My Son Learned To Say Goodbye Before I Did Chapter 02

My Son Learned To Say Goodbye Before I Did Chapter 02

We never did take that family portrait.

I took Eli straight home instead, and then I started packing.

While booking plane tickets back to my hometown, Sabrina suddenly sent me a video.

The background was another famous photo studio in the city.

She and Grant were dressed in matching outfits, posing for the camera with a little boy around five in their arms.

At the end of the video, Sabrina threw in her usual jab at me.

“So what if it’s a family portrait? Grant and I can take one anytime we want.”

If this had happened before, I would’ve fired back immediately.

But now, as I watched Eli quietly organizing his toys with careful concentration, only one thought crossed my mind.

This was pointless.

I closed the chat window and booked two tickets to a seaside city for the day after tomorrow.

The second the payment went through, Grant walked through the door—carrying a strawberry cake.

We both just stared.

Grant had always hated strawberry cake.

Eli loved strawberries just like I did. But somehow, every birthday cake we bought still ended up being matcha mousse, because that was Grant’s favorite flavor.

So why had he suddenly bought a strawberry cake today?

Eli and I exchanged a look, both equally stunned.

Grant stepped inside slowly. The moment he spotted the open suitcases, his face flickered.

“Milo wouldn’t stop crying, so I stayed a bit longer.”

“On the way back, I remembered how much you both love strawberry cake, so I picked one up.”

He paused. “Why are you packing? Are you going on a trip?”

I shook my head, then nodded. “Sort of.”

Our divorce would be finalized within these days. I didn’t want anything unexpected to happen now.

For some reason, Grant looked relieved at my answer.

Then he went on, “The studio called. They said you didn’t make it in today.”

“I rescheduled for tomorrow—is that okay?”

“I promise—I won’t bail this time.”

He crouched in front of Eli and spoke with unusual seriousness.

Eli’s hands stilled over his toys. He looked at Grant, then at me—like he wanted to believe, but was afraid to.

That look of hesitation in Eli’s eyes—it undid me.

“Okay.”

After all, it would only be one last time.

The moment I said yes, Eli’s whole face lit up.

He hugged his toys to his chest and scampered off to his room.

Once he was gone, I continued packing.

Grant walked over to my side, clearly conflicted about something.

Then he finally spoke, “About Eli calling me ‘Uncle’ today…”