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I want to believe that most men are good.
I want to believe that Brady would be ecstatic to find out that Liam is his.
I can’t help but wonder at this point who I’m protecting—Liam or myself?
Liam because if I tell Brady and he doesn’t pan out as a father, he’ll be hurt. Or me, because if I tell Brady, how could he possibly forgive me for keeping this a secret for so long?
Would he just reject us both at that point?
Or just me?
* * *
“Are you sure you don’t want me to carry that?”
It’s the second time Brady has offered to take and carry my extremely full pillowcase.
We’ve been out for two hours, and this neighborhood has been awesome for trick or treating.
“It’s good. I’ve got it.” Brady is already carrying both his and Liam’s.
Each bag is easily three quarters full and feels like it weighs a ton.
People around here don’t mess around. We have full candy bars and bags of chips, but the thing that really makes the bags heavy are the cans of soda.
Honestly, who does that? I can’t help but wonder if those houses forgot it was Halloween and just grabbed the soda to pass out because they had it around. I don’t know what we’re going to do with all this junk food.
Liam’s zombie paint on his face has held up surprisingly well.
Once committed, I really got into it this. Brady’s enthusiasm was infectious.
Studying YouTube videos, Brady and I had spent a few hours before going out making Liam and I look like zombies. He’d picked all the materials up as a surprise a couple days ago.
“How are you holding up, kiddo?”
Throwing my arm around Liam, I encourage him to keep up.
“I’m good. Just tired.”
I can’t help but smile at his impressive makeup.
“Do I still look as good as you?” Liam asks, giving me a cursory look before answering.
“All good except for where it’s starting to peel back around your mouth.”
“That’s from eating too much candy! You should have some, too. Here’s a candy bar. Maybe it’ll help you make it back.”
Chuckling, I dig through my bag for something that interests me.
Liam jumps ahead to walk by Brady on the sidewalk. I’ve fallen back a bit since another candy bar wasn’t too appealing.
I’m working on opening up some starburst.
Watching Liam and Brady from behind, I can’t help noticing their similarities. Liam is like a little shadow of Brady, valiantly copying everything he does.
A shiver goes down my spine, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because my butt is hanging out in this cheerleader costume Brady got me, or if it’s a premonition of something to come.
I just don’t know how much longer I can keep this secret.
