Keeper of Your Heart

Six

Maria came into my life at the perfect time. Had it not been for her, I don't know how I would have made it through the years that followed walking my daughter down the aisle. When I say years, I mean years.

It didn't really settle in that Bentley had moved away until about a month after their wedding. I walked into her old office and saw Sam typing away on the computer and felt this crushing weight on my heart. I walked home, sat on my couch and cried. I didn't even notice Maria was sitting beside me until I lifted my head from my hands.

"She's only a few hours away, Isaac. We can go see her whenever you want," she said. She knew me so well. Of course one look at me and she'd see that I missed Bentley, especially when she had felt the same loss not that long ago.

"How do you know that's why I'm upset?" I asked, trying to get the emotion out of my voice.

"I've been waiting for this to happen."

"You knew I was going to cry?" I asked, shocked. I didn't even know I was going to cry, seeing as I hadn't done it since the day Bentley was born.

"Of course I did. I'm your wife. It's my job to know what's going to happen."

"Maybe I should just sell the shop and move up to be near them." I'd thought of this solution every single day for a month.

"You're not selling your shop, Sweetheart. Bentley would be so upset if you did that. This is just a part of life, our kids grow up and move away."

"Oh sure, says the woman whose son lives five minutes down the road," I huffed. She had the audacity to giggle.

"I can't help it that he moved to be near me and now he's obsessed with your assistant manager."

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped thinking about Ryan and Sam. The poor kid was in love with her and she'd like nothing more than to beat him with the giant wrench she'd bought for her office decoration. It was a sturdy piece of metal, likely to do the damage she desired.

I wrapped an arm around Maria and pulled her in close to me. "I love you."

"I really don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that," she said, reaching up to kiss me.

It was hard, in the beginning, but eventually life moved on. One day, on a day we hadn't scheduled for a visit, Bentley and Brennan showed up at the house. It was a Saturday evening and Maria and I were eating a quiet dinner alone when there was a knock on the door.

When I opened it to my kid, I crushed her in my arms, picking her up and swinging her around. They'd only been married two years, and even with all of the visits in between it wasn't enough. I sat her down and looked at her huge grin.

"What brings you here?" I asked, unable to wipe my own smile off my face.

"Well, I have a really cool surprise for you and wanted to give it to you in person." Her smile got even bigger.

"Okay, well hand it over!" I laughed.

She opened her purse and pulled out an envelope. I opened it and pulled out a picture. It was white and black and I immediately knew what it was. I looked between the picture and my daughter, trying to decide whether I wanted to hug her again or punch Brennan in the face. I think Brennan was getting that vibe from me because he started backing up until he ended on the porch.

"Pop," Bentley laughed, "You can't hit my husband."

"Why not?" I asked, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Because I love him, you big dork."

"Maria!" I yelled and I felt a slap on my arm.

"Stop yelling! I'm right here," she laughed and took the picture from me.

"I'm going to be a grandpa," I said, shaking my head.

"I have something else I wanted to say," Bentley said. She looked a little nervous and I didn't understand why until she looked at Maria and started talking. "I wanted to know if my kids could call you grandma?"

Maria didn't speak and Bentley was wringing her hands together. I'd never seen her this nervous before, but I couldn't have been more proud of her for asking that question. Since finding out Ryan and Sam didn't want to have children, she'd been extremely upset, grieving something she hadn't had to begin with.

It was tough for her to accept it, but we worked through it together, like we did everything else. We made sure that whenever we were with them, they didn't suspect even a hint of Maria's sadness, because as much as it broke her heart, it wasn't our business. If that was the life they wanted, that's what we had to accept.

I looked at Maria and saw tears streaming down her face as she shook her head yes. "I would love it if they called me grandma. I would be so proud, Bentley."

"Oh, thank God!" Bentley threw herself into Maria's arms and then they were both crying. I cringed and made my way onto the porch with Brennan.

"Your wife is crying," I said as I sat on the steps.

"Your wife is too," he laughed.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the women talking and crying before Brennan spoke up.

"I know it's unorthodox for men to have a random heart to heart, but I wanted to tell you something that's been on my mind for a long time."

"Okay, go ahead."

"The first day I was on the job I watched you help Bentley move into her apartment. She was laughing so loud and so hard that I thought it had to be fake, because who has that kind of joy anymore? But I saw you guys and envied that relationship because it was something you could tell had been perfected from the beginning of her life. You could just tell that you loved each other. My point is that very soon I'm going to be a dad. It's completely terrifying even though it's something I've waited for my entire life. I want you to know that you are one of two men that have impacted my life in a great way. You and my dad are the men I want to mold myself after. I want to be like you guys are with your kids," he paused to take a breath. "I just wanted you to know that, I guess. I just want to be a portion of the father that you guys have been."

I wish I could say I didn't speak because I was trying to act tough, but the truth was that I was afraid my voice would crack with emotion.

What was it about getting older that made you more susceptible to crying fits. It was stinking ridiculous.

Instead of speaking, I stood, walked over to Brennan, and for the first time, I pulled him into a hug. He hugged me back and when we parted I saw the women standing in the doorway with fresh tears.

"Oh, come on," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's not like I've ever hated the guy."

Bentley smiled and ran into my arms, squeezing me as tightly as she could.

"I love you so much, Pop," she spoke into my chest.

"I love you too, squirt." I leaned down and kissed her on the head then looked up into my wife's beautiful eyes. Her smile sent an electric shock through my heart and I fell in love with her all over again.

THE END