Forever My Girl Page #3

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Hey, Josie.

Let me get that for you.

Thank you.

Now, you all have a nice day.

We sure will, dear.

Idiot.

That was quite a punch

you socked me with yesterday.

That was just a warning shot.

- Yeah?

- Uh-hmm.

So this is where you work.

I own it.

I bought it after Mrs. Quinn

passed five years ago.

Wow.

Yes, Liam,

I actually did something

with my life

after you walked out on me.

And yes, a lot of people

in this town

have come and gone

since you were last here.

My mama passed away.

Do you even know about that?

No.

I'm so sorry, I had no idea.

Have you noticed

that in the past eight years

no one and, I mean,

no one in this little town

of ours has ever spoken

to the press about you

or your life here ever?

Have you also noticed

that no one's taken

a picture of you,

posted it on Facebook,

Instagram, nothing?

Now, why do you suppose

that is, Liam?

Because I walked out on you.

Liam, it's because you

left us all that day,

the entire town.

No one's spoken

about what you did here

because we have each other's

backs here in Saint.

We're a family.

We're loyal.

But you don't belong here

anymore, Liam.

Please just leave.

Hey, Mama.

Hi, sweetie.

Oh, my...

How was your day at school?

You know, the usual,

nothing special.

Hello, Liam.

- Laura.

- You know what?

Laura is going to take you

all out for some cupcakes

at the diner, my treat.

Actually, it's on me.

Let's get going, okay?

I'm just going to have

some soup, no cupcakes.

I don't want to spoil my dinner.

Oh, that sounds nice.

Come on, guys, let's go.

Hey, I know you.

You were outside

the church yesterday.

You're that country star

my mama listens to sometimes.

I mean, I just sometimes

have the radio on.

- Sometimes.

- Not really my cup of tea,

no offense.

None taken.

I'm a...

I'm a friend of your mom's.

- Liam.

- Billy.

Billy?

Wow.

That's a...

- That's a really pretty name.

- Okay, sweet pea,

why don't you get going

with Laura, okay?

- And I will come up to meet...

- Just one little minute.

How old are you, Billy?

I'm really small

for my age

and I'm losing my baby teeth

much later than

everyone else at my age.

I mean, they don't even have

the tiniest little wiggle yet,

but I'm seven.

Okay.

Cupcake time, let's go.

Bye, Mama.

Nice to meet you, Liam.

Bye, sweet pea.

Hey, give yourself

okay?

Okay.

Seven, huh?

Well, I guess

that conversation

that played out

a million times in my head

is actually about

to really happen, huh?

Yeah.

Yeah, I think it is.

I'm going to need a beer

for this one.

I didn't find out

that I was pregnant

until a couple weeks

after our wedding day...

what was supposed

to be our wedding day.

I was so angry and humiliated

after you just walked out on me

and yet somehow

I mustered up

all of the strength

that I had left.

I called to tell you

I was pregnant.

Of course it went straight

to your voicemail.

I left you some long message

begging you to call me back.

And then I promised myself

that if you didn't have

the decency to call me back

to find out

what was so important

that I had to tell you...

I was never going

to contact you again

because Billy and I,

we deserve better.

You named her

after my mom, Josie.

I did that

for your dad, Liam.

She loves him so much.

We all do.

Hey, sis.

What are you doing here, Liam?

Haven't you put her through

enough in one lifetime?

Good to see you, too, Jake.

You know what,

Liam was just leaving, actually.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

- I was... I was just leaving.

- Uh-hmm.

All right.

Why didn't you tell me, Dad?

- Tell you what?

- That I had a daughter.

Why didn't you tell me

about Billy?

- I did tell you.

- When?

What are you talking about?

We haven't even...

We haven't even spoken

since I left.

Yeah, exactly.

I went to your first concert

there in Seattle.

Wouldn't return my calls

so I had to track you down

like some kind of fan, find out

where you were performing.

You... you were

at that show?

Yup. I even went backstage

to see you after.

I had to plead

with one of the security guards

to let me in to see my own son.

And there...

There you were.

You were so out of your mind

on God knows what,

I honestly thought I'd stumbled

into the wrong room.

But even after that,

I still tried to tell you

about Billy,

that you had this

amazing daughter on the way.

I don't remember any of that.

Yeah, you don't?

Why don't I refresh your memory?

You told me to leave

and never come back,

although in much

more colorful language.

So what was I

supposed to do, Liam?

You were... you were

legally an adult.

I couldn't force you

to come home with me.

I was... I was really

messed up then, Dad.

Yeah. Yeah.

Well, you really seem

to have it

all together now, son.

So, good for you.

You know what?

I just...

I don't get it, Liam.

You were such a good kid.

You were a great son.

You were...

You were great to your friends,

and you were so in love

with Josie.

What happened to you, Liam?

What happened?

I don't know.

Well, that guy

I saw in Seattle that night,

I knew that Billy

and Josie were just

better off without him.

So, yeah...

yeah, shame on me.

Gone from the eyes

That were everything

Gone from those loving arms

Gone from the hands

That prayed for me

And I'm gone with a gift...

Good morning, everyone.

Well, you know,

it's been a rough time

here in Saint.

It's been a rough few weeks,

and it's got me thinking a lot

about mercy

and forgiveness.

You know, scripture says,

"Forgiveness for in love

in all love,

we must have the capacity

to forgive."

You know, to forgive,

it sounds so easy

in theory, doesn't it?

And yet it remains

so profoundly difficult

to achieve.

Trust me, I know.

You know, here

inside this church,

we've always practiced

forgiveness, haven't we?

So with that in mind,

let's try today

to forgive those

that have hurt us

and to move forward.

And if we can truly forgive,

then we can truly be set free.

Let us pray.

I think he went out...

Liam.

I'm glad you're here.

Come on, stick around.

- Pastor Page.

- Hi.

Remember Ms. Johnson?

Liam.

Thank you so much for coming.

- Good to see you.

- Hi.

Thank you so much.

- See you in fellowship.

- Thanks for

Thank you.

Hey, I'm so sorry.

Come here.

Let's go out this way.

April 9th,

one saved message.

Hi, Liam.

It's me, Josie.

Dad?

Sweet.

Hi.

Hey.

I'd like to buy some flowers

for Kiera.

Okay.

Hydrangeas are her favorite.

All right. Perfect.

I'll get...

I'll get 24.

Twenty-four?

Yes.

Please.

Okay.

This is 12, grab that.

Okay.

Perfect.

Uh-hmm.

That will be $187.51.

There.

Got my own credit card.

Congratulations.

I want to see Billy.

Sign here, please.

Look,

don't ignore me on...

I know that I haven't been

a great anything, all right?

But I want to get to know her.

I'm not going

to cause any trouble.

It can all be on your terms,

but she's my daughter,

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