She turned away, then looked at him again. There were tears on her cheeks, and his heart hurt for them. Standing up, he came around the desk and held her in his arms when she stood up. It was as if holding her brought the doors to the dam wide open. She sobbed against his chest like she’d been holding them in for a while now.
“I’ve been on my own for so long. Even living in the home so I could take care of Abe, I was still alone. I never dreamed, at my age, that anyone would love me. Not like a child of their own. Never as a woman falling in love with a man. Then you and Mom came along and opened so many doors for me. I will tell you, I kept waiting for one of you to slam them shut in my face. Every time I speak to you, I think this will be the time you tell me it’s been a joke.” Duncan told her he’d never do that. “I know in my head you wouldn’t. However, my heart is waiting for the day you come to your senses and kick me to the curb.”
“Never. Besides, I think even if that thought came into my head, one of the birds would take me to the highest peak in the world and kick me off to see me crushed on the rocks below. I won’t tell them this, but they scare me.” Laughing, Tracy looked up at him. “There. That’s what I wanted to see—a smile from my firstborn. Tracy, I love you. Very much so. You’re my daughter, and I’d be honored if you would work with me. But never when you have homework.”
“I promise, homework and life is first.”
He held her tightly and saw Jude in the doorway. “She was feeling a little insecure. I thought a hug would take care of that. You have one for her?”
“I do, as a matter of fact.” Jude came and hugged the two of them tightly. “My goodness. I never thought of anything I’d love as much as being a bird. But this, right here and right now, makes all the things I had to go through to be a human all very worthwhile.”
They stood there, hugging and saying how much they had grown to love hugs. Tracy was no longer crying. She also looked more like she believed them. Duncan went to sit at his desk when she pulled away. His heart, for the first time in longer than he could remember, felt tender and wounded that she’d believed he’d ever let her leave.
Jude came to look over some of the other reports they’d gotten in the mail today. Mostly it was people wanting to borrow money for their projects. Each of them would be considered and looked into. The first one on top of the list was one he thought they could use right now. But both Tracy and Jude disagreed.
It was for a new library, as well as reading space. An addition of some computers was also on the list. He asked them why they thought it was a bad idea. Jude answered him first, but he could tell that Tracy didn’t agree with her ideas either.
“We have a library here.” He asked Jude how long it had been since it had been updated. “That I couldn’t tell you, but I do know they’re getting books in weekly they set out for people to read.”
“I think the reading space is a good idea. But without walls. Well, we could have walls, but only in the colder months.” Duncan asked Tracy what she had in mind. “I love to read. I’m sure you guys do as well. There are enough books in this place to put any library to shame. However, I know for a fact you can buy readers, several of them, and put an infinite amount of books on them. Erase the ones you’ve read to make more downloadable. That’s what I use. As for the having no walls, there could be a lovely park to read in. Chairs set in different places around the park. Easily moved ones a person could take with them to read in their favorite spot. A place to have quiet time. A brook that might be making just enough noise so that a person could nap should they need it. A refuge, I guess you could call it.”
“I love that idea. I can see a lot of people using it.” Tracy said that children would have their own park, with animals and such to play with. “Yes, I’m loving this so far. I think it’s a brilliant idea.”
“However, no computers in the park or in the reading area. The readers are only used for reading. No online searches while out in the park. No Wi-Fi, I think. A place that can be used simply to wind down. Step back from the electrical age.” Duncan asked her what made her think of this. “The other day, I was in the little park that was made for Dante. I just realized she’s my grandmother. Anyway, I was there, just smelling the different flowers and reading about the trees. A bunch of kids, about Abe’s age, came into the little space and turned on their phones to play music. It was disheartening to know they were only there because their
