Chapter 21 – Love Game

Saturday, February 2, 2036

Ana

All freshened up and clothed in a new nightgown and robe, I frantically scan the house on my way toward Topher's bedroom. It's barely after midnight, but it's been less than ten minutes since our youngest child barged in on his father and I having sex.

Topher Grey is our own little hide and seek champion, so I don't immediately assume that he's tucked away in his room as his father ordered him. But when I arrive, I am surprised to find the little guy balled up in the center of his bed and sniffling away.

Every light that exists in his room is turned on. Before joining him, I hit most of them off while leaving on a very soft, ambient light. I climb into bed and place my arm gently around him.

"Topher? Honey."

After stubbornly remaining still for a few moments, he eventually un-tucks himself and gazes up at me. Sniffling, he studies my face for a beat. His lip pouts even more, slowly breaking my heart.

Why didn't Christian lock that damn door?
That question is going to vex me for the rest of my life.

"Mommy? Are you okay?" he whispers.

I giggle and smile brightly at my sweet prince. "Of course I'm okay, sweetheart. Mommy's perfectly fine. I promise."

"So why was you crying? Why was Daddy wrestling you?" he utters with a quivering lip.

Sweet Lord.
Why didn't I take Christian's offer for him to handle this?

Okay, Ana. You've got this. You've done this talk at least three other times. Granted, you've never had it with a soon-to-be four-year-old. But still, you've explained Santa Claus. You've rationalized the Easter Bunny. And now you can explain this most recent circumstance in a way that will put this innocent young boy at ease and not traumatize him.

"So listen," I broach the preschooler. "Mommy is going to tell you something that stays between us. This is top secret agent news. That means you can't ever tell anyone about this until you're all grown up. Not even your friends."

With sad puppy dog eyes, he slowly gives me the Boy Scout's honor signal. I smile lovingly at him.

"So you see, when a mommy and a daddy really love each other, they like to play this game."

"A game?" he squeaks.

I flash him a warm grin and nod.
"Yes. It's called: The Mommy and Daddy Game."

"The Mommy and Daddy Game?" he echoes in wonderment.

"Mmm hmm," I beam. "And the mommy might make a lot of noises, but the daddy isn't really hurting her. In fact, the mommy and daddy love each other soooo much that they would never ever hurt one another."

Topher tilts his little head and gazes at me with very confused little eyes.

"In this game, is the daddy s'posed to put the mommy in a UFC submission hold and bounce on top of her like a trampoline, naked?"

Oh boy. This is not going well.

"Well…sometimes?" I squint awkwardly. "The mommy can have the daddy in a hold, too. Sometimes."

This is absolutely brutal.

"So was Daddy winning the game when I saw?"

Floor – please, suck me up now.

"No, honey. In this game, everyone wins. Like I said, the mommy and the daddy love each other very much. That's why they like to play this game together."

"So only mommies and daddies can play?" he asks.

"Uh huh. Nobody can play this game except for mommies and daddies."

"Oh," he says, but I can tell that so many other questions are churning in that sweet little head of his.

"Only mommies and daddies were supposed to know about that game. You weren't supposed to see that," I murmur, mussing up his soft, thick mane.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I was so scared and wanted to see you. I didn't know that you and Daddy were playing a game."

Goodness, he is too much. I hug him very tightly with both arms and he wraps his little arms as best he can around me.

"So are you okay now? Do you think that you can go back to sleep?" I coo, kissing his hair.

"I can try," he says dolefully. "You want to get back to your game with Daddy."

Boy, oh boy. I close my eyes in both pity and shame.

"Why don't you think you can go back to sleep? Did you have a bad dream or something?" I ask.

He nods sadly.

"My poor, poor baby," I murmur, squeezing his tiny body once more. "What did you dream about?"

"I dreamt that Roman and me were running away from crazy Tabitha in swim class. When she caught us, she morphed into the Lake Washington monster!"

I bite my lip trying desperately not to laugh.
My sweet little boy and his little friend – deathly frightened of little girls.

"It was only a bad dream, Topher. I assure you that Tabitha from swim class isn't the Lake Washington monster."

"Don't be so sure of that, Mommy. I don't trust her," he pouts.

"Well if Tabitha is the Lake Washington monster, I promise that I will never let her get you," I say, kissing his forehead.

"And Roman, too?" he pleads. If this isn't the most adorable thing I've ever heard. Topher is being very protective of his little friend over a clear and un-present non-danger. I could just dissolve right here.

"Ronan's grandma and mommy will always protect him. Just as me, your daddy, your grandparents, and your brother and sisters will always protect you." I hug him for the umpteenth time.

"I have more people to protect me than Roman. Roman doesn't have a daddy right now."

My heart practically breaks. Topher is so wise beyond his years. He is going to be a force when he grows up. I envision him protecting so many who are unable to protect themselves.

"Sweetheart, I know," I say regretfully. "But Ronan has people who really love him. And most of all, he has the perfect best friend," I say with a squeeze.

"Yep. He does," he sparks.

"So how about you go to sleep so you can wake up, have breakfast, and later see your best friend in swim class? How does that sound?"

He nods slowly. I know he likes the idea, but he is still struggling with the notion of returning to sleep. I truly feel for his plight, so lay down by his side to lull him to sleep.

