Justin Beiber singing a song in Spanish with another man.
Cameron’s voice rings out as he starts to sing to the words in Spanish, then Owen joins in and their combined voices ring out happily.
Despacito.
I lean my head up against the wall in the semi-lit hallway as I listen. How many times have they sung this song together?
I smile softly in the darkness as their husky voices ring out.
They know the words and it’s in Spanish.
This is it. Everything that I dreamed of Owen having is right here.
Cameron loves him. With all of his heart he loves him.
Even after everything I have been through, it’s insignificant and means nothing because my son is finally happy.
Really, really happy.
As I listen to them sing together with tears in my eyes, I’m grateful for the relationship that they have.
This is how it was always meant to be.
26
Ashley
The phone rings. It’s a Friday night, and Cameron was supposed to be here ten minutes ago to pick Owen up for the weekend.
He called in sick today and he had surgery scheduled that had to be cancelled. So he’s either really sick or something else is going on. I wanted to call him, but I stopped myself. It’s none of my business.
I glance at the screen and the name Cameron lights it up. I frown as I answer.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Ash,” his groggy voice whispers.
“What’s wrong?” I immediately ask.
“Nothing.” He pauses. “I’m just not well.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He hesitates. “I can’t come and get Owen, though. Please apologize to him for me.”
I frown, this is weird. He’s never missed a visit.
“What’s wrong with you?” I ask.
“I’m guessing a virus. I’ll be fine.”
“You sound really sick.”
“Sorry, I know you had plans for tonight,” he says.
For the first time in a long time, Jenna and I were going to dinner and a late movie tonight. Damn it. “That’s okay.” I sigh. “Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m good.” He pauses as if wanting to say something and I wait on the line.
Is he ok?
“I’ll… I’ll call you later,” he murmurs and then he hangs up.
I stare at the phone in my hand for a moment. That was weird.
“We can’t go tonight, Jen. Cam is sick,” I announce as I walk into the kitchen.
“Fuck it,” she whispers under her breath.
“Go and have hot sex. That’s what I’d be doing if I was you,” I mutter dryly as I open the fridge. I now have to find something to cook. Bloody hell. I really needed a nice night out with lots of wine.
“Ugh, that sucks.”
“We can go next week.” I sigh.
“Yeah, okay.” She smirks as she watches me study the contents of the fridge. “What are you going to have for dinner?”
I frown as I continue to look inside the depressing fridge. “I might take Owen out for pizza actually.” I shrug. “I’m not in the mood to cook.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” she asks.
“Nah, that’s okay.” I smile and kiss her on the cheek. “Go do your thing. We’ll make our own fun.”
An hour and a half and a huge stomach full of pizza later, I find myself pulling up in Cameron’s driveway with Owen in the car.
I can’t stop thinking that something is wrong. His call was off and has left me feeling uneasy.
Part of my job as Owen’s mother is to make sure his father is safe, I justify to myself.
There is nothing weird about me checking on him. I’m just being a responsible mother.
“What are we doing?” Owen calls from the back seat.
“Umm, I just want to check on Dad. He’s sick and I want to make sure he’s alright.”
He smiles, unbuckles his seatbelt, and is out of the car before I even turn off the engine. The guard opens the gates on sight and I walk through and up to the front door. Owen has already gone in. The door must have been unlocked.
“Dad,” Owen calls as he runs into the kitchen and I take the stairs two at a time.
Something is definitely off here.
I find him in bed, shaking, covered in a layer of sweat.
“What the hell, Cam?” I whisper as I go to him.
He closes his eyes. “What are you doing here?” he croaks.
I put my hand on his forehead and he is burning up with a raging temperature. “Checking on you. Why didn’t you call me?” I snap.
“I’m fine.” He shivers.
“You are not fine. We need to get this temp down. Get up.”