Bedtime Stories

As Famke finished reading a bedtime story to Precious, she was torn in her feelings. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever anticipated a moment in her life where she would be able to do the things, she had done that night. Helping Imani give Precious her bath and then picking out pajamas and reading a bedtime story were all pipedreams she had never permitted herself to contemplate. She was snuggled up to the child who was tucked in her bed with Royal sitting at the end of the bed watching and it felt intimate and special. For the first time in her life, she felt like a mom. Yet, for all these blessings, she was feeling terror and sorrow and more than a smidge of anger.

None of this was real.

It didn’t matter how much she had wanted it to be. She could never be Precious’ mother. The role had belonged solely to Mindy and those were not shoes she was capable of filling. The photo of Mindy, Prince and Precious on the bedside table mocked her desperate craving to be more than a friend P