“It’s finally our turn to help build yours.”
And just like that, I broke.
The tears came instantly.
Years of exhaustion.
Years of worry.
Years of hidden fears.
All released at once.
A New Beginning
The house wasn’t a mansion.
It wasn’t luxurious.
But it was beautiful.
A small cottage near a lake about thirty minutes from town.
A place I’d once pointed out during a weekend drive.
I had casually mentioned how peaceful it looked.
Apparently, the twins remembered.
Of course they remembered.
They remembered everything.
When we visited the property the following weekend, I cried again.
The kitchen overlooked the water.
There was a porch swing.
A flower garden.
And a reading room with huge windows.
It was exactly the kind of place I would have chosen for myself.
If I’d ever allowed myself to think about what I wanted.
That realization hit me hard.
For eighteen years, my dreams had come second.
Not because anyone forced me.
Because I loved those boys.
But now they were giving me permission to dream again.
