“You could have tracked me down back then,” I insisted stubbornly.
“I didn’t know anything about you. You were a hook-up at a party. A good time. How was I supposed to know if you’d be good father material?”
“You still should’ve told me.” I was practically yelling now. “You didn’t even give me a chance. That’s my kid in there and I missed the first eleven years of his life because of you. That’s time I can never get back.”
“Don’t shout at my mom!”
I whipped around.
Gavin stood in the doorway of the kitchen, glaring at me.
Great. I’m making the worst possible first impression.
“It’s okay, buddy,” Naomi said as she brushed past me and knelt in front of Gavin. “We’re both upset, but everything’s alright.”
“You’re fighting.”
“Maybe you should have come alone for this,” I suggested, only to feel a shock ripple through me at the look of hurt on Gavin’s face. I stepped closer. “No, no, no. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Naomi reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders from her kneeling position. “Just give us another minute. We’ll come talk to you soon.”
“Okay,” Gavin said, disappearing back into the living room before I could think of something else to say.
When Naomi stood and faced me again, I could see a change in her. Before, there was guilt and nervousness, but now, she seemed fierce.
“If you’re going to hurt his feelings, we’ll just leave right now. I came here so he could meet his father. Do you have any idea how important this is for him?”
“No!” I answered honestly. “I really don’t. Believe it or not, this is all new territory for me.”
“Shit,” she muttered, brushing her hair back off her forehead. “This is such a mess.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, but I didn’t want to keep fighting with her about the decision she made to keep me in the dark about her pregnancy, not right now. It was bound to be a fight and I’d already upset our son enough.
Our son.
It felt weird to even think.
I didn’t think I’d ever forgive her for this, but it was a conversation for another time. Right now, I had something else important to do. “Why don’t you officially introduce me to him?” I suggested.
Naomi’s face broke out in a smile. “Come on,” she gestured, leading the way into the living room.
I paused, an unexpected wave of nervousness coming over me. I never could have imagined I’d be in this situation. I was about to meet my son.
This was the last thing I expected when I woke up this morning.
He was sitting on the couch once again, a solemn look on his face. He looked so small to me, his legs dangling since his feet couldn’t reach the floor.
I smiled a little when I noticed he was wearing Spider-Man tennis shoes.
Naomi took a seat beside him and put her arm around his shoulders. “Gavin, I’d like to introduce you to your father, Smoke.”
“That’s a weird name,” Gavin said, his expression inscrutable.
I sat in the chair beside her near the couch. “Yeah, I guess it is,” I agreed. “But it’s nice to meet you anyway.”
I held out my hand to him.
He didn’t take it immediately.