Chapter 13
Closing the door to his apartment Brandon hung the coat on the rack. He could smell the delicious aroma from the kitchen knowing his mother was already up. No matter how many times they argued over it, when the family was together Cindy Walsh was in charge of kitchen.
"Good morning, mum!" Brandon greeted her walking into the kitchen.
"Good morning." Cindy replied tearing her look away from the hash browns she was preparing in the skillet.
Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Brandon sat on the chair lost in his thoughts.
"Is Grace alright?" Cindy asked the concern visible on his face. It did not matter how long or how good she knew her, Grace was her granddaughter from the first moment she found out about her.
"She is fine." Brandon replied playing with his coffee. "Kelly said she completely forgot about everything by the afternoon."
"Kids shake off such things quickly, luckily for us. It's usually the adult who remembers." Cindy smiled.
"That's true." Brandon agreed remembering some of Caleb's antics and his traumas afterwards.
"How is Kelly doing?" She questioned him.
"She's fine as well." Brandon replied smiling absently.
Smile that went not unnoticed by his mother together with his early morning arrival which she was not going to question, just maybe hope for the best. Turning back to the stove she thought about this latest trip to see her children and grandson, it was turning to be an adventure. In less than seven days she gained a granddaughter and learned that another grandchild was on the way.
"Thanks for watching Caleb." Came Brandon's voice tearing her away from her thoughts.
"Oh, we were glad to do so." She waved it away with her hand. "We don't spend quite enough time with him. He is a great kid." Cindy replied a pang of sadness in her voice.
"It will be easier once he gets older." Brandon remarked quickly, knowing how much his mum regretted living on the other side of the world once Caleb was born.
"Yes, it will be easier with all three of them once they get older. They can come over for holidays." Cindy daydreamed.
"Three? Is there something I should know?" Brandon questioned a grin on his face. He knew just about his two and he was sure there was not his third mine me running around.
Cindy covered her mouth realizing her mistake, Brenda still did not share the news with her brother or father.
"Mum was trying to say she's gaining grandchildren at the speed of light this week." Brenda quipped slipping into the chair next to Brandon a hint of smile on her lips.
"Congrats Bren!" Brandon hugged his sister. "Does Dylan know?" He whispered raising his brows.
Brenda nodded slightly.
"I think it would be nice to invite Dylan, Kelly and Grace for the dinner tonight." Cindy said, unseen to her the twins exchanged a look.
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, mum." Brandon spoke.
"Why not?" Cindy asked him.
"Dad, for the starters. I think he needs some time to get used to the idea of Grace being his grandchild, and now with another on the way." Brandon said carefully.
"Your father loves you both." Cindy said turning around.
"I'm fully aware of that, but the truth is, he's not as accepting as you are. While he would never say anything in front of Kelly or Dylan for the record, I don't think that family dinner is a good idea now, maybe we need to let the dust set in." Brandon finished.
Without a word Cindy returned back to finish the breakfast both her children looking at her.
Stopping Brandon's car in front of Kelly's house Brenda sat still for a while. Cindy Walsh got her way, Dylan, Kelly and Grace were coming for dinner. It was clear she and Dylan had to talk if they were going to face Jim Walsh that evening, luckily they both agreed on that one.
Getting outside of the car she couldn't help but wonder how it was possible that even after all those years and being consent adult she still dreaded to tell her father that she was expecting a child with Dylan McKay.
Ringing the doorbell she waited.
"Hey!" Dylan opened the door letting her in, Brenda nodded in greeting. The whole house was in silence which caught her slightly off guard.
"Where is Kelly?" She asked as they reached the living room.
Dylan disappeared through the door to the kitchen shortly before coming back with two glasses filled with what seemed like a water. Brenda raised her brows watching him.
"She had to run some errands and took Grace with her." Dylan explained setting the glasses on the table before settling on the sofa.
"Or rather made herself scarce." Brenda noted.
"No, rather gave us place and time to discuss everything in peace without audience." Dylan replied matter of factly.
"Yeah." Brenda said quietly. "So you wanted to talk..."
"We both wanted to talk as far as I can remember. Are you going to sit down?" Dylan asked his eyes glued to her.
Brenda looked around before she got seated in the arm-chair, as far away as possible from Dylan which did not go unnoticed to him.
He sighed they had to clear this once and for all. "Alright, the baby...honestly, I've no idea what kind of father I'm going to be, but I want to be there for both of you."
"You're not mucking around." Brenda noted.
"Wasn't that what you asked yesterday? Isn't that the reason you told me about the baby?" Dylan questioned her.
"Well you stared at me like a deer in the headlights yesterday, so I was not sure if you listened to anything I said afterwards." Brenda commented.
Dylan smirked. "I'm listening to you, always." He stressed standing up and moving towards her. Sitting on the table he took her hands in his.
"I want to do this right, for once in my life I want to do something right." He said looking into her eyes.
Brenda breathed in for a moment lost in his eyes. "What about Kelly and Grace?"
"Kelly is my friend and Grace will always have a special place in my heart, but this is not about them. This is about me, you and our baby."
She wanted to believe him. "Until one day you'll again fly over the Atlantic because she'd need something."
Dylan grinned. "This is something the two of you have in common, years back she was complaining about the very same thing, although there were no transatlantic flights included."
"Sorry." Brenda said quietly a hint of smile on her lips.
"You know, Bren. If we wanted to fool behind your back, we would have already done that." He noted.
"I know." She looked away for a moment. "Sometimes this whole ancient history does us no good."
"You said it, it's all history so let's leave it there and concentrate on the presence. That's us and our baby."
Looking into his eyes that were following her she knew he meant it. "Alright." She said quietly.
Slipping off the table he knelt in front of her wrapping his arms around her. They both knew there was still a long road in front of them, but the first step was made.
Grabbing her hand Brandon pressed Kelly against the counter his lips covering hers seconds later, his hands wandering.
"What was that for?" Kelly asked as they pulled apart a hint of smile on her lips.
"Little something I wanted to do the moment you walked in tonight." Brandon quipped.
"Your mom could have walked in on us or one of the kids." Kelly noted.
"We're adults, Kel." Brandon opened the cupboard taking out the coffee cups.
"Your dad is not taking the news well." Kelly offered helping him.
"No, he is not. I tried to explain it to my mother this morning, but you know her. What Cindy Walsh wants, Cindy Walsh gets. It was clear he will freak out and it will take some time until he'll speak to either of us again." Brandon breathed out pouring the hot coffee into the cups.
"Yeah." Kelly said quietly.
"Kel?" He questioned her knowing there was something more on her mind than the words Jim Walsh addressed to Brenda and Dylan minutes ago.
"Maybe we should slow down as well." She offered.
"What do you mean?" Brandon questioned setting everything aside and staring at her.
"I..I just feel like we are rushing into everything. The kids still have no idea that they are siblings and here we are throwing ourselves into a relationship as well. I know it's something that we both want but it's all coming so quickly." She tried to explain, hoping Brandon will understand.
"You know what Kelly?" Brandon looked away for a moment the smile that was on his face before now gone. "Just do us both a favor, finally decide what you want." He said quietly picking up two cups with coffee and heading into the living room.