In that house, instead of being welcomed with smiles and laughter like Nathan had imagined, what filled the air were raised voices. The family stood awkwardly in the small living room, while from inside came the sharp, explosive voice of a middle-aged man.
"Do you think we're a family without dignity? My daughter lost her baby because of that man of yours!" shouted Miss Kristin's father, his tone bitter and cutting.
Nathan froze. Standing behind Papa, he clutched the fabric of his father's pants tightly. His wide eyes darted around, confused, scared, and… shocked.
"Lost a baby?" he repeated silently. He didn't fully understand, but one word stuck in his mind: baby.
Then, a single thought flashed through his head and slammed hard into his chest.
"What? Papa got Miss Kristin pregnant?" his inner voice snapped, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Suddenly his mind was spinning. He had only just begun to accept that maybe Papa needed a partner.
But if Papa had made someone cry… had caused her to lose a baby…
Nathan wasn't ready for that.
Not at all.
Opa bowed deeply.
"We sincerely apologize for our son's negligence. This is not the kind of behavior we've raised him to have," he said, his voice trembling but heartfelt.
Oma stood beside him, her head lowered. Her left hand clenched and unclenched the small purse she carried, a clear sign of her deep unease and shame. Every now and then, she glanced at Miss Kristin, who sat silently, her face pale, her eyes blank.
Meanwhile, Nathan sat quietly on a sofa in the corner of the room. His small legs dangled, not yet able to touch the floor. He didn't understand all the terms or the conflict swirling around him, but the heavy atmosphere weighed on his chest.
He could only sit still, his innocent face occasionally glancing toward Papa, searching for answers he didn't know how to ask.
"I don't understand… but it feels like everyone's sad because of Papa."
Nathan hugged his little stuffed toy tightly, as if hoping that by being quiet and sweet, everything might return to normal.
But deep down, he knew, something had broken that day.
Something that couldn't be fixed with just a hug or the word "sorry."
Miss Kristin's father stood up, his face stern, eyes fixed sharply on Papa.
"My daughter lost her baby! And now you come to this house, for what? An engagement? After humiliating us?!"
His voice rose, making Nathan flinch.
Papa stood from his seat, his eyes red.
"I'm taking responsibility, Sir. That's why I came here, with my family, with good intentions…"
"Good intentions?" Kristin's father let out a bitter laugh.
"If your intentions were truly good, you would never have touched my daughter before marriage!"
Finally, Miss Kristin spoke, her voice barely a whisper.
"Papa… that's enough."
Her mother, who had been quiet all along, looked at Oma with sorrow in her eyes.
"We can't just accept this, Ma'am. Our daughter lost our her dignity…"
Oma tried to hold back her tears. She turned to Nathan and wiped her eyes discreetly.
"We never imagined it would come to this…"
Nathan sat still, watching them all. He didn't understand what miscarriage, first grandchild, or taking responsibility meant.
But he knew one thing: the adult world was complicated… and painful.
He wanted to stand up, hug Papa, and say,
"It's okay, Pa. Let's just go home. I don't want a new Mama…"
But he knew his voice wouldn't change anything.
So he simply looked down, clutching his stuffed toy tightly, and stayed silent.
The only sound coming from that little boy was his heavy breathing,
a quiet sign that the weight on his shoulders was growing far too heavy for someone his age.
Nathan stared at Papa's back, frozen at the doorstep of Miss Kristin's house, his shoulders slumped as if carrying the weight of the world.
"You're so clueless, Pa…" Nathan thought, filled with disappointment. "Papa's been married before, how could he not understand something like this? Poor Miss Kristin. Now she's lost her baby…"
Nathan let out a soft sigh, his face frowning though his small lips couldn't express it all.
"What now? I have no choice but to accept her as my stepmom? If not, Papa might hurt her even more. But… I can't pretend to be happy. This all happened too fast."
He held his stuffed toy tighter. In his silence, he was more than just a jealous three-year-old, he was a little boy who had seen adults fail to handle their feelings far too often.
"Mama, please watch from heaven… I'll try to be strong. But you know, right? I'll always love my first Mama."
—
Finally, after a long back-and-forth and the tense atmosphere in the small living room, Miss Kristin's father nodded slowly, a gesture that meant the proposal was accepted, albeit with a heavy condition.
"Your wedding will be in three months," he said firmly to Papa. "And until then, you must not see my child. Don't bother her. Let her recover, both physically and emotionally."
Papa lowered his head deeply. "Yes, sir. I accept the condition."
Nathan, sitting on Oma's lap, almost laughed, but quickly covered his mouth. "Wow, Miss Kristin's dad is really strict," he thought, blinking. "Papa got scolded, then given a punishment like a school kid!"
Amid a situation he didn't fully understand, Nathan actually felt a bit relieved.
At least, for the next three months, he could "enjoy" Papa all to himself.
No Miss Kristin. No stepmother-to-be. No sweet smile that made his heart annoyed.
"I hope these three months feel super long… like three years."
---
On the first school day after the engagement, Nathan arrived with mixed feelings. He was still a child, but his thoughts weren't as innocent as his age suggested. That morning, he sat in class with his head resting on the small desk, occasionally glancing toward the door, waiting to see who would come, Miss Kristin or Miss Lidya?
Sure enough, it was Miss Kristin who entered. Her face still looked a little pale, but her warm smile was back.
"Nathan," she greeted softly. "Good morning."
Without thinking, Nathan jumped up from his seat, hurried over to Miss Kristin, and hugged her tightly around the waist.
Miss Kristin was surprised, then laughed softly as she stroked his hair. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
Nathan didn't answer. In his heart, he only wanted to say, "Sorry… I can't like you right away. But… I don't want you to be sad either."
He hugged her tighter, as if giving a silent confession:
"If you're really going to be my new Mama, don't hurt Papa… and never leave me either."
Miss Kristin continued to stroke Nathan's hair gently. "You're getting so smart now. You can hug your teacher all by yourself."
The other children started teasing.
"Eeeh, Nathan hugged Miss!"
"Nathan likes Miss Kristin, riiight?"
Nathan quickly let go and returned to his seat, pouting. His cheeks were red, not from embarrassment, but from confusion.
"I like Miss Kristin as my teacher… but I don't know if I can like her as Mama yet."
Miss Kristin kept smiling and began the lesson as usual. But that day, whenever she walked near him, Nathan secretly watched. Even when Miss Kristin wrote on the board, he murmured in his heart,
"She's pretty… but she's not Mama. Mama at the cemetery is still prettier, and softer."
At the end of class, before going home, Miss Kristin came over. "You were really good today. Later, tell Papa you got a star sticker."
Nathan nodded quietly.
Then, when Papa came to pick him up at the school gate, Nathan immediately climbed into his arms. But before Papa could ask anything, Nathan whispered:
"Don't leave Miss Kristin again, Pa. But… Papa also don't make her cry again."
Papa paused for a moment, then hugged Nathan tighter, as if he understood his heart.
"I promise, son," he said softly.
---