Page 204 of Love Unwritten
I’ll make this right somehow, even if it means flying out to Oregon and having a word with Nico’s mother myself. I’m done with her mind games because the stakes have changed. I have two people to look out for now, and neither of them deserves her bullshit.
I’m the one who got us into this mess to begin with, which means I’m the only person who can get us out.
“Can I tell you a story?” Ellie asks, cooling some of my angry thoughts.
Nico nods, and she carries him to the bed. He takes a seat on her lap, and I sit beside them both.
Ellie brushes Nico’s hair back. “I used to be like you.”
His eyes widen. “You did?”
She nods. “My dad never went to my shows or seasonal concerts or listened to me practice. He said music made me soft and kept my head in the clouds.”
I wish I could wrap my arm around her and tuck her into my side forever, but I clench my fists and refrain from giving in to the urge.
My son gasps. “No.”
Ellie frowns. “Yeah. I almost quit altogether because it made me so sad.”
“But you’re amazing.”
She smiles. “Thank you.”
He sucks in a breath. “Wait! If you quit, then you wouldn’t have been my tutor!”
“Exactly.”
“Or my nanny?”
“Nope.”
His mouth falls open. “And then you wouldn’t have met Cole Griffin.”
“No, I probably wouldn’t have.”
“Whoa.”
Ellie chuckles. “Life is like a row of dominoes. One choice sends the next one falling and so on.”
Different emotions flash across Nico’s face as his understanding of the world deepens.
“What I’m trying to say is that if I had quit music because my dad didn’t like it, then I wouldn’t have ended up here with you.”
He wraps his arms around her neck. “Thank you for not quitting.”
We sit in silence, with Ellie soothing Nico while I rub small circles in the center of her back.
It was always just Nico and me, even when Hillary was here, but now I realize I don’t have to share the joys and setbacks of parenting alone. I can count on Ellie too because she loves my son without any conditions, paychecks, or child support payments keeping her here.
It is clear she could love anyone’s child, but I’m lucky she chose mine.
And for the first time since she mentioned the idea of kids, I wonder what it would be like to raise one as a team.
Together.
Lake Wisteria’s Strawberry Festival is the biggest event of the year—even more so than the others that take place in fall, winter, and spring. My aunt, as the town’s event planner, puts months into finalizing every single detail, and this year truly is one of the best.
Rows of tents line the festival fairgrounds, featuring everything strawberry related. Food, drinks, clothes. You name it, there is a damn strawberry somewhere on it.