CHAPTER 10: THE FIRST MILESTONE
1474 Words
Friday. 6:30 AM. Sophia’s Apartment.
The sun was barely up. The apartment was quiet except for the sound of
the baby monitor crackling.
Sophia was in the kitchen, making oatmeal. Leo’s favorite. Bananas and
a little cinnamon. She was half asleep, hair in a bun, wearing an old
Blackwood Corp t-shirt that was too big for her.
From the living room she heard it. A thump. Then silence.
"Leo?" she called.
No answer.
Sophia dropped the spoon and ran.
Leo was in the living room. Standing.
Not crawling. Not pulling up. Standing.
Holding onto the edge of the couch with both hands.
Wobbly. Proud. Like he owned the whole world.
Sophia froze. The bottle in her hand almost slipped.
"Leo?" she whispered.
Leo looked at her. Big brown eyes. Sophia’s eyes.
He grinned. A toothless, gummy grin.
Then he did it.
He let go.
One step. His little foot hit the carpet.
Two steps. Arms out for balance.
Three steps.
Then he sat down hard on his bum with a soft *oomph*.
For one second, Sophia couldn’t breathe.
"BABY! YOU WALKED!" she screamed.
Leo clapped. Like he knew exactly what he’d done. Like he was waiting
for applause.
Sophia dropped to her knees and scooped him up. Spinning him in circles.
"You did it! My boy! You walked! Mama’s big boy!"
Leo giggled and grabbed her hair.
Sophia’s phone was on the kitchen counter. It lit up with emails.
Meetings. Stock reports.
She didn’t care.
Who do I call? The thought hit her.
Arthur. He would cry. Mr. Greene. He’d send flowers. Her mom in Port
Harcourt. She’d start praying in tongues.
Her thumb hovered over her contacts.
Ethan Blackwood.
Saved as "Do Not Answer".
Her chest tightened.
"Just us, okay buddy?" she whispered to Leo, kissing his forehead.
"Just us for now."
She put the phone down.
---
9:00 AM. Blackwood Tower. Boardroom.
Sophia was supposed to be presenting Q3 projections.
But she couldn’t focus.
Her phone was under the table. Playing the 7-second video on mute.
Leo. Two steps. Fall. Clap.
Arthur was talking about revenue. He stopped mid-sentence.
"Sophia," he said.
She looked up. "What?"
"Your phone," Arthur said. "You’ve watched that video 6 times."
The whole board turned to look.
Sophia’s face went red. "It’s nothing."
Arthur held out his hand. "Show me."
Sophia hesitated. Then AirDropped it to him.
Arthur watched it. His hard CEO face cracked.
He smiled. A real, father smile.
"The first milestone," he said quietly. "Walking."
"He walked," Sophia said. "Two steps."
Arthur leaned back in his chair. "Ethan walked at 10 months.
He was late. Always cautious. You walked at 9 months.
You were running by 11 months."
Sophia looked up. "You remember that?"
"I remember everything about my children," Arthur said. "Send him
the video, Sophia."
The room went silent.
Sophia’s jaw tightened. "No."
"Sophia," Arthur said. "He’s Leo’s father. Legally. Biologically.
He deserves to know when his son hits a milestone."
"He deserves nothing," Sophia said. "Meeting over."
She stood and walked out.
---
11:00 AM. CEO Office.
The video was still unsent.
Sophia was staring at it when her phone buzzed.
Unknown: `How was your morning?`
Sophia didn’t reply.
Unknown: `Ms. Carter said visits are going well. Thank you for
being consistent.`
Sophia put the phone face down.
10 minutes later.
Unknown: `I know I don’t deserve updates. I know that. But if
anything big happens... with Leo... could you tell me?
I won’t bother you otherwise.`
Big.
Leo walked.
Sophia picked up the phone. Opened the video.
Her finger hovered over send.
She could see it. Ethan watching it. Crying.
Like he did with the last video.
She locked the phone. Threw it in a drawer.
"Focus," she told herself. "Focus on work."
---
2:00 PM. Pediatrician’s Office. Dr. Lin.
"Perfect," Dr. Lin said, checking Leo’s chart. "9 months and walking.
That’s ahead of schedule. Great motor skills."
Sophia smiled for the first time all day. "He is?"
"Yes," Dr. Lin said. "And his weight is perfect. You’re doing an
amazing job, mama. Single parenting is hard."
Sophia nodded. "Thank you, doctor."
In the car, Sophia played the video again. And again.
At a red light, she sighed. Opened w******p.
Her fingers shook.
Sophia: `Leo took his first steps today.`
She attached the video.
Send.
She threw the phone in her bag like it burned her.
