"How will you do that?" I asked.
"Leave it to me. It's not for you to worry. All you have to do is give me one more chance. Although I know you have given me more than enough chances, I begged of you to give me another one for the last time," Acwell said.
"I don't know. I find it hard to believe that there will be any difference in our situation."
"There will be, Kamiah. If you could only open yourself for second chances. Catrina and my daughter are far away now. And even if one day they communicate with me or pop all of a sudden here, I already know how to handle them. There will be no secrets between us."
"I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that there will be no secrets between us. There had been so many in the past, and some are even still hard to accept."
"I know. But can you just let me do what I intend to do?"
I looked at him and softly say, "Okay."
"Are you working tonight?"
"No."
"Good! Get some sleep. I will take care of Kai. And if ever you wake up early in the afternoon, let's go somewhere."
"Where?"
"I don't know. I am not familiar with the places here, yet. Any suggestions?"
"I have not gone too far from work and home. I barely have the time and the money to spend. I only know a nearby playground where Kai and I usually go."
"Then, we can start from there. And on your next off, I will try to find a better place for us to visit. When is your off usually?"
"It's not fixed. It depends on the manager."
"That's fine. I will plan, so when you are off, all we have to do is go."
I thought of whether I should agree with him or not. But I looked at Kai, and I think he needs that kind of bonding.
"Okay, for Kai."
"I might not be able to come here the day after tomorrow. I have a final interview for a job, but maybe I could pick you up from the diner?"
"It would be better if you don't. You can just directly come here and play with Kai if you want."
"Why not?"
"I don't feel comfortable with it. And it besides, for now, the main reason you will keep coming here is for Kai."
"What about us?"
"I am not ready to talk about that, Acwell. I was healing myself from everything, and you showed up once again. And everything is blurry and painful. I don't know how things should be."
"I understand. Anyway, it is fine. Whichever will make you feel comfortable. Now, please go have a rest."
Acwell stood, picked up Kai, and they headed to the living room. I went to clean the table and wash the dishes. And when I went to the living room, I saw the two focused on watching cartoons.
I went inside the bedroom and lay down on the bed, wondering what I would do. Should I send Acwell away? Or forgive him one last time? But I am scared to go through the same thing that I did before. I went all the way here to have new life and with Acwell showing up it feels like I did it for nothing. Was it really for nothing?
I fell asleep out of exhaustion. And around 01:00 PM, I was awakened by someone gently shaking me and saying my name.
"Kamiah, Kamiah," Acwell said.
I opened my eyes and saw Acwell. I had forgotten that he was in the house, and I asked, "Why are you here?"
He smiled and said, "Sorry to wake you. I have cooked food for lunch. Please come and eat."
"What time is it?"
"It's 01:00 in the afternoon. Please come while the food is still hot."
I sat while I watched Acwell go out of the room. On the way to the kitchen, I could hear Kai giggling.
"Mommy is here now. Let's eat," Acwell said.
Kai had started eating while I sat across Acwell.
"Where are you going after Kai?" Acwell asked.
"Play," Kai replied with a smile.
"Yes, we will play. Now, eat well so we can go there."
I looked at them before I picked up the spoon.
"Are you still sleepy?"
"Not really."
"I am sorry that I woke you from your sleep. I just thought that it would be good for you to have lunch. If you want to go back to sleep, that's fine, too."
"No. I am okay."
"After we eat, I am going to take Kai to the playground. Would you like to come?"
"Do you know where it is?"
"No. But I will try to find it."
"Then, it's best for me to go with you. But I need to take a shower first."
"That's okay. We will wait for mommy, right Kai?"
Kai just smiled, and I smiled back at him.
"Don't do the dishes. I will take care of it. You can take a shower while I do it," Acwell said while I was about to take the plates to wash them.
"But you cooked so; it's my turn to wash them," I replied.
"It's fine. Go ahead and take a shower. I can take care of this."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. But would you please clean Kai? I wanted to do it, but I might get wet. I don't have any other clothes to change."
"Yea, sure."
I washed Kai, put on new clothes on him, and let him watch cartoons while I took a shower.
When I went out of the bedroom, Acwell asked, "Ready to go?"
"Yes."
We took a subway to the playground. And immediately, Kai ran around when we arrived there. Acwell followed, and they played together. I have never seen them laugh like this. It made me smile.
I took some pictures and videos. I will keep them as memories so that I can show something when Kai grew up. I do not know if Acwell and I would get back together. But at least there are some good times that we shared. Those are the things that I wanted Kai to remember when he grows up. And hopefully, whatever happens, he will remain happy as I see him now.