Single Mom's Sweet Husband by Charlotte

"Hello, Miss Melanie," Charlotte replied with a friendly smile.
"Hello, Sheryl," she greeted Sheryl warmly, then turned to Charlotte. "Ms. Emerson, it's a shame that you couldn't make it to the
family event. Sheryl's dad did such a great job, but unfortunately, both parents must be present in order to receive the
participation gift."
As she spoke, sympathy hung on Miss Melanie's face. Meanwhile, Charlotte's mind only turned into mush with every word of
hers.
Family event? What family event?
Sheryl's dad?
Intuitively, Charlotte looked at Sheryl. She found that her sharp-witted child had quickly broken free from her clutch and fled
without giving Charlotte a chance to utter a word.
Catching the bafflement in Charlotte's eyes, Miss Melanie asked in confusion, "Ms. Emerson, were you not aware of the event?"
Truth be told, she was truly unaware of it. However, at that moment, the one thing she could do was simply to give a random

excuse. "Oh, no, Miss Melanie. It's just that I've been a little busier than I'd like lately, and it just slipped my mind."
Charlotte chuckled awkwardly.
Miss Melanie returned a caring smile.
She then handed the small box to Charlotte and said, "Here's a picture of Sheryl and her father. I can tell that Sheryl loves her
father very much. I understand that you both have gone your separate ways, but there are times where you ought to put yourself
in your child's shoes and view things."
Charlotte was nonplussed at Melanie's words. It appeared the teacher must' ve mistaken that Charlotte had divorced Sheryl's
father.
"Thank you, Miss Melanie. Please take good care of Sheryl for me." Charlotte put the small box away.
Miss Melanie nodded, the amiable smile still perched upon her face. "It's my duty."

Charlotte popped open the box. At once, her eyes widened in surprise. Never would she have dreamt of finding Shane in the
picture. Never would she have dreamt that Shane Fuller would accompany her daughter to a family event!
In the photo, Sheryl had the sweetest smile on her face, while Shane, who was sitting next to her, had the edges of his mouth
curved upward ever so slightly.
In a daze, a memory came rushing back to her. It was the morning of the day of the bid.

Sheryl had asked if she had time to spare.
However, at that point in time, she had focused all her attention on the bidding and ended up ignoring Sheryl.
As she recalled her actions, an immense amount of guilt gushed into Charlotte's heart.
At the same time, she couldn't help but feel grateful toward Shane. On top of his work-related matters as the busy president of
his own company, he could still fork out time to bring Sheryl to an event such as this.
The day slipped by in a blink of an eye and Charlotte decided against working overtime today. Instead, she got off work early and
went to pick Sheryl up from school.
She wanted to take Sheryl out for a meal at KFC, her favorite food, to make up for missing the family event.
"Mommy, can I order a hamburger today?" Sheryl asked as she happily skipped about.
Charlotte nodded with a wide grin on her face. "Yes, you may."
"Yay!" Sheryl cheered victoriously. "Then, can I drink Cola too?" she asked eagerly as she looked at Charlotte with her large,
beady eyes.
It was rare to see her daughter in this state of ecstasy, so Charlotte simply gave in and nodded again.
The child was particularly easy to satisfy. With Charlotte's permission, Sheryl ran happily along the sidewalk.
Charlotte was carrying Sheryl's school bag. On top of the fact that she was wearing a pencil skirt, she found herself struggling to
keep up with Sheryl.
"Sheryl, slow down," Charlotte called, following behind her.

"Kid, your mom is asking you to slow down."
A person suddenly showed up in front of Sheryl, blocking her way.