Sorry it took me so long to post feedback. I've had so much going on, it took me a while to get through this part.
Maria, I think it was established earlier in the story that Nightwing was at least in his mid 30's, but I could be wrong.
Okay, I'm not usually one to go off on tangents, but I just have to say something about this:
He sighed, then wrapped his arm around his wife. “A love like that only comes around once in a lifetime if you’re lucky. I don’t think people will believe that lightning can strike twice.”
Yes, people are very lucky to find a love like this, but why is it so unusual to think that it could never happen twice? I see this over and over in some of the stories on the board, and it drives me nuts. People
can be lucky enough to have this happen twice and I've seen it myself. Why wouldn't people believe it? Lots of people are married more than once (and not just because their previous marriage ended in divorce). Your statement made me wonder: When people get remarried after being widowed, do people look at them and think that the new couple couldn't possibly really love each other?
And why would Jenny's former marriage be tainted? Why would people assume she didn't love CJ because she fell in love again while carrying his child? Why wouldn't people see a young, grieving widow that was desperately lonely? Why would they see her as greedy? A pre-nup would easily take care of that. Regardless of whether she marries Sam Wayne before or after the baby is born, people are going to judge her and Sam anyway so why should they care? Why is this a dishonor to her late husband? And why would people think she thought poorly of men? Why would the public look at Sam Wayne as a besotted fool? I guess what I'm saying here is why the heck should they care what people say. They know the truth.
I guess the biggest question I have with this tirade, is why would people assume she didn't love her dead (not really) husband? As far as the public is concerned he is dead. Okay, the rest of what you said, I can understand, but this one, I don't get at all. I guess that's cultural differences, I don't know.
And I can't imagine anyone saying this to a child (although I know there are old biddies out there that would - it just seems sad):
Even years from now, women will probably come up to your child and ask him or her what it was like to know that his mommy didn’t really love his daddy. It’s sad but it’s true.”
If the child was loved and was always told the truth, the child would know better anyway. It's still sad there are people in the world like that.
I loved this part:
Randy glanced at him, then looked ahead, toward the rest of the family well ahead of them. “I had most of this figured out before we came out here,” he said, causing CJ to stumble slightly.
So Randy already knew?
Poor Nightwing. He lost his parents in a circus accident and Bruce didn't love him either:
Nightwing’s smile was sad as he looked at her. “Your family sounds great,” he said. Laura felt the urge to roll her eyes and remind him that families existed to torment teenage girls, but she decided that this wasn’t the time. His own family had been taken from him when he was younger than her, and he probably envied her for hers.
More soon please.