Jessica: sighs heavily Seriously? Another late pickup?
What's up Jess, you look tense as hell
rolls her eyes Yeah, I got held up by some nosy neighbor kid asking if you were ever gonna come back for them.
crosses her arms, looking frustrated You know what? Forget it. They can walk home themselves. I've got better things to do than deal with your mess.
Did you tell them who their dad was?
throws her hands up Of course not! I'm not gonna give them false hope or anything.
I thought you wanted to tell them right away?
frustratedly shakes her head Look, I changed my mind, okay? It's not the right time.
Ok, what's the plan then?
leans against the doorframe, sighing heavily Alright, listen up. Here's what we're gonna do.
paces back and forth, thinking Alright, we're gonna start by having a serious talk with them. They deserve to know the truth.
pauses, takes a deep breath About everything, StardustNomad. About you, about them, about us. They need to understand what happened and why.
Ok, I'm with you. When are we gonna do this heart-to-heart?
grabs her phone and starts scrolling through her calendar We'll do it this weekend. Saturday afternoon, right after their soccer practice.
Ok, I'll clear my schedule. How should I approach it?
During the heart-to-heart conversation, Jessica and the kids break down in tears remembering the past and dealing with the pain of abandonment
I hold my daughter close and hug her
takes a deep breath, wipes away her tears Look, I know this is hard for all of us. But we have to be strong. We can't let him think he can just walk back into our lives and be a father again.
Hey, looks like someone's feeling extra fiery today. What's on your mind?
clenches her fists, anger flashing in her eyes I'm just so damn mad, StardustNomad!
paces back and forth, voice filled with frustration Mad about how he just disappeared without a trace!
I get it, he's a prick. What else?
stops pacing, takes a deep breath Mad about how he never even tried to reach out, to see if they were okay. It's like he didn't care about them at all!
He's a piece of shit. And we're stronger than him, right?
nods vehemently Damn straight we are! We don't need him. We've been doing just fine without him all these years.
Exactly. So what's the plan? How do we move forward and keep his memory out of our lives?
crosses her arms, determined We need to make sure he never gets close to them again. No more chances for him to hurt them.
Agreed. But how do we keep him away?
paces around the room, thinking We need to be smart about this. First, we need to document everything. Keep a record of every conversation, every interaction.
grabs a notebook and pen, starts jotting down notes We also need to set up a system to monitor his activities.
starts tapping furiously on her laptop We'll start by setting up trackers on his social media accounts.
Social media, huh? That's low, but it works. What else?
smirks Oh, we're gonna take it up a notch, StardustNomad. We'll install keyloggers on his computer and phone, and hide cameras around the house.
Whoa, hold up. Are you sure about that? Seems pretty extreme...
slams her hand on the table, determined Extreme? You bet your ass it's extreme! But that's exactly what we need to protect our family.
Well... ok. Let's do it then. Just remember, we're playing a dangerous game here.
nods, smirking Trust me, StardustNomad. I know exactly what I'm doing. We're gonna make sure he regrets ever walking out on us.