Chapter Thirteen
Of course, there was more than just telling Eli. We needed to break the news to my parents too. All these years, they had no idea I knew who my son's father was – and now I was coming clean. I was admitting the truth. Or at least, I would be, once I worked up the nerve.
We picked a family dinner, as was only fitting in my mind, to break the news. But before that, we made a point of sitting down with Eli. It went easier than I thought, but mainly because he was, after all, only a toddler and didn't quite comprehend the news the same way my parents would. Which was good. It meant he'd grow up with early memories of his father, of knowing who he was. Reese missed a few years, but not too many.
“So Eli,” I said as we sat on the floor of the living room with him, “you know how I have a mommy and daddy?”
“Yes,” he said, not looking entirely interested in anything I had to say.
Reese sat across from me, and we shared a look. This was it. This was the moment.
“Well, you know you have a mommy already –”
“You!” he said, pointing at me with a smile. “You're my mommy.”
“Yes, Eli,” I said with a laugh. “I'm your mommy. But did you know you also had a daddy?”
The little boy cocked his head and looked confused. His eyes were wide as he looked back at me, almost like I was speaking a foreign language.
“Reese isn't just mommy's friend,” I said. “He's also your daddy.”
Eli's eyes grew even wider as they went from looking at me to staring at Reese, then back at me.
Reese took this moment to speak up. “Do you know what that means?”
Eli shook his head and stared down at the floor, tracing something with his fingers. But I knew he was listening.
Reese continued. “It means that you have two people who care for you, Eli. Two parents who love you and will always be there for you. Who will do anything for you.”
That made my heart explode in my chest. All the warm and fuzzy feelings came rushing to the surface as I wiped away tears of joy from my eyes. All these years, I'd raised Eli alone. Sure, he had his grandma and grandpa, but he didn't have a mom and a dad. It was hard trying to be both for him. And whether I liked to admit it or not, that bothered me. To know my child would grow up without a father bothered me a lot more than I realized until that moment. Knowing that he had us both thought, there with him, no matter what happened between Reese and myself – well, that meant a lot. More than I could possibly express.
“And,” Reese continued, reaching out and taking my hand in his, “it means your momma doesn't have to do all this alone, because I love her too.”
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined something so perfect. My life may not have turned out the way I had planned, but that was okay. Because it was starting to turn into something that was pretty damn amazing anyway. Unexpected, of course. But amazing all the same.
ooo000ooo
Family dinner, a few weeks later. This time it was me asking if someone could join us.
“Seriously, Maya,” my mom said, shaking her head at me, “You've always been on my side on this. It's family dinner, not a time for friends or anyone not part of this family –”
“Just this once, mom,” I said, trying to maintain my composure. “You always let Luke have his friends over. This one is a special friend. It's important to me.”
I'd never pushed the issue before, not like my brother, and I knew my mom knew that. Maybe it was the determined look in my eye or perhaps my old mom wasn't as stubborn as she liked to appear, but her face softened slightly.
“Okay. Just this once,” she said. “I suppose it couldn't hurt.”
I hugged her, held her tight. “Thank you,” I said.
She had no idea about the announcement I'd be making. She had no idea that in a way, the person I was bringing over for dinner was family – but that was all about to change. And the knot in my stomach, as well as the feeling of nausea that was sweeping over me only reinforced that fact.
I let Reese know it was okay, and he said he'd be there, right before dinner. He had some errands to run first, and honestly, I was relieved for the extra time to mentally prepare myself for the revelation. I had a feeling it was going to be a rough, emotional night.
As the clock ticked closer and closer to dinner time, I began to worry when Reese hadn't arrived. Was he chickening out? Was he not coming? Had he ditched us? No, Reese wouldn't do that. He wouldn't go back to his old ways. I saw in his eyes that he'd meant what he'd been telling me about changing and being part of our lives. I'd believed him when he'd told me that he loved me. He wouldn't do this to me – would he?
“Who's the friend?” Luke asked, leaning against the kitchen counter where I was standing, staring out the back window and praying for Reese's car to pull into the driveway. “Finally get yourself a boyfriend. Or maybe a girlfriend?”
