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brown eyes turned gentle. “I can see that. But how? You just lost
your job and you’re so far away from us.”
    Those
facts already occupied Mia’s waking thoughts. They were a few of the many
issues that kept her up at night. But her mother had raised her and Leah on her
own and Mia could do it too. Just because she didn’t want to do it alone didn’t
mean she couldn’t.
    “You
did it on your own,” Mia said. “So can I.”
    Her
mother shook her head. “I did it on my own because I had no choice. I don’t
want to see you struggle like I did. Not when you don’t have to.”
    Mia
looked up at her mother, lost. “What should I do?” she asked softly.
    “Does
Nate know?”
    Mia
looked down at her steaming mug. “No,” she whispered.
    “Why
not?”
    “It’s…complicated.”
    “Only
because you’re making it so,” her mother said with a heavy sigh. “I know you
love him.”
    Mia
nodded, too emotional to speak. Her mother grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
    “I
could tell from the beginning, just by the way you talked about him,” her
mother said. “And I was really hoping you wouldn’t get hurt, but men will be
men, and you can’t love a man more than he loves you. He has to love you more,
Mia, or else you end up with your heart broken.”
    Tears
began to flow down her cheeks. That’s where Mia had made her mistake. She had
loved him so much and had fooled herself into thinking he felt the same way.
    “I
don’t know why you’ve decided to keep this from him, but you didn’t make this
baby by yourself. The best thing for you to do is tell him and see whether or
not he mans-up and takes responsibility.”
    “And
what if he doesn’t,” Mia whispered. “He already told me he doesn’t want kids.”
    Her
mother pursed her lips. “Then he should’ve thought about that before he stuck
his penis in you.”
    Mia’s
cheeks burned with embarrassment. Her mother’s words painted a vivid image in
her mind that made her want to find a box to hide in. Then take that box and
bury it in a deep, dark closet.
    “I’ve
told you before,” her mother continued. “You can’t turn a cockroach into a
prince. No matter how rich or poor, how educated or whatever, men cannot be
trusted.”
    It was
true her mother had pounded that into her head. Not that her mother hated men,
she just didn’t trust them. Mia didn’t remember much about her father. He had
walked out on them a little after Leah was born and the burden had then fallen
on her mother to become their sole provider. There were times Yvette Trent worked
two, sometimes three, jobs to keep them comfortable. She couldn’t remember if her
mother ever even dated. She had simply worked and taken care of her two
daughters with a strictness that she deemed necessary for their own well-being.
    But Mia
had listened with one ear open. She had held on tight to her belief that true
love still existed and had truly believed she would find it someday. Now look at me . MaybeNate was right. It was time she got her
head out of the clouds.
    “If it
doesn’t work out,” her mother said after a while. “Then you should think about
moving back here.”
    Her
mother’s words gave her pause. She certainly didn’t want to raise her child on
her own but she didn’t want to become a burden on her mother either.
    Her mother
must have sensed her hesitation because she added before Mia could say anything,
“I would sleep so much better knowing you weren’t alone,” her mother said. “With
me and Leah here, you wouldn’t be. It’s either that or I’m moving to Chicago,”
she added briskly.
    Tears
clouded Mia’s vision again and she didn’t know why. She laughed at her erratic
emotions. Maybe they were tears of joy, but either way she was happy and
relieved to have her mother’s support. “Okay,” Mia said, her voice thick with
emotion. “I’ll think about it.”
    But
Mia didn’t have much to think about when she got back to her apartment. A pile
of bills,