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"Hi, sweetheart!"

"Hey, Mo into his toy chest and let the lid shut "Parker passed out playing"

Her soft laugh filled the phone "I bet, today was crazy Did he have fun?"

"Understate you did to help He really did have a blast, and he loved his presents"

"Good, I’ht? Did you want to come over for brunch tomorrow?"

I smiled as I waited for the next words that would come frohing, I plopped down on the couch and stretched out "It’s not even a ten-­minute drive!"

"But you’re all alone, and ten ency"

"Mo to watch TV until I’reat"

There was a beat of silence before she said, "You’re alelcoroan I knew she was just looking out for Parker and me, but I didn’t need--­or want--­a ivenParker There hadn’t been a need for a guy I knew no one would want a child at h the first day ofhad been intense--­well, really, the first month had been--­my family had supported h everything Keegan had gone to Austin’s that first night and beaten the shit out of hian told his parents about our breakup, and Austin hadn’t said a word toto school, and when ru belly, Austin told all our friends that I’d cheated on hian for that, but I never tried to stop the ruether, I’d refused to give hi how much he’d hurth school, and graduated with a 39 GPA Even though ainst it and had i for a job that could support my son and me I’d started at the bottom of a local business, and had quickly worked raduation, Parker and I had hthim in day care

She’d won

She watched him while I worked, but I paid her just as ed I wasn’t stupid, though; I knew she was "secretly" putting the e account for Parker But Dad had made me promise I wouldn’t let on to the fact that I knew, so I’d kept paying her, and Parker had continued going to her house five days a week until he’d gone into kindergarten last year