Free Flaws and All by Shana Burton

hear the story,” said Reginell. “Now, go on.”
    â€œWell, after a few more songs, Mark was ready to go. It was still early and his parents were out for the night, so he invited me over to talk and watch music videos.”
    Angel looked on in disbelief. “And you believed that was all he wanted to do?”
    â€œI was sixteen and naïve,” admitted Lawson.
    Sullivan murmured, “Try stupid and gullible.”
    â€œThings started out innocently enough. At first, we really did just watch TV. Then he put his arm around me. An arm on the shoulder led to a hand on the thigh, which led to a kiss, which led to his other hand sliding underneath my shirt, which led to us conceiving Namon on the couch in his rec room.
    â€œAfter that, Mark and I exchanged numbers, but neither of us called the other. The party was the first and last time we saw each other until today. I tried reaching out to him once I realized I was pregnant, but he’d already left for college by then. Manny cut Sullivan off after he found out about Anwar, and he was my only real connection to Mark.”
    Angel was enthralled by the story. “What did your mom say?”
    â€œShe wanted to know who the punk was that knocked up her sixteen-year-old daughter! I didn’t tell her, though, until Namon was around six or seven. By then, I was well into my twenties and involved with Garrett. I resolved a long time ago to raise Namon the best I could without his father, and that’s what I did.”
    â€œDo you regret not trying harder to find Mark?” asked Angel.
    â€œI do now!” retorted Lawson. “I wouldn’t change anything, though. Namon has been the joy of my life. Who knows what would have happened if Mark had known about him? His parents had money. They probably would’ve tried to take him away from me or made us bounce Namon back and forth between the two of us. I have to believe that things turned out the way they were meant to.”
    â€œWell, now that Mark is back on the scene, I think you need to tell him,” said Kina. “He has a right to know that he has a child out there.”
    â€œNo, he doesn’t!” disputed Sullivan. “Lawson doesn’t know anything about this guy. He could be crazy or God knows what else. Why would she expose her son to him?”
    Angel agreed. “Sully’s got a point, and who’s to say he won’t go after custody?”
    Lawson grimaced. “You think Mark would do that?”
    â€œWould you blame him?” asked Reginell. “If it were me, I’d do everything in my power to get my kid back.”
    â€œMe too,” admitted Kina.
    Lawson panicked. “I hadn’t considered that. If this thing winds up in court, any lawyer could argue that Mark is the victim here. What if I’m forced to hand over my son? I can’t risk that. Losing Namon would kill me.”
    â€œYeah, but think about what Namon is missing out on,” countered Reginell. “All he knows about Mark is that he took off before Namon was born, and nobody has heard from Mark from that day to this one. Whether or not Namon admits it, you know he’s curious about his real dad. Do you really want to deprive him of knowing the truth?”
    Angel interposed. “You must think about Garrett in all of this, too, Lawson. He’s been Namon’s dad since Namon was three years old. Where does this leave him?”
    â€œBringing Mark into the picture would be a slap in the face to Garrett,” said Sullivan. “After everything Garrett’s done for both of you, he deserves better than that.”
    â€œHe deserves better than what?” asked Garrett as he rushed into the living room. “It looks like you all are having a major estrogen session going on in here.” To ease the tension, they all made a halfhearted attempt to laugh at his joke.
    â€œGarrett, I think you need to sit down. We have to talk,”