Chapter 2: The Man My Mother Never Mentioned
Nia couldn’t move.
The photograph trembled between her fingers.
The store continued around them.
Children laughed.
Christmas music played softly from the speakers.
A customer asked an employee where the stuffed animals were.
But Nia heard none of it.
All she heard was one sentence.
Your mother never told you about me.
She placed the photograph on the counter.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like it might break.
Or like she might.
“My mother?””
Bear looked away.
That hurt more than if he had answered.
Nia stepped back.
“No.””
Her voice became firmer.
“No, you don’t get to say something like that and then look away.””
Bear swallowed.
“I know.””
“Who are you?””
He looked at her.
The question seemed to hurt him.
Not because he didn’t know the answer.
Because he had waited years to hear it.
“My name is Bear.””
“I know your name.””
She pointed at the receipt printer.
“You’ve been standing here for ten minutes. I’m asking who you are to me.””
A silence fell.
Bear opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Nia laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“That’s what I thought.””
She picked up the photo again.
“My whole life, my mother told me she didn’t have many pictures from when I was little.””
Bear’s eyes lowered.
“She said things were complicated.””
“She said that?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Every time I asked about my father.””
The words hit him.
Nia saw it.
The small reaction.
The pain.
“You know about my father.””
Bear looked at the floor.
“Nia…”
“No.””
She shook her head.
“Don’t say my name like you know me.””
The man standing across from her looked like someone who had imagined this moment a thousand times.
But not like this.
Not in a toy store.
Not between princess dolls and Christmas decorations.
“I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.””
Nia stared.
“What does that mean?””
Bear ran a hand over his beard.
His fingers shook slightly.
“I came here because I saw your store was collecting donations.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“It’s not.””
Nia crossed her arms.
“Then give me one.””
Bear looked at the photograph.
“That picture was taken the last Christmas I spent with you.””
The words landed like a punch.
Nia’s expression changed.
“You spent Christmas with me?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“I was there.””
“My mother never mentioned you.””
“I know.””
“Why?””
Bear didn’t answer.
The silence was worse.
Nia felt anger rising now.
Not the loud kind.
The dangerous kind.
The kind that came from years of unanswered questions.
“My mother raised me alone.””
Bear nodded.
“I know.””
“She worked two jobs.””
“I know.””
“She told me my father left before I was born.””
Bear closed his eyes.
For a second, he looked like an old man instead of a powerful biker.
“Nia…”
“What?””
His voice dropped.
“Your mother and I remember that night very differently.””
Nia froze.
A customer approached the counter, but one look at their faces made him quietly walk away.
The dolls remained untouched.
The photograph remained between them.
Nia leaned forward.
“What night?””
Bear looked at the ceiling.
Like he was searching for strength.
“The night everything changed.””
She waited.
But he said nothing.
“Are you my father?””
The question finally escaped.
Bear looked directly at her.
His eyes were wet.
Before he could answer, a loud crash came from the toy aisle.
A child had knocked over a display.
Several employees rushed over.
The moment broke.
Nia hated that it did.
She wanted the answer.
She needed it.
Bear looked at the clock.
“I should go.””
Her eyes widened.
“No.””
He stopped.
“You don’t get to walk away after showing me a picture of myself.””
“I’m not walking away.””
“It looks exactly like walking away.””
Bear reached into his vest again.
This time, he pulled out a small folded piece of paper.
He placed it beside the photograph.
Nia looked down.
It was old.
Yellowed.
A handwritten note.
Her name was written across the top.
NIA.
Her heart stopped.
“Where did you get that?””
Bear looked at her.
“Your mother wrote it.””
Nia slowly unfolded the paper.
The first line made her blood run cold.
Because it began with:
“If anything happens to me, there is something you need to know about Bear…”
Nia looked up.
May you like
But Bear was already staring at the note.
And the expression on his face told her the secret was much bigger than she imagined.
