The Son I Left Behind Called Me Mommy Chapter 09

The Son I Left Behind Called Me Mommy Chapter 09

The smell of food woke me up. 

The main lights were off, leaving the living room bathed in 

the warm glow of a few small lamps. 

Callan was in the kitchen. 

I carefully shifted Coop so he wouldn’t wake. Looking at my sleeping son and then at Callan’s back, I realized this was as 

good as it gets. 

I stood up, stretched, and walked into the kitchen. 

“Did I wake you?” Callan asked without turning around. 

“No, I slept enough.” 

Since he wasn’t busy, I decided to bring up something that 

had been on my mind. 

“I want to take Coop to my hometown to see my 

grandparents.” 

My parents divorced the year I was born. 

My father vanished the moment he remarried, like I never existed. To my paternal grandparents, I was just a reminder of a son who failed. They didn’t want the burden. 

It was my Mimi and Gramps who stepped up. They took me in and gave me a home when everyone else turned their 

backs. 

Callan stopped what he was doing. “Okay. We’ll call the 

school and ask for a leave of absence.” 

Then he looked at me, a faint hope in his eyes. “Is he going 

alone?” 

I blinked, caught off guard by his expression. I looked away, 

fidgeting. 

“I mean… if you want to come, you can.” 

Satisfied with the answer, a small smile played on Callan’s lips. 

Coop woke up and realized his dad was finally home. 

He scrambled off the sofa and lunged into Callan’s arms. 

Callan, feeling gross from the flight, tried to dodge him. “You’re too heavy, Coop! I can’t lift you!” 

Coop had been very sensitive about his weight lately. 

He immediately started whining and tried to jump onto his father’s back anyway. 

They ended up chasing each other around, the room filling with laughter. 

I leaned against the counter and watched them. 

If life stayed like this, I thought, I could get used to it. 

Epilogue 

One morning, Callan skipped work. 

He lay on his side, his arm draped over my waist, playing with a strand of my hair. 

I suddenly remembered a question I’d wanted to ask. 

“What was your first thought when you saw Coop?” 

Callan paused. “Why the sudden interest?” 

I nudged him. “I’m curious. Tell me.” 

Callan thought back to that day. 

He remembered his mother holding a child and telling him it was Maya’s baby. 

His first reaction had been shock. And then, a sharp, crushing pain. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about how she had survived the pregnancy and the birth all by herself. 

I asked the one question that scared me most. 

“Do you hate me? For having him without telling you? For leaving him with you?” 

Callan leaned down and kissed my forehead. I instinctively closed my eyes. 

“The second I heard you were coming back to the States, I wanted to drop everything and find you,” he whispered against my skin. “How could I ever hate you?” 

“I’m too busy loving you.”