Tara

After the close call at Walmart and running into Sam around town on several occasions, Tara realized that she definitely needed to let him know about Maya. But who knew how he would react? Sure he seemed enamored with her now, but learning that he was her father would be a total game changer. Maybe he didn’t want children. Or maybe he had someone new in his life and Maya would be an unwanted complication. The thought of Sam with another woman rankled Tara on a level that she really didn’t care to acknowledge, mostly because doing so would mean accepting that she had feelings for him. That wasn’t something she cared to admit, even to herself. Still, Sam had the right to know of his daughter’s existence. So that evening after collecting Maya from daycare, she decided to tell him before she lost her nerve. She dialed his cell.

“Hey Sam, it’s Tara. Are you available this evening? There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Sure,” he answered. “Why don’t you stop by the restaurant and we can talk in my office.”

Tara really needed to speak to him in private. “I prefer that we meet at your trailer.”

He chuckled. “Well that sounds ominous.” When Tara didn’t reply, he became worried. “Okay, meet you there in fifteen?”

Tara agreed and hung up. She took a deep breath. She could do this.

Sam

Sam was surprised to receive a phone call from Tara. He was even more surprised when she said that she needed to speak with him at his trailer. He’d tried to feel her out over the phone, but she refused to give him even a hint of what she wanted to discuss. What could have happened? Whatever it was, he resolved that he’d try to help her as much as he could. After letting his employees know that he’d be unavailable for a while, he headed back to his trailer.

When he arrived, Tara was waiting for him on his front porch with Maya on her knee. They both looked beautiful.

“Evening ladies,” Sam said as he approached. “You wanna sit out here or go inside?”

“I think we better go inside,” Tara said, not meeting his eye.

Sam let her into the trailer and cleared a place on the sofa for her to sit. After she declined his offer of something to drink, he made a joke about all the clutter, remembering how she’d always teased him about the state of his home. He felt himself growing concerned when she didn’t so much as crack a smile. He cleared a place for himself and waited to hear what she had to say. After a few moments of awkward silence, he couldn’t stand it any longer. “Okay Tara. What did you need to talk to me about?”

Tara

Tara had rehearsed this speech since discovering that she was pregnant, but now, sitting face to face with Sam, she was at a loss for words. She appreciated his attempt to make her relax by joking about his junky trailer, but she found herself unable to muster even a polite smile in return. When he asked point blank what she wanted to talk about, she began to tremble.

“Hey, it’s okay. You know you can tell me anything,” he said soothingly.

She kissed Maya’s forehead to steel herself. Best to just say the words and get this over with.

“Sam, you’re Maya’s father,” she blurted. She watched his face carefully for any sign of reaction, but he just sat there, totally silent. Not knowing what to do next, she began babbling.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner; at first I didn’t even realize I was pregnant. Then I was so focused on getting my life together and being a good mother that everything else just fell by the wayside. I’m not asking you for anything, but you have the right to know about your daughter.”

When Sam remained silent, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She stood and gathered Maya’s things. “We’d better leave. Call me if you want to talk about this later.”

Sam caught her arm as she moved to walk past him. “Let’s talk about this now.”