Best Laid Plans by L.K. Farlow

Author:L.K. Farlow [Farlow, LK]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-15T23:00:00+00:00

27

Alden

Spending time with Tatum last night was all that I imagined it to be and more. The amount of stress and anxiety I felt leading up to it is almost laughable now. That kid is every single good thing in this life all rolled into one. She is so honest and pure—it gets me feeling fuzzy to know she’s mine.

Even after everything with Natalie—and telling her about Mia—I’m still on cloud nine.

What brings me down a little is the thought of calling my parents and breaking the news. But, I know I have to.

The phone rings twice and my mom picks up. “Alden, sweetie. How are you? Is everything okay?”

I guess her Spidey senses must be tingling.

“Good. Uh. Mostly. Is Dad around?”

I hear shuffling and then, “Yes, dear. We have you on speaker.”

“Son. What’s going on?”

“I…I have.” My words break off. Damn, this is harder than I thought. “I have a daughter.”

I met with nothing but dead silence, and then the sound of my mother wailing—if they are tears of sorrow or joy is yet to be determined. “My baby has a baby. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord, I knew this day would come.” My mom continues on with her emotional rambling.

“Her name’s Tatum. She’s three. And she’s…absolutely amazing.”

My dad steps in as the voice of reason. “Gonna need more information here, son. Such as, how do you have a toddler and with who? Are you sure she’s yours?”

This conversation is going about as well as I thought it would. “Mom, Dad. Listen. N-Natalie Reynolds is her mother and—” I pause. I may not be scientifically sure, but my heart is absolutely certain. “Yes, I’m sure.”

At that, my mom truly goes off the deep end, but I can’t really say I blame her. “Natalie? Little Natalie? Nate’s sister?”

“Yes. That Natalie.”

I hear my dad mumbling, and I know what’s coming next. “You said the girl’s three. That puts you at what, twenty, when she was…conceived? Son, correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s statutory.”

Yep. Called it. I go on to explain the ins and outs of mine and Nat’s incredibly delicate situation. Our conversation is long and, rightfully so, my parents have a lot of questions. I answer them all to the best of my ability, and when we end the call, it’s with the promise of a video chat date soon so that they can meet their granddaughter.

I tried my best not to paint Natalie in a bad light to my parents, but I’m still holding a slight grudge toward her, and I’m sure it shows. I’m trying not to, but fuck, easier said than done.

To make things even more confusing, a few times during dinner tonight, I caught her giving me these looks—on the scale of one to ten with one being awe, that’s sweet and ten being holy shit take me now, she was a solid eight. Which took my brain nowhere good. I guess I get it though. Though things are tense between us, my body still reacts to hers—much to my mind’s dismay.

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