than not, there is a very fine line between the two.
Out of the corner of my eye I notice a little blond rocket speeding towards me.
�Aunt Cerah!� Cassidy cries out, running towards me, arms outstretched.
I smile at my niece, Paul�s second daughter, scooping her up in my arms. At only three years old, she still has trouble pronouncing my name. I don�t care. I love her the more for it. �Hey, Princess,� I greet as she hugs me around the neck tightly and kisses my cheek. �Happy to see me, huh?�
Cassidy nods, grinning. �Uh huh. Missed you. Missed Grammy, too. Mommy says Grammy went to heaven, but she said I can�t visit,� she finishes with an adorable little pout.
�Well, unfortunately, your Mommy�s right,� I tell her gently.
�Mommy says it�ll be a very long time till I see Grammy again, but I wanna see her now,� Cassidy continues, still pouting.
Mom always did have a way with her grandchildren, all Paul�s. Four year old Aurora, Cassidy, and seven month old Rhys. Just last week I found out that my first one is due in seven and a half months. Although Mom and Chris were the first to know after Cade, I just wish� If it�s a girl, I want to name her Allegra Stephanie Thomas, in memory of my mother. If it�s a boy, well, I�ll just have to think of something else.
�Cass, honey, why don�t you go and find Mom?� Paul suggests, obviously getting a little uncomfortable with his daughter�s comments.
�No, Paul, it�s okay. I don�t often get time to see my favourite nieces and nephew, do I?� I ask Cassidy, putting my face close to hers.
She giggles. �Nope.�
I smile and looked at my brother. �Nice to see that she�s got her mother�s good looks.�
Paul grins. �Although an insult to me, I�d have to agree with you there.�
�Cassie, there you are,� a voice exclaims from behind me.
I turn around and am met by Paul�s beautiful wife, Isabella. �Izzy, it�s good to see you,� I greet her warmly.
�Ciera, I�m so very sorry about your mother,� Isabella says, her voice filled with emotion. With Cassidy between us, she gives me a heartfelt hug.
�Thank you, Izzy.�
�I will miss her,� she continued, finally releasing me. �We all will.�
I just smile at her.
�Now, let me take this little bundle away from you. She�s meant to be napping,� Isabella explains as she takes Cassidy from me. �If she doesn�t, well, you know what happens. You get all cranky, don�t you?� she asks Cassidy.
Cassidy shook her head empathetically. �No, I don�t!�
�Yes, you do,� Paul disagrees, kissing her on the forehead as she and Isabella walks past him.
We watch as Isabella walks into the hallway, and then disappears around the corner. But something catches Paul�s attention as he turns back to me.
I follow his gaze. Rather, it was someone.
�How�s Chris?� he asks quietly.
I gaze at the man who is slowly making his way out to the back, and feel my heart break for my father. �Not very good.�
For the longest time Paul had hated Chris, hated the way he had broken up Mom and Hunter, and our little family. Although I hadn�t exactly been very welcoming to him, I never disliked Chris. It did take me awhile to fully accept him in my life, but once I realised how happy he made my mother, everything just seemed to fit together.
Paul had often refused to visit us during weekends, and it used to upset Mom. She cried every time he said �no�, but she and I, sometimes Chris, always drove all the way to Dad�s house just so that we could see him. Dad continually explained to Paul how much his rebellious defiance was hurting Mom and I, but it was nearly a year before he grudgingly agreed to visit us at our house.
For Paul, the whole divorce had been an easier transition that it had been for me. First of all, he was older than me and understood a lot more of what was going on more than I did. Second, Chyna was already a close friend of the family and had been great buddies with Paul since birth. It had been so much easier to accept her as his stepmother that it had been for me to grasp the fact that now I had a new �Dad�, my biological father.
Now, Paul comfortably accepts Chris is my father, and his friend, although the �friend� part took a little longer still. I know that he�s as worried about Chris as I am.
�Maybe I should go talk to him?� Paul suggests.
But I shake my head. �No. I�ll go.�
