Chapter 10.

Later that evening, with her visit to her mother's grave still fresh in her mind, Callie found herself thinking once again about Robert Quinn, the mystery man who apparently fathered her. She wondered if he was a one-night stand, or if her mother loved him the way she loved Brandon.

And she wondered if he even knew she was alive. Did he know her mother was pregnant with her? Or that he was the father? She was certain that if she somehow got pregnant with Brandon's child, he wouldn't abandon her; he would stay with her and help raise it. But maybe this man didn't want a baby?

Then, there was the terrible thought she couldn't dismiss; the possibility that her mother and Robert had an affair while she was married to Donald. She realized that her mother and Donald had a loveless marriage; he was never around, but the thought still made her sad. Suddenly, she knew that she had to get some answers to her questions.

Dropping her history book on her bed, she went to Stef and Lena's room, and knocked on the door. She found the, laying in bed, reading.

"Hey, sweetheart," Lena smiled.

"Hi, baby," said Stef.

"Um, I need to talk to you," Callie mumbled, uncharacteristically nervous.

"What's that, hon?" Lena asked. "You've got to speak up."

"I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute," she repeated, this time louder. "I mean, if you have time."

"We always have time for you, Callie," Stef assured her. "In fact, there was something we wanted to talk to you about too, so, perfect timing."

"Have a seat," Lena added, patting the bedspread.

Callie nodded and sat down at the foot of the bed. "You guys can go first, if you want."

The two women looked at each other and smiled, then Stef took Callie's hand in hers. "Callie, sweets... you know that Lena and I love you dearly, right?"

"Yeah."

And you've probably also noticed that Jude has started calling us 'mom.' We were just wondering if you'd like to call us 'mom' too?"

"You wouldn't mind?" Callie asked, taken aback.

"Mind?" Stef laughed. "Sweetheart, we'd be honored. But it's absolutely up to you. It's your choice. If you don't want to, we understand. No questions asked."

Callie looked down at her folded legs, her hair a curtain around her face. "It's just that when I was younger, I was grocery shopping with one of our foster mothers, and I tried to call her 'mom,'" she admitted. "She yelled at me in front of all the people in the store. It was really embarrassing." She shuddered at the memory

"Well, that was her loss," said Stef, thinking that it was no wonder Callie was afraid to get close to people. "And I'm sorry that happened to you, baby. But Lena and I would never reject your love. You don't have to worry about that. You're our slug-a-bug."

"Then I think I'd like to," Callie smiled. "Thanks. Moms."

Stef and Lena held out their arms to give her hugs and kisses, and Callie hugged and kissed them back. Yet, in the back of her mind, the moment was bittersweet. Her heart was so torn between love for them, and love for Brandon. And there was the situation with Robert Quinn. Would she seem disloyal if she asked to meet him after Stef and Lena so completely shared their home and family with her?"

"Now, what did you want to talk to us about?" Lena asked. "What's on your mind?"

"Um,ever since the adoption day" Callie began, "I've been thinking a lot about Robert Quinn. And I think I'd like to meet him, if that's okay. It's not that I don't love you guys; I do. And I don't want to hurt you. It's just that, if I'm not Callie Jacob, I want to know who I really am. I don't know who I am anymore."

"Honey," said Stef, reaching out to her. "You're you, no matter what your last name is. You're the same amazing girl you've always been. But we understand if you want to know more about your past, and we'll certainly see what we can do to set up a meeting."

"I know you have his address," Callie confessed. When Stef and Lena gave her a puzzled look, she explained herself. "I didn't mean to snoop," she promised. "I was just looking for the tape in Lena's desk. And I saw a folder with my name on it, and I looked in it and saw the paper. I'm really, really sorry, and I'll never do it again. But I know you found him."

"We do have his address," Lena nodded. "And we weren't trying to hide that from you. It's just that, with everything that's happened with Brandon, I guess it kind of slipped our minds. But we have written a letter to him explaining the situation. We just haven't heard back from him yet."

"But if we do, you'll be the first to know," Stef told her.

"Okay," Callie nodded.

"You better go on to bed," said Stef. "It's getting late."

"I will," Callie replied. Standing on her knees, she let them each give her a hug and kiss her goodnight.

"Sweet dreams," said Lena.

"Goodnight, angel," Stef told her. "We love you."

Callie smiled before turning to leave. "Goodnight, moms. I love you too."

That night, once everyone was asleep, Callie slipped into Brandon's room once again, as was becoming her nightlight routine. They held each other, pressing tender kisses to one another's lips, cheeks, foreheads. But Callie's mind was still heavy with worry.

"Brandon?" she asked.

"What?" he whispered.

"I love you."

"I love you too," he answered.

"But where do we go from here?" She wondered out loud. "When do we let everyone know about us?"

"I don't know," he sincerely replied. "I try not to think about that."

"Me too," she admitted.

"You know... " he offered. "Who says we even have to let anyone know? Things are going fine the way they are, and we both know telling will just mess everything up."

"That's true," Callie nodded. "Maybe we can keep it a secret forever? Or, at least until we're in college."

"Then I guess we have a plan," he told her. "We'll just take this one day at a time."

To Be Continued