All of a sudden, I feel someone shaking me.

"Bunny."

My eyes spring open and slowly come into focus. I eventually spot Christian standing over me donning a loving smirk. I quickly turn over to the side and see that Topher is sound asleep. I mumble something unintelligible. I'd apparently fallen asleep while soothing our adorable little intruder.

Ted

For the past few weekends since my birthday, I've been working non-stop.

I've made major headway kicking off the PTF global core concepts to the entire organization. My team will begin initiating a series of workshops with key line experts from each department in order to pilot phase #1. Today I'm already in the process of laying down the groundwork for phase #2. We are four months ahead of schedule.

I purpose myself to slow down in order to not get way ahead of myself. PTF will be at its maturity in four years, so we have plenty of time to properly roll this thing out. However, I'm still working overtime, even though I don't have to.

Phoebe has done a fantastic job having my back when she can. I admire the hell out of that kid. She's taking 18 credit hours during her final semester at UW and still manages to log in 25-30 hours with me here in the office.

Still – even though my sister has me on track and I am way ahead of schedule, it doesn't stop me from working around the clock. When I run out of things to do, I create more work.

For example, I recently initiated a brand new meeting cadence that's directly linked to our email program. Whenever someone sets up a meeting, the new tool lines everything up: Conference room, meeting participants, a timed agenda, any required pre-work, etc. This way, no meeting is ever a waste of time. After successfully kicking this off two weeks ago, Marisol is now training several other departments who were very eager to adapt the new practice. That's just one of the many things outside of the scope of my responsibility that I've accomplished.

My father's been praising me like never before. I mean – it's great and all. However, I can't help but feel that all of this work I'm doing is for nothing. Don't get me wrong…I absolutely appreciate GEH and what this company has done for my family. We wouldn't be able to help others if it weren't for the opportunities that this empire has afforded us. However, I feel zero connection with Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

None.
Noda.

I look at people like my sister and Hanson who remain extremely loyal to the company. I don't ever imagine them working anyplace else. As for me, I can't help but see myself functioning outside of these twenty stories. When inside of this building, no matter how hard I try – I can't create anything from clay. My father already built the foundation here over thirty years ago.

I need something to call mine.

So with that, I'm exhausted from working any further in my office. I check my watch and see that I just barely made decent time to have lunch. I could just leave and grab a bite to eat at a bar somewhere. Or I can go home and whip up something real quick. But for some reason, I don't really feel like eating alone.

I'm idly tempted to swing by my folks' place to see what everyone's up to. I promptly remember that Topher's on his way to swim class with Mom right about now. I recall that Dad took Charlie Tango, his helicopter this morning to WSU-Vancouver, Mom's alma mater to check the progress of the new science and technology building. The thought causes a pang to hit my chest. My ex-fiancée also went there.

So, I had to stop myself once or twice from hiring Gerts to see if he can find out what Diana's been up to since she's been gone. I mean it wouldn't be an entirely bad idea for her to be checked on in case she turns out to be even more evil than I thought. But if I was being completely honest with myself, I'm more curious if she's in the process of picking herself back up and becoming a decent person again.

I'm rather certain that she hasn't landed a decent job yet, and she won't anytime soon. Fortunately for her, she has enough in her bank account to last her a couple of years if she decided to live modestly. By no means will she be homeless, even though she won't be making GEH-type of money.

It's easy to hate Diana. She did some really fucked up things. But I don't hate her. More than anything, I miss her as a friend. She was a great friend. Back when I was in the thick of my mental anguish over Sophie, Diana was right there for me. And after she picked up my spirits, I was able to help her get over Richard – the asshole back at WSUV who mentally abused her.

"I'd make all of these life plans for us, which he'd agree to. Then during an argument, he would bring them up to tell me how stupid they were."

I wonder who's there for Diana now to help her to get over me.

I'm sure she has her little sister's shoulder. They were always quite close. I think about her parents. Diana's relationship with her dad and mom always seemed sort of weird to me. It wasn't until I met them that I understood why. I get why she adored my parents so much.

Her father comes across as a douche bag. Don't get me wrong; he's always been rather nice to me. But he only wanted to talk shop with me. He'd never bring up his daughter in conversation. He loved parading his accomplishments and touting his burgeoning mogul status. During Diana's and my engagement party, he was constantly up my folks' ass. My father literally had to walk away and drag Mom with him when Mr. Fenkell continued to babble incessantly about closed-end fund investments. He exceedingly embarrassed poor Diana that night.

However, Diana's mother was as sweet as pie. I'd hear stories from Diana of when she was younger and how much fun she had with her sister and mother. I assume things changed between Mrs. Fenkell and her oldest daughter when Diana left for college. For some reason, Diana feels indifferent towards her.

I begin entertaining thoughts about what could've possibly drove Diana to do what she did. Then I quickly yank myself out before falling into a black hole. I finally resolve to leave the office and stop dwelling on ex-fiancées and work bullshit. Instead, I head over my folks' to catch who's home.

Ten minutes later, I hop in my car and begin the forty-five minute journey. Even if no one's home, at least I'll enjoy a scenic drive on a dreary day in Seattle.

….

