Page 5 of Born To Be My Baby

The phone rang three times, then Mina answered. "Hello, Sammy. I'll be right down. Please wait."

"I'll wait, Mina. Your mom needs to come down, too. We have not only an interview, but a discussion to get through."

"Ye...yes. I understand."

He ended the call and decided to step outside for a moment to gather his thoughts. Wasn't this just a big kick in the ass?

5

Violet gulped air as if she were suffocating. All these years she'd thought of seeing Sean West again. But she'd be in charge of the situation. She'd initiate any conversation they had. She'd be in control of the entire meeting. This felt like a gut punch.

She didn't realize Sammy was Sean, or vice versa. Whatever. She didn't realize who he was. And, dammit, he was still handsome. She'd assumed life without her would make him a shell of the man he used to be. That was her way of getting over the heartache that twisted her heart every time Mina cried. Each time, she asked why she didn't have a daddy. Every event at school that was father-daughter in nature, Mina had to go with someone else's father. Gloria's father stepped in while he was alive. After her dad passed, Mina went with a friend and her dad. Then, she decided not to go at all. She said she'd rather miss out than feel like a fraud.

That broke Gloria's heart. Mina didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of that.

"Mom?"

She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She swallowed the saliva that gathered in her mouth and slowly turned to face Mina. The designer slacks she wore today didn't have the swish like some of the others. The material hung loosely around her legs and moved with her body.

"Mina. I..." She what?

Mina stepped toward her. Her eyes were rounded and her shoulders were pulled back tightly. "The things that are running through my mind right now are mind-numbing. But I need to hear it from you. What's going on?"

Twisting her fingers together, Gloria swallowed again. Slowly, her eyes dragged up Mina's body and stared directly into her eyes. "Mina." It came out almost as a sob.

She inhaled again, pulled her shoulders back further, and tossed her head, to move her bangs out of her eyes. Also, she needed to schedule a trim. Maybe she should do that now and discuss this later.

"Mom!" Mina's voice rose.

She jerked slightly at the tone coming from her usually calm daughter.

"Right." She squeezed her fingers together tightly. "Sean West is Sammy Fender. I dated him in college. For three years, we were inseparable. The night of graduation, he told me he was breaking up with me. He wanted to focus on making it big in music. They needed to figure out how to take the next steps to make it big. He didn't need to be worrying about me and whether I was happy while he would be so focused on his career."

"Okay."

Gloria huffed out a deep breath. "I found out I was pregnant the next week."

Mina's head snapped back. She stared so intently. "So, he's..." Mina's head cocked. Her throat moved as she swallowed and her shoulders slumped. "He's my father." She didn't question it. It was a statement. A sad statement.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you ever tell me? All these years I've asked. Of course, I wanted to know where I came from."

"You come from me."

"And...him!"

"Right. Him."

"You could have told me."

"I didn't know Sammy Fender was Sean West."

"You could have told me Sean West was my father. How many times did I ask? A million?"

"Not quite a milli..."

"No?" she yelled.

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