Chapter 18 - The House Full of ChildrenThe Hart estate became a gathering place.
Friends came.
Neighbors came.
Foundation families came.
The kitchen was rarely empty.
Olivia loved it.
She remembered the days when she had been afraid of having nowhere to go.
Now there was always room at her table.
One Christmas, the family invited twenty children from the foundation to spend the holiday at the estate.
The house filled with decorations.
Music.
Food.
Laughter.
Caleb stood in the doorway watching Olivia distribute gifts.
She noticed him.
“What?”
He smiled.
“Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“I’m remembering.”
“Remembering what?”
“The first day I saw you.”
Olivia smiled.
“I looked terrible.”
“You looked exhausted.”
“I was.”
“You were holding three babies.”
“And you looked terrified.”
“I was.”
They laughed.
Then a little girl approached Olivia.
“Mrs. Hart?”
“Yes?”
“Can I have another cookie?”
Olivia smiled.
“Of course.”
The child ran away.
Caleb shook his head.
“You're going to spoil them.”
Olivia smiled.
“That's what grandmothers are for.”
She stopped.
Then laughed.
“I suppose I'm not a grandmother yet.”
Caleb looked at the children.
“Give them time.”
The night ended with everyone singing around the piano.
Olivia looked around.
This was what she had dreamed of without knowing how to name it.
A home.
Not a mansion.
May you like
Not wealth.
A home.