I pull into the attached garage as I always do. When I pass the foyer into the great room, I come across Brie who's apparently in a hurry. She's wearing jeans, sneakers and a lightweight purple coat. Her purse hangs over her shoulder, so I know that she's going where I just came from.

"Hey squirt – where're you heading?"

She blinks, rather surprised to see me. "Teddy!" Brie squeaks. She runs and jumps up to hug me. "What cha doing here?"

"I came to see you guys. Where's Beth?"

She frowns bitterly. "Don't know. Don't care."

I puff in disbelief. "What a minute, you two still aren't speaking?"

"Nope," she says with defiance.

"Now Brie," I grin. "Come on. You're identical twins. You two have always been inseparable."

"Well obviously that meant nothing to her when she was kissing my ex," she says bitterly.

"Seriously? You stopped speaking over that sucker Jesse Rogers?" I say in disbelief.

"Sucker?" Brie echoes. If I'm not mistaken, she seems offended.

"Yeah, sucker. Didn't he practically let you run all over him?" I smirk.

"What?!" she says in shock.

"You were constantly breaking up with the dude for no good reason at all, and he eagerly took you back every single time. He's a chump," I surmise.

All the kids at the high school were talking about it. And those kids who have older siblings would soon hear about the legend of the infamous Brianna Grey tap dancing on the heart of a weak and spineless Jesse Rogers.

The word on the street is that my bulldog baby sister's on again/off again doormat had the sympathy of all of the cute girls in school. But none of them could touch him. Brie's basically the most popular girl in school, and poor Jesse was at her mercy.

Brie tightens up her lip and hangs her head in embarrassment.

"Yeah, not a good look for Jesse," I say, emphasizing my point.

Before I can speak any further, in walks Beth – still in her pajamas. She's startled when she sees Brie and I talking.

"Teddy?" she says, eyes wide in surprise. I smile at her but then I turn to look at Brie who borderline scowls.

"Okay girls, I'm here to take you out to lunch. Beth – get dressed," I order. "Chop-chop."

"I was just leaving," Brie says with a frown.

"Where're you going?" I ask with skepticism.

"Out," she says stubbornly.

"So you don't want to go out to lunch with your big brother?" I say, playing the guilt-trip card.

"Maybe next time. I need to…"

"Where are you going?" I ask again.

"Look," Beth starts. "You guys go. I'm not feeling so hot anyway…"

"What's wrong with you?" I now ask Beth with a doubtful squint.

These girls are really trying their damnedest not to co-exist. It's utterly ridiculous. They're twin sisters for crying out loud!

I decide to make it my mission to drag them out – just the three of us. And then we are going to end this stupid fight once and for all.

"Beth, get dressed. Now," I order again.

She gives me a look that says 'you are not my dad', but then she huffs in frustration before turning on her heel. Hopefully she's on her way to do exactly what I've asked.

"And you, young lady," I say once I turn back to Brie. "Unless you're on your way to save someone's life, or you now have a job again working on weekends, you are going with me, too."

"Teddy," she whines. "I don't wanna."

"You don't want to go out to lunch with me?" I say with an exaggerated pout.

"Stop it," she giggles, slapping me on the arm.

"So why don't you wanna go?" I ask.

"You know why," she says unenthusiastically.

"I just want to take my little sisters out to lunch – is that so wrong? Look, you know I had a rough time last month and I've been sort of steering clear from here recently. But today I decided that I wanted to stop working all day on a Saturday for once and enjoy a nice lunch with my two little sisters," I say earnestly.

Brie sighs and then she scrunches her little nose, as she always does when she feels backed into a corner. "Fine," she says through gritted teeth.

Score one for me playing the sympathy card.
Nice work, Ted.

….

I practically have to drag the twins into the restaurant. I choose a place that has a bit of everything so that the girls can order whatever they like. When we come to the sign that tells us to seat ourselves, Brie annoyingly marches ahead of us and slides into a booth. Spiritless, Beth takes the bench across from her. Because I know that Brie is the live wire, I box her in.

I have the prompt waitress start us off with water. I glance quickly at the menu and know exactly what I want by the time our drinks come. The waitress vows to return once everyone is ready. My youngest sisters who are normally so full of life are anything but at the moment. I decide to humor them and remain silent in order to demonstrate to them how ridiculous this is.

After three minutes go by, I check over my shoulder to see that Brie is actively not looking at her twin sitting directly across from her. I glance over at Beth and I have no doubt that she's intentionally prolonging her view of the menu so she doesn't have to look at Brie. I've had enough.

"Brie. Beth. You are going to have to stop being enemies."

I scan both girls, but they don't budge. When the waitress returns for our order, I kindly implore her to give us more time. From the concerned expression on her face, it's rather apparent she knows that I am in the thick of a crisis between two bullheaded teenaged girls. The waitress takes pity on me and promises to return 'much later'.

"Look," I try again. "You might as well bury the hatchet now. Prom and graduation are just around the corner. Then you'll be heading off to Gonzaga in the fall."

"I'm considering withdrawing my acceptance – especially if she's there," Brie frowns bitterly.

"Fine by me. I have a full music scholarship there," Beth digs with arms folded.

"You're such a bitch!" Brie snaps.

