She shakes her head and bites her lower lip, looking off into the distance. “I never wanted him to see what his father was really like. I wanted to shield and protect him, and I knew deep down that eventually there would come a day when I’d have to answer his questions, but I never ever wanted him to find out like this.”

“Are you two still together?” I ask, and I hold my breath waiting.

“God, no,” she says without missing a beat. “We haven’t been together since I walked in on him fucking our landlady when Dylan was three years old. And even before then.”

I take a deep inhale and let it out and then put my hands on my hips. “We should really get going, or you’ll be late to work,” I say, and she looks down and then up.

“I got fired,” she says, and I stand here with my mouth open. “Two days ago. But I got another job at the church two streets over.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask. “You went through all that alone.”

“Not the first time,” she says, and then mumbles, “and not going to be the last time.”

“Justin!” Dylan yells from the back seat, and I look over my shoulder. “I’m starving.”

Caroline laughs. “Not twenty minutes ago, he told me he wasn’t hungry.”

“Why don’t we get breakfast, and then I can drop you off at work before we go to the rink?”

“I would like that,” she says and then looks down. “I’d also really like to have a second to talk to you,” she rambles. “I mean, I know we are talking now, but you need to know that I’m a good person. I’m a good mom. At the end of the day, I don’t want him to suffer for my choices.”

“I would never think you aren’t a good person, let alone a good mom,” I reassure her. “Now before he starts honking the horn, let’s get some breakfast.” I hold out my hand for her to walk in front of me, and she looks down and smiles. Her hair falls in her face, and she tucks it behind her ear. We walk side by side, and I open the door for her. She smiles shyly, and I can swear my heart skipped a beat.

Breakfast is different than it was a couple of days ago. I still see her eyes roam over the menu and take it upon myself to order for us all, and at the end of the meal, I’m happy to see that she actually ate.

“I can walk to work,” she says when we walk to the truck. “It’s two streets over, and you’ll probably get stuck in traffic,” she says and then grabs Dylan and hugs him. “Have a great day.”