Chapter 1: The Little Girl Who Shouldn't Have Known Me
By 7:42 p.m., I had already decided I was never agreeing to another blind date.
The candle on my table had nearly melted into a puddle of wax. Every couple in the restaurant seemed wrapped in their own happy little world while I sat alone, pretending I wasn't checking the door every thirty seconds.
I pulled out my wallet.
"Ready for the check, sir?" the waiter asked gently.
I nodded.
Then the restaurant door burst open.
A cold gust of rain swept inside.
A woman stood there, breathless, her dark hair damp from the storm. Beside her was a little girl in a purple jacket, clutching a stuffed rabbit.
The woman looked around the room.
Then her eyes landed on me.
"Ethan?"
I froze.
"Sarah?"
She looked both relieved and terrified.
"I'm so sorry I'm late."
Before I could answer, the little girl stepped forward.
Her huge brown eyes stared at me.
Then she smiled.
"You're Ethan."
I blinked.
"Yes… I am."
The little girl grinned wider.
"I knew it."
A strange chill ran down my spine.
"You… knew?"
She nodded as if it were obvious.
"Mommy talks about you."
Sarah's face turned crimson.
"Lily!"
The girl ignored her.
"She keeps your picture in a box."
Silence.
Even the waiter seemed to stop moving.
I looked at Sarah.
Her face had turned completely pale.
"That… that's not what it sounds like," she said quickly.
But I wasn't listening anymore.
Because I had never met this woman before in my life.
So why would she have my picture?
Sarah swallowed hard.
"I can explain."
She looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
Then Lily tugged her sleeve.
"Mommy, should I tell him about the letters too?"
The color drained from Sarah's face.
"No, sweetheart."
"But you said secrets are bad."
I stared at them both.
"What letters?"
Sarah didn't answer.
Her hands were shaking.
For a long moment, nobody said a word.
Then she whispered:
"Ethan… maybe we should sit down."
Something inside me suddenly felt very wrong.
I slowly sat back in my chair.
Sarah sat across from me while Lily climbed into the seat beside her.
The little girl opened her backpack and began drawing on a napkin as if nothing unusual was happening.
I couldn't take my eyes off Sarah.
"Have we met before?"
"No."
"Then why do you have my picture?"
She looked down.
"It's complicated."
I laughed bitterly.
"Usually when someone says that, it means the explanation is terrible."
She closed her eyes.
"I didn't want tonight to happen like this."
"Then how did you want it to happen?"
She looked at me.
"After dinner."
I stared at her.
"After dinner?"
She nodded.
"As insane as this sounds… I needed to meet you first."
A strange feeling crawled into my chest.
Meet me first?
Why?
Then Lily suddenly looked up from her drawing.
"Mister Ethan?"
"Yes?"
She held up the napkin.
"I drew our family."
I smiled politely… until I looked at the picture.
My smile disappeared.
There were three stick figures.
Her.
Her mother.
And me.
Underneath, in messy childish handwriting, were four words:
Mommy, Me, and Daddy.
I nearly dropped the paper.
Sarah's chair scraped against the floor.
"Lily!" she gasped.
The little girl looked confused.
"What? That's what Grandma said."
The entire restaurant seemed to go silent.
I stared at Sarah.
She wasn't breathing.
I wasn't either.
Finally I whispered:
"What did she just call me?"
Tears suddenly filled Sarah's eyes.
She looked at me like she'd been carrying a secret for years.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"I never wanted you to find out like this."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Find out what?"
A tear rolled down her cheek.
She looked at her daughter.
Then back at me.
And in a trembling voice, she said:
"Lily isn't the reason I came tonight, Ethan."
I stood slowly.
Every instinct in my body screamed.
"Then why are you here?"
Sarah's lips quivered.
"Because six years ago… I disappeared from your life before I could tell you something."
The room spun.
"What are you talking about?"
She reached into her purse.
Pulled out an old photograph.
And slid it across the table.
I looked down.
The picture showed me…
Standing beside a smiling young woman.
A woman I hadn't seen in seven years.
A woman I thought had vanished forever.
Sarah.
I looked up in horror.
She whispered:
"We've met before."
I felt my blood turn cold.
Because suddenly…
I remembered her.
And the last thing she said to me before disappearing without a trace.
May you like
"I'm pregnant."
To Be Continued…