I hold out my arms to placate them both. "Stop – both of you. What in the wide world of assery is going on here? Do you honestly want to break up?"

The twins are now facing away from each other – tight lipped and oozing with disregard. It's unsettling. I try for reason. Maybe a speck of affection still remains their hearts. And if it's there, I'm going to expose it and squeeze the hell out of it.

"You've been inseparable since you were babies. Listen – back when I was five years old, I remember when our folks brought home you two alien babies from the hospital."

Brie elbows me while Beth rolls her eyes. I chuckle before resuming my point.

"The second Grandma Grace took one of you away to change a diaper while the other stayed with Mom, both of you started to scream your heads off. Everyone thought it was so cute, and that it was a one-time thing. Heck no. That crap happened every single time. Once they realized that it would never stop, Mom and Dad made sure that the both of you were always together during diaper changes, feedings, baths, naps – you name it."

I perform a live status check and discover that they are no longer mean mugging like prizefighters. They're still not facing each other, but at least they've softened up a bit.

Good. We're getting close.
Let's bring it on home.

"You may not know this – but Pheeb and I were always kinda jealous of the two of you."

When I turn to Beth first and then Brie, both are looking at me puzzled.

"Really? How?" Beth asks quietly.

"I was the first in the house to enter school. I had no other sibling before me to pave the way. I was nervous at first. Eventually I ended up making some good friends. Phoebe would later come in after me, but I was two years beyond her with my own set of friends. She had to start from scratch just like me and forge her own friendships. Phoebe and I didn't have each other the way that you two do."

"Wow, I never thought of that," Brie says, finally breaking her silence.

"You had an instant best friend in one another to experience all of your firsts with," I explain. "And because you were twins, you could simply enter a room – and soon, everyone's clamoring to be your new sidekick. You're the cool twins that everyone wants to know and hang out with."

"Lindsey Marston," Brie says out of nowhere.

I turn to ask who Lindsey is and discover that Brie's finally looking at her twin. Beth returns a wistful smile.

"Yeah. She ran up to us the moment we first walked into our kindergarten classroom," Beth recalls.

"She wouldn't leave us alone," Brie smirks.

"I liked Lindsey. We're actually friends on social media now," says Beth.

"Really?" Brie says in surprise. "I saw her friend request and ignored it," she snorts. "She was always a pain in the ass."

Beth laughs. "Yeah, she can be a bit much at times."

I smile proudly as I witness my two sisters finally speaking to one another.

"Remember Scott Barnes?" Brie calls out. Beth squints, tilts her head, and then shakes it when she comes up empty. "You know…the goofy blond kid from second grade. The one who wouldn't stop pulling Britney Jackson's hair?"

Beth's eyes open up wide. "Oh yeah! I remember him!"

"I saw him at the mall last Saturday. He looks kinda the same."

"Really?"

"Except waaay cuter," Brie gushes.

"No way!" her twin gasps.

Oh swell. Listening to your two little sisters slobber over boys is pretty awkward.

Brie reaches into her bag for her phone and begins swiping around until she finds what she's looking for. She then flips it over and hands it to Beth.

"Oh my God," Beth mouths in utter shock. "He is hot!"

I have no desire to see this.

"He suddenly friended me on social media that same day. He messages me every so often."

"What?"

"He's a really nice guy. He actually goes to Interlake High," Brie says nonchalantly.

"Wait a minute…you've been talking? Has he asked you out?" Beth utters with wide eyes.

"I've just been keeping things on the regular. I really need to work on myself before I think about another boyfriend."

I gape at Brie. "Who are you?" I say, flabbergasted.

Brie swats my arm and I wince in pain. "Yeah, yeah. It finally occurred to me that I was treating Jesse like crap," she fesses up. She turns her attention to our sister, but Beth speaks first.

"Look, Brie – I'm sorr…"

"I know," Brie says in understanding. "I was really shitty to Jesse and you've been telling me so for the longest time."

"But I still had no right to kiss him. It was so wrong," Beth stresses with pain in her eyes.

"You felt sorry for him. You felt sorry for him and had a moment of weakness," Brie says in understanding.

Hell yes.

I should take my relationship repairing skills out on the road.

Theodore R. Grey: Mending Estranged Siblings, One Family At a Time.

"But that was still no excuse to cross the line with him. No matter how bad you treated him, my loyalty should've remained with you – my sister and best friend. I broke the code," Beth utters, practically in tears.

Soon, I feel Brie's hip bump into mine, prompting me to slide out of her way. I shift out of the bench and Brie slides out, and then slides in next to Beth. Brie lovingly wraps her arms around twin and Beth reciprocates, burying her face into Brie's shoulder.

Well, my work's done here. With pride, I ceremoniously dust off my hands.

"I love you, twin. I know that you would never do anything to intentionally hurt me," Brie murmurs.

"I love you too, Breester." The two girls hug harder.

Breester?
I snort.

"Shut up Teddy!" Brie playfully scolds.

"Bree-sterrrr, my little seeee-sterrr," I tease her in song.

And just like the two peas in a pod they are, the girls reach into their respective water glasses and begin pelting me with ice cubes. I laugh while methodically dodging the blows before retrieving discarded cubes and tossing them right back at my assailants. They squeal with laughter, shielding themselves with their laminated menus.

We soon catch a few annoyed glances from nearby patrons. The three of us quickly remember ourselves and then clean up some of the carnage before making a scene with the staff. Thankfully we are decent once more when our waitress returns to take our order. We all order the same entree – a bacon cheeseburger with bottomless fries. But the twins order cherry cokes, while I opt for the root beer.

"Root beer is gross," Brie frowns at me once the waitress takes off.

"Hey, I like it," I say in my defense.

"It tastes just like black liquorish," Beth adds, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"I like black liquorish, too," I add.

"We know. We used to give you all the black jellybeans," Brie chuckles. I smile at the memory when Beth blinks and then glances purposely between Brie and I.

"Hey, did you hear about the big drama from last night?" says Beth.

"What drama?" I ask.

"What happened?" Brie chirps – interest piqued.

"So," Beth starts as she slides up closer to the table. Brie and I follow suit. "I was up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I drank a ton of water earlier for some reason. Anyway, I heard Topher crying – so I opened the door to check on him. Then I saw Mom already in his room trying to calm him down. I eavesdropped for a few because I had no clue what was going on. Then it dawns on me." A scandalous grin now takes residence on Beth's face.

"Spill," I order.

"Yeah, spill!" Brie gapes in delight.

"Topher barged in on Mom and Dad. Doing it."

NO!
Bloody hell!

"Oh my God! Are you kidding?!" Brie squeals. Beth smirks and nods slowly.

"Poor Toph," I frown in utter disgust.

"Yeah…scarred for life," Beth bleakly adds. "He was practically inconsolable."

"She probably had to have 'the talk' with him," Brie shudders.

"Oh no," I wince in pain. "He's lucky that it was Mom telling him."

"Didn't Mom have the talk with you?" Brie asks, confused.

"Nope," I answer with tightened lips.
I still remember the day it happened.
I shudder at the thought.

"No way! Dad?" Beth gasps. Brie soon mimics her expression. I nod slowly in shame.

"How in the world did that take place?" Brie asks in shock.

"You don't even want to know. I still have nightmares about it," I say with a straight face.

"You poor thing," Beth groans.

"I wanted to put him out of his misery. He so didn't want to be talking to me about it. I'm sure Mom made him do it," I chuckle.

"And I'm sure that Mom only told Topher enough to put him back to sleep. Dad's probably not off the hook with him yet," Brie grins.

"Hey," Beth perks up to Brie as if something funny just came to mind. "Remember when we asked Sophie Taylor about sex when we were in third grade?"

My stomach drops at the mention of her name.
Sophie and I were each other's first.

Brie laughs. "Sophie was awesome. She was our best babysitter. I was so sad when we found out that she wouldn't be watching us anymore."

"Me too," Beth co-signs.

My head falls and I eye my twisted fingers in my lap. I know that the twins had no clue what was going on in the house around that time. Phoebe eventually found out because she and I were closer in age.

"I always thought that Teddy had a huge crush on her," I hear one of the girls say. I raise my head and catch Brie wearing a sly smirk.

"Hey, who wouldn't?" Beth adds nonchalantly. "She was freaking gorgeous."

"I know," Brie agrees. "I wonder what ever happened to her. She stopped going over to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor's house. Do you know if she still hangs out with her dad and stepmom?"

Fuck – how'd the conversation turn here? I simply shrug my shoulders at the two of them. Once you give these twins an opening, they are going to want to rip that breach wide open. I decide to quickly change the subject.

"Hey, what's the status on Pheeb's birthday party next month?"

Ana

I know the drill. The moment Topher and I arrive in the pool area, I stand back. Topher immediately finds Ronan and the two boys gravitate. Soon, they are running and splashing around the fun area of the pool before their class gathers. I spot Shannon, Ronan's grandmother and she heads my way.

"Ana – good to see you."

"Shannon, likewise," I smile.

"My daughter told me earlier that Ronan had a rough time sleeping last night. He couldn't wait to get here," Shannon chuckles.

"I can relate," I say with an awkward grin. I really don't think I should go there. Last night with Topher was a little challenging, to say the least.

It suddenly dawns on me that Shannon isn't in her swimsuit. She is still wearing her street clothes. Shannon realizes that I've noticed.

"Oh – Ronan told me that he's a big boy who can swim and doesn't need his granny in the pool with him anymore," Shannon smirks.

I gape sympathetically. "Oh no."

"It's fine. He's right. He's doing great now and doesn't need me in there with him anymore. Besides, what soon-to-be four-year-old with basic swim training is gonna drown in 2 ½ feet?" she quips.

She does have a point.

"Although it breaks my heart to let him go, Topher won't let me in there with him once he sees that Ronan is being a big boy," I say, feeling bittersweet.

"Topher will be fine," she warmly assures me. "And you can go ahead and change once class starts."

Fifteen minutes later, I enter back into the swim area in my normal clothes and watch Topher, Ronan, and the gang enjoying their lesson. I turn and see Shannon waving me over nearby.

"You made it back," she beams once I arrive. I nod.

"How are they doing?"

"Fantastic. Topher was just zipping around a minute ago. His head-turn and breathing…outstanding," she smiles. I laugh.

