This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
It's a typical day when your ex-partner calls with an unusual request. Her house girl has lost a valuable item, and she's away on a trip. The baby mama is traveling for work for a week, leaving you to figure out who will care for their son.
She suggests you take the boy to your mother's place, but you know she's not in the best health. Your mother is often in and out of the hospital, and you should visit her soon, she reminds you.
After some deliberation, you decide to ask your wife, Caroline, if the boy can stay with you for the week. Your ex-partner is less than enthusiastic about both options, but she offers no alternative solution.
For a week, you'll be away with the boy, and Caroline strongly objects, but she doesn't provide a solution. On the day your ex-partner leaves for work, she gives you detailed instructions on the boy's diet and your own, but you have other plans.
Every day, it's take-out dinner, and you're not concerned about the boy's health. It's a week of indulgence, and you're sure it won't make him obese.
As you spend time with the boy, you realize it feels different sleeping in your ex-partner's bed, especially since you're a married man. Caroline knows the boy is a reality she can't ignore, and her uneasiness may be well-founded.
Relationships are complicated, and it's essential to be in good books with your past lovers, not for anything, but because it's the decent thing to do. You recall not making a scene when she invited her ex-partner to her birthday, despite your strong dislike for him.
Caroline's reluctance to host the boy at your home and her sour reaction when you spend time with him leave you wondering why. You ask her if she's sure your ex-partner is traveling to the coast, and she suggests there might be other reasons for her trip.
As the conversation escalates, you command her to shut up, and she leaves, throwing her hands up in frustration. You realize that being reasonable or unreasonable won't win you over, so you do what's right.
Spending time with the boy is refreshing, and you appreciate the connection you share, even in short moments. At 5, the boy is good with conversations and deeply curious. He insists that there are no men who come to the house, and you're not sure why that impresses you.
As you wonder why your ex-partner can't move on, you realize hope is a bad drug, but it also springs eternal. You're not sure what the future holds, but for now, you're grateful for the time with the boy.
