AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But Heather’s here.”
“And you’ve already been up an hour past your bedtime.”
“I want to stay with Heather,” Audrey said.
“She and I have to talk one on one for a little bit, so you need to get ready for bed,” I said.
I looked over at her and saw Heather wiping her mouth. Her eyes fluttered up to mine, and she nodded, so I took that as a good sign. I left to help Audrey get cleaned up and get her to bed. Then, I kissed her forehead and read her the story I read her every single night, Goodnight Moon.
She knew it by heart and would mouth it along with me while I read it out loud.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Can Heather stay?”
My heart dropped at the question. With the way Audrey was reacting to Heather, was this really the thing I needed to be doing? In my heart of hearts, I knew it was. I wanted another child, and Audrey wanted a sibling, but maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring Heather back around. I’d made a mistake inviting her into our home.
“I’m not sure. We’ll talk about that later, okay?” I asked.
“Okay. Night, Daddy.”
“Good night, princess.”
“I read Goodnight Moon a lot as a kid myself,” Heather said.
She was sitting on my couch as I came into the living room.
“It’s a good book,” I said. “Rebecca’s favorite.”
I sat down beside her, and she turned to face me.
“I didn’t know she knew. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I should’ve warned you. I try not to keep things from my daughter.” I said.
“You're an incredible father,” she said.
I didn’t always feel like one, but I was thankful for the sentiment.
“I hope you don’t think it’s strange that I invited you into my home. I know the agency sort of bats against that idea.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “It actually helps me feel better about all of this. You know, getting to know your family dynamic better. It lets me know I’ll be handing this child over to a good man.”
Good. It had been a long time since I’d been called anything remotely close to that.
“So, we have some things to discuss,” I said.
“We do.”
“First off, some ground rules. I’m paying for all of your medical expenses and whatever prenatal vitamins or medication you might need during the course of the pregnancy, the birth, and your recuperation.”
“I appreciate that, thank you,” Heather said.
“I would also like to attend the appointments with you. All of them.”
“That’s fine. I’ve been researching some obstetricians in the area.”
