I'm all I've got

Reminiscing

Thank you for 11k 🎉🎉

(Time skip )
Monday, May 31st  

The man nervously pacing back and forth was the only thing standing between me and the door as I sat in my car in front of the kid's home, debating if I should get out of the car and go inside.

I promised I would come in early to see them off to school but, now I wasn't so sure of that.

My week has been good so far; in fact, the last month has been perfect. Other than me waking up the day after mothers day to find Zyaire's and I's name being the top story of the week on Tmz, with the headline, "unexpected hot new couple in town."
It was odd that they thought we were a couple or that the dinner was a date, especially since my daughter, who takes me out for the same dinner every year, was seated at the table with us.

I decided to take Angel's advice and got all my board of directors to sign over their shares of the company to me, all while publicly stating their full support for me reverting my company to a private one; I had them sign a non-disclosure agreement, agreeing to never talk about the true nature of their termination; I've been working on my newly found 'friendship' with Zyaire, while discreetly attending our scheduled meetings; and on top of that, I've been successfully avoiding the calls and pop-ups from my wannabe parents, until now.

I continued watching as he paced back and forth in front of the gate, which couldn't help but trigger a distant, yet strong memory from my childhood.

Making my way through the school's crowded playground, 6-year-old me squeezed through the spaces where people stood while I looked for my dad through my blurry tear-filled eyes.  Almost tripping over my feet, I wiped my eyes and looked around a little more.

Just as I did, two parents picked up their child and moved, giving me a perfect view of my dad slightly pacing back and forth in the same spot he'd always wait for me. I tried my best to not fall, as I ran towards him, straight into his arms.

"Hi pumpkin" he lifted my body and hugged me, and held me against his chest.

I burst into a fit of sobs and hiccups as I buried my head in his neck.

Rubbing my back, I can feel him moving, meaning we were now making our way out of the schoolyard to head home.  "What happened this time?". He asked

I shook my head dismissively, refusing to speak while keeping it in the crook of his neck.

"You gotta tell me. Remember what I said?" He gently pulled me by my underarm, lifting my head from his neck. "I can't help you if you don't tell me,"

"I-" I hiccuped as I tried to explain

"Calm down," he came to a stop, and wiped the tears from my face.

"T-they said that I cry too much, and that's why I don't have a mommy. They said she left because I'm too annoying," I explained before I started crying again

Sighing, he turned my face towards his and wiped the tears and snot from my face. "Your mommy didn't leave because of you, she left because she was tired, she just needed a little vacation,"

I tried to catch my breath as I listened to what he said, paying careful attention to the word "vacation." Both my teacher and I go on vacation, but we'd always have to go back.

"Does that mean she'll come back soon? It's been a while,"

He smiled at me and kissed me on my forehead as we continued making our way down the street with me in his arms, my question unanswered.