"Topher likes to compete in our pool at home to see who can hold in their breath the longest," I share.

"I'm sure Ronan will be playing that game soon. Him and his mother just moved into their own apartment that has a community pool," Shannon says proudly.

"That's wonderful," I respond to the news.

"Yeah. They're practically downtown and can walk to almost anywhere. My daughter was quite lucky to find such a deal on the place. She also recently got a raise on her job."

I clutch my chest, touched by vast turnaround. "I'm so happy to hear that. I know you're so happy to see your daughter doing so well."

Shannon smiles and I can tell that she could almost cry happy tears. It deeply touches my heart. Ronan's mother sounds like an astounding young woman. She has completely rebounded from a terrible situation and got her life back on track for her and her son. I hope I'll get to meet her one of these days.

Before Shannon can say another word, she shuffles to retrieve her buzzing phone.

"Hello?" she answers. "Oh, yes!" she responds in sudden surprise. "I'm sorry – could I trouble you to hold for a brief second? Thanks – I'll be just one moment."

Shannon takes the phone from her ear and places her hand to the mouthpiece. "Ana, would you mind keeping an eye on Ronan and make sure he doesn't wonder off in case the teacher's not looking? I really need to take this call."

"Absolutely. I'm more than glad to do it."

Grateful, she promises her swift return and takes off.

I sit down in the pool chair and gush as I witness my little boy having the time of his life with his best friend. While some of the younger children have their mommies to hold them up against the wall to practice their kicks, Topher and Ronan each take turns holding the other one steady as they following along.

So adorable! Just when I grab my phone to snap a photo of the two partners in crime, the instructor blows the whistle.

"Ten minute break!"

Without a second delay, Topher, Ronan and the whole lot cheerfully climb out of the training pool and head over to the water slide. The two boys remain inseparable as they each take turns climbing up the ladder and splashing all the way down.

As soon as Ronan lands, he swiftly recovers and wallows over to the fountains ahead of Topher. As I watch him, a fog suddenly comes over me. The sounds that I once heard are now distant.

The joyful squeals of children.
The bell ringing each time the water bucket is filled and ready to pour.
Everything is faint.

I watch as Ronan suddenly fades away.

The way he runs.
The way he laughs.

In a flash, I suddenly have a vision of nearly 20 years ago. As clear as day, I see a rambunctious Teddy, cheerfully sliding down a slide leading into the family pool. We all cheer when he lands.

I blink once and suddenly my sense of sound and sight are fully restored. I see Ronan once more as he patiently waits for Topher to shoot down the slide.

My heart nearly stops beating.

Ted

I'm feeling rather cocky after dropping my sisters off at home. I'm so glad that today isn't a complete waste. On top of closing out phase #1 of PTF, I've managed to save the Grey's future generation by putting an end to the Brie/Beth civil war.

As I hit I-5, the good feeling slowly melts away when it dawns on me that I'm headed home alone. It's a Saturday, for crying out loud. I'm young, but I'm miserable; too miserable to socialize with strangers.

When I ponder if I'm desperate enough to call Monty, I begin feeling nauseous. That idiot's been chomping at the bit to get his claws on me since Diana and I broke up.

"Yaaaasss! The Mack has returned!
We're gonna tear up Seattle, baby!
You and me!"

Jesus. No thank you.

I think about what movies I could watch at home or what books I could get into. I'm afraid to play any videogames and have one of the guys catch me online.

Before I can consider what my other options are, my phone rings. A lump forms in my throat when I catch the caller's name on the display screen. Sophie.

Well, it looks like my sisters talked her up because there she is calling me. It's odd because I've wanted to call her since Diana and I broke up, but I talked myself out of it.

Answer the damn phone, Grey.

"Hey," I greet.

"Hey," she responds warmly. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Not at all," I reply, trying my best not to sound desperate.

"It sounds like you're driving," she realizes.

"I am. I just dropped the twins off at the house after having lunch with them," I tell her.

"Brie and Beth?" The excitement in her voice produces a fluttering feeling in my gut that I instantly want to drown. "I know they're so big now. How are they?"

"They're great. They'll be graduating high school in May."

"Oh my goodness," she gasps. "Where has the time gone?"

"I know, right?" I chuckle.

"Where will they be going in the fall?" she asks.

"They'll both be at Gonzaga. Beth landed a full music scholarship, while Brie will be there on a partial volleyball scholarship."

"That's amazing!" she sparks.

"Yeah," I grunt. "Beth will be double majoring in music and math, and Brie will be double majoring in political science and biology."

"Political science, huh. That's just so Brie," Sophie laughs. "I always thought she'd make a great politician the way she would talk herself out of trouble."

I laugh at the thought. All joking aside, Brie has always been great at pulling folks together to fight for a common cause. When she deathly despised the rank pizza served in the cafeteria, she rallied up the troops in protest. Needless to say, Topher has his big sister to thank when he's not being served cardboard with fake cheese like Phoebe and I were all during middle school.

Shrugging myself back into the here and now, I suddenly remember the situation at hand. Sophie called me. Before I get the chance to ask what prompted her call, she asks about another sibling.

"What about Phoebe? Doesn't she have one more year to go in college?"

