“Who’s that, Mom?” Ember heard him say, his voice floating over the din of the restaurant.
Sue got up from their table and came across the dining room toward Ember. She glanced back at her family once, and her husband’s gaze was locked on them, his expression filled with trepidation. What they thought, Ember had no idea. Did they think she’d followed them or something?
“Ember?” Sue said quietly when she reached her. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Ember said, dragging her gaze back to the woman in front of her. “I just put an offer down on a piece of land out here. What are you doing in Victory?”
“You’re...” Sue swallowed. “You’re moving out here, then?”
“Yes.” Ember looked back toward the table. The boy was putting his attention into his food, and Ember’s heart sped up, all of this hammering home into her brain. “Is that Steven?”
“Yes.” Sue took Ember’s arm and tugged her farther away from the table, closer to the door. “He doesn’t know who you are, Ember. We didn’t tell him your name. He knows he’s adopted, but we said we’d tell him more when he got older.”
“I’m not here to find you,” Ember said, pulling her arm out of the other woman’s grasp. “I had no idea you were even located out here.”
Her gaze whipped back to the table. Even though she’d suspected from the moment she saw Sue, the confirmation still bowled her over. That was him? That was her boy?
“We’re just moving into town,” Sue said. “You might as well know that my husband is the new pastor for Victory Country Church. It’s out in the country, about half an hour from town.”
“You’re the new pastoral family—” Ember breathed.
“Yes.” Tears rose in Sue’s eyes. “Ember, I know that when we adopted Steven, we agreed to no contact. I know you didn’t want to see us—it would have been harder, you said. So I never got the chance to properly thank you for the gift you gave us in that little boy. He’s our treasure. And he’s such a sweet kid! He’s smart and kind...”
Ember looked toward the table again. The pastor was dropping some bills onto the table, and Steven was standing up.
“Is he happy, though?” Ember asked suddenly, her throat tightening with emotion. “Is he...? Did he miss me very much? I’ve been worrying about how hard it must have been at first—I know, it was ten years ago, but in some ways it feels like yesterday still.”
“He’s very happy,” Sue replied.
“But that first night—the first few weeks...” Ember could hear the pleading in her own voice. Didn’t Sue understand the misery that Ember had carried with her after that day?
“I stayed up with him all night that first night,” Sue said softly. “And Ted stayed up all night the next night. We just held him and talked to him and sang to him. We wanted him to feel awash in love. We knew it would be hard on him, too, so we did our best to make sure he knew that he was as loved as humanly possible in our home. I promise you that. The third night, he slept, and when he woke up we both got up with him because we just wanted to look at him...”
Tears welled in Ember’s eyes. They’d loved him as hard as they could—that helped, somehow.
Sue looked back at her approaching husband and son. “I’m going to introduce you, but we haven’t told him yet—”
“Yes, you already said,” Ember acknowledged. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to upset him, either.”
Sue nodded, and as Ted and Steven approached, Sue pasted a smile on her face.
“Ted, you remember Ember, don’t you? Steven, this is an old friend of ours—Ember Reed.”
Steven looked up at her, clear eyes meeting hers. “Hi,” he said and held out a hand to shake hers.
Ember took his fingers in her own and tried to drink in every detail of his rounded, boyish face. He looked like her a little bit—in the eyes, she thought. He didn’t have her blond hair, but he had her cheekbones and fair complexion.
“Hi, Steven,” Ember said, swallowing back her own emotion. “I haven’t seen you in—in a long time.”
“I don’t remember you,” he said, frowning slightly and tugging his hand back.
“You wouldn’t,” Ember said. “You were pretty tiny. But it’s great to meet you now—all grown-up.”
“Almost grown-up,” he corrected her, and Ember laughed softly.
“Almost.” She glanced toward his parents—the couple who had raised and loved him in her absence. She had so much she wanted to say to her son, but now was not the time. Her emotions weren’t his problem, and she wouldn’t make them a burden for him. “What grade are you in?”
“Five,” he said. “Almost in grade six.”
“Do you like school?” she asked.
“I’m starting a new one.” He grimaced. “I don’t like that.”
“Well, Steven and I are going to go get that truck started,” Ted said, reaching out to shake Ember’s hand. Then he stopped short and opened his arms in a hug. He pulled her in close, patted her back a few times, then released her. “Ember, thank you. It’s good to see you again.”
Steven looked up at his dad questioningly, and then the pair walked out of the diner toward the U-Haul, father’s arm around son’s shoulder.
“So he’s doing well?” Ember asked, her voice shaking slightly as she followed the back of her son’s retreating form. Her son. That was him. She felt a wash of pride. He’d turned out well.
“He’s doing great,” Sue confirmed. “He’s healthy and strong. He’s always been popular at school, too, so I’m not worried about this new school at all. He’s nervous, but he’ll do great.”
Ember nodded quickly, and she looked over at Sue, her eyes brimming with tears. “Thank you for being his mom,” she whispered.
“Thank you for giving me the honor,” Sue said, and
