Must Be Fate's Design

Chapter 22 [Part 1]

1 Month Later

Opera POV

"It's a toddler playdate, of course there's whisky." I pushed past Erik, "You really think I could deal with all these yoga pants, starbucks drinking, gluten free, kale eating mothers without a little help?"

Erik juggled Andrew and the bottle of whisky, which was a sign of a great father, "Gluten free...?"

I waved him off, reaching over and grabbing Andrew, "Hey bud, ready for your first playdate?"

He didn't answer. I didn't expect an 11 month baby to respond just yet.

"He won't answer." Erik said.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Oh, really?" I asked sarcastically.

Erik shook his head, "No, he's far too young to-"

"Erik! I thought we had a talk about sarcasm." His brows furrowed, and I sighed.

He ignored me, "I still don't understand what this is for."

I looked over my shoulder and saw the Android in his hand. I rolled my eyes, "I told you, you use it to call me. Or Dominos."

"But why should I ever need to? We are always together."

I took Andrew from him, "Not today. I'm going to 'Mommy and Me.'"

It's been a month since that whole incident with Danny and Caroline went down, and I'm so glad it's all over. But all normalcy hasn't returned just yet. Erik is still here - and he's just as clingy as ever.

Don't get me wrong, Erik being here is my new normal, but at the same time, I'm wondering if there's something bigger coming. I probably sound dramatic, but there has to be a reason he's here. If it's not Caroline, then what is it? And if he can't find out why he's here, what will happen?

"I just don't understand." Erik said, "If you can't stand those women, then why go to one of their flats?"

I shook my head, "It's the dumb daycare. Once a week they all get together at one of their homes for some more social interaction, they sing songs, play games, the cool moms gossip about the loser moms and their weird kids, it's great." I said sarcastically, "I've always bailed...mostly because I hated them all and didn't want to share their air, but in the spirit of things going back to normal, I thought Andrew should join in on the fun."

"It sounds terrible."

"Yeah, well, sometimes I think about how terrible of a mother I am. Maybe little things like this will help win me a 'mother of the year award.'"
"You're not a terrible mother." Erik interjected, "From what I've seen you care about Andrew, and you always put him first."
I looked at him and blinked, "When I went into labor, I was playing the Witch from Into the Woods. I was on stage and had just started singing the last midnight. My water broke under my dress and drenched my shoes but I kept on singing. I almost gave birth in the cab on the way to the hospital." I looked between Erik and Andrew, "I don't always put him first."

Erik cringed, "...you're just being harsh on yourself because you're feeling guilty about leaving the musical. You're just adding more things to be miserable about. You know you do that right? You have a self-sabotaging nature."

"No, I'm not. And no, I don't." I lied.

"You felt terrible about what happened to Caroline, and because it was caused by Andrew's father you feel as though you are somehow responsible."

"Leaving the show was the right thing." I interjected.

"I'm not denying that." he said suddenly, "I agree, it was the right thing. But if you would just listen to me, you have potential to sing again-"