‘Mummy!’ he said, running towards me.
‘Hello, gorgeous boy,’ I said, crouching down to hug him. ‘What have you got here?’
‘Aunty Rachel bought me two scoops, and she said I could have sprinkles and chocolate sauce too,’ he said, breathlessly.
‘Did she now?’ I said, grinning at her as I stood up.
‘Well, if his Aunty Rachel can’t spoil him then who can?’ she said.
‘He’s a very lucky boy,’ I said, ruffling his head.
I moved closer to Rachel and she raised her eyebrows. ‘I assume it went well?’ she said.
I nodded. ‘Better than I could ever have dreamed. Am I doing the right thing?’
‘Of course you are, darling. Flynn is excited, he hasn’t talked about anything else all morning.’
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘I couldn’t have done this without you.’
‘Don’t be daft. You can do anything you set your mind to,’ she said, hooking her arm though mine. I held out my other hand for Flynn to take. ‘Now, shall we go back to the park?’
‘Will my daddy be there?’ Flynn said, and I glanced at Rachel. She gave a small nod.
‘Yes, he will. Shall we go?’
‘Yes!’ he said, and stuck his sticky hand in mine.
I could see Nick sitting on the bench by the slide as we walked towards the park. He looked nervous, his leg bouncing up and down. Every now and then he glanced at his phone in his hand, then looked left and right.
I pushed the gate open, Flynn still clutching my other hand.
‘I’ll leave you here,’ Rachel said.
I turned. ‘Are you not coming with us?’
‘I think it would be better if it was just the three of you, for this part,’ she said.
I nodded. ‘Thank you.’
Flynn and I started walking across the playground, hand in hand. Nick looked pale and kept raking his fingers through his hair. He looked up as we stopped in front of him, his face pale.
‘Flynn, there’s someone here I’d like you to meet,’ I said, crouching down to Flynn’s level.
Flynn pressed himself into me, suddenly shy.
‘You’re my daddy,’ he said, his voice almost a whisper. He stuck his thumb in his mouth, something he hadn’t done since he was two years old.
‘I am,’ Nick said, his face finally breaking into a smile. Flynn seemed to relax then and smiled back. Then he peeled away from me and pulled himself onto the bench beside Nick.
‘I’m Flynn,’ he said.
‘It’s lovely to meet you, Flynn,’ Nick said, his voice rough. He coughed.
Flynn looked puzzled. ‘But I’ve met you before,’ he said.
Nick looked up at me, a question on his face.
‘You’ve seen your daddy in our house haven’t you, sweetheart,’ I said, gently.
