Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 11
Mari
I plop down on Ali’s bed, staring blindly at the ceiling.
“This sucks,” I groan.
My buddy pops a Dorito into her mouth, crunching loudly.
“It doesn’t seem so bad,” Ali says in a diplomatic voice. “I mean, things could be worse.”
I close my eyes, trying to absorb the events of the morning.
“How could things be worse, Ali? Tell me.”
My buddy shrugs while popping another chip into her mouth.
“Well, I mean, Harris could have three heads or something like that. Besides, you said his son is cute, right?”
I nod, still with my eyes closed.
“Harmon is cute,” I say in a low voice. “He’s the spitting image of his dad, actually. But this is just so crazy! I can’t believe Harris has been hiding his son from me for years! It’s insane!”
Alice shrugs.
“I think what’s insane is that his divorce has dragged on this long.” Then, she pauses and thinks, cocking her curly brown head to one side. “Actually, knowing Jeannette, I’m not surprised. Your mom can be so vindictive sometimes.”
I sigh because Ali’s known me since forever, which means that she knows Jeanette as well. We met back in junior high when we were both chubby girls with frizzy hair and a mouthful of braces. But now, we’ve both grown up and moved on. Me, to Concordia College, and Ali to the local community college where she’s studying nutrition.
“So what should I do?” I sigh, still with my eyes closed. If I could, I’d melt into this comforter and never come up again. This bed could sink into the bowels of the earth, and I’d be okay with it.
Ali pauses to think.
“Well, do you love him?” she asks.
I crack one eye open and peer at her.
“You mean Harris? Or Harmon?”
She laughs merrily.
“Harris of course! You’ve never even really met Harmon.”
I bite my lip, nodding slightly.
“I think so,” I say in a low voice. “I mean, I’ve had some time to think about it. After my stepdad dropped me off at school, I was pretty heartbroken. I wanted to see him, and I felt … well, lonely without Harris there every day. It was tough.”
Ali nods.
“So if you love him, then…”
I stare at her.
“Then what?”
My buddy looks right back at me.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like Harmon’s mom is in the picture anymore, if she ever was. And I realize that the discovery of a secret child is bone-rattling, but it’s not the end of the world, right? Lots of guys are single dads, and I think you could be a great stepmom if you put your mind to it.”
I stare at Ali.
“Are you joking?”
My friend shakes her head, laughing merrily again.
“Of course not. I mean, you’re always talking about how you want to be a young mom, and how you want to have a passel of kids underfoot. Unless things have changed of course,” she says while fixing me with a meaningful look. “With the way the world is going these days, I don’t blame anyone for choosing to be child-free.”
I stop for a moment to think. The fact is that Ali’s right: I have always wanted to be a younger mom, there was just no significant other on the horizon to make it happen. But ever since Harris and I began our relationship, things began to look more … well, rosy. I can see us now, living in a house together while our children play in the kitchen. There’s a baby in the highchair, banging his spoon on the plastic tray, while my belly swells with another child inside. Not only that, but Harmon’s at the kitchen table too. He’s a young boy with a thick thatch of black hair just like his father, and he smiles at me before turning to smile at his father as well.
Suddenly, I know I can do it. Or rather, that I can accept this new development because nothing so terrible has happened. I’ve just discovered that the man I love has a son whom he adores, and Harris wants do right by his child. Sure, Harris could have told me sooner, but at the same time, he was fighting through a divorce that was dragging on forever. It must have felt like sinking into quicksand, and my heart goes out to him.
“Uh oh. I can tell from the look on your face that you’re having some deep thoughts,” Ali says in a singsong voice while reaching for the chips again. I nod.
“I am,” I say in a low tone. “I think I’m okay with it, actually. The fact that Harris has a son,” I add for clarification. “He wants to be a good father to Harmon, and I have to respect him for that. Besides, I can see myself as a stepmother. Maybe not immediately,” I add in a hasty tone. “But you’re right. I do want to be a mom sooner rather than later, and I think Harris would be a wonderful father.”