Page 50 of Broken Destiny

“Now there’s Caleb,” I admitted, my voice lowering as I looked back at the grave. “The last thing I need is for him to disrupt myalready complicated life when it's finally beginning to feel stable again.”

I sat for a moment, letting the silence calm me. My mind felt like threads knotted together with no clear beginning or end.

“I don’t know what to do, Cole,” I whispered, swallowing hard. “I don’t even know how to feel.”

A gentle breeze drifted through the trees, brushing against my face like a quiet response.

“Watch over me and guide me, will you?”

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the cold marble before turning and heading back to my car, carrying his memory like I always did.

When I reached the driveway of my house, my cell phone rang.

I answered it as I stepped out of the car.

“Hi, Jiya,” Karena said. “How are you, dear?”

“I’m good. How’s everything there?”

“It’s good. The kids have both gone for slumber parties this weekend, so Derek has planned a date night for us tonight.”

“That’s great,” I said, genuinely pleased.

She needed this. I could hear it in her voice and sense the difference between the woman who had first come to see me and the woman she was now.

Karena sounded lighter, more at ease, more hopeful. She called often, checked in on the children, and made an effort to stay connected. The last time she called, she spoke to Lucas and Emma for nearly half an hour, laughing with them and asking about school and their favourite games. It felt like progress, a small but meaningful step forward. After all, she had asked for permission before stepping into their lives, and that alone meant something.

“Are the children there? I would like to say hello again.”

“Yes, they are. I’m just stepping into the house now,” I said, pushing the door open.

I placed the phone on speaker as Lucas and Emma came running towards me.

“Hi Nan-Nan!” the children shouted in unison.

The nickname had started the first time they met Karena. Since I still hadn’t explained the truth about our relationship to the children while I was trying to build one with my own mother myself, the kids had asked what they were supposed to call her. Karena had laughed and told them they could call her Karena, Grandma, or Nana. Emma had immediately protested, insisting they already had a Nana Maureen, before declaring she would call her Nan-Nan instead. Somehow, the name had stuck ever since.

“Hi!” Karena replied warmly. “How are you guys?”

“Good,” they answered together.

“When are you coming to visit us?” Lucas asked.

“Soon, I promise,” Karena said. “This time, I’ll get you both lots of presents.”

“Yay!” the children cheered.

“Bye, darlings!”

Removing the speaker option, I brought the phone back to my ear.

“You don’t have to get them presents,” I said.

“I know. I want to.”

“It would be nice to see you, though.”

“Is next weekend all right with you?”