Stare, that's all the people in the playground do. Their eyes and mouth freeze wide open in an expression of stunned surprise, when Bella calls me Mom. My high school friends look wild-eyed at me because I have a daughter, Bella. My friends parted ways with me.
"Who is the sugar daddy?"They tease me.
Slipping words from their big and lousy mouths, they laugh at me. I don't care.
Holding Bella in my arms, I take her to the park every day. Bella loves swinging, she likes to throw her head back and giggles like only a preschooler could do.
"Mom, do I have to go with Mr. Jacob?"
There is a sadness to leave my daughter but also a sense of security. Mr. Jacob is Bella's class teacher. He helped me get a job so that I could support Bella. I trust him with a secret about Bella buried deep within me.