It had been a week since he’d broken the news about the twins to Kara. He hadn’t heard from her since that day at her workplace. The kids were getting antsy. Liam had even made peace with the fact that she may reject them. He put on a brave face for Avery but Joseph could see that it hurt that his mom could reject them even without knowing them. He had decided that after the weekend passed, he would approach her again so that he could put the children out of their misery. They didn’t ask for this. All of them were victims. He understood that Kara may be going through a lot at the moment but the needs of his niece and nephew always came first for him. Seeing the life drain out of Avery’s eyes as the days dragged by without a word from her was definitely killing him.

“Hey kids, what do you think about us going out and catching some fresh air?” he suggested

“No, thank you” they responded

“Come on, guys. We’ve been holed up here for a whole week. We haven’t even checked out any of the places you were excited about.”

“Uncle Joseph, I don’t want to miss her when she comes to get us” Avery replied.

That had been her response to any requests to leave the hotel.

“She’s not coming to get us,” Liam said

“Why would you say that?” Avery cried

“Because if she wanted us, she would’ve been here already”

The realization of his words hit Avery and she began to cry uncontrollably as Liam comforted her. This was how the days have been. The telephone rang which was highly unlikely.

“Hello” he answered

“Hello, good afternoon, Mr Brown. This is Annie from the front desk. There’s a lady here who wants to meet you.”

“Finally, Kara is her”, he thought.

“Let her up”

“Right away, sir” and then he hang up.

“Liam, Avery, I need you to go freshen up. We have company”

“She’s here!” Avery said excitedly

“She’s here?” Liam questioned

“Yes, I just got a call from the front desk”

“Yippe” Avery jubilated and rushed off to get changed

“Wow, I guess I was wrong” Liam admitted and walked away

A little while later, there was a knock at the door.

He opened it and there stood a woman who resembled Kara but was definitely not Kara.

“Who is this, Uncle Joseph? That’s not mom” Avery said

“Hey there everyone” Elena greeted, “I’m Elena, your grandmother”

And Avery rushed to hug her

“Oh what a sweet little girl. What about you, young man? No hugs for me?”

Liam then grudgingly joined the two.

“I think we have to move this party indoors” Joseph finally spoke up

“Yeah, sorry. Come on, kids”

When they were finally seated, “I know you want to know why I’m here instead of my daughter. My reason is simple. I just wanted to see the kids. They really look like my Kara when she was little. Especially this little lady over here”

“My name is Avery, the grandma. This is Liam and he is uncle Joseph” Avery introduced

“Nice to meet you all”

“Mrs Miller, welcome. Please can I talk to you in private?”

“Yes, sure. I’ll be right back, kids” and the two adults exited

On the balcony, “What did you want to talk about?”

“About your daughter. Please does she intend to take them?”

“My daughter is a very great woman. She should sue you but she refuses to put herself and the kids through that ordeal. And of course, she’s going to take them. Wasn’t that what you and that sister of yours hoped for when you told those children about the relationship they shared with my daughter?”

“Mrs Miller, I understand you are upset about this situation but I would prefer you to watch your tone when you talk about Jane”

“If we’re done here, can I go and spend time with my grandchildren because I didn’t come all this way to see you”

“Go right ahead”

She joined the children shortly after. She could tell they wanted to ask about their mother but they never did. By the time she was leaving, Liam had warmed up to her. She adored them and she knew that they would all be alright eventually. She left them her phone number and asked them to keep in touch with her.

When she left, Joseph noticed that the kids were in much better spirits and he was grateful to her for that even though he didn’t really like her because of how she spoke about Jane.

Later on when Elena got home, “Did you enjoy your time with them?” Kara questioned

“Girl, you scared me and yes, I did. They are such sweet kids”

“Tell me about it”

Elena then gave her an account of what took place.

“They didn’t ask why I didn’t go?”

“They wanted to but they never did”

“Tomorrow, I’ll get the final word from the lawyer that Auntie Van provided regarding this situation and then I’ll go get them right after”

“Good because I know they need you”

“I know. Kitty came over. We finished up their rooms”

“You did? That’s lovely! Can I see it?”

“Nope”

“Why?”

“I want them to see it first”

“That is not fair because Kitty has seen it”

“She saw it because she helped me set it up. You, on the other hand, did not”

“Fine. What about your job? Do you still have it?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve been working remotely. Luckily, I can do that”

“What about when the kids get here? School’s out. I can watch them on my days off but that alone won’t be enough”

“Well, Carla and I had a long talk”

“And?”

“She said since I have my office they could stay with me but they should not interfere with the work”

“That’s good”

“Well, I ordered dinner, are you hungry?”

“That I am”

“Aren’t you always?” Kara teased

“I am not ashamed”

The mysterious man watched them interact. They were such a happy family, he thought.