Page 130 of Moose

“I never knew what love truly was until I found the three of you. My heart is so full because you have welcomed me into your family with open arms.”

Lily opened a bag full of dirt and took my hands in hers.

“Moose. We’ve been joined together and become part of one another. Your feelings are now my feelings, your sorrows are my sorrows, your joys are now my joys. And most importantly, your children have become my children.”

Lily placed the microphone down and knelt down, taking the kid’s hands in hers while tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I love you both so much. You are everything to me, Maddox and Nova. I wanted to do something special because you have accepted me as who I am, and asked me to become your mother and that is better than anything in the world.”

Lily stood and brought the kids over to the bag.

“I got this special tree for us to plant together. The pot is biodegradable, so when it gets big enough, and warm enough, we can plant it in our yard. The tree will grow as our love and family grows.”

She handed Maddox, Nova, and me a handful of dirt. We all placed our dirt together into the pot, over and over, until it was full.

Lilah came over and handed us wipes to clean our hands. I pulled Lily, Nova, and Maddox into a hug as everybody around us clapped. There wasn't a dry tear in the crowd as we became a family of four, soon to be five.

“We love you so much, Lily.”

The music played as we all moved back to our table and got the reception started.

Asthenightwenton, I couldn't stop smiling. Mama Crawford made her way over to me and pulled me into an embrace.

“I’m so happy for you, love. The last of my kids is finally married off.”

I laughed as she took a seat next to me.

“Finally, huh? It was worth the wait, though. Lily is everything I’ve always imagined and more.”

Mama Crawford and I gazed out at her dancing with the kids.

“That she is. The kids love her, and she’s so good with them. Speaking of the kids, I stole them from Sav tonight.”

I burst out laughing and looked down at the little old lady. But make no mistake, she was stronger than any of us men.

“What did you do? Fight her?”

“Nope. I told her what I was doing, and that was that.”

All I could do was shake my head and laugh.

“Yeah, that’s cause nobody says no to Mama Crawford.”

“Damn, right.”

I threw my arm around her and leaned back in my chair. We both just sat there in silence, content with watching the party go on in front of us.

Lily danced to two more songs with the kids before looking up and smiling at me. I turned to Mama Crawford and softly kissed her head.

“That’s my cue to go get my bride. We’ll call you in the morning.”

Mama Crawford smiled as I stood up.

“I would say give me another grandbaby, but you’re one step ahead of me. Enjoy your night and don’t rush back.”

I laughed as I headed to the dance floor and scooped my kids up.

“Have fun with grammy tonight. Be on your best behavior, okay?”

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