Mad Summer Love

Madison

Maddox was about to respond to Summer when a child's voice interjected. It took him a second to process. In that time he could only stare at the little girl and her bright green eyes. She had to be around 10.

He looked at Summer and if his jaw could drop any further, it would have hit the pavement. "Mommy?" The word came out barely audible. His mouth opened to speak again, but there were no words.

Summer turned to her daughter. "Hi, baby. How was your day?" she asked, giving her a hug.

"It was good. Who's the man standing behind you?" she asked again.

Summer smiled and turned around, holding onto her daughter's shoulders. "Maddox, this is Madison Altera." Then, she looked at her daughter, "Baby, this is Maddox."

Maddox stared at the child in stunned silence. His next question had just been answered. Unless she had found another Altera to have conceived a child with, this was his daughter. The sense of loss that he had felt knowing he had let Summer go was suddenly compounded. He hadn't only lost ten years with the woman he loved, he lost ten years with his child.

He knelt in front of the little girl.

"Hello, Madison," he smiled, fighting back the tears burning in his eyes.

Summer looked at the situation unfolding in front of her. This was not how she planned for this to go.

"Maddox...," she started, but her daughter interrupted her.

"Your name is Maddox? That was my daddy's name too, but Mommy said he didn't know about me and that's why he isn't here." She looked between the two of them. "Are you him?"

Maddox took a deep breath in. He couldn't imagine this is how Summer wanted Madison to meet her father. She was bound to have so many questions. He looked up at Summer, his expression begging for direction.

Summer took her daughter's hand. "How about we go home and have a snack? How does that sound?" she asked her.

"I like snacks," she replied. Then, she looked at Maddox. "Are you gonna come with us and have a snack too?"

Summer jumped in before he could say anything. "Maddox is quite a busy man and I'm sure has other things he needs to do."

Maddox was on autopilot, the world around him had become surreal. Everything was moving in slow motion, yet his mind was going in overdrive. He had meant to agree with Summer and walk away to pick this back up at a more appropriate time.

"You know what Madison, I really like snacks too," was what came out, as he proceeded to get into the car.

Summer watched as Maddox got in his limo. She hadn't even noticed that it had appeared next to them while they were talking. Then, she turned her gaze to Madison, who was standing there with big eyes and a huge grin.

"Are we going in that car?" Madison asked her excitedly.

Summer looked back at Maddox, who was inside waiting. She knew that what had just transpired was rolling around in Maddox's mind. He probably wanted to talk about it or maybe he just wanted to observe this child that he only today, knew he had. Madison was smart. So, of course, she had figured out he was her father from the very mention of his name. She glanced down at her child again. "Yep, go on. Get in," she gestured with a smile.

Maddox sat next to Summer so he could sit across from Madison. He watched the little girl closely. He was amazed at how much she looked like her mother, except for the eyes. If he focused on her eyes, Maddox saw a bit of himself there. "What kind of snack would you like Madison? This car will take you anywhere you want." He shifted his gaze to Summer, his eyes were shimmering as the tears fought to escape. When he continued to speak to their daughter his voice broke only slightly before returning to normal. "Your mom took a ride in this car once. A long time ago. She sat right where she is now. She looked like a princess."