Eleven months later …258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEbcE7rIfH
"Hey, little Nightingale?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBSZQmj95i
"Dah! Dee! Doo!"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKskpEig2L
"Nightingale?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkSTkY41J9
"Uh?" She drops her blocks and looks up.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecEUnObCtP
"Do you want to go somewhere? Hm?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRTQkLWEtL
She tilts her head, like, woman, have you lost your mind? Of course! She jumps up and falls on her butt. She screams.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2g2CN95d7
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."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKbagyUzLb
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.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7M9E5flgct
"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.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSk3OHz92BE
"You're one happy camper, aren't you? Happy you finally get to come outside in public? Hmm?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnybRgpNigg
She squeals again.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMroDNn42wm
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."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7UU9fd6Xm
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.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeBcROrB6x
He bends down and strokes her hair. "You're absolutely beautiful."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiergEIccCC
"Dee!" She puts her hands over his eyes and giggles.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OiVGbp2vp
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.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJiu5D9VtkH
"Hello?" I ask. "Who is this?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfogGe8zWa
"Why, Nikki, how could you not know?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiKp44swD9
"Mom, I didn't look at the phone number. I didn't—"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbIJ60NqqX
"I found a foster—"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9dFjI1uli
I groan. "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not getting rid of Nightingale. At all. Is that understood?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYtJ3KNb6k
"But her father isn't—"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRif7yh638
"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."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyGR7mewUB
"But what about college?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVBNzEQ9a4
"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."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYPmzxLW2q
I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see the man standing behind me.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsACf5Thjz
"You alright?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIYtDxy9OR
"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."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nT3hnUWpA
After an hour, I finally am starting to wonder who the mysterious man is. I look up and see him looking at me.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPcGQlo4bN
"Who are you?" I ask.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QOx3AiYnM
"Samual. You don't remember me?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyTPMDqyyf
"No."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhYTNaLOKp
"I'm sure Dracula would absolutely love her." He looks at her and back at me. "Has she learned to walk yet?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVYmzzFsmG
"No. She hasn't. She's only eleven months old."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SzEv3qzpQ
"Well, as soon as she learns to walk, you could let me know and I could take you two to see Dracula."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4YK7F8DVV
"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?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84OK2NA6kk
"I doubt that second one. The part of him not recognizing you is more reasonable than anything else."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwt8EwicKTf
"True. But what about Nightingale? Will he even know who she is? What if he thinks she's someone else? What if—"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3thdi3YlP8
"What on earth is your daughter doing?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGsY0N2ztg
"Playing with sand."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kmn0q82KR
"I don't think she is. It doesn't look like it."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqXF5Que1d
I look at Nightingale and gasp. "Nightingale, what are you doing?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3cXUUozLg
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.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl8AvEitWM
"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.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpD7pSRBkur
"Da! Doo! Da! Dee!" She squeals.
I laugh and smile. "You're so cute."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavNcxIrchr
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.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2Nr6z1oOV
"What did you say?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHvowcQVwU
"Dad! Daddy!"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxjYlj5isT
I gasp. I look up at Samual. "What am I going to do? I can't just go visit him. I have a job."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9K9SuEFU69
"Do you have any vacation days?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjP2OB0wCwx
"I think I have about a month so far."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxfefb45kN
"You could take a few days to a week off so you can go visit him. For her."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtKCFy2wuC
"She'll be turning one in three days."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddnxtAEfNm
"Perfect!"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EHpt7MnUE
"What's perfect?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4UsE2srLO
"You could take her to see him for her birthday."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4kn01pwbL
I look at Nightingale, who's looking at me with a confused look on her face.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlr72ztFMUN
"Mommy?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNE8NriGzX1
"Oh. Yes. I'm mommy."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxbnMe1pA9
"I daddy."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1idKz1g3mz
"You're daddy?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNsm2xG8vW
"Uh-uh. I daddy."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxzHju6aqL
"Oh. You want daddy."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzt8jfByiEn
"Yah. I daddy." She looks up at me with a sad look in her eyes.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bYtpOwyJj
"Oh, baby. Come here."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQyBhqfG8Z
She climbs into my lap and puts her head against my breast. I can hear her sobbing.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiq1wiJ9UZJ
"I … daddy," she sobs.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0w94H0SDjA
I stroke her hair. "Oh. It's alright. Shh."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXnEqIK70t
Samual looks at me sympathetically. "Well, you could call work and ask for a week of vacation."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBDkxjeRi4
"Why would I do that?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNOVFVf1mW
"It's obvious she wants to see him really badly. You could do that for her first birthday."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfCmeytexc
"But I don't know my way out there."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0v4O270bO
"I could take you."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wUpCImZB4
"But Nightingale needs a car seat."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMfhdUizA0P
"You can hold her in your lap and I can take the back roads."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBIS1e11JQ
"Oh. Fine. For her." I pull out my phone and call my boss.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPY8likYdIn
"Hello?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtg0hWpze2v
"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."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnzupvLDC9
"A week? Are you sure?"258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXZowGSfNV
"Yes, I'm sure."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFk8CXJFokg
"That'll leave you three weeks."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRFAg9PEpC
"Yes, I'm aware of that."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwvtZNNRsq
"Alright. A week it is."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfesX9mLFmg
"Okay. Thank you."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LEbcL4WfX
"Yup. Bye."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemZvNVNlW6
"Bye."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUuq52KXIj
I end the call and smile. "It worked."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLHUUClmb8
"Seriously? You're kidding."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloZR2HeShx
"Yeah, seriously. I got a week off."258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmfmw4UjAe
He just looks at me.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyl8gYUFAc
I smile.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWlOYfLFMD
