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“Hey!” he shouted. “If you didn’t come to Minnesota, I wouldn’t have found you. You would’ve never known the truth, and Nova would grow up thinking some fucker is her dad.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too, baby. I didn’t mean to yell.”
“They’re going to hate me.” I put my coffee cup in the sink.
“They’ll get over it. I’m not giving you up, Karma. I love you. I won’t let them harass you.”
I nodded as if he could see me.
“I’ll be there soon. Will you be okay? Everything will be fine.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Liar. Bye, babe.” He ended the call.
I prayed he was right.
Nova ran into her classroom with a smile on her face. She loved school, and she loved Mrs. Fuentes.
“Hey, lady. She looks happy.” Tara jerked her chin at Nova.
“She is.” I watched my sweet girl put her backpack away and skip to her desk.
“Is everything okay?”
I faced Tara. “No. Everything just might fall apart after school today.”
“What happened?” She grabbed me by the wrist and led me out of the room.
“Oh God, I’m going to be sick.” I clutched my stomach.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“Abe and I are telling Nova the truth today.”
“I knew it!” she shouted, then slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”
“It’s going to confuse her. What if she hates me for my part in all this?”
“She won’t. What if she’s okay with it?”
“She won’t be.” I couldn’t tell Tara that Nova believed my ex was her dad. God, I was a horrible person. “It feels like a day of reckoning.”
“Girl, we’ve all had those. It’ll be fine.”
“We’ll see, I guess.” I poked my head into the classroom. “Bye, Nova.” I didn’t dare call her baby or sweetie with her classmates in earshot. Second graders were big kids, according to Nova.
She waved with a bright smile.
“All right. I’ll see you after school.” I patted Tara’s arm.
“Oh, you’re picking her up? Not Jaynee?”
“Yeah, I’m closing the parlor early.”
“That’s probably wise. Try not to worry, but I know that’s easier said than done.”
