“How badly did I screw up?” I rest my forehead on the cold, hard surface of the marble tabletop.

My mom made a reservation here a long time ago, and I’d cleared my schedule for this lunch, but I didn’t expect to meet her under these circumstances.

Instead of telling my mom all the cool little things William’s been doing, I have to tell her I don’t know when, if ever, she’s going to see her first grandson.

“This wouldn’t have happened, had you let me see the baby,” she says, letting out a frustrated sigh. “Just once, I wanted to see him.”

“Sorry, Mom. I really thought I could take you to see him this weekend.”

“Maybe you should’ve kidnapped him while you were taking him out on that drive,” she mumbles.

“What?” I lift my head up and look at her.

I’m pretty sure I heard my mom correctly the first time, but . . .

“Oh, nothing,” she says, grinning cheerfully. She takes a small sip of tea, sticking her pinkie out. She looks around at the richly decorated tea house. “You know, I don’t really see the point of this.”

I shrug. “I told you.”

In her little notebook, Mom has a list of rich-people things she wants to do. She adds to the list when she watches reality shows.

Of course, she can’t tell any of her old friends about this list. Apparently, they’d inevitably start seeing her as this hoity-toity, rich woman of leisure, and she’d lose her street cred.

“What do I do? I can’t sue her, but I can’t just never see William again,” I say, bringing the attention back to my problem. My serious, serious problem. Which my mom seems to be ignoring.

“You’ll be fine,” she says as she stares at a group of forty-something women wearing loud, colorful dresses.

“Don’t you care about never seeing your own grandson? Your first grandson?” I ask.

“What?” Mom turns to look at me. “Of course, I do. What kind of a monster do you take me for?”

“But what if Katie doesn’t want me to see him again?” I ask. “I can’t just sue her. My lawyers are ruthless. They’re going to destroy her.”

Mom takes a deep breath and starts to speak slowly, like she’s talking to an idiot. “Honey. Of course, I don’t want you to sue her. Of course, I don’t want you to sue a hard-working, single mom who bore you a healthy son and is raising him well. You know what you get if you do that? A son who hates you.”

As the son of a man who mistreated and left a hard-working, single mom, I can attest to Mom’s theory. “But how am I going to see William again?”

“She’ll come around. You’ll see,” she says confidently.

“What are you talking about? You don’t know that. You’ve never even met her.”

“I’ve lived much longer than you. I’ve seen things. I know how this is going to go down,” Mom says, taking another dainty sip of her tea.

And people wonder how I got so cocky . . .

“Just tell me what your genius plan is already,” I say.

Mom smiles from ear to ear, her green eyes lighting up. “Okay, so, you know how Kourtney and Scott are always fighting?”

I give her a flat stare. “Let’s clarify something here. You said you’d ‘seen things.’ By ’things,’ did you mean ‘reality shows’?”

“They’re still people,” she says dismissively. “As I was saying, they’re always fighting, but you can tell they still care about each other. If Scott can clean up his act and become the father his kids deserve, I’m sure they can work it out.”

“Honestly, I have no idea who those people are. But you’re telling me Katie may forgive me if I become a better dad, right?”

Mom frowns. “You should really pay more attention when I tell you things. Kourtney and Scott used to be—”

“Mom.” I protest.

“Okay, fine. You’re no fun,” she says. “But yes, I really think Katie will let you see William if you show her that you can be a responsible father.”

“And how do I do that, if I can’t even see William?” I ask the obvious.

Mom draws a deep breath, and her eyes take on a distant look. “I’ll have to think about that. I may be a genius, but even I need to let my thoughts marinate before I come up with a plan.”

I heave a deep sigh. She’s stuck, too; she just doesn’t want to admit it.

“Let’s say I manage to see William again.” I pause. “Do you think I can get Katie back?”

Mom puts her pink, floral teacup down on the saucer and leans forward. “You really like this girl?”

“I love her,” I say quickly.

Mom smiles. “I’m so happy to hear that. I thought you were going to miss out on life because you worked so much.”

“Thanks, Mom. But I already know I’m capable of having feelings.”

“Okay.” Mom laughs. “Well, the thing with love is, sometimes . . . Sometimes, even when everything seems like it’s going in the right direction, it all falls apart. And some other times, the opposite happens.”

I stare at Mom while I try to parse her words.

“You know what I’m saying?” Mom asks.

“Yeah. You have no idea how this is going to turn out either,” I say.

“Yes. As a single mom who knows quite a few other single moms, I can tell you that as long as the biological dad isn’t a complete jerk, the mom’s likely to let him see the child. It’s a good thing for a child to have both parents, as long as both parents care about him.”

I nod.

“But as far as a woman’s heart is concerned . . .” Mom gives me a soft, kind smile. “You’re just going to have to do your best and see how she responds.”

I groan. “What if Katie lets me see William, then she has a new guy so I have to see her with him, too?”

“Well, that’s just what happens when you co-parent with an ex. There’s a ton of people in the same situation, and they survive.”

I remain quiet.

“But . . . Since you two have a child together, you do have an advantage over other guys. And . . . You did it recently, right? Not just when William was conceived?”

“What?” I grimace, sensing the conversation going in the wrong way.

“Sex, of course,” she says in a hushed whisper.

“I don’t want to talk about that with you,” I say quickly.

“It’s an important factor in my assessment of the situation,” Mom says.

“Ha. As if I’m going to fall for that.” I chuckle.

“Can’t blame me for trying.” Mom shrugs.

“What if Katie decides to be with me just because of William, just because she thinks that’s the best way for her to give William what he needs?”

“Do you really think that’s what’s going to happen?” Mom asks, in a serious tone this time.

I pause to think.

“No, she won’t stay with me just for William’s sake.” I shake my head. “She’s too proud for that. She thinks—no, she knows she can handle William on her own.”

“I like her already.” Mom smiles, making fine lines appear on her smooth skin. “That wasn’t my question, but it was good to hear your answer. What I want to know is, do you think she has feelings for you?”

“Yes,” I say confidently.

“Then . . . Go get her, tiger,” Mom says.