Eleven months later …308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFRhWthFyQ
"Hey, little Nightingale?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLRToAb64S
"Dah! Dee! Doo!"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PHqIneyhR
"Nightingale?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALjab6ub7j
"Uh?" She drops her blocks and looks up.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtENfHoJXYr
"Do you want to go somewhere? Hm?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIP57bqDuo
She tilts her head, like, woman, have you lost your mind? Of course! She jumps up and falls on her butt. She screams.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZzPwuFeE6
I laugh. "Silly, you can't walk yet." I walk over to her and pick her up. "Come on. We need to get your socks and shoes on."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysiWCmdcGH
She flails her arms with her hands clenched tight on two blocks. I set her down and walk over to her dresser. I open the top drawer and grab a pair of grey socks. I grab her little sandals and walk over to her. She sees what I have and drops the blocks in her hands. She shoots her hands in the air and squeals, doing jazz hands. I roll my eyes and laugh. She giggles.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoqtLSgjLt
"Oh, you're too cute." I kneel down and put her socks and shoes on. Then I pick her up and head to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, I grab my keys and head out the door. I get outside and put Nightingale in her car seat. Then, I shut the door and get in the driver's seat. I start the engine and back out of the driveway. I pull out on the road and head to the park.
I get to the park and park in the parking lot. I turn the engine off and get out. I put my keys in my pocket and open the back door. I unbuckle Nightingale as she squeals in delight. I take her out of her seat and shut the door. Then, I carry her over to a nearby picnic table. I set her on the table and sit down. She squeals.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0aCZJMBHM
"You're one happy camper, aren't you? Happy you finally get to come outside in public? Hmm?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxNFFsTKiO
She squeals again.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzWpxRZAVc
I smile. "Oh, so cute. Who's a cutie? You are." I sigh and look around. "Oh. I wish your father could see you. He'd think you're cute too, I'm sure."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI27j8QsLfm
She looks up and points behind me. I turn around to see a man walking towards the park. She squeals. She crawls over to the edge of the table and tries sliding to the ground. Instead, she ends up doing a backflip and lands on her butt. She giggles and looks up as the man stops right in front of her. He looks down at her and smiles. She smiles back and giggles.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwW5RLBTAEp
He bends down and strokes her hair. "You're absolutely beautiful."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxyewC3BID
"Dee!" She puts her hands over his eyes and giggles.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWHvcsDqV4
I can't help it. I smile. Suddenly, my phone starts ringing. Nightingale brings her hands down and looks at me, tilting her head to the side. The man looks over at me and gasps. I answer the phone and get up. I walk away a few feet.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZut6wVBEi
"Hello?" I ask. "Who is this?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2mmj6BcJx
"Why, Nikki, how could you not know?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGjHVzhqQS
"Mom, I didn't look at the phone number. I didn't—"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoq0NX8QTP5
"I found a foster—"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18cB0xZw4Y
I groan. "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not getting rid of Nightingale. At all. Is that understood?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ31wgLjtzD
"But her father isn't—"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1PRZMft22
"Her father knows what's best for her. Okay? I'm done talking. I've done graduated school, gotten a job, and moved out. I'll be fine."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2R93xvGzkg
"But what about college?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXqHpwuPh0
"Dang it, mom!" I hang up and sigh. I let my phone drop to the ground and put my hand on my forehead with my other arm supporting it. "Oh my God."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEGuBVKz71
I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see the man standing behind me.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZQzLjYPfj
"You alright?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2N642EOCS
"I'm fine." I walk over to the table and sit down. I watch as Nightingale plays with the sand. She squeals. I laugh and smile. She looks up at me and claps her hands. I sigh. "Oh, you're so cute."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5qlI9jlN8
After an hour, I finally am starting to wonder who the mysterious man is. I look up and see him looking at me.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR94exFeFVA
"Who are you?" I ask.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfl85LJ31mX
"Samual. You don't remember me?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHa0ehvGIq
"No."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2JlyX3NoK
"I'm sure Dracula would absolutely love her." He looks at her and back at me. "Has she learned to walk yet?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAo9gRCLki
"No. She hasn't. She's only eleven months old."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUusIaeNDcM
"Well, as soon as she learns to walk, you could let me know and I could take you two to see Dracula."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAaPLlaAnM
"Are you sure that would be a good idea? What if he doesn't recognize me? Or worse, he does but he doesn't want anything to do with me or Nightingale?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7iPseu5HE
"I doubt that second one. The part of him not recognizing you is more reasonable than anything else."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0OtzR3tao
"True. But what about Nightingale? Will he even know who she is? What if he thinks she's someone else? What if—"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7QyKXmzOX
"What on earth is your daughter doing?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAYPwEfgUA
"Playing with sand."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIgTAPa9qs
"I don't think she is. It doesn't look like it."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG9T9MU8tR
I look at Nightingale and gasp. "Nightingale, what are you doing?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EXvYzaslg
She looks up at me and falls on her butt. She giggles. She gets up again and takes a step forward. I get up carefully and grab my phone. I come back and quickly pull up snapchat. I pull up my picture screen and start taking a video.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXStl9OutR
"Well, look at you. Someone's learning to walk." I back up a few steps and she takes two slow, small steps. She giggles. I smile.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGny9wpzPK
"Da! Doo! Da! Dee!" She squeals.
