Eleven months later …331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvpPGz48Se
"Hey, little Nightingale?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMe57HNffK
"Dah! Dee! Doo!"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDvEGKEyOY
"Nightingale?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpcat2cu0R
"Uh?" She drops her blocks and looks up.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2xolJvscA
"Do you want to go somewhere? Hm?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡys1mL7s3fb
She tilts her head, like, woman, have you lost your mind? Of course! She jumps up and falls on her butt. She screams.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdbTGfebsR
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."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCU7xwTgd7
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.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zk8zWN6br
"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.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB93hymkchM
"You're one happy camper, aren't you? Happy you finally get to come outside in public? Hmm?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPYuhaUxxC
She squeals again.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLL09j8CHs
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."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbGefQiKaO
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.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbiUnEaDpI
He bends down and strokes her hair. "You're absolutely beautiful."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5mYv8AOxP
"Dee!" She puts her hands over his eyes and giggles.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡis9QLyPbHT
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.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zl8rHVZKB
"Hello?" I ask. "Who is this?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5kN14vRw4
"Why, Nikki, how could you not know?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrE8lRrJKv
"Mom, I didn't look at the phone number. I didn't—"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUonzbGmx67
"I found a foster—"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPI4nhVsITf
I groan. "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not getting rid of Nightingale. At all. Is that understood?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDcdzJUElh
"But her father isn't—"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNsKIz9IG7
"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."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dPLAyFWvE
"But what about college?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuc1mkjNkKB
"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."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd64iRr0GmV
I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see the man standing behind me.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qSHV4Dfi5
"You alright?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVRQbVvkNu
"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."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLr3SsQMH9I
After an hour, I finally am starting to wonder who the mysterious man is. I look up and see him looking at me.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8gyZzWxAk
"Who are you?" I ask.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BaRwlsipM
"Samual. You don't remember me?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jLp3dzkW5
"No."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLB6grrUkTS
"I'm sure Dracula would absolutely love her." He looks at her and back at me. "Has she learned to walk yet?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQDel6d5SV
"No. She hasn't. She's only eleven months old."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbMiqYWp73
"Well, as soon as she learns to walk, you could let me know and I could take you two to see Dracula."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdv7MmDLXsM
"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?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJpKNp1sDx
"I doubt that second one. The part of him not recognizing you is more reasonable than anything else."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLm8olMwqkI
"True. But what about Nightingale? Will he even know who she is? What if he thinks she's someone else? What if—"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7f2JvK78YN
"What on earth is your daughter doing?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzD0qIA5C5n
"Playing with sand."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYttMFj3lU
"I don't think she is. It doesn't look like it."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxnf2gHdze
I look at Nightingale and gasp. "Nightingale, what are you doing?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamXmQblEt1
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.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkP7ETTuKY
"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.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qB0m90XsH
"Da! Doo! Da! Dee!" She squeals.
I laugh and smile. "You're so cute."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaApmExrHl
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.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHn3jG7e3zo
"What did you say?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxocOIyEyYr
"Dad! Daddy!"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWA7DAn5nE
I gasp. I look up at Samual. "What am I going to do? I can't just go visit him. I have a job."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrJttbbATV
"Do you have any vacation days?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPXrd9K5LI
"I think I have about a month so far."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkPzZE91yf
"You could take a few days to a week off so you can go visit him. For her."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoBCmBdGh9
"She'll be turning one in three days."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ956ZNJjxV4
"Perfect!"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AugdEMY1S
"What's perfect?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR19j1Pshw
"You could take her to see him for her birthday."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSADYeKGVL
I look at Nightingale, who's looking at me with a confused look on her face.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfhbzk9Yv7
"Mommy?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFrlJQkK34
"Oh. Yes. I'm mommy."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNnp065JEr
"I daddy."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWzw411v6k
"You're daddy?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwDVKMUxl1
"Uh-uh. I daddy."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePpyp793BH
"Oh. You want daddy."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhWeSdE1Ct
"Yah. I daddy." She looks up at me with a sad look in her eyes.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn57Phz7FCz
"Oh, baby. Come here."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCs3uPHjIpf
She climbs into my lap and puts her head against my breast. I can hear her sobbing.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrE3R8Hicl
"I … daddy," she sobs.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajgGrByzYI
I stroke her hair. "Oh. It's alright. Shh."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzRho6WShp
Samual looks at me sympathetically. "Well, you could call work and ask for a week of vacation."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3RCao337F
"Why would I do that?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNphzgD9pE
"It's obvious she wants to see him really badly. You could do that for her first birthday."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93y5lpWX9p
"But I don't know my way out there."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcVDRBQFuY
"I could take you."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1H1kAPJu7M
"But Nightingale needs a car seat."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fQgx8dEyS
"You can hold her in your lap and I can take the back roads."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIRRlN9agu
"Oh. Fine. For her." I pull out my phone and call my boss.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRuAGrTIyo
"Hello?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudPaw5rRep
"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."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovphrwmhHZ
"A week? Are you sure?"331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeJMMTFtCd
"Yes, I'm sure."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLMsHYeXzz
"That'll leave you three weeks."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhnTRvuzhw
"Yes, I'm aware of that."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PUyHPIbiU
"Alright. A week it is."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPu9wMBq2G
"Okay. Thank you."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHEXUm46HE
"Yup. Bye."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwj4dWGu4R
"Bye."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvyfMdToEA
I end the call and smile. "It worked."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoYkCdjpFR
"Seriously? You're kidding."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Aodroh9Hf
"Yeah, seriously. I got a week off."331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmucQG7fUG
He just looks at me.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7C6oEXqJ9a
I smile.331Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtAljCatjT
