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"I got to be honest, Graham, none of that sounds particularly bad." Dan folds his arms across the tabletop.
“Yeah, the bad came later.” He frowns. “In the form of Dickhead Duke walking into that little alcove like he belonged there. Like he has the right to be near my Melody and her little spawn. He was waving some baby book at her, looking super happy and parental and shit." He puts his forehead on the table. "She has a baby, Dan. A fucking baby."
"Is it his?"He can hear the hesitation stutter out of Dan's lips. He is probably afraid of how Graham will react. And with good reason. He has been an asshole lately. It seems to have taken over his personality.
“Who the hell else’s could it be, Dan?" He bangs his head against the table softly. "I have to let her go, don't I?
Dan sighs, standing up to put his glass in the sink. "I don't know what to tell you, man."
He was going to let her go. He had to.
She was now in charge of a tiny human who needed her. She had Duke and the baby, and they were going to be a family.
As much as he hated to admit it. This was probably for the best. Fatherhood looked good on the guy. But he better keep his dick in his pants, not cheat on Melody again. He was a dad now. He needed to show up for his family.
God, what he wouldn’t give to have that family for himself. If they were his, there was no way in hell he could ever step out on them. Maybe he should pay Dickhead a visit. Remind him that his responsibility and loyalty should be to Melody and their baby.
Gah, what was he thinking? No, he needed to stop thinking about them completely. He needed to stop thinking about her, even though it seemed impossible. This is the best thing he can do for her and her new family.
Chapter Eighteen
Melody
5 years later
Being back home was so surreal. This was her first summer back since, well, before she had Oliver. He was too little to travel, so her parents would come to her every summer. Honestly, she couldn't think of a time when she had seen her parents so much in her entire life. They would take off an entire month to stay with her and Oliver, taking him to parks and museums. It was really nice.
Marisol is taking a job as a teacher this year, Kindergarten at Saint Clairmont Elementary. She is going to give those kids a run for their money.
She practically begged Melody to come down. Her parents wanted to see her and Oliver. They knew she had a baby, and Marisol would keep them updated with pictures and Facetime. They were dying to meet him. But she was still hesitant. Would they take one look at Oliver and see a resemblance? Would they ask her about the father? What would she tell them? That it was some random one-night stand?
Fuck, she was not ready to answer any of those questions. She never really had to think about those questions in California. Everyone just assumed Duke was the father, and she would let them, even though he looked absolutely nothing like Ollie.
She sighs, rubbing her knee. She took a wrong step while jogging last month, tweaking the damn thing. Admittedly, she wasn't in the best shape, and jogging was a pastime she enjoyed in her twenties, but the thirties were a nasty business. Not quite young or nimble and not quite into the slower midlife, so she may have just gone too far too fast. Or maybe it was the extra baby weight she was still packing.
Whatever the case may be, her knee hurts like a bitch. She had gone to a clinic in town, and they gave her a referral for a specialist, but she needed to set up that appointment herself.
“Hey, Marisol!” She calls out to her across the room. “Do you know anything about a Motion Physical Therapy Clinic?" She asks, reading out the name on the referral card.
The sounds of crashing Lego pieces shatter the quiet afternoon. Marisol screams "OH NOOOOOOOOO there is a dinosaur in the house!" While stomping around with a toy T-Rex. Oliver was an interesting kid. He had every single type of dinosaur known to man and could classify them all.
Marisol comes over, a squealing Oliver running behind her.
"Motion Physical Therapy huh? I think I know someone that works there, let me make a call." She leaves the room to get her phone while Melody calls out to Oliver.
"Time for some lunch, little man." She scoops the spaghetti out of the pan and piling it high on a little plate. He has a hearty appetite, and she always lets him eat his fill. He comes up to her and grabs his plate.
“Thank you, Momma." He says to her in the sweetest little voice. Her heart melts. She will never get tired of that sound.
"Got you an appointment for today at 3! I'm good, I know. " Marisol pats herself on the back. She does look rather pleased with herself.
"Oh, don't forget." She continues, "Dinner tomorrow with my parents. They really wanna see Ollie." Marisol says. Melody is still not convinced it's a good idea. They will see right through them and their little family.
"Don't worry, girl, he has enough of you in him to cause reasonable doubt. You'll be okay. And I'll warn them not to ask about the daddy. I'll tell them it's a sore spot. Mami won't pry if she knows it would hurt you."
"Okay, but if things get weird, you have to get us out of there." She doesn't ask about him, even though she really wants to. She had been following him on Instagram until about two years ago when he all of a sudden stopped posting. She followed his accolades throughout his undergrad, graduating with high honors from UCLA, then when he was accepted into a doctoral program of some sort, she wasn't sure what it was. The picture was too blurry. She followed his relationships, all so fleeting and quick. She wondered what happened and if they hurt him the way she did.
She shakes herself. Marisol had told her from the beginning that if she chose not to tell Graham, then she had to make sure she cut ties completely, and she did— for the most part.