I laugh and smile. "You're so cute."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKTMR0NO11
Finally she reaches me with a squeal and hugs my leg. I save the video and put my phone away. I pick her up and whirl her around. She squeals. I stop and set her down. She gets up and follows me to the table. I sit down and watch as she climbs up on the seat. She manages to get up on the seat and sit down. She says something and I look at her.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPjtWUR2Uc
"What did you say?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNsAw9lALV
"Dad! Daddy!"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKuEtDq8IC
I gasp. I look up at Samual. "What am I going to do? I can't just go visit him. I have a job."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWH2pBPz98
"Do you have any vacation days?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldfIwsmCSz
"I think I have about a month so far."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVzj2R9N5o
"You could take a few days to a week off so you can go visit him. For her."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqPnRTNKOH
"She'll be turning one in three days."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lXBHHbIDe
"Perfect!"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEn2VbVOog
"What's perfect?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Is5DlWimX
"You could take her to see him for her birthday."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMOPPejBJa
I look at Nightingale, who's looking at me with a confused look on her face.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1NvSP1mWX
"Mommy?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FwTduPARV
"Oh. Yes. I'm mommy."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yrajeIBNX
"I daddy."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeOLR2De3x
"You're daddy?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5itzGCM1y
"Uh-uh. I daddy."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpZAluzs0E
"Oh. You want daddy."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4g733TDoST
"Yah. I daddy." She looks up at me with a sad look in her eyes.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli2NiBiPuP
"Oh, baby. Come here."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubL78YlrPF
She climbs into my lap and puts her head against my breast. I can hear her sobbing.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRyMhA1Rl7
"I … daddy," she sobs.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sSlZgHWtn
I stroke her hair. "Oh. It's alright. Shh."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRv7jgyJnE
Samual looks at me sympathetically. "Well, you could call work and ask for a week of vacation."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwVvBdm6kc
"Why would I do that?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWljWHrXyqb
"It's obvious she wants to see him really badly. You could do that for her first birthday."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQV9FJDJKI
"But I don't know my way out there."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCGTXyt7FU
"I could take you."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYOHFetAPY
"But Nightingale needs a car seat."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGyJw5G3MO
"You can hold her in your lap and I can take the back roads."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjHV2Y0UXk
"Oh. Fine. For her." I pull out my phone and call my boss.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWRbCx79cy
"Hello?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFeqCFcSvQ
"Oh, um, could I take a week off of work? For my daughter? She'll be turning one in three days and I want to take her to visit her father."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAm8wiF9DaB
"A week? Are you sure?"308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40UMpmtn8Q
"Yes, I'm sure."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNq6p1jGypv
"That'll leave you three weeks."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCp4j7sXq1
"Yes, I'm aware of that."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITDyRS2i23
"Alright. A week it is."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85ISyMUryR
"Okay. Thank you."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1MkWQJlmC
"Yup. Bye."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DjMZOab43
"Bye."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgRM6fas2y
I end the call and smile. "It worked."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6pOcpV6K7
"Seriously? You're kidding."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJGgzSSCl1
"Yeah, seriously. I got a week off."308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILc1SeSk1d
He just looks at me.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AxmJGGqE5
I smile.308Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3T8cWW77Uf
