Chapter Ten
“A Moment of Truth”
When Michael came out of the building, I waved to him. He was looking around for me and finally looked my way. I started walking toward him hoping to intercede before he reached the truck. I wanted to explain the situation. I hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the head. “Hey sweetie. You have a good day?”
“Yeah. How come you’re not waiting in the car?”
As we walked to Daryl’s truck, I tried to explain. “I didn’t bring the car. A friend of mine drove me here. A new friend.”
“Who is she?”
“Not a she sweetheart, a he. His name is Daryl and I met him when I was at Kay’s last weekend.”
“Okay, so, is he your boyfriend?”
“Um, no. Just a friend. Be nice to him Michael. He’s a good guy.”
We got to the truck and I got him in the backseat. Daryl looked over his shoulder as I took his backpack and opened the passenger side door. I closed it and reminded Michael to put on his seatbelt. I glanced over at Daryl and said, “This is my son, Michael. Michael, this is Daryl.”
“Your new friend?” Michael asked.
“Yes, honey.”
“Nice to meet ya kid,” Daryl said and started the engine. It was quiet on the way home. When we entered the house, I heard the dryer ding. I had forgotten about our wet clothes. I was still so nervous. Daryl hadn’t said a word since he greeted my son, hadn’t even looked at me. Michael put his backpack on the couch and went into his room to change clothes. Daryl came up behind me, but didn’t touch me.
“He’s a cute kid. Bet he’s got a lot of girlfriends.”
I turned around and saw him smiling. Is that a good sign? “I’m sorry you had to find out like that. I wanted to see if there was a reason to tell you before I said anything.”
“I don’t care that ya got a kid,” he said and moved closer to me. “I was surprised, but not mad, if that’s what ya think. If he’s yours, he can’t be too bad. I bet you’re a great mom.”
“Thank you Daryl. I was a little anxious when I realized that you’d be meeting him today. That was unexpected.”
“No worries Yvonne. He’s not gonna run me off. If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. I ain’t gonna let go of whatever this is just because ya got a kid.” Michael came walking into the kitchen and asked about dinner.
