Once Romeo's friends got picked up and everyone settled down a bit for the night, Calvin put Arielle to bed. He comes back down to the living room where he sees his other two kids and wife. Romeo and April are sitting on two different couches, Michelle sitting with Romeo.
"Alright, let's talk about earlier." Calvin says, sitting next to his wife. She looks confused.
"What happened earlier?" she asks. I look at April.
"Princess, please tell your mother what you told me when I picked you kids up." Calvin says. April looks over at Romeo, who's looking at his lap.
"Mama, when I left to go to the car, I saw Bubby's mom. She was there." she says. Romeo stands up, looking furious.
"April, shut up, already! You're a liar! Stop saying dumb stuff!" He screams at her. Her eyes water, and soon tears start falling.
"I'm not lying, Ro." she stands up for herself. His face starts getting red. Michelle gets up and walks up to her son.
"Honey, calm down, okay? Let's not get worked up." she says, stroking his hair. Calvin sighs, tired of his wife babying their son.
"Michelle, honestly, Romeo has been acting this way for a couple of days, it's time to stop babying him. April said she's positive she saw Romeo's mother and I believe her. She has no reason to lie." he sticks up for his first child.
Now Romeo's eyes tear up. Everyone looks at him, confused and worried. He starts breathing hard, unable to control his breathing. Michelle walks up to him, wrapping her arms around him.
"Calm down, my Honey. Take some deep breaths and calm down." she says, sitting him down in her lap on the couch. He leans back onto her and closes his eyes. He calms down a bit after a minute or two, embarrassed for getting so worked up. He turns sideways in his mom's lap and hides his head in her shoulder.
"Romeo." His dad calls, concerned.
He whines. "She's not my mom.... I have a Mama." He says quietly, feeling very vulnerable. Calvin realizes what's going on.
"Romeo... did you see Renee at school today?" he asks, calling her by her name instead of calling her his mother. He nods.
"I was eating lunch with my friends and she was standing outside." he mumbles. Michelle looks shocked.
"Why didn't you tell me or Poppy, Sweetie?" she asks. This is very serious. They thought their kids were safe at school, but apparently not. She looks over at April, waving her over.
"April, Honey, sit with Mama." Michelle says, making April sit right next to her. She gives her head a kiss. Romeo looks up at his mom and leans forward, wanting a kiss as well. Michelle gives him what he wants. I decide to speak up now.
"Princess, I think the issue earlier with Romeo was that it makes him uncomfortable when you call Renee his mom. Mom and I are you kids' parents. Am I right, Buddy?" Calvin asks. He nods.
"It's embarrassing. I got teased a lot because I'm not Mama and Poppy's son. And she's not my mom, anyway. You make me feel like I'm not part of the family." He says, looking at his lap. Calvin puts his hand on Romeo's shoulder.
"Bug, Mom and I are your parents. April and Arielle are your sisters. Simple as that." He tries to reassure him. Romeo shrugs.
"Alright, I guess so." He says quietly. Michelle and Calvin look at each other. Since when did he feel this way? And for how long?
Romeo suddenly stands and walks upstairs toward his room, shutting the door. His parents just sigh.
💕💕💕
Romeo is eating with his friends at lunch again. They're discussing an upcoming test they have, trying to plan a time to study together.
"Hey Romeo, what about a sleepover?" Greyson asks him. Charlie smiles and nods, agreeing. Romeo does the same.
"This weekend, me and my sisters are going to my grandparents. You two should come. Your parents would let you, right? I could ask my parents and grandparents to meet them." He says. They both nod and say they'll tell them and their parents will call his.
Once school is over, Romeo walks toward the parking lot like he does everyday. He suddenly feels a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he sees her again.
"Romeo." Renee says, looking at him. She smiles hesitantly. Romeo freezes, not knowing what to do. He can't think right now. Why is she here again?
"Romeo, its your Ma; i've been looking for you for so long, baby." She tries to start a conversation. She's not his mom. She starts to step closer when Romeo is pulled back gently.
"Renee, what are you doing here?" He hears his dad say, making his release the breath he didn't know he was holding. Calvin holds Romeo to his chest.
She looks at Calvin, seemingly surprised.
"What are you- are you picking up April?" She asks. He doesn't have to answer, but she doesn't seem to be threatening at this moment. April runs up to them suddenly.
"Bubby! Are you okay?" She asks, checking on her brother. She saw Renee with her dad and brother when she walked out of school and ran over. Calvin looks at her, seeing how uncomfortable she seems. He let's Romeo go and sighs.
"Princess, take your brother and get in the car. Wait for me and we'll go, okay?" He says. She nods, grabbing he brothers hand and walking toward their car.
He turns back to Renee. "What are you doing here? Do you know that there's a restraining order for Ro's school as well? Not just the house?" He tells her. She looks surprised.
"What do you mean restraining order, Calvin? And what did you mean about Romeo being April's brother?" She asks. He's stunned. Did she really not know?
"You don't know what happened with Ro, do you?" He asks. She shakes her head.
"I've been looking for my baby for a couple of years now. I went to to every foster home I could think of, but couldn't find him. I started looking in town and asking different schools. I got lucky and saw Romeo when I was on my way out. I didn't say anything to him because he looked so terrified to see me, I felt horrible. But I couldn't stay away so I came back." She said.
Calvin feels a bit of empathy. He sighs and goes in his pocket for a piece of paper and pen. He writes his number down and hands it to her.
"You can call Michelle and I around 9 p.m tonight, we will tell you about Ro." He says. She looks confused, but grateful.
"Oh, thank you so much, Calvin! I'll call right at 9! Thank you!" She says excitedly, walking away. Calvin rushes to his kids.
"Poppy, what happened?" April asks when he gets back in the car. He shakes his head, silently telling her nit to ask questions. He looks back at his son. Romeo still looks shocked. He sighs and reaches for his hand, squeezing it.
"Don't you worry, Bug. Poppy will take care of it, I promise." He says, driving toward Arielle's school.
