Eleven months later …612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SqcNHM0Os
"Hey, little Nightingale?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8r479p0c6f
"Dah! Dee! Doo!"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsiguRavwV
"Nightingale?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfV6kPHlfy
"Uh?" She drops her blocks and looks up.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRMA1zsXy0
"Do you want to go somewhere? Hm?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsc7q1FRAvv
She tilts her head, like, woman, have you lost your mind? Of course! She jumps up and falls on her butt. She screams.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgxZdd3kqr
I laugh. "Silly, you can't walk yet." I walk over to her and pick her up. "Come on. We need to get your socks and shoes on."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpFSB5tbdH
She flails her arms with her hands clenched tight on two blocks. I set her down and walk over to her dresser. I open the top drawer and grab a pair of grey socks. I grab her little sandals and walk over to her. She sees what I have and drops the blocks in her hands. She shoots her hands in the air and squeals, doing jazz hands. I roll my eyes and laugh. She giggles.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjFywJgXTn
"Oh, you're too cute." I kneel down and put her socks and shoes on. Then I pick her up and head to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, I grab my keys and head out the door. I get outside and put Nightingale in her car seat. Then, I shut the door and get in the driver's seat. I start the engine and back out of the driveway. I pull out on the road and head to the park.
I get to the park and park in the parking lot. I turn the engine off and get out. I put my keys in my pocket and open the back door. I unbuckle Nightingale as she squeals in delight. I take her out of her seat and shut the door. Then, I carry her over to a nearby picnic table. I set her on the table and sit down. She squeals.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNTgkSE7oH
"You're one happy camper, aren't you? Happy you finally get to come outside in public? Hmm?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uZieW7xPg
She squeals again.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3PIH1SIAs
I smile. "Oh, so cute. Who's a cutie? You are." I sigh and look around. "Oh. I wish your father could see you. He'd think you're cute too, I'm sure."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRt9XvvQKP4
She looks up and points behind me. I turn around to see a man walking towards the park. She squeals. She crawls over to the edge of the table and tries sliding to the ground. Instead, she ends up doing a backflip and lands on her butt. She giggles and looks up as the man stops right in front of her. He looks down at her and smiles. She smiles back and giggles.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8RVtSTDKl
He bends down and strokes her hair. "You're absolutely beautiful."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPQL6zBPVl
"Dee!" She puts her hands over his eyes and giggles.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzhL4ZvOqO
I can't help it. I smile. Suddenly, my phone starts ringing. Nightingale brings her hands down and looks at me, tilting her head to the side. The man looks over at me and gasps. I answer the phone and get up. I walk away a few feet.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZB1ZWV0Ek
"Hello?" I ask. "Who is this?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0JbpbqvmC
"Why, Nikki, how could you not know?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHujFN5Nib
"Mom, I didn't look at the phone number. I didn't—"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSrUmUxilY
"I found a foster—"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvzIcfeatD
I groan. "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not getting rid of Nightingale. At all. Is that understood?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0J2nhElCy
"But her father isn't—"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfWXTmLTFF
"Her father knows what's best for her. Okay? I'm done talking. I've done graduated school, gotten a job, and moved out. I'll be fine."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bfS0wNOIl
"But what about college?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6DHbgWFGm
"Dang it, mom!" I hang up and sigh. I let my phone drop to the ground and put my hand on my forehead with my other arm supporting it. "Oh my God."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZCx6tB2rM
I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see the man standing behind me.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyIQBC9iKL
"You alright?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNChipHCw7
"I'm fine." I walk over to the table and sit down. I watch as Nightingale plays with the sand. She squeals. I laugh and smile. She looks up at me and claps her hands. I sigh. "Oh, you're so cute."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVa26fOKBe
After an hour, I finally am starting to wonder who the mysterious man is. I look up and see him looking at me.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡab9gIszJAs
"Who are you?" I ask.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89G1QW8pXb
"Samual. You don't remember me?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nmcfVmjoW
"No."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOd8GaB1FbS
"I'm sure Dracula would absolutely love her." He looks at her and back at me. "Has she learned to walk yet?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGX3wsIMgqT
"No. She hasn't. She's only eleven months old."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSTxEyEuJL
"Well, as soon as she learns to walk, you could let me know and I could take you two to see Dracula."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDOLFbRWYg
"Are you sure that would be a good idea? What if he doesn't recognize me? Or worse, he does but he doesn't want anything to do with me or Nightingale?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhFYC6qNZn
"I doubt that second one. The part of him not recognizing you is more reasonable than anything else."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrRo73Dfyt
"True. But what about Nightingale? Will he even know who she is? What if he thinks she's someone else? What if—"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFETlTwdcJ4
"What on earth is your daughter doing?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0Afy64PeE
"Playing with sand."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahZQmNK9fy
"I don't think she is. It doesn't look like it."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeT8clWgFA
I look at Nightingale and gasp. "Nightingale, what are you doing?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ15kPkKCfo
She looks up at me and falls on her butt. She giggles. She gets up again and takes a step forward. I get up carefully and grab my phone. I come back and quickly pull up snapchat. I pull up my picture screen and start taking a video.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnHZ3dbvhJ
"Well, look at you. Someone's learning to walk." I back up a few steps and she takes two slow, small steps. She giggles. I smile.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8jifcJU3F
"Da! Doo! Da! Dee!" She squeals.