---
2:05 PM. Ethan’s Apartment.
Ethan was scrubbing the kitchen floor. The apartment was bare.
No art. No TV. Just a mattress, a table, and a box of Leo’s books.
He’d been in therapy 3 times a week. Job interviews. Gym at 5am.
Trying to become someone worth forgiving.
His phone buzzed on the counter.
Sophia.
He dropped the scrub brush.
`Leo took his first steps today.`
There was a video attached.
Ethan’s hands were wet. He dried them on his jeans.
His heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
He pressed play.
7 seconds.
Leo. Wobbly. Two steps. Big smile. Falling.
Sophia’s voice in the background: "BABY! YOU WALKED!"
Ethan sank to the floor. Right there on the wet tiles.
He watched it 10 times.
Then 20 times.
Then 30.
Tears were running down his face and he didn’t wipe them.
He typed. Deleted. Typed again.
Ethan: `Thank you for telling me.
Thank you for letting me be his dad.
I’m so proud of him. And I’m so proud of you.
You’re doing such a good job.`
He hit send.
Then he just sat there, holding the phone to his chest,
watching the video on loop until his battery died.
---
4:00 PM. Blackwood Tower.
Sophia saw the reply. She didn’t open it for an hour.
Arthur came in without knocking. "You told him?"
"Yes," Sophia said.
"How do you feel?" Arthur asked.
Sophia was quiet. "Weird. Like I shared something that was only mine.
Like I let him into something sacred."
Arthur nodded. "That’s called co-parenting. It’s ugly and hard
and it sucks. But it’s right."
Sophia looked out the window. "It sucks."
Arthur laughed. "Yes. It does. But you did good."
---
6:00 PM. Blackwood Family Center.
Special request. Early visit.
Ethan was already there when Sophia came in with Leo on her hip.
He stood up immediately. "Hi."
"Hi," Sophia said.
Ms. Carter smiled. "I heard the news. Congratulations to you both."
Leo saw Ethan and immediately reached out.
Ethan took him. "Hey milestone baby. Hey Leo."
He looked at Sophia. "Can I... can we try?"
"Try what?" Sophia asked.
"Walking," Ethan said. "With me. If that’s okay."
Sophia hesitated. The room had cameras. A supervisor. It was safe.
She nodded once.
Ethan put Leo down on the soft carpet. Held both his tiny hands.
"Come on buddy," Ethan whispered. "You can do it. Like you did for mama."
Leo looked at Sophia. Then at Ethan.
One step.
Another step.
A third step.
He walked straight into Ethan’s arms.
Ethan caught him and lifted him high. "YES! YOU DID IT!
THAT’S MY BOY!"
Leo giggled. The sound filled the room.
Sophia’s eyes stung. She turned away fast.
Ethan saw it. "Hey. Sophia."
Sophia didn’t look at him.
Ethan walked over. Leo still in his arms. "Sophia. Look at me."
"What?" she said, voice rough.
"Thank you," Ethan said. "For telling me. For letting me be here
for this. For not keeping this from me."
Sophia wiped her eyes. "Don’t make it weird."
Ethan smiled. Sad. "Too late. It’s already weird."
He held Leo out between them. "Want to do it again? Together?
Like a team?"
Sophia looked at Leo. At his tiny hands reaching for her.
At Ethan’s face. Tired. Hopeful. Scared.
She sighed. "Fine."
She took Leo’s other hand.
Together, they helped Leo walk.
Three steps from Sophia to Ethan.
Three steps back to Sophia.
Again. And again.
Ms. Carter was taking notes. "Excellent co-parenting interaction.
Child responding well to both parents."
---
8:00 PM. Sophia’s Apartment.
Leo was asleep. Exhausted. Out cold in his crib.
Sophia sat on the floor outside his room. Watching the video again.
Her phone buzzed.
Ethan: `Video of today. He did 3 steps with us.
I saved it. I’ll never delete it. I promise.`
Another video attached. Ethan and Sophia, both holding Leo’s hands.
All three of them smiling.
Sophia watched it. Her chest hurt.
She typed: `Stop sending me videos.`
Deleted.
Typed: `He did good today.`
Send.
Her phone buzzed right away.
Ethan: `He did. Because of you. Because you’re an amazing mom.`
Sophia put the phone down.
She opened her notebook.
Step 9: Build the future.
Step 9.1: Figure out what family means now.
Step 9.2: Forgive? Maybe. But not today.
Step 9.3: Let him see the milestones.
She underlined 9.3 three times.
Outside, it started raining. Soft.
For the first time in a year, Sophia didn’t feel alone in it.
- Writer
