Kitchen Affairs by Brooke Cumberland

deserve to be happy. You both do,” she said reassuringly. She hadn’t been there for me when he passed away, but she was doing her best to make up for it now.
    “I know mom. But it’s been difficult moving on, even after all these years. I want to be happy, but I need to do this. Liam was my first love and in order for me to fully love anyone else, I need to tell him that I will always love him no matter what. I need the reassurance that it’s okay to move on,” I paused waiting for her to react. “I met someone mom. And he’s wonderful. I’m falling for him and it makes me feel conflicted – for loving someone else and for moving on. I need to do this.”
    She grabbed me in for a hug and held me tight. I hadn’t told her how much I was suffering on the inside still. She never brought up Liam’s name when we talked on the phone, but I’m sure she did that to avoid any sad feelings for me.
    “Sweetheart, you are an amazing person and mother. Liam would be so proud of you and your accomplishments. He’d be so proud how you are raising his daughter and he’d be proud that you are moving on. I understand you need to do this. You deserve to be happy and feel loved again.” She kissed my forehead and continued hugging me. There was no feeling like this. My mom and I hadn’t talked and hugged like this in years. I missed her so much.
     
     
     

C HAPTER TEN
     
     
     
     
    That evening, I took Stella to see my dad. He was just as shocked as my mom was to see us. I di dn’t tell him about seeing Liam because I just didn’t have the energy to talk about it again, and I didn’t want Stella seeing me upset. He swooned in for a hug and kissed Stella on both of her cheeks. He was beyond excited to see us after all this time; it made my heart melt.
    “Molly! I can’t believe you guys are here! I have missed this little bug!” he gushed continuing to squeeze us.
    “We missed you too, Dad. We are only here for the weekend though. I have to get back for my internship on Monday.”
    “How is the internship, darling? Learning a lot?”
    “It’s great. I love it. And yes, learning tons,” I said with a hidden meaning.
    For the next hour, we caught up and watched Stella play with his dogs chasing them around his condo. I briefly told him about Drake and our new relationship. Michael and I took Stella out to dinner and invited my dad and my mom. It’s been years since they’ve been in the same room together, but it was a short visit and I wanted to make the most of the time we had.
    The evening went better than I had expected. Stella kept both my parents busy even though it was awkward for them. She told them about her school, her friend Bobby that she likes, and about meeting mommy’s new friend, Drake.
    Oh thanks Stella-bug.
    The next morning while making breakfast, I decided to tell Stella about her father. She has never really asked about him. I think since Michael has been in the picture for so long; she didn’t really notice. I was waiting until Stella was old enough to understand before mentioning her father. Today was that day.
    “Sweetie, mommy has some important things to tell you. We need to talk about your daddy.” I pulled her onto my lap.
    “Who’s my daddy?” she asked with curiosity.
    “ Well… his name is Liam. He was so excited when he found out you were coming. He loved you so much. When you were just a baby, he died in a car accident. And I know he misses you very much.” I tried to hold back tears. It saddened me every day knowing that he wasn’t here to watch her grow up and that he’d never see her on her first day of kindergarten, her first dance, her first boyfriend, walk her down the aisle, or meet his grandchildren.
    She just stared at me unsure of how to respond. I could see she was confused. “We are going to go visit his gravesite today, sweetie. I want you to see where he is buried.”
    “Okay mommy. Why are you sad?” she asked concerned as she saw my eyes swell