I laugh and smile. "You're so cute."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG59imYKZqA
Finally she reaches me with a squeal and hugs my leg. I save the video and put my phone away. I pick her up and whirl her around. She squeals. I stop and set her down. She gets up and follows me to the table. I sit down and watch as she climbs up on the seat. She manages to get up on the seat and sit down. She says something and I look at her.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdI2eJhFjx
"What did you say?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHAg2JTl7D
"Dad! Daddy!"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hmuq5YwHi
I gasp. I look up at Samual. "What am I going to do? I can't just go visit him. I have a job."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0UBaJpmRD
"Do you have any vacation days?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwY3usATYSF
"I think I have about a month so far."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnbz3tDURm
"You could take a few days to a week off so you can go visit him. For her."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGJ2XKxOA2
"She'll be turning one in three days."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HvpxqjjOQ
"Perfect!"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuWMGgoLR3
"What's perfect?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CGaIAXWS0
"You could take her to see him for her birthday."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpYUsfSLP9
I look at Nightingale, who's looking at me with a confused look on her face.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvIMATlIf3
"Mommy?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodQD1CNwZm
"Oh. Yes. I'm mommy."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fb3mywvEW
"I daddy."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6pqU7DGM5
"You're daddy?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64Tv0DEsTq
"Uh-uh. I daddy."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGZypOwfrX
"Oh. You want daddy."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVjfrU1OfE
"Yah. I daddy." She looks up at me with a sad look in her eyes.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhS8bFB10O3
"Oh, baby. Come here."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQlM4iQZO9
She climbs into my lap and puts her head against my breast. I can hear her sobbing.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm77JZRIqT
"I … daddy," she sobs.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyB3lH4frD
I stroke her hair. "Oh. It's alright. Shh."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6uebHK3FB
Samual looks at me sympathetically. "Well, you could call work and ask for a week of vacation."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWVXhIJaIG
"Why would I do that?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhaOSyY6ue
"It's obvious she wants to see him really badly. You could do that for her first birthday."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSV216CKec
"But I don't know my way out there."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3plLLwdj4i
"I could take you."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyo8MWtAvRz
"But Nightingale needs a car seat."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknOWeqS0iB
"You can hold her in your lap and I can take the back roads."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmHJHBjL5K
"Oh. Fine. For her." I pull out my phone and call my boss.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzE7oO5ccX6
"Hello?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00Up0aEuLl
"Oh, um, could I take a week off of work? For my daughter? She'll be turning one in three days and I want to take her to visit her father."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0ZiXMUhuZ
"A week? Are you sure?"612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5gX6si410
"Yes, I'm sure."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelIEsfddWm
"That'll leave you three weeks."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSmVOCuJLQ
"Yes, I'm aware of that."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CIRGYFgNU
"Alright. A week it is."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsZbKf4OGz
"Okay. Thank you."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0sxILWTP7
"Yup. Bye."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffLZTf8UXE
"Bye."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWhL14iX5m
I end the call and smile. "It worked."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7t4n3gkZbw
"Seriously? You're kidding."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXn807q7wvu
"Yeah, seriously. I got a week off."612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2f4HjttVmd
He just looks at me.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHQ0kjnDrD
I smile.612Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PHV8tbMvU
and then Add to home screen.