Chapter 7 The Agreement
For three days, Molly didn't let the children leave the apartment.
She told their school they were sick. She took time off work. She stayed home and tried to figure out what to do about Sean Anderson.
The children could feel her anger and confusion. But they didn't say they were sorry. Because they weren't.
"We had to know," Alex said on the third day. "We had to know about him. We had to know about you."
"You had no right," Molly said. But her voice wasn't as angry as before.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ben asked. "Why didn't you tell us about him?"
Molly sat down. She suddenly looked very tired. "Because I was ashamed. Because I didn't know how to explain that sometimes things happen that can't be explained. Because I didn't want you to know that your mother was so stupid and naive that she got pregnant at seventeen and ruined her whole life."
"You didn't ruin your life," Claudia said, crawling into her mother's lap. "You made us."
Molly held her daughter and cried.
\---
On the fourth day, there was a knock on the door.
It wasn't Sean. It was a lawyer carrying official papers.
"Ms. May," the lawyer said. "I represent Sean Anderson. He has asked me to deliver these documents to you."
Molly took the papers with shaking hands.
The lawyer explained everything. Sean was offering her a contract. He would provide financial support for the children. He would recognize them legally as his own. He would take a DNA test to prove paternity. But in exchange, he wanted visitation rights. He wanted to be part of their lives.
There were also medical insurance documents. Educational trust funds. A letter promising that he would pay for their college education.
And at the bottom of the papers was a handwritten note from Sean.
Molly,
I know you don't trust me. I know I have no right to ask for anything. But I'm asking anyway. Let me be a father to them. Let me earn your trust. Let me try to fix what I broke.
I'm prepared to sign an agreement that says you have full custody. I will only see them when you say it's okay. I will pay for everything. I will do whatever it takes.
But please, let me try.
Sean
Molly read the letter three times.
Then she called the lawyer back.
\---
The agreement was settled two weeks later.
Sean would see the children twice a week, on Wednesdays after school and on Saturdays. Molly would remain their primary guardian. All financial decisions had to be approved by Molly. If she felt that Sean was not being a good influence, she could cut off visitation immediately.
Sean signed every single paper without arguing. He didn't fight for more. He didn't demand anything.
"He's not the man you remember," the lawyer told Molly. "He's been different since he heard about the children. I've worked with Mr. Anderson for twelve years. I've never seen him like this."
\---
The first official visit was on a Wednesday afternoon.
Sean came to pick up the children at three o'clock. He had bought them each new backpacks and sneakers and books they wanted. He was nervous and quiet.
"Hi," he said when they got in his car. "How was school?"
"Fine," Alex said. He was still angry at his father for making his mother cry.
"I want to take you somewhere," Sean said. "If that's okay."
He took them to a place called the Science Center. It had dinosaurs and space shows and interactive exhibits. The triplets had never been anywhere like it.
For a few hours, they forgot to be angry. They forgot that their father was a stranger. They just played and learned and laughed like normal children.
When it was time to leave, Claudia said: "Can we come back?"
"Whenever you want," Sean said. "Every week if you like."
\---
Over the next month, Sean saw the children every Wednesday and Saturday.
He learned their favorite foods. He learned that Alex liked science and reading. He learned that Ben wanted to be a superhero. He learned that Claudia was scared of the dark.
He was present and patient and kind.
But Molly still wouldn't talk to him. She would take the children from him and barely look at his face. She was polite because the children were watching, but nothing more.
Then one day, four weeks after the first visit, something changed.
Molly's boss had cut her shifts because the cleaning company was losing money. She was worried about paying rent. The stress of it was making her sick.
Sean heard about this from the children.
When he came to pick them up on Wednesday, he handed Molly an envelope.
"What is this?" she asked.
"It's a job," he said. "My company is looking for someone to organize and design the office spaces. I remembered that you're very organized. That you see beauty in spaces where other people see nothing. I think you'd be perfect for it."
"I don't want your charity," Molly said.
"It's not charity. I'm hiring you because you're qualified. Your salary is two hundred dollars per hour, and you'll have full benefits. If you're not good at the job, I'll fire you. But I think you will be."
Molly stared at him.
"Take the job," Alex whispered from behind her. "Mom, you're tired all the time. Take the job."
That night, Molly signed the employment contract.
And for the first time in six years, she
began to think that maybe Sean Anderson wasn't completely terrible.
But she still didn't trust him.
Not yet.