I don’t know how long it takes me to fall asleep, but the next day, I have to literally peel myself out of bed. I spend more time than I should picking an outfit, knowing that after work I’m going to see him. We get into the car with seconds to spare and only when I pull out of the parking lot does Avery start to ask me questions, “Momma, is Stefano really my dad?”
I glance in the rearview mirror, seeing her look out the window. “What do you mean?”
“He said he’s my dad,” she says, her feet going up and down, “so now I have a dad.”
“Well, you always had a dad,” I tell her, gripping the steering wheel.
“But now I can tell people that my dad ate dinner with me.” I pull into the parking lot and put the car in park. “So if Ms. Terry asks me what I did last night, I could say I had dinner with my dad.”
“Yes.” I look over at her. “You can say you saw your dad.” She nods her head at me as she unbuckles her seat belt before jumping down from her booster seat. I open my car door and then open hers. She jumps out of the car and holds my hand as we walk into the school. The minute we walk in, she takes off to her classroom door.
“My dad came to see me,” she announces as soon as she sees her teacher, who looks at her and then at me. The shock is all over her face, especially since I told them her father is uninvolved in her life. “He brought pizza, and he got me princess dresses.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun,” Ms. Terry says.
“Okay, come give Momma a kiss,” I say, squatting down, and she comes over to me.
“Will Stefano come and see me again?” she asks me, and I just nod my head.
“We are going to the park after school, and he’s going to be there,” I tell her, and she jumps up before running back into the class. I avoid looking at anyone before I walk back to my car. Even when I get to work, I walk in, head straight to the kitchen, and start the coffee. Unlike yesterday, there is less fanfare this morning.
Shelby comes in not long after me. “Morning,” she mumbles to me as her phone rings in her hand.
Clarabella is the next one in with a car seat. She huffs as she comes in and the door closes behind her. “Have kids, they say.” She blows the hair out of her face. “It’ll be fun, they said.”
I roll my lips when I look at her and see she’s literally leaking through her silk shirt. My eyes must go big, and she looks down. “I’m like a cow,” she says, putting the car seat down with the baby still sleeping. “I swear, he cries, and it just pours out of me. The other day I just thought about him, and it was dripping everywhere.”
“Ew,” Presley states, coming in the door at the moment, “you’re leaking.” She points at her, and Clarabella just gasps.
“Really?” She looks down. “Wait, your shirt doesn’t leak milk?” She rolls her eyes. “Watch your nephew while I clean up.”
“Clean up in aisle ten.” Presley makes a joke at Clarabella’s back. She just lifts her hand high in the air and flips her the bird. “Good morning,” she greets, picking up the car seat and bringing it with her.
I turn around and start the emails. I have a whole list of questions I have to ask Sofia when she gets in. The time flies by, and when I hear the door open, I expect it to be Sofia. So when I look up with a smile, it quickly disappears when I see Stefano walking in. He’s wearing black jeans and a white short-sleeved shirt that makes his arms look bigger than they were yesterday. He pushes his aviator glasses on top of his head, the smile on his face filling it when he sees me.
“What are you doing here?” I don’t even move from my chair because I can’t. It’s as if all motions have left my body.
He holds up the brown bag I didn’t see in his hand. “I brought you lunch.”
My mouth opens to say something but nothing comes out, I just close it and then open it again. But, in that little bit of time, Clarabella comes out from the back and the front door opens and Sofia steps in.
“I just left you like ten minutes ago, so how are you here?” she huffs at Stefano.
“First off, I left you guys an hour ago,” he corrects, “and second, your shirt is all buttoned wrong.”
She looks down and laughs.
She quickly fixes it and glares at him. “What do you want?”
“I brought Addison lunch,” he says, walking toward my desk and my legs finally decide it’s okay to stand.
“Interesting,” both Clarabella and Sofia say at the same time before crossing their arms over their chests.