Tommy, Kim and Jake entered the house. Seeing their cousin caused the boys to start chanting 'Jake, Jake.' I laughed. Jake seemed to enjoy spending time with his cousins and they certainly loved him.
Tommy kissed the top of my head and Rocky hugged Kimberly.
We all sat around the table and ate the spaghetti, keeping the talk to a minimum. When we were finished, Rocky told Jake he could go downstairs and watch the big TV. Chris and Johnny wanted to go with Jake, so we sent them with Jake. Rocky told Jake to come upstairs if they got to be too much. Jake agreed and he bounced downstairs with the DeSantos boys following after him.
Rocky put the coffee on to perk and sat down next to me at the table. "David called me before you guys got here," I said."I told him to call you so you could help set up getting himself tested," Tommy said.
"What happened," Rocky asked.
"First off, David cut his hair," Tommy said."Really," I said. David and Tommy looked like twins when he had long hair. Tommy cut his right after his break up with Kimberly because he said his long hair reminded him too much of her. It was also easier. He liked the shorter style, so he had kept it. It took some getting used to for everyone else, but not me. I'd seen Tommy in all his various hairstyles.
"Yeah. Apparently he went to a bar for a concert one night and he ran into Hayley. I had introduced them, but he had his long hair at the time. I had cut mine and Hayley never knew I had long hair. Anyway, they ran into each other at the concert and got to talking. I don't know if she thought David was me or what. Anyway, he had cut his hair and looked a lot like me again. They both drank too much and ended up in a taxi back at his apartment. They got carried away and slept together that night. David had no idea she got pregnant. He was shocked that she tried say I was the father. He's just surprised that all this had happened and he didn't know. He's planning to talk to Hayley. I'm going to get them together. Thought maybe you might want to be there, Meri," Tommy said.
"Yeah, I'll be there. This is my family. I'm just not sure how I feel about welcoming Hayley into it," I said.
"The results should be ready in 48 hours. I'm positive those are going to show that David is the father. I'll set up a meeting at my house with Hayley and David for Friday. You and Rocky can come. I'm sure mom and dad can watch the kids for us," Tommy said.
"That sounds like a plan. Guess we can tell everyone else our news next week when we meet for Jason and Katherine's anniversary party," Kimberly said.
"Ok, beautiful," Tommy said.
"That party should be fun. I'm hoping Jason will finally give Katherine that diamond we went shopping for months ago," I said.
Everyone looked at me, including my husband.
"Jason bought a ring for Katherine months ago," he asked.
"Yes he did. I thought he would have given it to her on her birthday. If I were Katherine, I'd have demanded something by now," I said.
"Not everyone gets engaged a week after graduation and has a guy willing to wait until she says she's ready. You and Rocky are an unusual couple," Tommy said.
"I can't help it if I wanted to make sure I never lost her. She's just too wonderful to risk anything. I couldn't imagine my life without her, so I proposed," Rocky said.
"Hopefully, this weekend will be the beginning of peace within our group. I know I'm certainly looking forward to it. Should we let Tommy in on our secret," I asked smiled and nodded. "Well, it looks like your little one is going to have a cousin really close to their age," Rocky said.
Kimberly started smiling and cheering. Tommy just looked at me, not grasping the meaning. Suddenly it dawned on him what we were talking about. "You're pregnant, too, Meri," he asked.
Rocky and I nodded. Tommy was smiling. "That's awesome," he said, before shaking Rocky's hand.
Kimberly squealed in delight and hugged me. Things seem to looking up for our group and I was so looking forward to the solution.
We finished our coffee before Tommy and Kim gathered Jake and headed back to their house. Rocky and I carried our sons to their bedrooms and retired to our room ourselves. The stress of the last few days was finally wearing on my and I was craving sleep. I had a shift in the morning, so I kissed Rocky good night and changed into my PJ's before crawling into bed. Rocky was working on the books for the dojo and he joined me in bed an hour later. When my alarm went off in the morning, I was so not ready to get out of the I stood in the shower I couldn't help but wonder about the other part of the Tommy and Kimberly saga. Who had threatened Kimberly? Now that she and Tommy were back together would the threat reappear.r? I was curious as to who had threatened Kim and ruined their time together.
