I can’t hold this truth between us like a secret that keeps hurting everyone.
“Sweetheart,” I whisper, brushing a curl from his forehead. “There’s something I should have told you a long time ago.”
“Yes, Mama,” Laddie blinks, waiting and trusting me.
My eyes lift to Liam.
He’s standing perfectly still, bruised eye, red cheeks from the cold, heart visibly in his throat.
My voice wavers.
“Laddie… Mr. Callaghan isn’t just a friend.”
He tilts his head. “What do you mean?”
“Baby,” I say softly, “he’s your dad. Your real dad.”
The silence that follows is only a second long, but it feels like forever.
Then Laddie practically explodes with joy, his face lighting up with the happiest smile I’ve ever seen.
“Forreal?” he gasps.
Liam laughs and sobs, then nods. “Yeah, buddy. For real.”
Laddie launches at him. Tiny arms wrapped around Liam’s middle.
Liam catches him instantly, lifting him off the ground like he had waited for this moment forever.
“You’re my dad!” Laddie shouts, laughing so hard he squeaks.
“I’m your dad,” Liam says back, voice thick and shaking.
They hold onto each other, both of them smiling like the world finally makes sense.
Laddie presses his cheek against Liam’s shoulder, happy and soft and trusting in a way that knocks the air out of me.
“Daddy,” he whispers into Liam’s coat. “I’m so happy you’re my daddy.”
Liam’s entire body trembles. He lifts a hand, cups the back of Laddie’s head.
“Buddy…” His voice cracks completely. “I’m… I’m so happy too.”
He’s barely holding it together.
This is a man who’s held everything in for years — the guilt, the grief, the longing, the love — and now it’s all pouring out of him at once
Laddie leans back, studying him with wide, curious eyes.
“Are you crying?” he asks, like it’s the funniest, wildest discovery he’s ever made.
Liam chokes on broken laugh and shakes his head.
“Nope,” he says, voice rough. “Just, uh… cold. Really cold.”
Laddie touches his cheek with a mitten. “But you’re warm.”
Liam laughs again, helpless. “Okay. Maybe a little crying.”
