The Wright One

MIA

After seeing Dex I just wanted to hurry up and get my groceries and hurry home with Hugh. I hear the talk, I ignore it. I am pushing my cart rather quickly today and focusing on my list that I missed the person next to me until I felt a hand on my arm. I turned, half expecting Dex.

I smile when I see Nathan, he chuckles a little. “Hey, I was calling you. You just seemed really focused.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just distracted.” I see the woman walking by, she glares. Yeah, thank you for the reminder.

“Well, I wanted to see if maybe this weekend we could go out. I have this benefit that I am attending and I would like you to come with me.”

I fidget a little. “Well, I would have to find someone to watch Hugh. Plus I’m not sure if I have anything to wear to something like that.”

He smiles. “I can take care of the dress. I’m not sure about a sitter though. Do you think you can find one?”

Taking a deep breath, I think. Is this really what I want to do? What I want, not what everyone else wants? “Yeah, My mom will probably watch him. She loves him. If I can’t get her to do it, I’ll call you.”

His grin gets bigger. “Great. I’ll text you the name of a boutique to pick up a dress, just give them my name and it will be covered. Get shoes and stuff too. Anything you need.”

“I think I just need a dress.”

“Get it all anyway.”

I laugh. “I don’t need your money.”RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

He brushes my cheek. “I know, but I am just so happy that you finally said yes, I don’t want there to be a single reason for you to change your mind.” I am pretty sure I am blushing now.

“Well, I better get back to this shopping list. If I don’t then my mom might not watch him again.”

He steps back. “Wouldn’t want that.”

“I’ll talk to you soon Nathan. Thanks for asking me.”

He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Thanks for accepting.”

I go back to my shopping list. Hurrying, I complete the task and get back to my mom’s house. Bringing in the bag of things she asked for. When I open the door, I am worried I am seeing things. Dex is on the floor with Hugh, they are laughing and playing with the car that I brought with Hugh. Again I am frozen in my place.

Dex notices me this time. “Hey, that was quick.”

“I was in a hurry.” I state and leave the living room, figuring my mom is in the kitchen. I was right, when I step in she is working on a pot. “Hey, Mom, I got a favor to ask.” I set her bag on the counter.

She turns and smiles. “Yeah, what’s that?”

“I need you to watch Hugh on Saturday night.”

She blinks at me. “Why?”

“I have a date.”

My mom looks like she is going to throw a party. “Oh, honey, of course I will watch him.”

A voice from my back stops the celebration. “You have a date?”

I turn to see the disappointed look on Dex’s face. “Um, yeah. He asked me at the store. He’s been asking for a while, but I kept pushing it off. I figured it is probably time to get back out there.”

My mom pats my shoulder. “Of course it is. It has been long enough.”

Dex looks sad. “Mia, can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

“I don’t really know what we need to talk about.” I turned back to my mom. “Thanks for agreeing to watch him. I promise not to be out too late.”

“He can stay the night, it will be easier. Have fun dear.” She pats my shoulder as she passes. I try to follow her but Dex grabs my arm.

“Please, we need to talk.”

I sigh, it’s not like I can avoid this forever. I look and my mom is out of the room. “What do you want, Dex?”

“Well, I think I deserve a chance to have a life with my son.”

I glare at him. “Really, what makes you think you deserve that?”

“Mia, I am his father.”

“You want to tell everyone. Be my guest.” I fold my arms over my chest.

“Mia, I screwed up. I get that. Let’s try and fix this. I still love you. I have for a long time.”

I pull away from him. “Really, you run out on someone that you love. Leave them alone for three years.”

“I came back for you.”

“You came back for the wrong reasons. Because it’s too late.”

“Don’t say that Mia. Let’s fix this.”

I hear a gasp from behind Dex. I didn’t notice that my mom came back in. “You are Hugh’s father?”

Dex sighs. “I didn’t know. I swear I would have come right back if I did.”

She glares at him. “Get out.”

“Mom.” I gape at her. She has never talked to Dex like that before.

“No, Mia, for three years you have gone through hell. He left and never bothered to call you. You don’t do that to someone you care about. He pretended to be a part of this family and then he did this to you. I don’t want him in this house again.” She doesn’t stop glaring at Dex.

“Mom, you are the only mom that Dex has, you can’t do this.” Dex’s mom died when he was three, it was just his dad.

Dex holds up his hand. “No Mia, she’s right. I had no right to act the way that I did. I was a coward. I deserve her wrath.” He looks back at me. “I’ll leave now, but I am not giving up on us. I screwed up and I am going to do whatever it takes to fix it.”

He moves past my mom who continues to glare at him. I hear him tell Hugh bye, it even sounds like he kisses him. I couldn’t be sure on that one.

My mom looks sad. “Why didn’t you tell me? I feel so ashamed. I invited him in here and paraded him around you.”

“Mom, it was a long time ago. I have a date with Nathon. I am past it. Just don’t let Dex lose what family he has.”

“How can you say that, after everything you have had to endure over the last three years?”

“Because there was a reason why I was with him in the first place. I was in love with him. Even if he did break my heart and there is no repairing that. He is still family. He will always be Hugh’s father. We will all just have to learn to live with each other.”

My dad marches into the kitchen. “Hey baby girl. What’s going on?”

My mom looks sad. “Well, a mystery has been solved.”

I cut in. “Mom, I don’t think this is the best time.”

She shakes her head. “Oh, no, I am telling everyone. Dex is Hugh’s father.”

My dad growls. “Where is that son of a bitch?”

“Dad!” I yell. “Will you all just relax, this is why I never said anything. It happened, it’s in the past. Let’s all move past this.”

My dad yells through the house. “Braden, get your ass in here.”

Braden pokes his head in the kitchen. “I’m guessing you all found out.”

All of us stare at Braden. I’m the first to speak. “You knew?”

He shrugs. “How could I not? It was obvious, he looks just like Dex. I’m surprised no one else noticed.”

My dad growls. “And you never thought to enlighten us.”

He looks down. “I wanted to give Mia a chance to deal with it on her own. I never even confronted her about knowing.”

Dad isn’t having it. “Even after everything that she went through. You don’t think that maybe she might have needed someone in her corner. You could have at least been like that.”

“Dad, she could have told anyone at any time if she just wanted a shoulder to cry on. This is how she wanted it. I was respecting her wishes. Besides with circumstances being what they are I figured I was the last person that she would want to take comfort from.”

I sigh, “Well as great as it all is to hear everyone talk about me like I’m not here, I’m going to take Hugh home. I have ice cream in the car.”

My dad looks sad. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Would it have made a difference? I was still alone. I wasn’t married. Just because now you know who it was doesn’t mean that it changes the facts. I am still a single mother. I have a date on Saturday. I am going to keep living my life. The only thing that is going to change is that Dex may want to see Hugh. He is his father. He didn’t know, I kept it from him too.”

Actually the only one that I ever told was Hugh, not that he would understand. I would sit with a picture book and point to Dex and tell him, “this is your daddy”. He would repeat the word, but I think he thought picture meant daddy, because he started calling all pictures daddy.

I leave my parents and my brother in the kitchen. I get Hugh and go home. I don’t want to think what all this means. I know it is going to change things, I just don’t know how that will look.