Moon River and Other Promises - Chapter 34: From the Shadows

Tedd watched from across the street.

Three years.

Three impossible, unbearable years.

Not a day passed that he didn't wonder how tall his son had grown. What his laugh sounded like. Whether he had his eyes or his stubbornness.

And there they were.

Jaimie.

Sam.

She was holding the boy's hand gently, the morning sun bathing them in gold. She wore a loose white blouse and jeans, hair tied up, her face calm... but older. Wiser. A little more tired.

She looked like a woman who had survived a war.

He wanted to run to them.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYhWGRqUvN
To say his name.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9OAsMCdXN
To hold his son for the first time.

But he stayed across the street, hidden by the crowd, watching her enter the Kumon Centre beside the bank.

She was enrolling Sam. The bag she carried had notebooks, a small pencil case, and his baby picture—he recognized it. He had it too. On his phone. Saved for three years.

He clenched his fists.

"Just one step," he whispered. "Just one step and she'll see me."

But he didn't take it.

Not then.

Not yet.

Until the boy came back out. Alone.

Just for a second.

He must've left something behind in the car.

He crossed the sidewalk, careful and quiet.

Tedd's heart thundered.

He didn't mean to speak—but his voice found its way out.

"Hi there," he said softly. "You dropped your pencil."

The boy looked up.

Big brown eyes blinked at him, guarded.

Sam took a step back.

"My mommy said not to talk to strangers," he said, clutching his toy dinosaur tighter.

Tedd felt the sting. Deep.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, holding up both hands. "You're absolutely right."

The boy stared for another second, then turned and walked back toward the door.

And then—Jaimie appeared.

She stopped mid-step.

Like she'd seen a ghost.

Because to her—he was.

Her breath caught. Her mouth parted. Her body froze.

Tedd didn't move.

He didn't know if he should smile. Or cry. Or run.

But all he could do was whisper her name.

"Jaimie."

Her eyes filled with so many things at once.

Shock. Fury. Pain.

And something else.

Grief.

Like all three years suddenly came crashing down on them both in a single, unbearable second.

"Why now?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"I never stopped watching," he replied, barely audible. "But I couldn't—I wasn't allowed—"

"You left."

"I know."

"You didn't come back."

"I tried. I swear to you, I tried."

She stared at him like she didn't know whether to hit him or fall apart.

But Sam pulled on her shirt.

"Mama, who is that man?"

Jaimie lowered her eyes. Swallowed.

And Tedd... he stood perfectly still.

He didn't expect forgiveness.

Not yet.

But now?

He wouldn't disappear again.

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