Not Alone

Chapter 25 - About love

I excused myself to go to the bathroom to check my makeup and take a moment to regroup. This whole night was so easily bringing up all the emotions I had buried deep down for years.

When I slowly walked back to the tent a few minutes later, I saw Nate sitting down with Hannah, Jay, Jerry, and Linda at a table, chatting and laughing. 

My eyes focused on Nate and the huge smile on his face. I was so lost in thought that I almost ran into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" I said as we both stopped abruptly, almost running into each other. I realized it was Nate's grandfather, Cliff. 

"No need to worry, dear," he chuckled. "Are you enjoying the night?"

I smiled lightly. "It's a beautiful night," I said, my hands fidgeting. It was amazing, but all overwhelming. 

He leaned towards me and nudged my shoulder with his.

"No need to be nervous," he said with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

I laughed and let out a breath. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged. "I'm just observant."

"I'm not used to..." I trailed off and looked over at Nate and his family. "Family events," I confessed, shocking myself by admitting that to him.

He studied my face for a moment and then said, "It's okay, I never was either when I was younger. That is, not until I met my wife and was swept up into her huge family. Thirteen siblings," he said with wide eyes.

"Thirteen?" I asked with wide eyes myself.

He nodded. "The first time she invited me over for Christmas dinner was mayhem. Mayhem," he said with an animated face, making me smile. "It was completely overwhelming and something I wasn't used to at all. Grew up in foster care, you see," he said, and my smile left my face.

"Oh, don't get all sad on me now. Sure, I struggled growing up without parents," he nodded his head. "I went through a lot, but as soon as Margerie and I started dating, I suddenly had a family for the first time in my life, and it was something amazing. Something I hadn't realized I needed until I found out what I had been missing all my life."

Chills ran down my body and my eyes burned as I blinked back the wave of emotions I was feeling.

Cliff looked into my eyes, and I felt like there was a hint of recognition, if that was even possible. Could people with similar experiences and similar misfortunes recognize each other, as if there was some sort of identification inside of us? I wouldn't have thought so, but it sort of felt like it right now.

"Unfortunately," Cliff said, "for a few of us in this world, our family isn't always blood like most people, but instead we need to find them. We get to choose them, and more importantly, we need to let them choose us, because it can be hard."

I took in a deep breath, trying not to let his words get too deep to where I could truly feel them, otherwise, they would open up wounds I had buried deep down. 

I remembered the photo that Hannah had put up on the screen during her speech of Cliff and his wife. They had looked so happy.

"Was that your wife in the photo Hannah showed before?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

He smiled. "My Margerie," he said. "Love of my life. Always will be."

I smiled. Those were the most lovely words I had ever heard. I could tell he was genuinely sincere when he said them.

I couldn't stop myself from asking the question on my mind. "Do you really think there's someone out there for everyone?"

He looked at me with a serious expression. "With all my heart."