Page 65 of Loving Kai

“Yeah. That’s his name.”

“How old is he?”

“Two.”

Maggie turned her back to the flatbed and leaned against it next to Abe. “You have a two-year-old son.”

“Yeah.”

“What about the grandfather?”

“He’s sick and can’t take care of him anymore. Before she died, Lizzie told him about me.”

Maggie turned and looked at him. “She kept your child from you for two years.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s so wrong.”

“I guess.”

“You guess? You should be furious with her.”

Abe cocked his head. “The woman is dead. What good would it do to be mad at her?”

Maggie took a breath. “I guess that’s not really the issue now.”

“No, it’s not. The issue is…I have a son.”

She took his hand. “You have a son.”

“Which is terrifying.”

Maggie put a foot on the rusty bumper and sat down next to him again. “I’m sorry. Not that you have a child. That’s wonderful. I’m sorry that it terrifies you.”

Abe shrugged. “Having kids was never really on my radar. Certainly not now.”

“What are you going to do now?”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“This changes a lot of things.”

“I know.”

She put a hand on his knee. “I know that you know that. I’m talking about work and where you live and…other stuff.”

“Mom will watch him while I’m at work. Lucia is going to help me make my house safe for him, and… the other stuff, I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.” He turned to her. “This also changes… well, you and me. I’m not sure—”

“Abe, it’s okay. I get it. You need time to adjust to this major change in your life. You don’t need to be worrying about me right now.”

“It’s not that I don’t…”

“I know.”

“And it’s not forever.”

She leaned against his shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m guessing you need all the friends you can get right now, so I’m here for whatever you need. A babysitter. Cover at work. A friendly cup of coffee when you need a minute to get away.”