Callum was still trying to understand what was happening as he absentmindedly took his teacher's hand and followed her outside to the small playground.
There, he saw a woman with a slender figure, her face mostly hidden by a mask and hat.
Yet, even with her features covered, Callum immediately noticed her blonde hair.
His heart leaped with joy as he exclaimed, "Mommy! Mommy, you're finally here!"
His teacher was shocked and asked, "Mommy? I thought you were his aunt, not his mother?"
Mavis knelt to embrace her son, smiling as she explained, "I'm his aunt, but I look so much like his mom that he often gets confused."
The teacher did not think much of it.
Everyone at the kindergarten knew the Nicholls family treasured the little boy and that he had lost his mother when he was very young.
Hence, Mavis's explanation did not raise any suspicions.
"Alright, I'll leave you two to it, but please don't take too long. We don't want to interrupt Callum's rest time."
Mavis nodded politely. "Of course. I'll keep it brief. Just fifteen minutes."
Once alone, Callum asked, "Are you really my aunt? Not my mommy?"
Mavis removed her mask, guiding his hand to her cheek.
She smiled warmly and asked, "What do you think?"
Callum studied her face, which was so strikingly beautiful and exactly like the photo he had seen on Nathaniel's marriage certificate.
With that confirmation, he cheered, "It is you, Mommy!"
Mavis quickly shushed him with a gentle gesture.
"For some important reason, you can't call me Mommy in front of other people right now. I promise I'll explain everything to you someday, but this is our little secret for now. Can you keep it just between us?"
"Okay!" Callum eagerly agreed, then whispered, "But what should I call you instead, Mommy?"
Mavis lovingly ruffled his hair. "When other people are around, you can call me Auntie."
He felt this was one way he was not like Nathaniel at all.
Mavis could not help but chuckle. "When I was your age, I was just a little girl in a small village. I didn't even know how to read. So, maybe you got that part from me."
She remembered how Nathaniel had taught her so much when he came to Harbor City as a volunteer teacher.
The light in her eyes dimmed when she thought about the past. However, Callum did not notice it as her cap covered her face.
"Mommy, when will you come back again?"
"If things go well, I'll come as often as I can. Just promise you won't get tired of seeing me."
Callum wrapped his arms around her neck, nuzzling her cheek affectionately.
Perhaps it was the instinctive bond between mother and son, or maybe it was the joy of finally meeting his mother in person after so many years, but Callum felt drawn to her.
At that same moment, Tiffany was on her way to the kindergarten, carrying a cake and some toys with a long face.
After their last encounter, her father scolded her harshly, telling her how foolish it was to argue with Callum.
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