For Ever and More

eight

   Beth

"Hello, Davey." I opened the door to the only man that has been consistently present in Everly's life.

Olivia and I thought it would be nice to invite him and his daughter to our Thanksgiving celebration, since we wouldn't be seeing our extended families this year, because we didn't want to make Lilah uncomfortable in any way. However, we were positive she would love Davey the way Everly did when she was little, especially after she sees how sweet he is with Everly.

Since she's already met Anna and her family, we extended the invite to them as well. We wanted to keep it small and cozy for her first holiday with us.

"Oh, Beth, how do you keep getting more beautiful everytime I see you?" He smiled widely.

"Oh shush, what about you, you handsome man?" I teased him back, helping guide him into our home.

He was much older and more frail than the last time he visited, which was Everly's fifteenth birthday.

"Mr. Davey!" I heard Everly's voice exclaim.

I smiled, watching as she came to greet him, then turned to greet his daughter, Lauren.

"You look beautiful as always." I hugged her.

"I was going to say the same thing." She smiled.

We had grown closer to Lauren over the years, since Davey was getting older and becoming unable to drive himself long distances.

"And this must be little Lilah." I heard Davey say.

I turned quickly to see Lilah's small body trying to swallow itself to hide from the strangers. She's nervous.

"Come here, baby, it's okay." I waved her to me.

She cautiously passed Davey and Lauren to make it to me. I lifted her to me and she immediately wrapped herself completely around me.

"She's shy." I informed them as I rubbed her back.

"That's okay. This little stinker was shy too." He said, nudging Everly.

"I was not." Everly argued.

"At first you were. It wasn't until you were about three when you finally talked to me." He told her.

"In her defense, she wasn't properly socialized with adults yet." I laughed.

Conversation flowed easily between us and continued when Anna and her family showed up. Lilah sat with me as people crowded our house.

"Are you okay?" I whispered to her.

"I okay." She smiled widely at me.

"Okay." I matched her smile.

She hid her face in me as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Sweet girl." I cooed at her. She truly has stolen our hearts and become a key piece of our family.

"Beth, I need you." Olivia called for me.

I couldn't focus on the severity in her voice when she looked at me, because she was breathtaking. She always managed to make my heart explode in my chest. How did I get so lucky?

I nodded at her and stood with Lilah still attached to me.

"Don't— leave her here— just you." She was barely audible over the noise in the house.

I became worried then, because it was something more serious than I expected.

I looked for Everly in the room, then once I spotted her, I passed Lilah to her, which neither minded.