The summer sun was warm and bright in the sky. Jeff looked up from the book he was reading as Maggie and her best friend, Julie, ran across the backyard. They were followed by two golden retrievers, sisters from the same litter. Laughter filled the air, making him smile.
He turned his attention to the shade in the corner where Ashley lay on a blanket, an eighteen-month-old blond boy snuggled at her side. As he watched the woman he loved and his firstborn son, he felt a familiar sensation of happiness and contentment. He could never have imagined his life turning out like this.
David Jeffrey Ritter had arrived exactly on schedule, claiming the attention of the entire family. Last May, Ashley had graduated with honors. She'd taken a job with a local accounting firm whose female partners gave generous maternity leaves and provided onsite day care.
It was too soon for her to be showing, but Ashley was pregnant again. This time they were hoping for a girl. If she turned out to be half as wonderful as Maggie, Jeff knew he would be the luckiest man around.
"What are you thinking?" Ashley asked in a sleepy voice.
Jeff glanced at his watch. "That my parents will be here soon."
"I should probably get up and start lunch."
"I'll do that. After all, they're my parents."
Ashley closed her eyes and smiled. "No. They said they're mine, too. Remember? At Christmas."
At his wife's urgings, Jeff had contacted his folks and found that they were more than willing to be a part of their son's life. With Ashley's help, he was slowly learning to connect with people. The dream of the village and fire came less often now and when it woke him, instead of pacing in the solitary darkness, he held on to his wife whose tender embrace promised to never let him go.
Snowball, their very real white Persian cat, rubbed against his legs and purred. He reached down and patted her. Everyone and everything he loved in the world would soon be in this house. Life was good, he thought happily. Life was very good.