Nicole fidgets in her seat and looks uncomfortable. She crosses her legs, her eyes sad and pleading.
“Mr. Armstrong, I have to tell you that this is a highly unusual situation, even for me. I shouldn’t even be here, begging you like this. But I feel—I feel responsible for this child’s life more than I can express. If I could take him myself, I would. I have four of my own children at home and a husband who works the night shift. We live in a tiny three-bedroom home and have no room for our own family much less adding another. I wish I could take him. Oh my God, I need to leave. This is wrong…”
Nicole bolts out of the chair and runs toward the front door. My emotions are all over the place and I’m suddenly worried for this baby who everyone keeps telling me is mine. I’m worried that he’ll wind up in some dark alley like Sadie. Alone. Forgotten.
“Wait!” Peggy and I call out in unison. Nicole stops and slowly turns around, and Peggy grabs my hand.
“What were you going to say?” I ask Peggy.
“I was going to tell her that we’ll take him,” she responds quickly. “Isn’t that what you were going to say?”
I swallow heavily and shake my head. “No, Peggy, I plan to offer her money.” The look of disgust on her face chokes me, and I want to hide. Nicole comes back into the room with hope in her eyes, and I’m about to crush her yet again.
Peggy pulls me into a tight hug and says sternly in my ear, “You’ll take your son, and I am going to help. You need to trust me.”
How can this woman have so much control over me? She’s my housekeeper. Someone I barely spend time with. Yet she’s become ingrained in my family. My parents keep tabs on me through her. She’s a fixture here, and now she’s offering to help raise a child I just learned about today.
“Peggy, I don’t—” I can’t seem to say the words that are stuck in my throat, choking the life out of me.
“Nicole, what do we need to do to make this happen?” Peggy interrupts and Nicole lets out a relieved breath.
She fumbles with her cell phone and says, “Let me call the hospital now and make all of the arrangements.”
“Hospital?” I ask hesitantly.
Nicole responds with sadness in her eyes, “Mr. Armstrong, your son is a very sick little boy.”
Peggy grabs my hand and squeezes tight. I look at her with dread.
“We got this,” she says confidently.
Sam
Past
Villanova, Pennsylvania
Age 10
“SAMANTHA, ARE YOU READY?” Mom’s voice echoes through the house as I pull together what I need from my desk.
“Coming, Mom!” I call as I run down the stairs.
“Dad’s waiting outside. He’s already loaded the car.” She kisses me on my cheek and we rush out the door together.
He’s outside, closing the back of our SUV. “We’re all set!” he says cheerfully and rushes to get into the driver’s seat. I slide into the back and look over my shoulder.
My science project is perfectly positioned in the back—our universe literally hanging by a thread.
“Dad, do you think we have the planets balanced okay? Jupiter looks like it’s a little droopy,” I say, reaching back trying to touch the Styrofoam planet and position it properly.
“Don’t touch it, Sam. I had to creatively position it so it would fit. We’ll assemble it as soon as we get there,” Dad says confidently.
Now I’m worried. What if all of our hard work gets crushed in the back of our SUV? This is the science fair. THE science fair.
“Dad, why can’t I just—” I stretch as far as I can, but Jupiter is still out of my reach.
“Breathe, Sam. Breathe.” His voice is soothing, and I relax my arm until it drops into my lap.