“The party,” Jude said, running a hand through his hair. “God, Amelia. Why didn’t you call me?”
“I swear I didn’t know. I really didn’t. I went through with the procedure the week after that, just like I planned. When he was born, I just assumed… and then, I was so caught up in settling in a new place, and as a mom… this is why everyone has been staring at him funny.”
Alan’s laughter echoed across the festival grounds, and I smiled.
Afterward, Jude and I agreed almost immediately on one thing: get a test, just to make sure. We would figure the rest out after the results.
We went through it, and the answers would arrive in two weeks. I knew Jude would want to be part of Alan’s life if the tests proved paternity, and maybe, that was a blessing.
Because Jude had always been the good guy, the responsible one, the friend who never let anyone down. Of course, he’d want to be a father to his son. I didn’t know if his wife would be happy about it.
But in any case, my perfectly planned life of being a single mother seemed about to change again, and this time, I wasn’t running away.
Sometimes the best stories are the ones we never meant to write.