I can tell that she truly misses my sisters. The four of them were always so close. The very thought warms my heart.

"Actually, she'll be done at your alma mater this April. She's finishing up a year early. She's working part time at Grey House and will be full time after graduation."

"Wow, good for her!" she peps. "Man…all of the Grey kids are geniuses," she giggles.

"Well, I think it's just us trying to hurry out from under our parents' thumbs," I quip.

"No way," she chuckles. "You kids have always been smart. All four of you."

"Five," I pipe.

"What?" she gasps. "There's another?"

"My baby brother. Topher. He'll be four on the last day of July."

"Really?" she longingly sighs. "That's so cool. My son will be four on the last day of May. I didn't know your mom had another child."

Of course she wouldn't have known. Well, she could've found out if she'd read any of the online publications that have spotlighted our family. But perhaps she decided to avoid news about us altogether.

That wouldn't be difficult for someone who actively avoids her own father.
I brush away the bitter thought.

"Yes – Christopher Carrick Grey…or Topher as he insists on being called," I say in humor.

"Carrick. After your grandfather," she remembers.

"Mmm hmm."

"That's too sweet."

As I reach the halfway point of my drive home, I have a sudden thought.

"Hey, where are you?" I ask out of the blue.

"I'm sitting in the employee lounge at work," she replies.

So she called me from work. I wonder if this was just a call for general purposes, or she actually needed something.

"At the Olympic?" I ask.

"Mmm, hmm."

"Are you on break?"

She laughs. "I didn't realize that I was scheduled to come in at five. I had my mother drop me off this afternoon before she took my son to swim class. Her car's in the shop until next week."

"It's just after two o'clock," I tell her.

"Yep. So needless to say I'm stuck in here until my shift starts," she sighs.

"Hey, I don't live too far. If you're bored…"

Fuck, Grey – what are you doing?!

All I had to do was ask why she called, hang up, and go home. Now I'm offering to go and see her. I feel like banging my head against the steering wheel.

"Sure," she says quietly. "You don't mind?"

I wince at her response. "Not at all. You're stuck doing nothing for the next three hours," I crack.

"Okay," she acquiesces. "Did you want to meet me in the lobby, or would you like me to come out?"

Fuck. What should I do?
Wherever we decide, it needs to be a public place.
Well, not too public. I don't want to run into anyone I know.

"There's a coffee shop a couple blocks away from your job."

"I know exactly the one you're referring to," she says. "They have the best skinny lattes."

"That's the one," I smile. "How about you meet me out front and I'll drive?"

"Sounds good," she perks.

The second that we hang up, I'm already giving myself the third degree.

Relax Grey. You're just being cordial and kind to a longtime friend of the family. If she needs help within reason, then help her. This isn't you trying to get back with her.

You're done with women.
They've proven themselves to be untrustworthy…this one included.
Especially this one.

No, Sophie didn't gaslight two very high-performing employees by essentially committing vendor fraud for my sake – albeit Diana's resulting fraud was very unintentional.

Granted, what Sophie did seemed way worse to me at the time. But part of me now feels that I wasn't completely being honest with Sophie either. Back when I was at Stanford, I was steadily getting blowjobs and not classifying it as cheating.

Yeah, guys are dumb.

However, it still doesn't excuse the way she treated me when she dumped me for Aiden 'McDruggie' Glenn. Then she let him knock her up.

"My son will be four on the last day of May."

I squint and perform the quick math in my head.

So when exactly did she cheat on me?
It's forty weeks for a full term pregnancy, right?
May 31st…2032…

Sophie and I were last together in the summer of 2031. She obviously wasted no time to start fucking Aiden. I bet she could've dropped a class at UW and still get a full refund when Aiden started sticking his meth-filled dick in her. Not even a month. That's how long she waited after summer break to move on from me.

Old feelings of hurt that I had no clue still remained flood directly to the surface. I tell myself that it's old news. Forgive her and move on, Grey. Besides, getting back with Sophie isn't an option.

If anything, I only want to make certain that she's moved far away from her legal troubles and she's able to make a better life for her and her little boy.

Sophie may have broken my heart once upon a time, but I'd never wish her any ill will.

….

Fifteen minutes later, I pull up in front of the Olympic hotel. The valet immediately rushes to my car. I lower the passenger side window.

"Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to the Fairmont Olympic," he greets. He looks to be my age or even two years younger. He's soon admiring my car, practically chomping at the bit to get in and drive it.

"I'm not a guest. I'm meeting…"

"Sorry…" I hear a female's voice pipe in nearby.

I turn towards the sound and my jaw nearly hits the floor.

Holy shit. I practically gasp.

Be still, my beating heart.

No, this is not the same girl who barged into Grey House five months ago wearing an oversized open flannel shirt over a ratty t-shirt, battered jeans and dirty sneakers. Her hair was a mess. Her nails were chipped and worn.

No, the girl who's now smiling at me looks fucking amazing. Her golden blond hair practically glows down her shoulders and over her chest. Under her open gray trench coat is a fitting black skirt suit with a ruffled lavender blouse. Her patent leather high-heeled pumps are scuff-less. Her sparkling red nails are all long and perfectly manicured.

I am speechless.

