“No!”
“Baby, it’s cold and you have a trip today. Your teacher needs you to dress warmly.”
“No!” Nick grins at me, standing there in just his vest while a few red patches decorate his arms and legs. I take note and decide to throw the sweater out and switch laundry powder in case he’s allergic.
“Baby, please, we’re going to be late if you don’t pick another sweater.”
“No!” He grins again, his eyes wide.
“Hmm. Guess you’ll just turn into a snowman, then.”
“Yay! That’s cool!”
“Is it cool? Baby, what happens to snow when the sun is up?”
He stubbornly crosses his arms over his chest. “Melts.”
“Exactly. And if you’re so cold that you turn into a snowman, what happens to you?”
“I melt!” He grins again.
“Yep. And then you would be a puddle. Do you think puddles can open presents on their birthday?”
His mouth opens wide with a retort, but he hesitates and finally, it clicks in his mind, so he closes his mouth and frowns. “Can I wear my cartoon one?”
“Yes, you can.”
“I’ll go get it!” He immediately sprints away from me, and I use the counter to help me back to my feet with a sigh of relief. Disaster averted.
“You shouldn’t give in to him like that,” says Mom from where she’s standing near the stove, a cup of coffee warming her hands.
“I didn’t give in. I compromised with him so he knows his choices matter.”
She scoffs. “I didn’t do that with you.”
“No, you didn’t. And I remember how it made me feel. So I’m not doing that with him, okay?”
“Look at you with all these new rules. Hardly seems worth it if you’re going to hand him over to his father.”
“Mom!”
“What? That’s what’s going to happen.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Really? You think you can compromise with a man like that just like you did with Nick? A man you hid things from and lied to?”
“Mom, stop. I’m not talking about this right now.” I’d been unable to talk her down the other night when she overheard me telling Stacey about Elijah, and now that she knows who he is, she’s spent the past couple of days vocalizing all my worries as if they’re a certainty.
“You have to talk about this. Are you really going to let that man take your son away?”
“No! But he has a right to know. I just don’t know how to go about it, and you’re not helping.”
“I told you back then and I’ll tell you now. A man who knocks you up and abandons you has no right being a father. Nick doesn’t need a dad.”
“My dad?” Nick’s voice rises up from the doorway as he stands there with wide eyes, clutching his cartoon sweater with both hands. “What about my dad?”
I glare at Mom and then dart toward him. “Don’t worry about that, baby. Let’s get you into this and then we have to go or we’ll be late!”