I rolled my eyes. Luke had no idea what was happening, and he was probably going to be the most surprised of all to see his former best friend walk through that door. Especially when he found out that Reese wasn't there for him – but for me.
“You'll meet him soon enough,” I said.
Inwardly, I smiled. Luke was going to flip out when he found out the truth. He was going to lose his mind to learn that I was the mother of his much cooler friend's child. That yes, his friend actually liked me, even though Luke liked to tease me about how Reese would never, ever be with someone like me.
But where was he? I bit my lip and continued staring out the window. No sign of his car and my mom was already setting the table.
“Should I set a place for your friend, Maya? You know I don't appreciate late-comers...”
“He'll be here,” I said. I know he will be.
But my heart was heavy. Reese said he'd be here right before dinner, and dinner was about to be served.
“Come to the table, dear, I don't want the meatloaf getting cold.”
One last look out the window. No sign of Reese. With a heavy heart, I sat down at the table – between my son and an empty seat where his father should be sitting – but wasn't.
We lowered our heads in prayer, and I tried to hold back the tears. Maybe he was just running late, I thought. It could happen. Of course, this was a big deal for us, a stepping stone toward coming together as a family at last. And if he was going to be late to this, what else would he be late for in the future? Birthday parties? School plays? Soccer games?
Stop it, I told myself. Don't cry. You've been alone up to this point, you'll be just fine if he doesn't show and yes, maybe he was just running late. Really late.
I had wiped away the tears as we said “Amen,” and that's when there was a gentle knock at the back door. My parents looked at one another and shrugged as Luke got up to answer it since he was the closest one to it. I stood up, hopeful and happy that he'd finally made it.
“Hey man, what are you doing here?” Luke said, shaking his friend's hand. “Wasn't expecting you to stop by.”
“Actually,” Reese said, looking past my brother toward me, “I'm not here for you. I'm here for Maya.”
“Maya?” Luke asked, turning to look at me.
My parents were staring at me as well, an expression of sheer confusion on their faces.
“Yes, he's with me. He's the friend I told you was coming for dinner.”
I choked on the words. He was more than a friend, wasn't he? After all, we'd said we loved one another – that meant we were something more? And he was the father of my child, there was that part too. But friend came out easier than all of that when I'd been talking to my mom.
“He's your friend now too?” Luke scratched his head.
Reese and I stared at each other, and I was grinning like an idiot as relief washed over me. I wanted to rush to his side, to embrace him, to kiss him, but that felt weird in front of my parents. Reese moved past my brother and walked toward me and the empty seat, but he didn't sit down. Instead, he took my hand in his and kissed it softly, never once taking his dark eyes off of me.
“What the hell?” Luke said.
That pretty much summed up all of my emotions too. What the hell was going on? Was he...?
“Maya, I'm sorry I'm late. And I don't mean just to dinner, but I'm late getting back into your life as well. Now that I'm here though, I want to stick around. Not just for you, but for our son as well.”
That's when my mom made a sound – a gasp. Reese was nervous, I could tell and cast a scared look their way before turning back to me. My mother started to say something, but my father hushed her and let the scene play out. Luke, on the other hand, look dumbfounded. But none of that mattered, because what did matter was that Reese had something in his hand.
He slipped a ring onto my finger – a diamond solitaire. I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as he lowered himself to a knee.
“Maya McConnell, will you let me right the wrongs and be the man you deserve?” he asked, his eyes locked onto mine. “Will you marry me?”
It felt like my entire body turned to jelly. Thankfully, Reese had hold of my hand, it kept me from falling as I stared at him wide eyed, my body humming with an electricity inside
“Yes,” my voice came out in a whisper.
We embraced, kissing as if there was no one in the room but us – until Eli started fussing.
“Mommy,” he said. “Hold me.”
“Yes, baby,” I said, picking up my son and holding him close.
Reese kissed his forehead, and I think that's the moment it made sense for everyone in the room. But it was Luke who finally articulated the words.
“You mean to tell me – Reese is Eli's father?”
“Yes,” I said, wiping away the tears. “Yes, he is. He's Eli's father. It's a long story.”
“A very long story,” Reese said, never taking his eyes off me. “But one we'll be happy to tell over many family dinners to come.”