Page 106 of The Single Dad

I guess there must have been something in my tone, a feeling I couldn’t hide, because Olivia immediately says, “Okay, I’ve been meaning to ask—what exactly is going on between the two of you?”

“I’m… not really sure.”

“Oh, don’t be cagey with me. Come on. Seriously.” There’s a pause, and she asks tentatively, “Are you falling in love with him?”

I bite my lip. “I can’t answer that.”

The answer, I’m pretty sure, is a resounding yes. And there’s no way I can bring myself to say that out loud.

To my surprise, Olivia doesn’t push for an answer, even though I can practically feel her burning curiosity through the phone. Instead, she just lets a silence hang for a few seconds before saying, “Well, I wish you luck dealing with your mom. If you need anything, just call, okay?”

“Of course,” I say with a smile. “Thanks, Liv. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

* * *

“Kerry’s at the door,” Cole says, leaning into the living room. “You ready?”

I steel myself, rising from the part of the floor where I was sitting cross-legged with Archie.

“Aw,” Archie starts to complain, but Cole shoots him a stern look.

“Be good, Archer,” he says. “We’re only going to be gone for a little while, okay?”

“You get to hang out with Kerry,” I add. “You and Kerry are pals, right?”

Archie nods, but he still looks disappointed, listlessly dragging a toy train across its tracks as Cole and I leave the room. Kerry brushes past us with a nod of greeting and a smile.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Cole murmurs, holding open the front door. “You could call her and tell her something came up.”

“I’m ready,” I say, though my voice wavers. “I don’t want to put this off anymore.”

I step out into the brisk air.

Cole could have called us a car, but instead, he opts to drive—probably to avoid giving my mother any more ammunition. It’s a ten minute ride to the park she agreed to meet me at, and we ride most of the way in silence.

When we park, Cole glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “It’s going to be okay,” he says, his voice calm and reassuring. “You can do this.”

I take a deep breath, preparing myself to get out of the car. Up ahead, on the path, I can see a woman in a red coat, sitting on a bench; I think that’s her.

Cole’s right. It’s going to be okay. We chose this park as a neutral location, and he’s here, supporting me.

I climb out of the car, and Cole follows me, backing me up. I start to approach the bench. When I’m close enough to see that the woman sitting there is, in fact, my mother, she gets to her feet as well.

There’s an aggressiveness in her posture that doesn’t bode well. I hesitate, almost turning around to run back to the car, but Cole’s steady presence behind me keeps me moving forward.

“You’re late,” my mother says, which is definitely not true—if anything, we’re early. She stops in front of me, arms folded, and looks me up and down.

“Sorry,” I say, knowing better than to argue. I need to save my energy for when I need it.

“Now that you’re here, I think you know exactly what I need from you,” she says haughtily. “It seems to me that you’ve got more money than you know what to do with.”

She sniffs, glancing toward the parking lot, where Cole’s shining black sedan is within view.

“That’s not true,” I say, but she ignores me.

“I’m your mother. I need help. You need to help me. It’s your duty as my daughter.”

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