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You were both so worried about it, at first. He had told you, Charlie had told you without any beating around the bush, that if Henry was uncomfortable with any of it, then that would be that. His son came first in all things, and you knew that – hell, you were the one who kept pushing that idea yourself, during the divorce. It was one of the things that made Charlie fall in love with you all that time ago, one of the things that made him so willing to run around and sneak about with you.
There were many things, many many things that made him want to do that, but your adamance for his son’s wellbeing was definitely up there.
Now though, now the divorce was over and done. The ink had dried on the pages, and his ex-wife had flown across the country. He didn’t know, had no fucking clue, how he had won in the end. But he had, and he had Henry, and he lived in New York in a nice house with a yard, with a park nearby, with plenty of space for loving memories to grow.
Most importantly, he had you. After all this time, he had you.
“Is she going to stay forever?” You had overheard Henry asking his dad one morning, one of the first mornings that you had officially woken up as his girlfriend, no longer hiding and running out the door before the world woke up.
You had been on your way up with a basket of freshly folded laundry, when you caught wind of the conversation between him and his dad, and not wanting to interrupt you hung back in the hallway a little bit.
“If we want her to, she wants to stay with us for a very very long time.” You heard Charlie replying, and your heart began to pound in your chest.
Because no matter how happy and in love you and Charlie were with one another, Henry had to come first. His input mattered and his feelings mattered, and you would pack up your things and nurse your broken heart if he didn’t want you.
But instead of any immediate outrage, instead of shock or scandal, your head hurts with sadness from the way his voice is so filled with pain when he whispers, “Do you think she’ll leave us?”
“No, she won’t do that to us.” Charlie said right away, hugging his son, holding him close.
You inched closer to the door, peeked your head in. Henry’s face was pressed into Charlie’s chest, eyes shut tight. You pained for this poor kid, old enough to know the nastiness of divorce but not old enough to know why.
“How do you know?” He asked, and Charlie just looked at you.
“I don’t, not for sure.” Charlie answered as truthfully as he could, “But I know that for right now, she loves us both so much, Henry. She really does. And I would like for her to be a part of our family, helping me take care of you and loving you the way I do.”
You nod, putting down the laundry basket just inside Henry’s room, and leaving the two of them to finish their conversation in private.
“What should I call her?” You heard Henry asking on your way down the hall.
“You can call her whatever you’d like, whatever you’re comfortable with.” Charlie said you close the bedroom door gently behind you, to put away some laundry of your own.
That had been a long time ago, seemingly ages ago now.
Ages between then and now, and oh how things had changed. How he had welcomed you into his life with open arms. You and Charlie worked together to raise Henry, to take care of him just like he had said. Whether it was staying up late to help him with his reading and spelling, or it was waking up early to pack a lunch for him for school, or it was holding him tight on the weekends as he cried about drama in his friend group or a sad movie he accidentally watched or a scrape on his knee from playing outside.
There were good times, and there were stressful times, times where you didn’t know how to handle a situation, times when you turned to Charlie and he didn’t really know either, this being the first time for so many things. It had been ages, but you’d both figured it out, you and Charlie. Figured out that the only way to parent was to do your best, was to try your hardest.
And no matter how much time has passed, no matter how long it has been, there’s something that still fills your heart with warmth when Henry kisses his dad on cheek as the two of you drop him off at school.
When he races up to the steps of the elementary school greeting all his friends – only to run right back, to pull on your hand so you can bend down and he can kiss your cheek too.
You both smile and wave when he gets back to the door, up the steps with a bright smile, excited for the day of classes. And when he calls out bye dad, bye mom!, you and Charlie look at one another with smiles of your own, and Charlie can’t help but kiss you, holding your hand as the two of you walk down the street to the subway.
It’s maybe not the most usual family, and maybe it took some time to get the hang of it, but it’s yours, and none of you would trade it for anything in the world.