Finally, when I rolled out onto the road, I was confident that I could drive this beast into battle and win. It was a beautiful day, and I’d read about a sweet park south of the river that was a nice place to take kids. We’d go and have a picnic, because that seemed like the parental thing to do, and if I had to be trapped inside one more day, I’d go insane.

Eventually, I’d need to come off hiatus for my clients, but not yet. I wasn’t ready to go back to working, staring at a computer screen for hours on end. I hadn’t even tried to juggle it yet with Huey.

Next week, I’d start getting back into the daily grind. This week, I’d just enjoy getting to know my baby brother a little better.

I drove five miles under the speed limit—probably annoying all the people behind me—until the navigation system told me to turn off. I could see why people raved about this park. It was sweet, filled with children, rolling green lawns and flowers.

I loaded everything into Huey’s stroller and walked around the paths for an hour. When he grizzled hungrily, I circled back toward the car until I found a place to lay down a picnic blanket I’d pilfered from the house, and sat down to feed Huey.

“Your son is beautiful,” an older lady commented as she strolled past. “You should put more clothes on him, though. You don’t want him to get a chill.”

I looked up at her, wide-eyed. “Thank you for your advice,” I replied politely. I didn’t correct her about Huey being my brother.

She looked down at my left hand, then back at my face with a slight frown. “It must be tough being a teenage single mother,” she said, shaking her head. “Babies having babies. Who is there to teach you all the lessons you need to keep your baby alive?”

I stared at the woman. “Excuse me?”

“Look at the sunburn on his arms already. Did you even put SPF on his arms before bringing him out?” Hadn’t she just told me that he’d get a chill? “Having a baby isn’t like getting one of those designer dogs people pay a fortune for. If you’re going to have a baby, you have a responsibility to care for it properly, or give it up to a family that will.” The old lady’s lip curled in disgust. “This is what the lack of Christian values has given this generation. Whores and bastards. You should be ashamed of yourself. Poor little thing is going to have to drag itself up and will probably end up in prison like all the other fatherless miscreants.”