Eleven months later …362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtJ1NrIsVq
"Hey, little Nightingale?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0VF3grECb
"Dah! Dee! Doo!"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPmYCbZoRD
"Nightingale?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeyXZLdC1k
"Uh?" She drops her blocks and looks up.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQERKWcqLqu
"Do you want to go somewhere? Hm?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41sGoT9p91
She tilts her head, like, woman, have you lost your mind? Of course! She jumps up and falls on her butt. She screams.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTVZ4XdcuY
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."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaHmjeHKen
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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllmBIjf9ED
"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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMM4j8RR7j
"You're one happy camper, aren't you? Happy you finally get to come outside in public? Hmm?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4mdhdysS6
She squeals again.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vT1HZP6X6
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."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jvkqledAQ
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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpFCbWhm3Y
He bends down and strokes her hair. "You're absolutely beautiful."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yY0lIfgsS
"Dee!" She puts her hands over his eyes and giggles.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhhIlUlqF4
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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0MQhNaoXX
"Hello?" I ask. "Who is this?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8IELQxUzW
"Why, Nikki, how could you not know?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPeitbU7EP
"Mom, I didn't look at the phone number. I didn't—"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PkioByOkv
"I found a foster—"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPhMQkLrkk
I groan. "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not getting rid of Nightingale. At all. Is that understood?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6h7INwZWw
"But her father isn't—"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kqTqLRmIp
"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."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJQbNiQmZv
"But what about college?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrV0THPyfUn
"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."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXa0PQI9s7l
I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see the man standing behind me.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2myoyOevF
"You alright?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4PI575rLG
"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."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDXSIqZdkO
After an hour, I finally am starting to wonder who the mysterious man is. I look up and see him looking at me.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSALprm6z9A
"Who are you?" I ask.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMxkUDiFkk
"Samual. You don't remember me?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ56MNsZNEg
"No."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMHwtTz3QK
"I'm sure Dracula would absolutely love her." He looks at her and back at me. "Has she learned to walk yet?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2U4V4Hl9zm
"No. She hasn't. She's only eleven months old."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2vsoYdSAk
"Well, as soon as she learns to walk, you could let me know and I could take you two to see Dracula."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q2XbfvKhY
"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?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98GiVYOM3h
"I doubt that second one. The part of him not recognizing you is more reasonable than anything else."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAEdmYHCCY
"True. But what about Nightingale? Will he even know who she is? What if he thinks she's someone else? What if—"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74ovoYIdq0
"What on earth is your daughter doing?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyRa3eDKtU
"Playing with sand."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAELFKeVB46
"I don't think she is. It doesn't look like it."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7ML6mmhfP
I look at Nightingale and gasp. "Nightingale, what are you doing?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1vIAXSHRx
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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFK2hZ4CbQ
"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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgjZVxoU9v
"Da! Doo! Da! Dee!" She squeals.
I laugh and smile. "You're so cute."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbgVMQr0vf
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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mILHXwwmc
"What did you say?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡte9zIMqAjS
"Dad! Daddy!"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKGRBkRZRN
I gasp. I look up at Samual. "What am I going to do? I can't just go visit him. I have a job."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FIiC0stIs
"Do you have any vacation days?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvlqtkjKV8
"I think I have about a month so far."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbSYqFDXjS
"You could take a few days to a week off so you can go visit him. For her."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8h9xa57MJG
"She'll be turning one in three days."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3dTHlwKGb
"Perfect!"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJcmZYel8B
"What's perfect?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIv6ugHVSdk
"You could take her to see him for her birthday."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCXM3Us5GJ
I look at Nightingale, who's looking at me with a confused look on her face.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxnoofGFmI
"Mommy?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJME8VxQSw
"Oh. Yes. I'm mommy."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKAYiZa87k
"I daddy."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEJwXIcDy5
"You're daddy?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsWIVTnWHx
"Uh-uh. I daddy."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmaonrrVlW
"Oh. You want daddy."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x4rkTYuZG
"Yah. I daddy." She looks up at me with a sad look in her eyes.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqTziLvVFZ
"Oh, baby. Come here."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcPY22xkP0
She climbs into my lap and puts her head against my breast. I can hear her sobbing.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUSIkqAlAk
"I … daddy," she sobs.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vDR05rdwV
I stroke her hair. "Oh. It's alright. Shh."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHgB53ywdH
Samual looks at me sympathetically. "Well, you could call work and ask for a week of vacation."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSush8rhRlG
"Why would I do that?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvA6DbTBSWK
"It's obvious she wants to see him really badly. You could do that for her first birthday."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvLaQqlsGE
"But I don't know my way out there."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGc06YqcIfm
"I could take you."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7sQ5LQ1WH
"But Nightingale needs a car seat."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70Gg6edkcW
"You can hold her in your lap and I can take the back roads."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPC03XfvdZ
"Oh. Fine. For her." I pull out my phone and call my boss.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBoMhs8Gdu
"Hello?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlslg3RPmQc
"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."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mNw6HArCD
"A week? Are you sure?"362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡike2l9nqUr
"Yes, I'm sure."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8po4EXJXrJ
"That'll leave you three weeks."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAMOxbnKxF
"Yes, I'm aware of that."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFDH9RXUMf
"Alright. A week it is."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZe6TqnGLC
"Okay. Thank you."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4jjql9Rh9
"Yup. Bye."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5a9aGBCoT
"Bye."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TWGrOHJSx
I end the call and smile. "It worked."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IB0MMVxNK
"Seriously? You're kidding."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCECZqb2GF3
"Yeah, seriously. I got a week off."362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFAw3kKEIV
He just looks at me.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCw4HCHrTw
I smile.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5tyACbPhD
