Giving In

Chapter 22

Kay sat at the table at the Chinese restaurant they had chosen to eat at, and she was looking around at her new fiancé and his family. She felt so happy to be a part of a family again for the first time since she was sixteen years old. She had to fight the tears from flowing out of her eyes from being so emotional. She felt so thankful that she finally gave in to Jackson's requests to go out with him, and she was extremely happy that they were expecting two beautiful babies. She was also thankful that her best friend was married to Jackson's brother and everyone in their family had taken such a liking to Kay and welcomed her into their family with arms wide open. She wiped a lone tear from her eye as she turned to Jackson's mother, who was trying to get everyone's attention.

"Jackson, James, I have a gift for each of you. Before I give it to you, I just want you each to know that this gift came from your father. When each of you was born, he went out and bought these with the intentions of giving them to you when you were older and settled down with families of your own. I feel that the time has come, and although your father isn't here anymore, I know that he would be so proud of each of you." Anna looked at her sons with love in her eyes and handed each of them a small box.

Jackson and James looked at each other and at the gifts they held in their hands. They  both nodded their heads at each other and opened their gifts at the same time. Each man looked up with amazement shining in their eyes and smiled at their mother. They proceeded to pass their gifts around the table so everyone could see the gorgeous silver and gold watches that their fathers and picked out for them.

"Mom, these are amazing." James told her while taking her into his arms to give her a hug.

"I agree Mom. Dad really did a great job picking these out." Jackson added.

"Now Kari, I also have a gift here for you. This one is a little different as your father didn't go out and buy it, but it was a gift from your Grandma Michaels that was given to your father the day you were born with the promise from your father to give it to you when you were an adult." Anna handed Kari a rectangular jewelry box.

Kari opened the box and gasped at the sight. In front of her was a gorgeous string of pearls. She lightly touched them with the tips of her fingers and a tear fell from her eye. She was too emotional to speak, so she just pulled her mom into a big hug and cried on her mom's shoulder.

"I miss Daddy so much." Kari cried.

"Kari, we all miss your father very much. I know that he wouldn't want us crying though, he would want us to celebrate our lives and the love we all share." Anna said with sadness and wisdom in her voice. "Lillie my dear, I also have a gift for you. I was telling Kay earlier about how Jack's mother gave me a beautiful necklace when Jack had proposed to me, and I want to keep that tradition going in our family. I presented Kay with a necklace of mine earlier today, and I also have one for you. I was going to give it to you when you and James got married, but with all of the stress and tension that was in your lives at the time, I never found the right moment. Now that things are calm and you seem so happy, I want to give it to you now." Anna handed Lillie the beautiful lily necklace and watched as Lillie smiled wide and asked James to put it on her neck.

"Anna, it is beautiful. Thank you so much for thinking of me." Lillie stood and hugged her mother-in-law.

The family ate dinner and shared stories from when Kari, Jackson, and James were young, and they shared a lot of laughs and memories of Jacks. Kay sat quietly listening to everyone speak and share their laughter. As she sat their listening to everyone have fun, her mind drifted away to memories of her dark past. She tried to push them away, but they had been haunting her thoughts more and more with each day that passed.