“Mommy, mommy. You have to be there. It’s the President!” I whipped my head around so fast that I thought I would fall off the stool at the kitchen tabletop. “Who?” I asked quickly, shocked at those words. “The President. They told us we have to call him Mr. President if he talks to us. He’s coming to judge us on our environmental science projects.” “Environment,” I enunciated softly for Kaiden. “Mm. Environment. Brittany helped me and Brie while you were working, and she told the teacher that you’d be able to be there today to see who wins.” Kaiden was almost jumping up and down with excitement. “Right. So, it’s the President?” I clarified. How did I not know the President was coming to Kaiden’s school? My heart hammered in my chest as I tried not to think about the last time I had met a President. It had been nine years ago. I swallowed back the tears as memories flashed through my mind. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll be there. What t

I kept my composure long enough to walk through the front door o front door of my house. And then, I broke down. I leaned against the closed door and my knees gave away, forcing me to slide down to the floor.I was a sobbing mess. Eight years' worth of guilt and doubt overwhelmed me. I was so sure about my decision when I made it. But having him there in front of me, in front of my son… His son… brought everything back and made me doubt every decision I had made.He was a father and I had taken that away from it. He didn’t know his child. But what was he going to say to me? What was he going to do?To calm my nerves, I sat in front of my laptop and opened the document I was working on earlier in the day. But after spilling all my words, I quickly realized that my hands weren’t steady enough for it. Long lines of red banished me away from the keyboard.I quickly changed my clothes and began to go over my normal routine when I was

I was the mess when the door closed behind him. But I managed to pull myself together by the time Brittany’s car pulled up with the kids about twenty minutes later. I stepped out so they knew I was home. Usually, I would be in my office and Brit would keep Kaiden until I was done, but I had taken the day off from work after an exhausting trip.I waved at Brit and she yelled out, telling me she was coming with a bottle of wine at eight and the look on her face told me she was not going to let me evade her questions.Kaiden came running over and started telling me in exquisite detail about his day. He asked about a million questions about mine as well. But I had a hard time concentrating on his words. All I could think about was how his world was about to turn upside down. I couldn’t imagine how he would take the news but I was fairly certain he would be excited and Kai wouldn’t know what hit him when he got his hands on Kai.At a quarter to eigh

There were two more conversations I needed to have similar to the one I had with Brit. The first was with my father, the next was with Aria. Aria, who I hadn't spoken to in at least five years, and who I hadn't seen since I left.My dad, Karl, was not going to be a walk in the park. When I had returned home, pregnant and an emotional wreck, he had welcomed me with open arms. However, he made it blatantly obvious that he did not support my decision not to tell the father. It was a bone of contention between us for many years. After Kaiden's birth, he remained quiet about it. However, there were always those moments that I could tell he wanted to say something.Like he knew something.Kaiden and I lived with Karl for the first three years of his life, until it became necessary for me to walk on my own two feet and not rely on my father's hospitality. I became quite driven about proving that I could do it all. Raise my child, write for my raising popularity. It was

The conversation I was just about to have was the most important one of my life. More important than the one where I told Kai he was the father. The way I handled this conversation had the ability to make or break a little boy’s heart and cause irreparable damage if not handled correctly. I was scared shitless for him, but at the same time, I was so excited. My little boy was getting a daddy, and I couldn't have been happier for him. As long as it all went smoothly. That morning, I asked Kaiden to join me in my bedroom. We sat down on my bed together, legs crossed, facing each other. I took one of his hands. “Remember we spoke about your daddy?” I started. "Yeah?" he replied hesitantly. I could tell by the pensive look on his face she knew there was something important coming. "And you know how I said he's been away doing a special job?" His face scrunched up as he tried to remember. “Yeah. You didn’t say what his job was.” “I