Chapter 8
I was stunned. It had been such a long time since we've broken up. So much had happened over the past four years. What was I going to do? I had been so heartbroken when me and Randy broken up, that I haven't dated anyone since then. I've been so busy raising my son on my own, with work, and with going to school. I thought about Randy at least once a day.
"Another chance? It didn't work the first time, Randy. What makes you think that it's going to work now?" I asked softly. More than anything, I wanted to get back together with him and forget that we had broken up at all, but there was this little voice in the back of my mind that said to be careful about jumping in so quickly.
"I didn't want to break up the first time, Sara. I never wanted you to leave me. I've missed you," he trailed off, pushing a lock of hair out of my face. "Have you missed me?"
"I have. I've missed you a lot, but I needed to do what was right for me and Caden. I knew you weren't ready for kids yet, and I didn't want to push that responsibility on you when you weren't ready."
"I'm ready now. Believe it or not, I've matured quite a bit since we've last seen each other. I'm ready to be a father now, I want to be a big part of Caden's life. I also want to be part of your life, Sara."
I didn't know what to say. I looked in his eyes to see if he was being sincere. "Please give me another chance, baby. I want to be a part of your life again. I want us to be a family." He leaned in and kissed me softly by my ear. I shivered at the feeling of his kiss on my skin. He smiled as he pulled away.
"Let's take this slow, Randy. It's been a long time, and now there is someone else that we need to consider. Our son. What if it doesn't work out between us, and Caden gets caught in the middle? I don't want to hurt him."
"I won't hurt either of you, I promise."
"All right. I guess we can give it another shot. When should be tell Caden that you're his father?" I asked nervously, biting my lip.
"Soon, I would think. I'd also like to bring him over to mom and dad's house so we can meet them. They are his grandparents after all."
I nodded. "Ok. How about we tell him tomorrow?"
The next day
Randy came over the next morning while Caden was eating his cereal. I was leaning against the counter, nervously tapping my fingers against the counter while Randy came in through the front door. Caden's little face lit up when he saw him come into kitchen. My face lit up a little bit too.
Randy sat down next to Caden at the kitchen table, I had a smile on my face as I watched my son and his father get wrapped up in their own little conversation while I got Randy a cup of coffee. I saw down across from Caden and watched in amazement as they talked on and on to each other. The smile on my son's face told me that I was making the right decision by letting Randy into our lives.
"Hey, cookie. Mama wants to talk to you about something," I said softly, interrupting their conversation.
Randy broke his attention away from his son and reached across the table for my hand. Caden was looking at me too, he also looked a little be surprised when he saw me and Randy holding hands.
"Caden, there is something I need to tell you. You know how the other kids in preschool have both a mommy and daddy?"
He nodded. "Taylor said I didn't have a daddy, he said I only had a mommy." His little face turned from excited that Randy was here to sad. My heart was breaking for him. I knew I should have told him a long time ago about Randy. But, what would I have said to him? Randy had no idea that he even had a son until a few weeks ago.
"Here's the thing, cookie. You do have a daddy. And your daddy loves you very much."
Caden looked at me confused, then he looked over at Randy, with the same confused look on his face. "Caden, honey, Randy is your daddy."
He looked confused for a little bit longer, then once his little mind was able to process what I just told him, a huge smile broke out onto this face. "Does this mean that Randy is going to live with us?" he asked excitedly.
Randy held back a laugh at his son's excitement. "I'd love to live with ya, buddy. We got to ask mommy though." He looked over at me. "What do you think, Sara? Do you want me to live with you?" I knew what he was really asking. He was asking if I was serious about letting him be a family with me and Caden.
"I think that's a great idea, Caden."
Caden let out a whoop of joy as he jumped off of his chair and ran around the table to give me a big hug. I leaned down and hugged him tightly, kissing the top of his head before I let him go. "Do you want to play Army guys with me?" he asked Randy excitedly.
"Sure, buddy, why don't you go get them out of your room and get them set up? I'll be right there."
Caden nodded and ran out of the kitchen and down the hall into his bedroom. Once he was out of sight, Randy sighed. "That went a hell of lot better than I expected it to go."
"I know. I don't think he really understands yet. It would have been a lot harder if we had told him when he was older. I'm glad we told him now."
"Me too. Sara," he said, getting up from his chair and walking around the table to sit down next to me. "I was serious when I said that I wanted to live with you and Caden. I know you're all settled in here, but do you think you two would like to move into my house with me?" he asked, suddenly looking really nervous.
I thought about it for a few seconds. That little voice in the back of my mind was back again. But only this time, it was telling me to go ahead and take this chance, jump in head first. "My lease is up in about a month. Can we wait until then?" I asked.
He nodded. "Absolutely, take your time."
"I'm ready!" We both heard Caden shout from the living room. "Well, Sara. Duty calls. I've got a game of Army guys to play with my son. I'll be back from the war soon," he chuckled as he kissed me on the cheek before he headed out into the living room.
I sat back in my chair and found myself smiling. Life was good.
