Fine. Seeing him this happy, I swallowed my resistance.
The park buzzed with life. Balloons, cotton candy, children's laughter everywhere. Olei held both our hands, grinning like a little sun. The heat was brutal. Sweat beaded on his face. I wiped it away with a tissue.
"I'll get drinks." Silas nodded toward a spot. "Wait on that bench."
"Daddy, I want a strawberry milkshake!" Olei said sweetly.
"Done." Silas glanced at me. "You?"
"Same as Olei."
He nodded and headed for the drink stand.
"Olei, let's sit." I pulled my gaze away.
He nodded. We'd just reached the bench when everything went sideways.
"Hey, kid! Want a balloon?" A clown with a painted grin jumped out from behind a bush.
He clutched a fistful of colored balloons, shoving his face right up to Olei's.
"Ah!" Olei jumped, grabbed my leg, and shouted, "Mom!"
The word froze me solid. The laughter, the music—gone. My chest flooded with shock and something that hurt. God.
The clown stumbled back, hands up in surrender.
"Oh, oh, sorry little guy!" He bent down. "Didn't mean to scare you. Here, take this balloon. My apology gift, okay?"
He held out a blue balloon, but Olei buried his face in my stomach, wouldn't look.
"It's fine." I forced a smile, took the balloon, tied it to my wrist. "He'll be okay in a minute."
The clown waved and bounded off toward a group of kids playing nearby.
I'd already forgotten about him.
"Olei..." My voice shook. "What did you just call me?"
The body in my arms went rigid. After a long moment, he lifted his head. Eyes full of tears.
"I'm sorry..." He hiccupped, panicked. "I shouldn't have said it out loud... I promised myself I'd pretend I didn't know..."
My heart stopped.
"You knew I was your mother?" I dropped to my knees, cupped his face. "When did you find out?"
He was six. Before we met again, he'd never even seen me.
Olei sniffled, eyes red. "A long time ago, I saw Dad in his study, crying over your picture. I asked who it was. He said, 'She's your mom, but she went somewhere very far away. I lost her.'"
My breath caught. Silas cried over my picture in the dark?
"When you showed up at school, I thought I was seeing things. But Dad liked you so much. I knew I wasn't wrong. I thought if I was good, if I pretended not to know you, you wouldn't disappear again like Dad said... I wanted you to stay."
Tears blurred my vision. I stared at this little face, too old for his age, my heart tearing. He'd known all along. He'd been protecting what mattered with his tiny, careful heart.
"Olei." I pulled him into my arms. "I am your mother. I'm sorry, baby. It's my fault. I came back too late. I'll never leave you again."
