"I know she is, baby...any proud mother would be." he assured her softly with a smile of his own. Impulsively, he rose from his chair and walked around the table to slouch down behind hers, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a hug from behind, pressing his cheek to hers.

"Wherever she is, she sees you...and she knows you're probably slumming with a loser like me," he teased gently, "but she's happy. Because you're happy, and you deserve to be."