Calvin pulls into their driveway after picking up Arielle. He let's the kids out of the car. Romeo rushes to the front door, probably trying to get to his mom. Once Calvin unlocks the door, Romeo goes straight to the kitchen where his mom was making the kids an after school snack.
"Mama." Romeo calls, letting out a sigh of relief. She looks over and smiles.
"Kids, I missed you all day! How was school today?" She says cheerfully. Her only son hugs her waist.
"Mama, can I talk to you later?" He says. She can tell he looks a bit out of it. She instantly nods, telling him they'll talk after dinner. She says hello to her girls and gives them their snack, a bowl of fruit with juice. Romeo sits next to his Mom while he eats. Once their all done and the girls go to do their homework, Romeo still stays with his Mom, doing his homework at the dining table while she cleans the kitchen.
Calvin feels horrible as he notices Romeo clinging to his mother for comfort the entire afternoon. Following her from room to room, asking her to stay with him while he did his chores, helping her make dinner. As soon as dinner is over, he tells the girls to go to their rooms and sits Romeo and Michelle down in the living room.
"Honey, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but Renee showed up at Romeos school again. She spoke to him today." I said. She looks horrified.
"What!? Why didn't you call me, Calvin?" She says, a bit annoyed. She turns to Romeo.
"Ro, what did she say? Was she mean? Did she touch you at all?" She asks. He looks overwhelmed, looking at his dad for help.
"Son, go to bed now. We can talk more tonorrow." Calvin says, pointing at the steps. Romeo quickly shakes his head.
"But I wanna stay with you and Mama tonight." he mumbles. Michelle looks at her son, then her husband.
"Baby, get ready for bed and you can wait for us in our room. Lay down until we come to bed, okay?" she tells him. He hesitates, but nods, knowing he may get in trouble for disobeying his parents. He walks up the steps, leaving Calvin and Michelle alone.
"Cal, please tell me everything." Michelle says, and Calvin's phone rings. He glances at the clock and sees its 9 p.m. on the dot. He looks nervously at his wife.
"Mimi, don't get upset, but it's Renee. She wanted to speak to us." He says as he answers the phone before his wife can say anything.
"Hello?" He says. Michelle stared daggers at him.
"Oh, thank you so much for picking up, Calvin. Is Michelle there with you?" She says. Michelle glances at her husband again before speaking.
"Hi Renee. I'm here too." She says.
"Hello, Michelle, thank you so much for talking to me. So can you please tell me what you were going to earlier today."
Calvin takes a deep breath, ready to give her all the details, but Michelle beats him to it.
"Well first Renee, you have to answer a question for us. Why did you abandon Ro?" She asks. Calvin looks at her, shocked. He wasn't expecting Renee to answer her, but she did.
"When I dropped Romeo off for the weekend and went back home, his father and I got in a bad argument that turned physical. I've been on antidepressants since my baby was 2 years old and was barely present half the time. I also had a drinking problem along with his father. His father forced me to get in the car and drove away, and I couldn't come back until 3 years ago because he kept me hostage in a motel room. I didn't want to abandon my son. I was scared and listened to my ex husband when I shouldn't have. I should have found a way to get back to Romeo." She lays everything out.
Calvin gets a little uncomfortable hearing her call their son "her baby", but he puts it aside.
"Renee, Romeo is mine and Calvin's son. We adopted him 6 years ago." She says. Calvin gives her a dirty look again and they hear her audibly gasp.
"What? You adopted him? But how could that be, I never signed away ny rights." She says sadly.
"There's paperwork with both of your signatures. You signed for the state to take Romeo. That's where we found him. In a foster home a bit away from here." Calvin explains. He's feeling bad for her after hearing what happened. They can hear her crying softly on the other side.
"So there's no hope of me getting my Romeo back." She says, seemingly to herself rather than Calvin and Michelle.
"Do you think maybe we could arrange something? I have the okay from my lawyer to try and fight for custody." She says. Michelle gets visibly angry.
"How dare you! You left him for dead, and now you want him back? Are you kidding?" She says, her voice getting louder. Calvin rubs her knee, trying to soothe his wife.
"Honey, please relax, you'll wake the kids.'" He tells her.
"No, no. I'm so sorry. I don't want to fight for full custody of Romeo. I just want to be able to see him. I know I was wrong leaving him, and he's probably better off with you and Calvin. And he has a sister. He begged me for a sibling when he was younger, but I knew I made a mistake with his father. I did everything wrong. But please let me see him." She begs.
Calvin's heart aches for her.
"Renee, Michelle and I have to really think about this. Maybe we can meet while the kids are at school and talk more in person. But for now, you have to stay away from Romeo and April's school." He tells her.
"Alright, then. When we meet up, can you bring him,?" She asks, hopeful. Michelle looks at Calvin and shakes her head no. Calvin sighs.
"We will speak with him about it, but I have to say, it's leaning more toward a no. I'm sorry." He responds. Michelle is really appreciative of Calvin for taking charge of the conversation because she's feeling very anxious.
"Well, okay. Thank you both again for speaking with me. It means so much. I hope to see you soon. Goodnight." She says. The couple says their goodbyes and hangs up. Michelle let's out a sigh and looks over at her husband.
"Cal, please don't ever do that again. Please give me a heads up." She says, kissing his cheek. He nods immediately.
"Yes, Honey. I'm sorry again. I should've found time to tell you before she called." He replies, following her up the steps.
They go in their room and see their boy laying in their bed, waiting for his parents.
"Mama, Poppy." He says, looking relieved to see him. They both quickly get in bed with him and cuddle him close, giving him the comfort he's been waiting for all day. They all start dozing off when Romeo speaks up.
"Thank you for not making me talk to her." He mumbles before falling asleep bundled between his mom and dad, feeling warm and safe.
They both look at each other sadly.
Whatever their boy wants, they'll do it if it means keeping him safe and comfortable.
