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“Right, it was that she didn’t feel like she could be a good mom to you.”
“But she sent me a birthday present?”
“She did.”
“Can I open it?”
“I’ll get it while you clear the table.”
Max brought the box to the kitchen and set it on the floor next to the table.
“Did you already open it?”
“Not the present, just the box.”
“Is it okay if I open it?”
“Sure.” Max helped him to wrestle the large, wrapped package out of the box it had been shipped in and put it on the table that Caden had quickly cleared.
He glanced up at his father, uncertainty etched into his cute little face.
“She sent a note with it. Let’s read that first.” He opened the envelope addressed to Caden and handed it to him to read out loud.
“‘Dear Caden, happy seventh birthday! I can’t believe you are already seven! I want you to know that I think of you every day and hope you are happy and doing well. I know I have no right to ask to see you, but I’d love to if you can find it in your heart to forgive me for not being there for you these last seven years. It’s up to you and your dad, but I’d really like to see you sometime. Your dad has my number, and I hope to hear from you. In the…’ What is that word?”
“Meantime.”
“Oh. ‘In the meantime, I hope you had a wonderful birthday. With love from your mother, Chloe.’” He looked up at Max. “She wants to see me.”
“So I heard. How do you feel about that?”
Caden shrugged. “Fine, I guess.” He eyed the gift.
“It’s okay, buddy. You can open it.”
He tore the paper off the box and gasped at the picture of the remote-controlled truck they’d seen in a store in Rutland a while back. “That’s the one you said was too expensive!”
“So it is.” Max silently fumed over Chloe intruding on their perfect life by sending an over-the-top gift and asking to see their son after years of silence.
“Can I play with it?” Caden asked.
“Let me see if we have the batteries we need.”
“They’re taped to the box. Look!”
Max tipped his head and saw the batteries. “Well, that’s handy.” He spent half an hour extracting the truck from the packaging and putting batteries in the truck and the remote controller, which he handed to Caden when he was finished.
The minute Caden pushed a button, the truck roared to life, which made Daisy bark and snarl at the invader.
Caden’s belly laugh was the best thing Max had heard all day.
As the truck was run from one end of the house to the other and in circles in the living room, Daisy chased after it, barking like a fiend while Caden laughed his head off.
Max watched the scene unfold as bitterness churned in his gut.
“It’s really cool, right, Dad?”
“Sure is.”
