“Hi Noah.” She smiles gently, holding Paislee on her hips. Her eyes flick over my shoulder. “Hey Brad,” she calls out, over my shoulder.
He nods his head, eyes shifting to Kevin and then back to her.
Kevin gives a short head nod too, rounding the other side of the truck to prepare Paislee’s car seat. After Kevin left the company, Brad promoted Ethan to project manager—Ethan had been thrilled.
“How was she?” Mom asks.
I shrug. “The usual. A little fussy over her veggies still but nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Good. Good.” She smiles. “Listen…uh,” her eyes nervously flick back to Kevin before coming back to me. “I was thinking, I’d really like to see you. Soon— if you’re okay with that.”
I internally cringe. Scratching the back of my neck. “I’m not sure…”
I see disappointment wash over her face. Over the past months, it’s not the first time she’s mentioned reconciliation and I doubt it’ll be the last.
But, how can we just move past everything that has happened?
“I know, I know. It’s just…” She looks down at her feet. Paislee reaches out to me and I squeeze her little hand. “We’re going to be in each other’s lives forever. I mean, I’llalwaysbe your mom and Paislee will always be your sister—”
“Mom—”
“I just feel like, if we can just come together and—”
“Mom,” I say again, cutting her off.
Her eyes start to water as I can see the sadness overtake her.
“Come on, Veronica.” Kevin grits out, taking Paislee from her arms.
Paislee starts to squirm in Kevin’s arms, her little fingers straining toward Brad and I. Her little cries sound quickly after and I blow out a breath. I know it hurts Brad to see it happen. He hates this part.
Hell, so do I.
It guts me. He’s been there since the day she was born. In every way that matters, she’s his. And yet here we are, watching her cry for him as she’s buckled into someone else’s truck.
My eyes pinch shut.
It feels like we’re co-parenting when we shouldn’t be putting Paislee through this. Not when there’s another option.
An easier option.
I look back at Brad who’s looking down. His shoulders sag, eyes fixed on the ground like he can’t bear to watch the truck pull away.
Something has to give. For Brad. For Paislee. For me. If we’re going to build a life that isn’t made of coldness and resentment, I have to start somewhere.
I look back to my mom who looks defeated, ready to leave.
“How about…I’ll call you.” I compromise.
Her eyes widen. “What? Really?”
I take a big breath in. “It’s going to take a long time for Brad to forgive you. Obviously, you two have a lot of…shit to sort out. ”
She nods her head sadly.
“But, you found it in your heart to forgive us for what we did. And Brad…” I swallow thickly. “If he’s taught me anything, it’s that some things are worth not running away from. So…how about we work on it.”
Hershoulders drop, visibly relieved. “Really?”
