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“You can finish in a minute, bud. I wanted to talk to you first.”
He huffed out a sigh and flopped back onto the cushions, arms crossed over his small chest. Mae rubbed her palms on her thighs before sitting on the coffee table to face him.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No, not at all. Um…remember when Cory’s new brother Elliott was born right after Christmas?”
He frowned. “Yeah.”
“Well…this year, you’ll be getting a new brother or sister after Christmas, too.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to have a baby.”
His frown deepened, and her stomach dipped.
“Do I get a daddy, too?”
Mae’s heart thumped hard. She hadn’t expected that question. Though why in the world she hadn’t, she had no clue. How in the world did she explain this to her son? She blinked away an unexpected sting of tears.
“Ian, I know it’s been you and me for so long. I—”
“I don’t want a new brother or sister,” he declared as he jumped up. “I want a daddy instead.”
Her heart broke at those words. Giving him a daddy wasn’t up to her. She’d tried to make sure he spent time with her brothers so he had strong male role models in his life, but she hadn’t realized he wanted more. He hadn’t asked about his father—or a father—in a couple of years. It was easier to give a pat answer when he was four instead of almost seven.
She reached out and grasped his hands. “Ian, I know this is going to be different, but it’s going to be okay. The three of us are going to be a family together.”
His bottom lip stuck out. “Cory said his brother gets everything. He said his mom and dad love the baby more than him.”
“Oh, hun, it won’t be like that. I will love you both the same. Cory’s parents do, too.”
He yanked his hands away, jumped over the side of the couch, and ran for his room. “I don’t want it.”
“Ian, come back here.”
“No! I don’t want it.”
She was halfway to his door when he slammed it shut. Mae reached for the handle, then hesitated and gave a soft knock instead. “Ian?”
“Go away.”
“Scoob, I love you. Nothing will change that.”
“I don’t wanna talk anymore.”
She drew in a breath and blew it back out as she wiped away the tear rolling down her cheek. “Okay. We don’t have to talk anymore right now, but if you have any questions for me, just ask okay?”
Silence.
“Why don’t you come out and finish watching your movie?”
“I don’t wanna.”
“It’s at your favorite part.”
When he didn’t respond, she leaned her back against the wall and wiped away more tears. This had not gone at all as she’d expected. Her usually easy-going, carefree child had thrown her a huge emotional curveball. Much as she wanted to go in there right now, she needed to give him time to process on his own.
