"Nothing could stop me from doing this." Her eyes dash to the corner of the room.
I turn towards her gaze and see the Governor walk through the door with a small girl holding tightly to his hand. "This is it." I pull Jessica's limp hand into mine.
"There she is," she whispers softly into the air. "Look at her, Nathan. Look."
I pull my gaze from Jenna to Jessica. The grin that is covering her face is unmistakable. "You can do this," I reassure her. "You're so strong."
She nods as she looks up at me. "I can."
Chapter 25
"Jessie and Nate," Thomas calls our names as he approaches from the right. "What a coincidence."
I stare at Jessica, willing her to keep her composure. "Governor," I toss the greeting out. "What are you doing here?"
"Jessie, this is my daughter, Jenna."
Jessica moves forward and releases my hand. I feel instantly lost. I need her to help me through this as much as she needs me. "I'm Nathan," I interject even though the small girl's eyes are glued to Jessica.
"Your dress is really pretty, Jessie." She skims her small hand over the skirt. "I wish I had a dress like that."
Jessica bends over, stroking her hand over the small girl's hair. "Your dress is pretty too."
"My mommy made it for me." Her wide smile opens and the unmistakable gap of a missing tooth greets us both.
"You lost a tooth," Jessica 's voice cracks and I step forward a touch to place my hand on her back. "When did you lose a tooth?"
"Last week," she says proudly. "It means I'm a big girl."
"You are a big girl." Her voice is steady and strong.
"I lost other teeth before." She points to her open mouth. "The tooth fairy came to my room three times already."
"Three times, "Jessica repeats back.
"Yes." Jenna nods slowly. "Are you my daddy's friend?"
Thomas clears his throat and I intervene as much to save Jessica from coming up with an answer, as to ward him off. "I'm your daddy's friend."
"That's cool." She reaches to grab her father's hand. "Do you like the museum?"
The question is directed at me. Her small blue eyes are glued to my face. I don't answer. I want to give Jessica every precious moment with her daughter that I can.
"We like it a lot," she answers, just as I hoped she would. "Do you like it?"
"Not so much." Jenna wrinkles her nose. "I like horses the most."
"Horses are nice." I can hear the defeat in Jessica's voice. This is too much. How could it not be? She's forced to face the child she gave up years ago.
"My mommy and daddy got me a horse." She looks up lovingly at Thomas. "I got it for my birthday."
"You're a really lucky girl." Jessica steps back and into me. I wrap my hand around her waist. "I'm glad you're so lucky."
"Me too." She bounces in place. "Can we go home now, daddy? I miss mommy."
Jessica's hand slides over mine. I feel the tremble that is racing through her.
"Let's go." Thomas pulls softly on her hand. "Say goodbye to my friends."