"Hey, Sophie!" the valet sings. I blink out of my trance and catch him practically drooling all over her. Like you were just doing, Grey.

"Hi Mike. He's here for me," she beams at him. Without thinking, I quickly spring out the car and nearly shove Mike into the street in order to grab the passenger door for Sophie.

"Hey," she sweetly smiles my way. She looks genuinely happy to see me.

I smile back. "Hey." Instead of climbing into the car, she reaches out to hug me first. I wince but quickly remember myself and pull her into a warm embrace.

My God…I remember this smell. I close my eyes and take her in before snapping out of it and ushering her into the car. It dawns on me that she felt quite fit when I hugged her. She's obviously been taking very good care of herself.

When I return to the driver's seat, Sophie is addressing the valet guy through the window.

"I'll be back before five. That's when my shift starts."

"Cool, I'll see you then," he says with a wink. I frown at him as Sophie rolls up her window.

Hey dude, you see she's with me. Why would you fucking do that? I shake off the feeling. Why so jealous, Grey? She's just a friend.

"Nice car," she spouts as she surveys her surroundings.

"Thanks." I'm driving the Audi today. If she thinks this is impressive, she should check out the Bugatti.

"You look good," she says, now looking directly at me.

Fuck, her eyes are still so blue.
They look like swimming pools in June.

Coming to, I check to see if my three-quarter length leather trench coat and dark jeans are still in tact and stain free after lunching with my sisters.

Check, and check.
I then look back at her. My heart practically stands still.

Damn, she's hot.

"Thanks. You look…great," I bleat like a blubbering idiot.
Get a grip, Grey.

"Much different than what you saw last year, huh?" she points out wearing a shy smile.

My expression falls somewhat and I nod. I remember her looking so broken back then. She quickly picks up on my reaction.

"This is what happens when your life finally lands on the right track. I can honestly say that my son has truly saved my life," she professes. The awe is ever present in her voice. I am deeply touched by what I am witnessing.

"I'm glad you have him back."

"Me too," she beams. "So – are we just going to sit here, or are we getting skinny lattes?"

Oh, hell.

I break out of my umpteenth trance. "My bad," I chuckle. I quickly shift the car into gear and head straight out of the lot.

….

At the coffee shop, Sophie and I grab our lattes and sit at a small table by the window. Sitting across from me, she dons a warm smile that makes her appear to be genuinely glad to see me. This meeting is a completely different situation than the one that brought us together last time. I sincerely hope that she doesn't have any other problems knocking at her door.

"When you called, I forgot to ask if everything was going well with you," I say to her. Her smile immediately turns.

Shit, I was afraid of this.
What in the world could it be now?

"Things are going very well since I won my case. CPC still does random checks, but we are on such good terms now," she says. I search her face and she doesn't appear to be hopeless.

"That's good," I utter, uncertain of what the problem could possibly be.

"So the other day, I got a call from one of the lawyers who helped me win my case. Mr. and Mrs. Glenn are now fighting for visitation since they can't have primary custody."

My eyes narrow at the news. I don't claim to know this family, but what I do know is that Steven and Allison Glenn raised multiple shitty children. Therefore, I don't blame Sophie one bit for wanting to keep her son away from them.

"Can supervised visits be enforced?" I ask.

"Sure. But what I'm afraid of is…" she tries to find the words. "Because they're so upset with me for winning, they'll devise some elaborate plan to kidnap my son during a scheduled visit."

Holy shit.

"There are many Amber Alert cases where the child gets taken away. The non-custodial parent or grandparent disappears when it's time to drop off the child. I've also read of cases where the child gets kidnapped during a supervised visit."

"Damn, Sophie," I sigh.

"Yeah – I know. So needless to say, I've been rather nervous over the whole thing," she exhales.

I sit and ponder on what possibly could go wrong in this situation.

"Honestly, do you think you son's grandparents would do that?" I ask.

Sophie gives me a puzzled look before blinking it away.

"They have a chain of car dealerships in Nevada to run. Do you honestly think they'd throw that all away in order to kidnap your son?" I question.

"I don't trust them," she says point blank.

"Okay," I acquiesce. "If you want, I could have a security officer placed on site at all times with your son. I can also install surveillance around you and your mother's home if you want it. Whatever you think will keep your son safe."

Sophie visibly relaxes for the first time since she brought up her dilemma. "Oh gosh, Teddy – you sure it wouldn't be a bother for you? I honestly just wanted your advice. I wasn't expecting you to pay…"

"Sophie, stop. Really…it's no bother. I'm happy to do it. I'm glad you're finally asking for and accepting my help," I express.

She smiles ardently in return, and I could just melt right here in this wooden chair.

"Hey – by the way, what is your little boy's name?" I ask.

"Ronan. Ronan Taylor Glenn."

"Ronan," I say, testing it. I smile. "That's a really cool name."

She grins like a loving mother as she nods.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, faithful readers!

So for the next chapter, I won't spoil the big surprise. Let's just say that the script will flip. ;)

Don't worry, I won't leave you empty handed. Here's what I can say: Ana decides to act on impulse and she gets a very rude awakening. Also, Ted gives Sophie a call on a whim and they end up hanging out again.

Until the next chapter! Thanks so much for reading. :) – ST2