Chapter 46 : All these things that I've done

Arizona's POV

A few days later, around eight o'clock, we arrived in front of Erica and her wife's house. They lived in a nice villa in a residential area. We rang the doorbell and Erica came to open the door.

Although it was going to be strange to have dinner with Callie's ex, Erica seemed like a nice woman. After all, if this woman had seduced Callie, that meant she must be a special woman.

"Hello," Erica started as she opened the door, "and welcome to our home."

"Good evening." We simultaneously said.

"We brought you a small bottle of wine." I announced, handing the bottle to Erica.

"Thank you." Erica said, grabbing the bottle. "Follow me, we are going to move to the living room. We will be more comfortable."

We arrived at the living room, which was a large, modern and minimalist room. We immediately saw that a woman was already sitting on the sofa. She was a young redhead with a nice smile.

"Callie and Arizona, this is my wife Isla."

"It's nice to meet you." The young woman said as she stood up. "Erica has told me a lot about you, Callie."

At that moment, I started to blush. This was going to be a very long dinner if this woman was going to spend all her time reminiscing about my wife and Erica.

"I'm sorry I said that," Isla said, seeing my embarrassment, "I shouldn't have said that. I apologize, Arizona. To be honest, even though this whole thing between Callie and Erica happened years ago, I was a little nervous before dinner and this was a way to try and relax a little bit."

"Personally," Callie suggested, "I'd rather we didn't talk about this story at all. The past is meant to stay behind us and it is better to look to the present and the future. The present is that we have a nice evening with friends. Is that okay with everyone?"

"I'm totally fine with that." Isla agreed.

"Well," Erica offered, "now that we've got that big problem out of the way, can I get you something to drink?"

"I wouldn't say no to a glass of wine," Callie replied.

"Fine," Erica said as she got up to get our drinks from the kitchen, "how about you Arizona?"

"A glass of wine would be great," I replied.

Erica got up, went to the kitchen, and brought a tray with glasses and the bottle of wine we had brought into the living room.

"We will now be able to taste this wine!" Isla said as she started to serve us and then took a sip. "This wine is fabulous!"

"Arizona has always had great taste in choosing the best wines in the world." Callie said.

"I lived in France for a few years as a teenager," I explained, "and that's where I learned about the taste of different wines and how to choose a wine. We lived in a small village near Bordeaux and our neighbor had a vineyard. That's why I chose a French wine, they are the best."

"So," Isla asked, "Erica told me that you have two children together."

"Yes," I answered, "we have Sofia who is seven and Will who is just under two. They are with my mother tonight."

"Can I ask you a question about that?" Isla asked.

"Of course." Callie said.

"How did you give birth to them?" Isla asked us. "To be honest, we've been thinking about having children for a few months now, so it would be interesting to get your perspective and experience."

"To be honest," Callie began to explain, "it's a long story. Arizona and I broke up at some point because she went on a humanitarian mission to Malawi. It was a really complicated time and one night I slept with Mark Sloane. Unfortunately or fortunately, I got pregnant."

"When I came home because I missed the woman I loved too much," I continued this story, "I learned of Callie's pregnancy. I was very upset that she slept with Mark. But I just couldn't imagine my life without Callie and this baby, so we got back together and decided to raise this child together."

"Nevertheless," Callie continued, "while I was pregnant, we were in a serious car accident. I was severely injured and gave birth to our Sofia."

"Were you already married by then?" Isla asked.

"No, not at all," I said. "Just before the car accident, I asked Cal to marry me. We got married once Sofia and Calliope were both well again."

"And how was the birth of your son?" Isla continued to ask.

"Regarding Will," Callie said, "we used a sperm donor."

Callie's POV

We continued for almost an hour to tell the whole process that had led us to have our son. It was a very strange conversation: Isla kept asking us indiscreet questions while Erica remained silent.

At the end of the meal, I got up to clear the plates and once I was in the kitchen, Erica also entered the room.

"It's a very nice evening," I began, "Isla is really great."

"She's really great." She said without looking me in the eye. "Nevertheless, lately, it's a little complicated for her and me."

"Why? What's going on?"

"We tried to adopt a little boy from Italy, Gio, but the process did not work out because I am a surgeon. The social services considered that I would not have enough time to devote to my family. The thing is that Isla was really related to the child we wanted to adopt. She met him while volunteering at an orphanage. They fell in love with each other at first sight."

"That's why she asked us so many questions, isn't it?"

"Since we were denied adoption, she has gone completely crazy. She thinks that if we have a baby, social services will see that she is a good mother and will accept that she has Gio."

"It's crazy!"

"That's what I tell her every day but she doesn't listen to me. You know, she's probably asking your wife more questions."

"If you want, you could both come to Arizona's parents' house for lunch so she's around kids. It would be good for her."

"Great idea!"

At that moment, I had no idea of the consequences of this suggestion.