Gwen picked up the phone and looked over at Kay. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
"Yeah. Just don't make me talk to her." Kay leaned back into the couch and hugged a pillow to her chest.
"That's completely up to you," Gwen said. "I'm just going to let your parents know that you're safe."
"Okay," Kay scowled, "but I doubt that my mother will even care."
Gwen put down the phone, sat down next to Kay, and covered Kay's hand with her own.
Kay looked at Gwen; tears gathered in the corners of Kay's eyes. "Everything's gone wrong for me since Charity came to town," she cried. "Not only did she take Miguel away from me and get what was supposed to be my new room—but, throughout it all, my own mother cheered her on."
Gwen squeezed Kay's hand. "That must have really hurt."
Kay hugged the pillow she was holding more tightly to her chest. "It did," she cried softly, "—especially when I was so close to getting Miguel." Kay looked at Gwen. "He told me once that he was this close to starting a relationship with me when Charity came to town. Even Luis thought Miguel and I should be together. I heard him teasing Miguel about it once . . ."
"And then Miguel met Charity?" Gwen guessed.
"Yeah." Kay frowned. "He did. My mom, she was practically falling all over herself as she watched them get together. It didn't once occur to her that maybe I was hurting. That maybe Miguel should have been with me, instead of her precious niece."
Gwen grimaced. "Ouch."
"You can say that again." Kay balled herself up in one corner of the couch. "It was like I didn't exist."
"That sounds really lonely," Gwen said.
"Yeah, it really was." Kay adjusted a pillow behind her and then plopped down on it. "Why don't you just call her, Gwen? Let's just get this over with."
"Luis, are you okay?" Sheridan walked up behind Luis and slipped her arms around his chest.
His eyes remaining fixed on the bush outside of Sam's front window, Luis picked up one of her hands and kissed it. "What if this is us in fifteen years, Sheridan?"
Sheridan laid her cheek on his back. "I've been worrying about that myself."
Luis turned around. "I've been telling myself that we're going to be good parents—that we've both worked with tons of kids at the youth center and that I've already helped raise Theresa and Miguel." Luis swallowed hard. "But what if I'm wrong about that, Sheridan? What if we have no idea what we're doing? I mean, Sam and Grace are both great parents—and this still happened. If it could happen to them, it could happen to anyone."
"I know, Luis." Her voice choked with emotion, Sheridan massaged the sides of her belly. "I've wanted to have a baby for longer than I can remember, but I never really thought that out. I never actually stopped to think about what it would be like to parent her—or how to deal with the difficult things that might happen as she grew up."
His throat constricting, Luis wrapped his arms around Sheridan, pulled her against his chest, and kissed the top of her head.
"I'm scared, Luis." Sheridan cuddled in closer to him.
A knot settling in his stomach, Luis tightened his arms around her. "I am, too, Sheridan."
Eve picked up the glove and rose to her feet. Her eyes darting around the park, her brow creased with worry. "Kay must have been here at some point today. This is her glove, Julian."
"I can't believe you recognized it," Julian said.
"TC and I gave Kay and Simone matching pairs last Christmas," Eve explained, tracing her finger over the glove's embroidered logo. "They had been admiring them for weeks."
"Still, if I were here alone, I might have walked right past this glove." Julian rubbed his chin. "The fact that you noticed it shows what a good mother and person you are—you pay attention to the small things."
Eve blushed and hung her head. "It's not really that big of a deal."
Julian nudged up her chin; his eyes shone at hers. "Yes, Eve, it is."
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Kay?" Gwen picked up the phone.
"Yeah," Kay sighed, picking at one of her shoelaces. "Let's just get this over with."
"Okay . . ." Gwen studied Kay for a moment and then started to dial the phone.
"Gwen?" Kay glanced up at her. "How did you know where to find me?"
Gwen looked up. "I just thought about where I'd go if I wanted to feel loved. Maybe it's silly, but going to the park, being on the swings as a little girl—those are some of my happiest memories."
"Mine, too." Kay smiled. "Those were the days—just pure fun—no crushes on stupid boys who do nothing but break your heart."
"I'll second that," Gwen laughed. "I'll take playing freeze tag and jumping off swings any day over having some guy break my heart."
Kay furrowed her brow. "You played games like that at those fancy boarding schools you went to?"
Gwen smirked. "Don't ever tell my mother this, but when I was little, my friends and I played games that made us sweaty and dirty every single chance we got."
Kay stared at Gwen for a moment and then laughed. "I'm sorry I was so mean to you the other day, Gwen. I can see why Uncle Hank likes you so much."
"Yes, well, I like him, too." Gwen smiled wistfully. "Even if we're not meant to be together, he has still made me smile like no one else ever has."
"Why do you think you're not meant to be together?" Kay's eyes fell to the floor. "Is it because of what I said?"
Gwen's smile faded. She sat down next to Kay. "Listen, Kay, you didn't say anything that I wasn't already thinking. The fact that I hurt your family would have come between Hank and I eventually."
"Yeah, but I still shouldn't have said it," Kay insisted. "I know you didn't mean to hurt any of us."
"Just like you didn't mean to hurt me." Gwen covered Kay's hand with her own. "I know you were in a lot of pain when you said what you did—don't be so hard on yourself."
