When I'm at her doorstep to pick her up the next evening I'm quite surprised to see Jordan's car in the driveway and I'm even more surprised when he's the one who answers the door.
"Hiya bro", he says enthusiastically "Don't you look nice today"
"What are you doing here?" is my way of greeting him.
"Well…" he says happily, too happily "I had good news. So I thought I might kill two birds with one stone"
"Uh huh Jordan" I say uncertainly "Are you drunk?"
"Only a little" he says dismissively "Aren't you curious what my news is?"
I wait patiently "I'm gonna a daddy again!"
Wow third time lucky. He really must love Tanya. "Congratulations, I'm really happy for you"
"Thank you", he says brightly "So you've progressed real fast. First date, huh?"
"I don't think so", I say sighing "She won't forgive me easily"
"You must work harder then. I want more nieces and nephew that I can spoil. "
"I'll work on that" I say and then stop shortly "Wait, what? More?"
His eyes widen "I meant that you know… that" his eyes widen and he stops abruptly "What's taking the girls so long? I swear to God they dress as if it's the last chance they get."
Before I can question him more about this, all thoughts leave my mind. In fact I forget everything, except the sight standing in front of me. I suck in my breathe as she descends down the stairs. She's dressed in a simple black dress that barely reaches her knees, and high heels. I feel myself getting all hot and worked out just by looking at her. Jordan is snickering beside me, but I ignore him.
"I see you found babysitters", I say taking her hands in mine "Shall we go?"
"Yes" she says softly before turning to look at Jay sternly "Behave"
"Always do", he says blinking innocently.
"Right" , she says sarcastically "Take care Em, I'll be back soon. Don't trouble Jordan and Tanya too much kids. Love you"
"Love you too" the twins say not at the same time, but almost.
"Bye mom", Em says sweetly.
"Let's go" she says pulling me out. "Where are we going?" she asks me just when I'm starting the car.
"You'll see"
"Empire state building" I question him surprised.
"Have you ever seen the view from the top at night?" he asks.
"No"
"You're in for a treat then."
"Oh my gosh", she whispers awestruck "It's beautiful"
"Compared to you it's nothing", I say truthfully "But I'm glad you liked it"
She turns to face me and I notice that her eyes are slightly moist. I take her hands in mine and whisper against her knuckles "I love you"
"I love you too" she says. "There's something I have to tell you"
"Yes"
"Uhhh…" she hesitates not meeting my eyes anymore "Umm... I'm starved." I smile at that, but something tells me that's not what she wanted to tell me. But I give her space, waiting for her to tell me whatever it was herself.
"Well then let's not keep you waiting anymore."
All through dinner I'm barely aware of what I'm eating. A small smile is what it takes to make my heart beat madly in my chest. This was a feeling I'd been missing for the past years and today I feel complete. But I feel a pang whenever she mentions the kids. Don't get me wrong I really love the kids, but I feel a little envious to know that I'm not the center of her universe anymore.
I interrupt her suddenly as she's telling an anecdote about them "Who's their father?"
"I- I beg your pardon" she stammers.
"You heard me", I say keeping my gaze steady on her.
"Why do you ask?" she says "Is it not enough to know that they're mine?"
"Because it matters to me", I say exasperated "Damn it Heather, don't you realize it pains me to even imagine you with another guy, let alone have his kids. You know after we were through I didn't even touch anyone and you-"
"Me what?" she demands "Slept with everyone I got my hands on? If I must recall correctly I wasn't the one going around kissing others while we were still dating"
"Yeah well, I wasn't the one who got pregnant " I spat.
She looks at me hurt "How can you say that? I love you and only you. There's no one else. There never was. You remember that I wanted to tell you something important that night", she doesn't need to tell me what night. "I never got to tell you that and maybe never will."
I'm barely aware of anything except what she just said. I love you and only you. There's no one else. There never was. I remember her words and Jordan's words earlier this evening and I suddenly realize what she wanted to tell me all along. "Oh God! How could I have been so blind?" I look up to see that she's already left during my epiphany. I run helplessly towards the exit, hoping to catch her before she's gone. And here I call myself a detective. How could I have not realized that they were my flesh and blood. I felt this connection with her and I just shrugged it off saying that it was just because they were her kids. It never occurred to me the obvious. And I accused her of sleeping with other guys. Great, just great. If there was a Nobel prize for idiocy, I'd be given one.
I rush over seeing her calling a cab. I pull her to the side walk giving her a fierce bear hug."They're mine" I say panting slightly.
"Why did you not tell me Heather that they're mine" I ask.
"I thought you didn't love me anymore" she says, her voice slightly muffled.
"I'll make it up to you. I promise. I love you… and the kids too", I say pulling back to see her smiling at me. "Hey, do you want to go home and make more of them?"
She laughs at that "No way" she says kissing me "Two are" kiss "More than enough."
