Her mom met her father when they were just kids. She told Harlow that he grew up just around the corner from her. He was almost literally the boy next door. It all used to sound very romantic to Harlow until her mother got to the part about him taking off on her when she was almost two. Harlow didn’t remember her father, and from what her mother said about the guy, she wasn’t missing out on anything. Harlow hated that her mom had to raise her on her own. She didn’t have a partner for the rough times and Harlow knew exactly how that felt now that she was walking in her mother’s shoes.
“Sorry, Mama,” Harlow said. “I guess I just don’t like thinking about you with a man.” She shivered and her mother laughed.
“Clearly,” she said.
“I’m going to take Iris home with me for an hour. I want to eat dinner with her and spend a little bit of time with her before I have to head to work. Thanks for watching her, Mama,” she said. Harlow kissed her mother’s cheek. “I’ll give her a bath and bring her back over after dinner.”
“I don’t mind doing all of that,” her mother offered.
“I know that you don’t, but I like to do those things too. This new job might not afford me much time with Iris in the evening and I want to soak up all the time I do have with her,” Harlow said.
“I get it,” her mother agreed. “I felt the same way about you, baby girl.”