I open my mouth to argue, but Natalie’s voice cuts in.
“Or should I remind you of the little boy that you’ve kept a secret for the past nine years?”
I exhale sharply, running a hand through my hair. “No, Nat, I haven’t forgotten about Cohen. I could never forget my little boy. I saw Cole, okay? But I don’t see the point in bringing it up, okay? It’s just…not something I need to explain to anyone right now.”
“But you will eventually,” Natalie says softly. “Just not now. Not to us. Not to him. Maybe not even to yourself.”
“What about Cohen?” Natalie asks, not trying to hide her skepticism. “Are you just going to continue lying to your son? He’s almost nine now, Kenz. You said he’s been asking questions.”
Rina’s smile fades as she shifts in her seat. “He’s going to put the pieces together soon if he hasn’t already. You know how smart he is. You think you’re protecting him, but maybe you’re just delaying the fallout.”
The air in the cafe feels heavier suddenly, like a weight I can’t shake. I feel my face flush, but I try to keep my cool. “It’s complicated,” I mutter, avoiding Natalie’s gaze.
She leans back in her seat, arms crossed, clearly not satisfied with my answer. “Complicated how? You need to figuresomething out between the two of you, or the whole town is going to tell Cole he has a son before you can.”
I try not to squirm. I’ve spent so much time imagining how I would tell Cole about our son. But hearing Natalie talk about it, pushing me, makes it all more real.
A part of me will always love Cole. He gave me the greatest gift, but Natalie is right. I need to figure out what I’m going to do if Cole sees Cohen.
The image alone of Cole crouching down to look into Cohen’s eyes and realizing the truth in an instant makes my throat tighten. The moment feels both inevitable and impossible.
I feel a tightness in my chest again, the weight of unspoken words.
“Look,” I say, my voice firm, “I don’t know, it’s weird. He’s out and I’m not the same 17-year-old girl. I’m a 26-year0old single mom trying to keep up with her crazy life.”
Rina speaks up, her voice soft but carrying that infectious confidence I’ve always relied on. “Are you sure about that?” She asks, her gaze steady on me. “I mean…he’s your past. But you said you’re friends. Could he be you and Cohen’s future?”
“Even if it’s messy,” she adds. “Some futures are built of chaos, ken. That doesn’t make them wrong.”
Natalie looks between us, sensing a change in the conversation.
“Wait a second, Kenna,” she says, a new curiosity in her voice. “Are you saying that you still have feelings for him? After all these years?”
I feel my breath catch. I don’t answer right away. Instead, I glance down at the coffee cup in front of me, tracing the rim with my fingers. It’s easier to look at the steam than meet either of their eyes.
The question lingers in the air, and I feel my heart race. I don’t want to admit it, don’t want to voice the truth that’s been hiding in the back of my mind for years now.
Can Cole be a part of my and our son’s life? Sure. I’ve keptCohen mostly hidden, and only my family knows about him. When we go out in public, he is my cousin who lives with me. But what if I could go out and proudly display my son to the world?
I would have to tell Cole about him first. And I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. Or if I’ll ever be.
“I don’t know,” I say finally, my voice quieter than I expect. “Maybe. I mean, it’s Cole, you know? The father of my child. He’s…he’s always been there. But I can’t pretend nothing’s changed. We can’t just pick up where we left off. It’s not that simple.”
“No,” Natalie says slowly, “but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Simple and worth it are the same thing.”
Rina gives me a sympathetic look, but her eyes still glimmer with that knowing expression. “Yeah, I get it,” she says, her tone softening. “But maybe you should stop acting like you don’t care. If you do care, then...maybe you should do something about it.”
“I’m just saying,” Natalie adds, her voice calm, but a little more pressing now. “You don’t have to figure it all out right away. But if there’s a chance to make it right, maybe you shouldn’t let it slip away.”
I look at both of them. My best friends, my lifelines, the only people outside of my family who really know what I’ve been through. They’re not judging me. Not really. They just want me to stop hiding behind fear.
I feel like the ground beneath me is shifting. The words are simple, but they hit harder than I expect. They make me realize something I’ve been avoiding for far too long—that maybe, just maybe, I still want something with Cole.
But how could that work now? How could I go back to a life where I let myself imagine a future with him when everything’s changed so much?
The days slip by in a blur of shampoo bottles, hair dryers, and the steady hum of the salon. I go through the motions, cutting and styling, my mind constantly drifting back to the conversation with Rina and Natalie. I can’t shake the weight of their words.
It plays on a loop. Rina’s teasing but earnest questions. Natalie’s quiet but cutting truths. The moment I almost said out loud that I still love Cole. That I never really stopped.
