Hold Me Close & Don't Let Me Fall ✓

Chapter 29

*5 Months Later*

"Welcome home Molly," Frank says as I carry out newborn daughter into our house, video camera in my face.

"Seriously Frank? Enough with the recording. Mary is going to feel left out." I say about the girl bringing up the rear.

"Nuh uh. I'm recording the back end of this travel," Mary says and when I turn around I see she also has a video camera.

"Ok, who's doling out the camcorders?"

"I bought mine," Frank says, zooming in on our baby.

"Mine was a gift from Grandmother."

"Wonderful. Well you're cut off from our bank account," I say to Frank. "And you," I say turning to Mary, "I'll be having a serious talk with your grandmother." I say before taking my sleeping daughter and placing her in the bassinet, marveling at how much she looked like Frank. "Thank you, Mary, for helping us get all of the stuff inside." She nods before running off to play with her laptop.

"Well her interest lasted longer than expected." Frank says, getting one last shot of our baby before closing the camcorder and setting down, coming up beside me and placing an arm around my waist gently. There's a faint knock on the door and we both panic for a second, but Molly keeps on sleeping.

"Hey Dad." I whisper as I let him into the house. "Try and be as quiet as possible. She's out and I'm taking full advantage of it while I can." I say, hugging him in greeting.

"Cameron. Thanks for coming." Frank says, shaking his hand.

"I wouldn't miss the birth of my first grandbaby for nothing." He says, looking down at her.

"Grandpa Cam!" Mary yells as she runs out of her room. That had been an unlikely bond. Mary was completely taken with my dad the first moment she was introduced to him, and Dad was super patient with her... lack of people skills.

I wince as Mary's screams of greetings causes the baby to wake up, squalling like a dinosaur. I turn to Frank, "Your turn. She's not hungry, she just ate, so anything else, you can take care of Daddy." I say, patting him on the shoulder before pulling my dad into the dining area. "Sweet tea?" I ask, even though I already know the answer.

"Please and thank you." He says, settling into a chair.

"Mary would you like anything?" I ask.

"No thanks Georgia." She says before settling in across from Dad and filling him in on everything she'd been learning in her college math class. Frank joins me in the kitchen then.

"She go back down for you?"

"Yep. What can I say? I got that magic baby touch." He says, puffing out his chest a little.

"Ok there manny, don't go getting a big head." I say, patting him on his chest. The phone rings and Frank goes to answer it.

"Adler... Hello mother..." Shit! What did Evelyn want? "Yeah, she's here. Yeah, it's a girl. We named her Molly... Uh huh, well I'd have to talk to Georgia. Mother we just got home from the hospital... She just had a baby, I'm not asking her to decide right now... Fine, I'll ask." I'm pinching the bridge of my nose by the time he turns to look at me. "Mother wants to know when she can come meet her new granddaughter."

"Ummm... In a month? That gives us the opportunity to get on a schedule."

"She said a month... Yeah, that's fine. Bye mother." He hangs up.

"Is she satisfied with that answer?"

"No but she's willing to accept it." I nod and look at our daughter and niece, both sharing a seat on the couch with my dad. There were several people missing from today's celebration, and their absence was felt. But today... Today was good, not perfect. But perfect is vastly overrated.