As I dried off I had decided that I was going to find out who was behind the plot.
I was greeted in the kitchen by my husband who handed me my morning coffee. I kissed him and found out his plans for the day.
"I'll drop the Chris at school and Johnny with mom and dad. He doesn't like that daycare since Chris isn't with him, so mom said she'd watch him today since she's off today. I'm heading to the school in Burbank. They need some face time with me," he said.
I nodded. "OK. I'm working until 7. I'll call you sometime this afternoon," I said. I kissed my husband and headed for work.
The next 48 hours passed by in a blur. A blur of mediocrity, but a blur nonetheless.
Soon, my cell was ringing on my way home from my second shift of the week. I pulled into my driveway and answered the call. It was Justin, delivering the news I had been expecting.
"Meri, I have those results. The specimen belonging to David matches the DNA of the child. David is the father of that baby," he said.
"Thanks Justin. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. Are you still coming by this weekend. I know Rocky would love to see you," I said.
"I'm going to try," he said before hanging up the phone. We now had the evidence we needed to prove that Tommy wasn't the baby's father.
I went inside wearing a stupid grin on my face.
"Babe, why the face," Rocky asked. "Justin just called. He proved what we knew. David is the baby's father. It's just weird actually knowing it for a fact," I said.
"Yeah, but it should make the meeting with Hayley productive," Rocky said. I had to agree.
"I'll feed the boys and then call Tommy so he can finalize a meeting with Hayley," I said. I put the boys in their seats at the table and fed them their dinner. Rocky and I each tucked them into their beds and went to our bedroom to unwind.
"Ready for that meeting," Rocky asked me.
"I guess. I'm just worried about how she's going to react and how she's going to take the information," I said.
"Everything will be fine and everything will be like it was," he said.
I nodded and called Tommy. I told him the results of the test proved David was the father.
He said he'd arranged to meet Hayley at the coffee shop downtown. The four of us agreed to meet at 1:30 in the coffee shop.
David arrived just as we did and we hoped that Hayley was settled in a seat already and it would be difficult for her to leave.
We all enter the café. I'm certain we were a sight. We were all focused on one goal and I'm certain we scared a lot of people.
Tommy spotted Hayley in a corner booth, reading the menu. Ha approached her table and she leapt out of it and right into his arms. Tommy did his best to disentangle her from him with out causing any damage.
Hayley looked up and noticed the crowd of people. She acted like she was going to get up from the table, but I managed to get their before she got out of her seat. I sat on one side of her while Rocky sat next to me. Tommy and Kimberly sat on the opposite side of the table. David took the seat next to Hayley. I wondered what was going through their minds during this. I was certain it wasn't good.
"Is this an ambush," she asked Tommy.
"No, we just need to clear a few things up," he said.
"Like," she replied.
"I am not the father of your child."
"Yes you are. I remember it like it was yesterday," she said.
"I tested the DNA on that pacifier and it proved I wasn't the father. It showed I was related to the father, but David is the father of your child. Not me," Tommy said.
Hayley looked at the man sitting next to her. She thought he was Tommy at first, but seeing him she could see the differences. The differences that I had spoken about on several occasions as the brother's got to know each other.
"I can't believe this," she said. She knew the results of the paternity test and I could swear she was thinking of a way to discredit it.
"Are you sure the test is right," she said, looking at me."Look, this is an appalling prospect, no matter how you look at it. I couldn't let you live your life telling a lie and having your child believe it, too," I said.
Hayley looked at me. I knew she still hated me but it didn't bother me. She had enough problems to deal with then some petty feud.
"We can leave you and David here to talk about the baby if you want that time," I said.
We all stood up, with the exception of David, and headed out the door.
***This chapter was probably a bit slow, but you have to have the slow before you get to the juicy parts. I think another couple or three chapters will close out this story. Let me know your thoughts.*** -mereditholiver.
