“Clara.”
Adeline watched his face.
“Samuel’s middle name was James.”
Nathaniel nodded.
She hesitated.
“Would that bother you?”
Nathaniel looked at the child.
“No.”
“Clara James Cole.”
Adeline cried harder.
Nathaniel leaned over.
Kissed his wife.
Then his daughter’s forehead.
The word came naturally.
Daughter.
No blood test.
No legal paper.
No permission.
Daughter.
Three weeks later, Caleb Price returned.
This time with his mother.
Margaret Price.
Black dress.
Severe face.
Lawyer beside them.
Nathaniel met them on the porch.
Adeline stayed inside holding Clara.
Wallace had been warned and arrived earlier.
The Price lawyer presented papers.
Petition for guardianship investigation.
Claiming Adeline had concealed pregnancy.
Entered marriage under false pretenses.
Was physically incapable of safely caring for an infant due to extreme obesity.
Nathaniel nearly punched a second Price.
Wallace stepped between.
“Not today.”
Margaret Price looked toward the window.
“I want to see my granddaughter.”
Adeline appeared in the doorway.
Clara against her chest.
Margaret’s face cracked.
For the first time, grief appeared beneath cruelty.
“She looks like Samuel.”
Adeline’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Margaret approached one step.
Nathaniel blocked slightly.
Adeline touched his arm.
“It’s all right.”
Margaret looked at the baby.
Then at Adeline.
“You should have come to me.”
“I did.”
Margaret flinched.
“You called me a whore.”
Caleb looked away.
Margaret’s mouth tightened.
“I was grieving.”
“So was I.”
Silence.
Adeline continued.
“You said Clara wasn’t Samuel’s.”
“I was angry.”
“You told me never to ask you for anything.”
Margaret looked toward Nathaniel.
“And now she’s his?”
Nathaniel answered:
“Yes.”
“You cannot replace my son.”
“I am not trying.”
Margaret looked surprised.
Nathaniel continued.
“Clara should know Samuel existed.”
“She should know he loved her mother.”
“She should know she has his blood.”
“But I am the man who will wake up when she cries.”
“I will feed her.”
“Teach her.”
“Protect her.”
“Bury her first broken doll.”
“Stand beside her when she marries if I’m still alive.”
He stepped closer.
“I don’t need Samuel erased for me to be her father.”
Margaret’s eyes filled.
Caleb looked angry.
His mother looked broken.
Then she turned toward Adeline.
“May I hold her?”
Adeline looked at Nathaniel.
He said nothing.
Her choice.
Adeline hesitated.
Then walked down the porch steps.
Placed Clara carefully into Margaret’s arms.
The older woman collapsed emotionally.
She kissed the child’s forehead.
Whispered Samuel’s name.
Nathaniel looked away.