"Tired?" I turned off the dryer.
"A little..." He rubbed his eyes.
"Brush your teeth, then bed."
Kai obediently went to the bathroom. I heard the water running and his muffled voice—he always hummed while brushing, though the toothbrush made it impossible to carry a tune.
When he'd finished and climbed into bed, I lay down beside him. Kai immediately burrowed into my arms, his small head on my shoulder. Our unspoken signal—story time.
"Where were we?" I reached for the well-worn copy of The Little Prince on the nightstand.
"The Little Prince went to see the roses." Kai's voice was thick with sleep. "But he was leaving his planet."
"I was too young then to know how to love her..."
Kai closed his eyes, listening quietly, his small hand clutching my pajamas, his breathing slow and even. When I got to the part where the Little Prince left his planet to travel the universe, he spoke suddenly, his voice small and muffled.
"Will he miss his rose?"
"Yes," I said softly.
"Then why did he leave?"
"Because he wanted to see the world." I closed the book, looking at him. "To explore other planets."
Kai nodded thoughtfully, curious as always. "Mommy, can we go exploring too? Like the Little Prince?"
I couldn't respond as calmly as usual.
Everything that had happened today replayed in my mind. I knew the risk of this decision could crush me, but I couldn't continue anymore—couldn't keep getting tangled up with Kayden, couldn'tkeep Kai in an environment where his biological father knew he existed but had another fiancée.
This was something I had to do.
"Kai. What if we have to move, go to a new city, would you want to?"
"Move?" Kai lifted his head to look at me, those silver eyes drowsy in the warm lamplight. "Like the Little Prince going to a new planet?"
"Sort of." I stroked his hair.
Kai thought about it. "Will there be a playground?"
I hesitated, then was honest. "Yes, but it might... not be as big as the one here."
"Oh." Kai thought some more. "What about our house?"
Smart child, always picking up on what adults left unsaid.
"It'll be smaller." Guilt washed over me. "Mommy's studio will be smaller, too."
Kai was quiet for a moment. I felt him shift in my arms, adjusting his position.
"Will there be a new school?" he finally asked.
"There will be. You'll make new friends."
"But what about Jamie?" Kai's voice went muffled. "And Bruce, and Emma... they're my best friends."
I couldn't continue. A six-year-old already understood what goodbye meant. And I was forcing him to leave his friends...
