I thought my daughter\u2019s surprise engagement would be the hardest thing to process that night. Then one small detail at dinner connected her fianc\u00e9 to a part of my husband\u2019s past I\u2019d never known existed. By the end of the evening, I was questioning more than just how quickly she\u2019d fallen in love.<\/p>\n
My daughter had been home for less than an hour when my husband looked at her fianc\u00e9\u2019s arm and went completely pale.<\/p>\n
Until then, the biggest shock had been <\/p>\n
Alice had spent almost three months in London. When she texted that she was finally coming home for dinner and bringing \u201csomeone important,\u201d I assumed she meant a boyfriend. Food& Drink<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t prepared for the man standing beside her when I opened the door.<\/p>\n
He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a beard, tattoos, boots, and a black biker jacket.<\/p>\n
Then Alice grinned and lifted her left hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, Dad\u2026 this is my fianc\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind me, Patrick nearly dropped his glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re engaged?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice gave a nervous laugh. \u201cSurprise?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the ring, then at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou went to London for one summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was there for almost three months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly. That\u2019s barely enough time to learn where someone keeps their toothpaste.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man beside her smiled\u2014not smugly, but like he understood I needed a moment to process everything.<\/p>\n
Alice touched his arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Aaron.\u201d<\/p>\n
He offered me his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really good to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was surprisingly quiet.<\/p>\n
That threw me more than the tattoos.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Jess, and this is my husband, Patrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hugged Alice first because I\u2019d missed her too much to stay annoyed.<\/p>\n
Then I looked at Aaron.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome inside before my neighbors decide I\u2019ve joined a biker gang.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice groaned.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? I\u2019m adjusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron laughed.<\/p>\n
Even Patrick managed a smile.<\/p>\n
Over the next half hour, Aaron dismantled nearly every assumption I\u2019d made when I first saw him on the porch.<\/p>\n
He helped carry plates without being asked. When Patrick talked about the shelves he\u2019d built in the dining room, Aaron actually listened instead of pretending to care.<\/p>\n
When I set down the salad, Aaron pointed toward the basil.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlice told me you grow your own herbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk about my basil?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently I talk about everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron smiled. \u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice kicked him under the table.<\/p>\n
I caught myself smiling too.<\/p>\n
Patrick remained quieter than usual, but I assumed he was still trying to process the engagement.<\/p>\n
Then Aaron tugged at his jacket collar.<\/p>\n
\u201cMind if I take this off? It\u2019s warm in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood and slipped off the jacket.<\/p>\n
Patrick froze.<\/p>\n
His fork stopped halfway to his mouth.<\/p>\n
I followed his stare.<\/p>\n
On Aaron\u2019s upper arm was a detailed tattoo of a smiling woman\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
Patrick stared at it so long that I touched his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Alice frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick finally looked directly at Aaron.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that woman to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron glanced at the portrait and brushed his thumb across it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother.\u201d Pregnancy& Maternity<\/p>\n
Patrick swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s her name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron\u2019s expression shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cLana.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick slowly set down his fork.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you know her?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t tell us anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice glanced between us.<\/p>\n
Patrick rubbed his thumb against his index finger beneath the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew each other when we were young.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow well?\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
That was the moment I stopped worrying about Alice\u2019s engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe dated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years wasn\u2019t some forgotten summer romance.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow serious?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick looked down.<\/p>\n
I felt the answer before he said it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatrick, were you engaged to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes met mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice whispered, \u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron leaned back slightly.<\/p>\n
I stared at my husband.<\/p>\n
Patrick had always told me I was the first woman who made forever sound sensible.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you\u2019d never come close to marriage before me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was 22, Jess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t ask how old you were.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the table, Aaron spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t? Thank God.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Patrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom mentioned someone named Patrick once. Years ago. That\u2019s all.\u201d
\nPatrick\u2019s attention returned to the tattoo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat she\u2019d loved someone when she was young.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he wasn\u2019t ready to choose the same life she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick fell silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she talk about me often?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somehow, that made everything feel worse.<\/p>\n
I stood and picked up two plates.<\/p>\n
Patrick looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cJess, leave them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need something to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always do that when a conversation gets uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was right.<\/p>\n
I put the plates back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. Then let\u2019s keep talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick glanced toward Aaron, but I wasn\u2019t going to let him hide behind the fact that we had company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you and Lana break up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer family moved to London.\u201d Family<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
He knew me well enough to understand I wasn\u2019t going to fill the silence for him.<\/p>\n
Finally, he added, \u201cShe wanted me to go with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were going to move to London?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron\u2019s expression changed, but he remained quiet.<\/p>\n
I looked at Patrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose plan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOurs.\u201d<\/p>\n
So there had been a plan.<\/p>\n
A promise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Lana know you weren\u2019t coming?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long did she think you were going with her?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were you telling her during those months?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick didn\u2019t answer immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she didn\u2019t simply leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told her you\u2019d follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you mean it?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told my mom you were moving to London?\u201d
\nPatrick looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron seemed more confused than angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think she had any reason to.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept my attention on Patrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life was here. Work, my family, everything I\u2019d built.\u201d Family<\/p>\n
\u201cThen when did you tell Lana you weren\u2019t going?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick hesitated.<\/p>\n
Aaron noticed it too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept thinking I\u2019d make up my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did, Patrick. You were already staying here.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t feel that simple then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood and walked into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
I followed before he could turn distance into another ending.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long did she wait?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick gripped the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months. Maybe four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron appeared in the doorway behind me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother waited four months for you?\u201d Pregnancy& Maternity<\/p>\n
Patrick looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe deserved better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were you telling her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I needed more time. To leave, to stay, to admit I wanted to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd every time she asked?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her I\u2019d come soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did it end?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called one night and said she couldn\u2019t keep waiting for someone who wouldn\u2019t choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her maybe she\u2019d made the choice for both of us when she left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron stared at him.<\/p>\n
Patrick didn\u2019t try to defend himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I remembered an old photograph I\u2019d found years ago tucked inside one of Patrick\u2019s books.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d been standing beside a dark-haired woman.<\/p>\n
