Page 46 of Bred By the Minotaur
I cringe. I’ve always told him that his only parent is me. He knows that some of the other kids at his school have two parents, but it’s never come up how his life looks different.
“You do have a mother,” I tell him. “All little calves have mothers.”
I pick him up off the counter and carry him back to the kitchen, where Sandra is rubbing her face and apologizing. Milo is quiet when I would expect him to be bursting with questions. Phoebe glances at me with a concerned arch of her brow, but I just shrug.
Maybe we got away safely tonight. But how long until he finds out? We can’t hide it from him. It feels wrong to lie to my own son. Phoebe and I need to have a conversation.
After Mom and Sandra leave for the night, I lead Milo up the stairs for bed. I sit down next to him and pick up the chapter book we were reading.
He sets his hand on the page when I start with the chapter number. “Dad, who is my mother?”
I should have known. I frantically look around for Phoebe, not sure what I should say, but she’s nowhere to be found.
“It’s complicated, Milo,” I tell him. “Maybe when you’re a little older...”
“Does it have to do with the baby factory?” he asks, bouncing. “Am I from the baby factory?”
“Yes!” The answer just bursts out of me. “Yes, you’re from the baby factory, too.”
Understanding dawns on him. “So I have a mom, but she’s at the factory? Making other babies?”
I nod quickly. “That’s right. She’s making baby number two right now. The one that will move in to Phoebe’s room.”
Milo frowns. “But where will Phoebe go?”
“Back to her house.” This is getting out of hand, and fast. I put my hand over his. “This is temporary, Milo. Phoebe’s house burned down, like we talked about.”
His eyes drift to the floor. “I know.”
“So when it’s done being built, she’ll go home, and the baby will move in.”
Though I doubt we’ll be able to hide for long where the baby-making is happening when Phoebe starts showing.
Milo nods in understanding, then picks up the book again and asks me to read it. Soon, he’s asleep, and I tuck him into bed and turn off the light before stepping out with the book clasped in my hand.
Phoebe’s at the table working when I come back downstairs. I let out a huge breath as I sink into the chair across from her.
“Milo now believes he’s from the baby factory,” I tell her.
“Thanks to Sandra’s comment?”
I can’t even feel angry. “It was bound to happen.”
“We’re going to have to tell him,” she says with a frown. At least we’re thinking the same thing, even though I know the idea makes her deeply uncomfortable.
“Are you ready for that?”
Her shoulders crumple. “No, not really. I’m not... I’m not someone’s mom, you know? I don’t know that I ever can be.”
I think I understand. She didn’t sign up for DreamTogether to be a mother herself, and she clearly hasn’t realized how much she is one without even trying.
“Then we won’t tell him right now.” I nod down at her belly. “But... we’ll have to.”
Phoebe sighs wearily. “I know. Live to fight another day, though, right?”
I nod, then to change the subject to something more comfortable, I point at her tablet. “What are you working on?”
Phoebe looks vulnerable at this question.
