Drew moved in on his wife Jaiden, pushed her shoulder long, dark brown hair out of the way, and leaned down to kiss her neck.
"It tickles," she laughed.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," she said.
"Anything I can help with?" He asked.
"No, I got this," she answered.
She had both hands down in a bowl, kneading the dough for some homemade buns. He loved when she baked. No one baked as good as she did. He jumped up to sit on the counter next to her, took in her ocean blue eyes, and sent her a cheeky smile.
"Get off the counter or you won't get any buns," she said.
"You're mean," he pouted.
He was about to jump down when her phone started ringing. She had placed it on the window shelf. He reached for it and took a look at the caller. There was a number he didn't recognize.
"It's not someone from your phonebook," he said.
"Answer it and put it on speaker," she said.
She kept kneading the dough while he did as she requested.
"Hello?" Jaiden asked.
"Jaiden McIntyre?" A female voice asked.
"Speaking," Jaiden said.
"My name is Rhea Ripley and I'm your daughter," the voice continued.
Jaiden looked at Drew. Both of them furrowed their brows. She didn't have any children but this caller had asked for her by name.
"I never had a child," Jaiden said.
"I was born on October 11, 1996," Rhea said. "I'm 25. About to turn 26 next week."
Drew did the quick math in his head. Jayden was 41.
"That would have made you 15," Drew whispered.
"I think I would remember if I had pushed a child out of my body," Jaiden said annoyed. "I don't know who told you I'm your mother but they're wrong."
Jaiden looked at Drew and nodded.
"Hang up," Jaiden said.
Drew hung up and stared at her. None of them spoke for several seconds. Her phone buzzed and he opened the text that came through.
"I am your daughter. I just want to get to know you."
Jaiden rinsed her hands and dried them before finally looking at Drew again.
"I've never lied to you," she said.
"I know, but think about the date. 1996. Where were you in 1996?" He asked.
"Fuck!" She shouted.
She punched the bowl and it slid across the counter. He grabbed it before it could land on the floor. He knew where she was that year. She had lost an entire year while being in a coma after a bus collided with their car. She was the only survivor and for an entire year no one knew if she would ever wake up. She finally woke up in December only to learn her parents and one year older brother were all dead in the accident.
"That was when I was in a coma," she said.
"Do you think someone at the hospital took advantage of that, got you pregnant, and then covered it up?" He asked.
"How the fuck should I know? There's nothing about it in my papers," she said.
Tears showed in her eyes. He jumped off the counter and took her into his arms. They heard the front door open and footsteps come towards the kitchen. They had invited Sheamus over today. He showed up seconds later with a grin on his face that quickly faded when he saw Jaiden in tears.
"What's going on?" Sheamus asked.
"Some woman just called and said she's Jaiden's daughter," Drew said.
"You have a daughter?" Sheamus asked.
"No!" Jaiden yelled. "At least I don't think so."
"You don't think so?" Sheamus asked confused.
"The woman's age adds up with the year she was in a coma," Drew said.
"Well, that's just fucked up," Sheamus said. "What are you gonna do about it?"
"What can I do? How the fuck can I know?" Jaiden asked.
"You know a doctor will be able to tell you if you've ever given birth, right?" Sheamus asked.
He chuckled when he saw the looks on both of their faces. Clearly they didn't know.
"Any scars on your stomach?" Sheamus asked.
"No," Jaiden answered.
"Not a C-section then. That leaves natural birth. Go get a checkup and see what they say," Sheamus said.
"I'm gonna call right now," Jaiden said.
Jaiden grabbed her phone and walked out of the kitchen. Drew blew out his breath and looked at Sheamus.
"Thank you," Drew said.
"Rough day, eh?" Sheamus asked.
"Yeah, pretty fucking rough," Drew nodded. "This is so fucked up that I can't begin to wrap my head around what is going on."
"Try not to think about it until you know anything for sure," Sheamus said. "Either she's got a kid out there who's already an adult and not in need of child support, or you got something else on your hands."
"I don't know which outcome is the worst," Drew said.
They heard Jaiden walk towards them again while ending the call. She showed up in the door and nodded.
"After they heard what's going on, they made room for me tomorrow. This is too important to wait," Jaiden said. "The buns. I gotta make the buns. Turn on the oven for me."
She rushed over to the bowl and started rolling the dough into buns.
"You don't have to," Drew said.
"I wanna make buns!" Jaiden snapped.
She looked at him and held back the tears that threatened to spill once more.
"I'm sorry," Jaiden said.
"It's okay," Drew said.
"Do you want me to leave?" Sheamus asked.
"No, please, stay. I need things to be as normal as possible today," Jaiden said. "Please, turn on the oven and let me make some buns for us. I just need to make these stupid buns."
Drew nodded, leaned down to kiss her cheek, and walked over to the oven to turn it on.
"Want us to run out and get you something?" Sheamus offered.
"I'd really like that vegan chocolate milk," Jaiden sniffled. "Drew knows which one."
"On it," Drew said. "We'll be right back, darling."
