When We Were Opening Christmas Gifts, My 5-Year-Old Shouted, “Yes! The Other Mom Kept Her Promise!”

My chest tightened.

A trip.

I refused to lose control in front of my child. I took a slow breath and nodded. “That sounds exciting,” I said carefully.

Mike finally spoke. “Let’s talk in the kitchen.”

The moment the door closed behind us, I turned to him.

“Start talking,” I said. “Who is this woman, and why is she buying our son expensive gifts?”

“It’s Megan,” he whispered.

“The babysitter?” My stomach dropped. “The one we fired because you said she crossed boundaries?”

“Yes,” he said quickly. “But it’s not what you think.”

“Then explain it,” I said.

He rubbed his hands together, a nervous habit I knew well. “After we let her go, she started texting me. Apologizing. Saying she never meant to make me uncomfortable.”

“And you kept talking to her,” I said flatly.

“I thought maybe I’d misunderstood her,” he said. “Then she asked if she could see Simon. Just once. She said she missed him.”

I stared at him. “You agreed to that without telling me?”

“I was going to,” he said. “I just thought you’d think I was overreacting.”

My voice dropped. “How many times, Mike?”

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