My Way Home Is Through You

On the day his parents were due home from their vacation, Ray awoke with a nervous twitch in his belly. He still hadn't decided how best to break it to them that they were grandparents. To a four-year-old, no less.

Ray smiled to himself when he imagined his mother's reaction. Always the protective mom, she would probably begin by drilling him on his own child-rearing methods, which, he sadly had to admit, were mostly hit or miss. His father, on the other hand, would probably switch to grandpa-mode immediately.

Ray had already put in a call to Lou the night before. He was certain he would need back-up for this. While he expected his parents to be supportive, he was also pretty sure they would be less than pleased to begin with.

Preparing Anna for the meeting with her grandparents was also going to be a challenge. Once they had eaten breakfast, Ray sat her down on her bed to talk.

"Anna, how would you like to meet your grandma and grandpa today?" he asked gently.

She gave him an interested look. "Your mommy and daddy?"

"Yeah, they're my mommy and daddy," he answered.

After a moment's hesitation, she gave him a small smile and nodded. "Okay, yeah!"

"Good," he said, ruffling her hair. "Now, I haven't told them about you yet, babe, so they might be kind of surprised that you're my little girl. But they will love you to pieces, Anna, I know that much."

Standing up, he walked to her closet and said, "So, how about we pick out something really pretty for you to wear to their house? You want to come help me, baby?"

Anna hopped off the bed and stood by her father's side, looking up at the few dresses she owned. Finally her eyes settled on one, the very same yellow sundress she'd worn the first day Ray had met her. She tugged at the hem gently and said, "That's my favorite."

"Then that's the one," Ray said with a smile. He pulled the dress down off the hanger and laid it on the bed. Then he turned and looked toward the bottom of the closet.

Thankfully, Gerard had helped him to organize Anna's clothes so the child would at least match to some degree. Being a t-shirt-and-jeans type of guy himself, Ray's idea of "fashion" generally consisted of throwing a nice jacket on over his AC/DC shirt and wearing shoes without laces.

He pulled the sandals Gerard had matched to the sundress out of the closet and began to help Anna dress herself. Then he tried to brush her hair as best he could without pulling too many tangles, which was more of a feat than he had expected. Soon enough, both father and daughter were ready to go.

Before walking out the door, Ray picked up his cell phone, telling Anna he had one quick call to make.

"Hey, Lou," he said when his brother answered. "We're getting ready to head over to Mom and Dad's. You want to meet us over there?"

"Sure, bro. You know I'm here for you guys," Lou replied.

"All right. See you in a bit."

* * * * *

Ray pulled into his parents' driveway right behind his brother. Lou quickly got out of his car and came to help Ray get Anna out of her car seat.

The brothers rang the doorbell, looking nervously at each other. Moments later, the door swung open and revealed their mother's smiling face.

"My boys!" she exclaimed. "You came to see us home, huh?"

A look of shock immediately replaced her smile, though, as she caught sight of Anna.

Without another word, she led her two sons and the little girl into the house, looking confused.

"Ray! Lou!" called their father from his easy chair. "This is a surprise!" He stood to hug his sons.

"You're not kidding," murmured Ray, still looking worriedly at his mother.

Mr. Toro followed his wife's gaze down to the little girl clinging to his younger son's leg. Cocking an eyebrow at Ray, he asked gently, "And who is this young lady?"

"This is Anna," Ray said, his voice growing quiet. His stomach roiled with anxiousness. "Do you guys remember Jenna?"

Mrs. Toro cleared her throat and looked back up at him. "Jenna Warren? Of course we remember her. She was the sweetest thing."

"Well," said Ray slowly. "Anna is her daughter." He paused, his heart hammering against his ribs. "And I recently found out that she's my daughter, too." Avoiding his parents' eyes, he gently picked Anna up and settled her on his hip.

The silence that followed his announcement was deafening.