Cassidy patiently waited for Simon outside the school door along with other parents after her class. She couldn't help but notice some of the dads checking her out and a few moms giving her side-eyes, but she brushed it off. As Simon came running out, she greeted him with a smile and opened her arms for a hug.
"Hey! Did you have a good day?"
Simon beamed and ran into her embrace. "Yeah, Cassie, I did!" He chatted excitedly about his day as they walked back to her car.
Once they were inside the car, Simon's mood changed, and he grew quiet.
"Cassie?" he finally spoke up.
Cassidy glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, buddy, what's up?"
"Do I have to call you mom?" Simon asked with a hint of uncertainty.
Cassidy sighed and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "Simon, you don't have to call me anything you don't want to. You can call me Cassie. You already have a mom, and I would never replace her, okay?"
Simon nodded, gazing out of the car window in silence until they reached home. In the garage, he got out of the car, and Cassidy met him with a crouch down to his level.
"Do you want to talk some more?" she asked.
Simon shook his head and wrapped his arms around her neck in a tight hug. "I really like you, Cassie."
"I like you too, Simon," Cassidy responded with a chuckle as she patted his back. "I think you're a pretty cool kid."
Simon grinned and grabbed her hand as they headed inside the house. "I think you're cool, Cassie. And pretty too."
Cassidy laughed, ruffling his hair as they entered the kitchen. "Why don't you start your homework, and I'll get you a snack."
~1 month later~
"Thanks for helping me paint, Nate," Cassidy smiled as she poured him more paint. They had spent most of the weekend painting her gallery and rehabbing the floors, with Simon running around with them. She turned toward the door as it dinged, and August stepped inside with a pizza box. She noticed him briefly glare at Nate before locking his gaze onto her. She giggled and approached him, lowering her voice as she accepted the box.
"So jealous..."
He growled softly, leaning down to kiss her cheek, hovering momentarily to whisper, "of that boy? Please. We both know you like a real man."
Rolling her eyes, she handed the box to Nate as Simon launched himself at August. "August brought lunch."
"Thanks, man!" Nate accepted the box and went to sit at the makeshift table they had set up.
August set Simon back on his feet with a smile. "Go grab some pizza so I can talk to Cassie." He grabbed Cassidy's hand and pulled her to the corner of the room away from the other two. "You know I can pay people to do all this shit for you."
"I know," she responded with an exasperated sigh. "But I like doing it. Have you heard from Sara?"
"No. I just came from the house, and nothing. All her stuff is gone. And the divorce papers were sitting, signed on the dining room table." He sighed, his hands resting on his hips. "That's not all..."
"What else could there be?"
"She left custody papers too... Leaving me full and permanent custody. She even signed away her parental rights."
"Are you kidding me?!" She exclaimed angrily, as Nate and Simon both looked at her. She looked apologetically at them as Nate pulled his attention back to the pizza. She turned back to August, lowering her voice. "So she abandoned her son? Just like that? Who does that?" Her eyes began to water as August pulled her into his chest, encircling his arms around her.
"I don't think she ever really wanted to be a mom, Cassie," he admitted softly. "I think she just liked the life I provided her." He sighed, feeling the anger radiating through her. "Who knows better than you to have shitty parents?"
She sighed, wiping her eyes as she pulled away from him. "Yeah... Thanks for lunch, Auggie." He dipped down to press a kiss to her lips, lingering for a moment as he felt her relax slightly.
"Of course. I'm gonna take Simon with me so we can talk. I'll see you at home." August turned to Simon with a smile. "Come on, Simon. Say goodbye to Cassie and Nate."
Simon stood up, pizza sauce on his face, as he hugged Cassie. "Bye Cassie!" He grabbed August's hand and waved to Nate. "Bye Nate!"
"Where's mom?" Simon asked as they pulled into traffic.
August sighed, rolling his neck back and forth. "I'm not sure, bud. Don't you like living with me and Cassie? I even let you do your room in Batman even though Superman is the obvious superior choice." He smiled at Simon's giggle from the backseat.
"No! Superman has super powers. Batman is cool without any powers!"
"Pfft," August shook his head, glancing back at Simon. "Batman is just a dude with a lot of money."
"He's like you, daddy! You're Batman!"
August laughed at his response, unable to deny the comparison. "Funny."
"Daddy..." Simon started before August cut him off.
"I don't know, Simon." He hung his head down at a stoplight, unsure how to tell his son that his mother abandoned him. "I don't think you'll be seeing her for a while though. Okay?"
"Okay..." Simon sounded a bit dejected, but he quickly changed the subject to something Nate had said that he thought was funny, and August let out a sigh of relief.