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The next day, Tara was excited to go to church, but Toni had a lot on her plate. She needed to run some important errands and go into work to finish some paperwork. So, she dropped Tara off at church with her aunt on her father's side and set off to tackle her to-do list. Her first stop was to find the homeless man from the previous day.
Toni drove to the spot where she'd seen him, but he wasn't there. With a little bit of time on her hands, she decided to drive around town, hoping to spot him. After a while, she finally saw him leaving a gas station. She pulled up to him and stopped the car, calling out to him. "Hey, were you the guy from the bar a few years ago?" she asked. The man looked at her like she was crazy, clearly confused.
Realizing her approach might have been too abrupt, Toni quickly apologized."I'm sorry for coming at you like that. How about we grab some lunch? My treat." The man looked at her suspiciously, still confused, but eventually agreed and got into her car.
They drove to a local diner, and once seated, Toni tried to get him to open up. She asked him about his life, where he came from, and more, but he was very guarded with his answers. Sensing his discomfort, Toni decided to share her side of the story."I think I remember you from a bar a few years ago. We talked about a lot of things. I was venting about my husband and how tired I was of paying bills."
The man's eyes showed a flicker of recognition."I think I remember that"he said slowly. "But it's all a bit hazy because of an accident I was in with my wife and kids."
Toni's heart sank."You had a wife and kids?"she asked gently.
He nodded, his expression turning somber. "Yeah, but they recently passed away in a car accident we were all involved in."
Toni felt a pang of sympathy for him. "I'm so sorry" she said softly. The man nodded, lost in his thoughts.
After a moment, he seemed to snap back to the present. "I do remember our conversation that night"he said. "You were really upset about your husband not meeting his promises."
Toni nodded, feeling a connection forming."Yeah, that was a tough time for me."she admitted.
"Where is he now?" Kenny asked taking a sip of his coffee.
"He passed"
"Oh, Sorry."
"It's fine, Uh-"Toni began to change the subject.
"But there's something else I need to tell you." She took a deep breath, preparing to share the news about Tara.
Toni took a deep breath, trying to ease into the conversation."I have a daughter"she started, her voice steady but soft. "She's almost 8 years old. Around the time I got pregnant, I wasn't intimate with my husband."
Kenny looked at her, his eyes widening slightly."You think I'm the father, don't you?"he asked, his voice calm but curious.
Toni nodded, feeling a mix of emotions. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry if I came on too strong earlier. I know you just told me about your wife passing away, and it's a lot to take in."
Kenny shook his head, giving her a reassuring look. "Don't apologize. Maybe we were meant to meet again, especially if she's my daughter you're talking about."
Toni sighed, feeling a bit of relief. "I just didn't know how to bring it up. It's been on my mind for a long time. I didn't want to overwhelm you, especially now."
Kenny reached out and gently took her hand."Toni, it's okay. If she's my daughter, I want to know her. We can figure this out."
Toni smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you, Kenny. It means a lot to me. I just want what's best for her. I've been telling her that her father passed away and it hurts to lie to her and now she's getting older she's asking a lot of questions."
Kenny nodded, his expression serious but kind.
Toni took a deep breath. "I remember the day I found out I was pregnant. I was so shocked and confused. My husband and I were having problems, and I knew the timing didn't make sense. But I didn't want to believe it at first."
Kenny listened intently, his grip on her hand tightening slightly. "It must have been so hard for you, keeping this to yourself all these years."
"It was"Toni admitted."But I didn't want to disrupt your life. If I knew you had a family, and I didn't want to cause any pain. But now, running into you again, I realized I couldn't keep it a secret any longer. And knowing now that you had wife.. I feel worse..I mean I felt bad when I cheated on Morris-"
Kenny nodded, his eyes softening."I'm glad you told me. Tara deserves to know the truth, and so do we."
"How are you so calm? I just told you that you have another child and you're acting like you've known her forever?"
"I'm not sure. I've been numb lately and I feel like you saying I have a child, it gave me hope,"
"You're not gonna ask for a DNA test?"
"Can I see a picture of her?"
Toni pulled up a picture of her daughter on her phone and can you not at his head.
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"She's definitely. She looks just like my Kenya did. So she's mine."
"Oh- How old was your daughter?"
"She was 8- before you know-"
"Oh- I'm really sorry about your family Kenny."
"Thanks. It's been tough, but seeing your daughter- well ours, I guess. It reminds me of Kenya. It's like having a piece of her back, you know?"
"I get it. I miss Morris a lot. What happened, if you don't mind me asking? You mentioned your wife and children passed away."
Kenny took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly. "We were in a car accident. My wife and I were arguing, and I lost control. The car flipped... and we had the kids with us."
Toni's eyes widened with shock and sympathy."Oh my God, Kenny, I can't imagine how hard that must have been."
Kenny's eyes welled up with tears. "It's something I live with every day. I just... I couldn't protect them and it was all over an argument."
Kenny, suddenly stood up, his voice shaky. "Excuse me"he whispered, before quickly walking out of the room, unable to hold back her emotions any longer.