When I\u2019d asked who they were, he\u2019d said, \u201cJust old friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one I found in your book years ago. Lana was in it, wasn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Aaron looked between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept my eyes on Patrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI handed it to you and asked who everyone was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me they were friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick rubbed a hand across his jaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to explain who she was, Jess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you gave me a version that required no explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick looked toward Aaron again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she ever talk about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
There was desperation in his voice now.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough for me to connect you to anything tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Aaron.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Lana mentioned Patrick once. What exactly did she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron thought for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat she\u2019d loved someone before my dad. Someone she thought she\u2019d build a life with.\u201d Parenting<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she happy afterward?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Very.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith your father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey married a few years after she moved. They were together until he died.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd London?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved it there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick finally spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she regret leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron considered him carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never talked like she did.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe talked about my dad, her work, friends, places she wanted to visit. You weren\u2019t some shadow over her whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lana had moved forward.<\/p>\n
So why had Patrick hidden her from me?<\/p>\n
I turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this wasn\u2019t about protecting her memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who were you protecting?\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer seemed obvious now.<\/p>\n
Patrick had carried the shame longer than Lana had carried the anger.<\/p>\n
Before I could say anything else, Alice spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, Dad, there\u2019s something you don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick looked at her.<\/p>\n
Alice glanced at Aaron first. He clearly already knew what she was about to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met Lana two months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick\u2019s expression changed instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAaron took me to see her while I was in London.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron nodded, his thumb brushing the edge of the tattoo.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t well by then, but she was having a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe died three weeks later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d Aaron said quietly.<\/p>\n
Alice continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAaron stepped out for a few minutes while I was with her. Lana asked where I was from, so I told her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched Patrick closely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked for a while. Then she looked at me for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick\u2019s fingers tightened around the edge of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said I had kind eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she said there was something familiar about them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick looked away first.<\/p>\n
Aaron rubbed his thumb across Alice\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know she\u2019d said that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would I think it meant anything?\u201d Alice said.<\/p>\n
She looked at Patrick.<\/p>\n
\u201cLana didn\u2019t know who I was. She couldn\u2019t have. I didn\u2019t know who she was to Dad either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe probably just saw something that reminded her of another time,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Alice nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe. But after tonight, it feels different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis whole thing is completely crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one word for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut part of me is glad.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat somehow our families crossed paths before either of us knew it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron looked at her.<\/p>\n
Alice squeezed his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that sounds strange.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know three months doesn\u2019t sound sensible. But it feels right when I\u2019m with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron stayed quiet, which made me trust him more.<\/p>\n
Alice looked at him, then back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAaron\u2019s lost both his parents. I\u2019m not marrying him because I feel sorry for him.\u201d Parenting<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily just matters differently after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took her free hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen promise me something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t marry him because you want to replace what he\u2019s lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd don\u2019t postpone your life because tonight frightened everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what are you telling me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling you it\u2019s your decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJess, they\u2019ve known each other for three months,\u201d Patrick said.<\/p>\n
I turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they\u2019re the ones who have to decide whether that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m her father.\u201d Parenting<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m her mother. Neither title makes the marriage ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice watched me.<\/p>\n
I turned back to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk difficult questions. Find out what life looks like when everything isn\u2019t new. But do it because you choose to.\u201d
\nAlice nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I turned toward Patrick.<\/p>\n
Now it was my turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were allowed to have a past.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cJess\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were allowed to love Lana. You were allowed to be 22 and scared. Even to make a terrible decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat hurts is that you didn\u2019t trust me enough to tell me any of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut being ashamed isn\u2019t the same as giving me the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you\u2019d see me differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
That landed.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t take it back.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot because you loved somebody before me. Not even because you failed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen because of what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you decided which version of yourself I was allowed to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI married the man you became, Patrick. I never asked you to arrive without a past.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes were wet now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should\u2019ve told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we fix this?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we can. But I don\u2019t know what that looks like yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot by pretending this conversation solved anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when something is uncomfortable, trust me enough to hear it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few weeks later, Alice and Aaron came over for lunch.
\nThey were still engaged, but they weren\u2019t rushing to set a wedding date.<\/p>\n
Their choice.<\/p>\n
Patrick and I were still talking too\u2014not endlessly and not every night, but honestly.<\/p>\n
Halfway through lunch, Aaron took off his jacket.<\/p>\n
Lana\u2019s portrait appeared on his arm again.<\/p>\n
Patrick looked at it.<\/p>\n
This time, he didn\u2019t go pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hated tattoos,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Aaron smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially this one. I got it while she was still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick gave a surprised laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it was a portrait?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she said it made her look older than the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick laughed properly then.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that definitely sounds like her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice caught my eye.<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
Nobody hurried to change the subject.<\/p>\n
Nobody needed to.<\/p>\n
And sitting there, I finally understood what had bothered me most about Patrick\u2019s secret.<\/p>\n
The past wasn\u2019t a threat to a marriage.<\/p>\n
A hidden past could be.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t need the man I loved to have lived a perfect life before me.<\/p>\n
I needed him to trust that I could love the whole truth.<\/p>\n
And this time, when the truth sat down at our table, nobody asked it to leave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I thought my daughter\u2019s surprise engagement would be the hardest thing to process that night. Then one small detail at dinner connected her fianc\u00e9 to a part of my husband\u2019s… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"views":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8176"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8178,"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8176\/revisions\/8178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/likeanimalslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}