EPILOGUE Part 2
FARRAH
I glance at my kids on the playground while I tidy up the classroom. Spilled paint, sticky glue and crayons litter the floor. How do such little people create such big messes? I finish off the coffee Tommy brought me this morning and toss the cup in the trash.
I hear a light knocking on my door and I look up.
“Miss DeAngelo, I have someone I want you to meet. A new little person for your class,” Mrs. Martins, the Principal of Kandy Kane Kids, the daycare here in town tells me.
I smile, walking towards the door as a woman with auburn hair enters and a little boy hangs on her hip.
“Hi, welcome!” I begin to say, putting my hand out to shake hers, when I look into the woman’s face and come up short. “Chelsea?”
Her eyes grow wide, and the little boy snuggles in closer to her. “Hi Farrah,” she says quietly.
“Oh, how wonderful, you both know each other! Ok I’ll let you catch up and go over the classroom details. Miss Sutton when you’re ready, come back into the office, I have some forms for you to fill out.” She turns and leaves, closing the door slightly behind her.
I’m watching Chelsea, unsure what to say. It’s been almost two years since I’ve seen her. She left rather abruptly and from what I heard from Chess, she hasn’t given much of an explanation to Adam.
The little boy on her hip seems like it needs a huge explanation.
I rub the little boys back. “What’s your name, bud?” He turns to look at me, dirty blond hair with ice blue eyes and I gasp. I look back and forth between his face and Chelsea’s.
“Oh my god…” I say to myself. “Chelsea, does he know?”
“That obvious huh?” She half laughs to herself, in guilt? Shame? I’m not sure.
“Um, yea he’s the spitting image of him. What? How?” I swallow down a hard lump. “Where have you been?”
She moves the boy to her other hip and he hides his face in her neck again.
“I went back to my sister’s house. I-I couldn’t tell him.
I mean, I tried but…” She seems to grow agitated and then a hard look is plastered onto her face.
“He was always too busy and the few nights I did try to tell him; something would come up. Something always came up.”
I guide her to a small table, we barely fit in the chairs but I have her sit down and encourage the little boy to sit next to his mom. I pull over a cup of crayons and some paper for him to scrawl on.
“Listen, I don’t want to overstep here, and I don’t want to tell you what to do.”
“Then don’t,” she snaps. I furrow my brows.
“Chels—”
“No, Farrah. I just—I need to enroll Dominic here for now so I can get myself back on track. I’ll tell him, I will, I just need to do it on my own time.”
“Your time is limited if you’re walking around town with him. It’s very clear who his father is,” I semi-whisper. I feel like I am lying to my best friend and her brother by knowing this secret.
“Chelsea, you have to do it soon, I don’t want to lie about this to anyone.”
“You’re not lying, just don’t say anything, I’ll handle it.”
She stands and I reluctantly follow, I don’t want to let go of this conversation yet. I have so many questions, but I have to respect her boundaries. “Of course, anything you need. I’m glad you came here, Chelsea. Let me help you with anything that comes up.”
She nods, gathers up Dominic and we both head for the classroom door.
“Can I just ask one thing? It’s been almost two years, why come back now? I mean, I’m glad you did,” I hurriedly say. “But I guess I just don’t know why you’d leave in the first place.”
Chelsea takes a breath. Starts speaking then stalls again. Finally, she says, “I don’t have to be his first priority, but his son does. Dominic deserves that.” With that, she turns and walks out of my classroom.
I sag against the doorframe, gazing into the face of my best friends’ brother as they walk down the hall.
Adams life is about to change. Hopefully he gets on board sooner rather than later.