Searching for my Identity

Chapter 51 Meetings

I know it took me a few weeks but I had so much on my plate. But now I'm having more time to write because my school is closed during the Summer break and I hope that the next term in fall I'm going to attend school again because I'm not in the mood to make my classes via distance learning. I want to thank all of you for your support, faith in me, and of course your loyalty. It means a lot to me. And I want to thank my stunning editor amys99999 you're helping me so immensely. Therefore a big thank you to you :) 

Norah was nervously looking at the five people standing in the private room. Tension was in the air, and nobody dared to say a word. The young girl felt utterly lost and didn't know what she should do now. Should she be the one taking the first step, or was it better to wait?There were so many factors, and she was scared. But maybe right now it was the time to be brave? Someone had to do it. There was no other way, and when she was honest to herself, she was so curious to meet her grandparents Mitchum and Shira and, of course, her famous grandpa Luke and her siblings Grace and Jacob. 
She took a deep breath, but before she could say a word, her little brother took a few steps toward her and looked at her with his big blue eyes. 

Norah got down on her knees and looked at her little brother. The thick blond hair fell stringy into his forehead, and his blue eyes sparkled curiously towards her. "So you're my big sissy?" he asked.

The little boy had never seen her before in his whole life. And despite everything, he was so open and warm towards her. "Yes, and you must be my little brother Jacob, right? "Norah said.

"Yep, I'm Jacob, and you're my bigger sister Norah. Grandma and grandpa had told me that I'm going to meet you. You seem to be really nice." he nodded with a huge grin on his lips.

"I hope so, and can I tell you a secret?" she winked at him, and Jacob nodded again and looked at her excitedly.
"I always wanted to have a little brother.", she confessed. Before she could finish and without any warning, Jacob came closer to her and hugged her tightly. Norah was overwhelmed and yet so deeply touched.

"I'm so happy that daddy has found you", he whispered into her ear, and in the next breath, he said, "it's so cool to have another big sister now!"

"I agree, Jacob, and I'm glad that he had found me too," she answered him with a lump in her throat. She was still so full of emotions.

Tears were accumulating under her eyelids. She tried to blink them away without the boy noticing."Really?" he asked, and Norah just nodded while the first tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she began to sob. "Oh no, don't cry I.."

"Everything's ok. These are tears of joy. I'm just overwhelmed. I'm so so nervous because I'm meeting you, Grace, Grandpa Luke, and my dad's parents for the first time." she confessed. She tried to comfort him with soothing words, and stroke his soft blonde hair.

"But, you don't need to be nervous, right grandpa?" Jacob said, broke free from his sister's embrace, and turned to his grandpa Luke.

"Yeah, kiddo. Hi, Norah I..honestly don't know what to say right now, but what I can say is that I'm so thrilled that I finally get to meet you in person.
If you didn't have red hair, I would immediately recognize you as Nathalie." Luke said. He truly meant the words but felt uncomfortable in the situation.

"I can only agree with you, Luke," Mitchum said, clearing his throat. He was trying his best to stay calm toward his long lost granddaughter while Shira and Grace were clutching his arms and didn't say a word.

Logan looked at his daughter, approached her with slow steps, and addressed her in a low voice, "Norah? How about we sit down and order dinner?
I know this whole situation must be tough and weird for you, and I am so proud of you. You're stronger than you think."

Norah turned to her father while she was still crying a little and hugged him.

"That's a good idea. Thanks for being here with me." She stopped for a moment and added in a small voice,"...Dad..."

Norah stayed for a few minutes longer in her dad's embrace. Logan just closed his eyes and could only hope that the whole situation wouldn't overwhelm her too much.

That was the last thing he wanted for his daughter. "Anytime, anytime.." he said quietly with a genuine smile.

Max, Katherine, and Sophie stood next to Rory and watched as Logan tried to calm Norah down. Max was heartbroken to see his adopted daughter so vulnerable.

To him, Emma, aka Norah, would always be his little girl. He still pictured her as a six-year-old little girl with her braided pigtails with a happy grin on her lips and her school backpack when her first day of preschool started. The mere thought of sharing her broke his heart.

But even if they didn't share the same DNA, she was a part of his life. He was the one who showed her to ride a bike, swim, and encouraged her to learn to ride a horse. 
And yet it almost made him insanely jealous that Logan was the one who was comforting her.
Shouldn't he be the one holding her in his arms and telling her that everything's going to be alright again?

Katherine observed her ex-husband and could read him like a book. She knew him too well, and she could understand that he felt so helpless and clueless as to how to handle the situation.

Instinctively, she grabbed his hand and gave him a soft smile. She turned to him and whispered, "I know how you feel, Max, but she'll always love you, no matter what."

"I know Katie, I know..." he mumbled. Sophie gazed at her parents with a kind of irritated look.
She wondered if it could be that her parents are going to rekindle their relationship?
Not that it wouldn't make her happy, but she didn't want her dad to break her mom's heart again, like nearly 12 years ago.

"So I guess then we should start. Hi everybody, I'm Norah," she said tentatively. "I'm so nervous and scared right now, but I'm happy that I've got all of my family here. It still seems weird to me that I have two sets of parents now. 
But I'm glad that I'm not alone in this situation because I'm feeling like I'm standing on a crossroads, and nobody can show me the right direction.." Norah cleared her throat and turned to her grandparents, Grace, and Jacob, with an insecure grin on her lips.

"I can imagine Schatzi, but we're all in this together, and we'll find a way to solve this chaotic situation, believe me..." Nathalie said, walking towards her sister. She was followed by her mom and dad.

"And we're never going to let you down, munchkin. You can always visit me at Yale, and I can show around, right?" Sophie mentioned with a wink.

"Sure thing, Sophie," Norah answered and was looking forward to spending the evening with her new family.