Chapter 13
Jill and Riley were sitting on the floor playing with cars when Abby and Carter entered the room. "Hey, guys," Abby said. Carter envied her calmness.
In reality, Abby was anything but calm. She was about to change her children's lives forever. Once she told them, there was no turning back. She knew she had to do this, but she was nervous anyway.
"C'mere guys," Abby said, gathering her children around her. "I have something I want to tell you."
Jill, noting the serious tone of her mother's voice, said, "Is it a bad something?"
Abby shook her head. "No, it's not a bad something. It's a very good something as a matter of fact, and it's very important." Abby took a deep breath. How should she start?
"You know how you asked if Carter was my boyfriend?" Jill and Riley both nodded silently, aware that important news was about to be delivered. "Well, a long time ago, I used to live here in Chicago. Carter and I worked together in the ER we went to a few days ago." Jill and Riley were both looking at her intently, and she continued.
"Carter and I dated for a while, and we were very good friends. But we got mad at each other, and I moved to Atlanta. That was right before you were born." Carter was relieved that she had portrayed his indiscretion so innocuously.
"When I left, Carter didn't know that I was going to have a baby. Well, two babies actually. You two were born a few months after I moved to Atlanta. We lived there up until a few weeks ago. When I came to Chicago and I couldn't find Uncle Eric, I brought you guys to Carter's house because I knew he would take care of you."
Carter gazed at Abby, impressed by her candidness. Even though she was looking at the twins, he knew she was talking to him, telling him that all really was well. She was about to tell them; he looked at their faces so he could gauge their reactions.
"You see, Carter is your daddy. That's why you came to live with him while I was in the hospital. I knew you would be safe with him."
Both Jill and Riley looked at their mother in shock, mouths hanging open. Then, they turned to look at Carter, obviously viewing him in a different light.
As usual, Jill spoke for both of them. "You're really our daddy?" she asked breathlessly, hoping for a positive response.
Carter nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm really your daddy," he said, saying it aloud for the first time. The word felt strange on his tongue. Well, he would get used to it.
Riley was the first to respond. With a smile slowly spreading across his face, Riley walked over to Carter and wrapped both arms tightly around his leg. "I'm glad you're my Daddy," he said. "If I could have picked a Daddy, I would have picked you."
Carter was touched by the words, and he picked Riley up and wrapped his arms around him. "And I couldn't have picked a better son," he said, a smile spreading across his face.
Meanwhile, Jill was grinning up at her newfound father. "That means we can stay here, right? And you and Mommy can love each other again, right?" she asked, her glance eagerly shifting between her two parents.
That broke the happiness of Carter's moment. Jill and Riley were both looking at him expectantly, but he remembered what Abby has said. He hated to disappoint them, but what else could he say?
Fortunately, Abby answered for him. "I'm not sure about that, Jill. But we'll still live in Chicago, so you can come and visit Car- Daddy." The word felt just a strange on Abby lips.
Abby had never seen her daughter look so sad. "But why not, Mommy? If Carter's our Daddy, why can't we all live here?" Neither Carter nor Abby knew what to stay.
Jill silently took Carter left hand and Abby's right. She held them for a moment, then joined them, so that Abby and Carter were holding hands, like it or not. "We could be a family," she said dreamily, looking up at her parents with hope. She stood between the two of them, as if her presence could bring them together.
She didn't know how close that was to the truth.
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After Carter had laid the twins down for their nap, he went into the kitchen, where Abby was making a phone call. The newspaper was open in front of her, and though Carter could only hear one side of the conversation, he knew what she was talking about.
"Yes, how much would that be...nine hundred a month! Does that include utilities?...oh, it doesn't...how much would it be for a one bedroom?...no, I said I wanted two...well, how much would it be for two bedrooms?...Okay, thank you." Abby hung up the phone. "Eleven hundred dollars for two bedrooms! It's ridiculous!"
"No, what's ridiculous is you searching for an apartment you can't even afford, when I told you you all could stay here with me." When he saw the stubborn look on her face, he asked, "Have you even found a job yet?"
"I have some pretty good prospects. I went for an interview yesterday, and it looked pretty promising."
Carter sighed. "Abby, you shouldn't be doing this. You just got out of the hospital, you're supposed to be resting, remember?"
"I'm fine, Carter. I want us to go ahead and get settled in our own place. It's not good for them to be moving around like this."
"Then why don't you stay here?" Carter demanded, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice.
"Because there's no point in them getting used to living here. The longer we stay here, the higher their hopes are that we're going to be here forever. I've disappointed them enough already."
Carter pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. "No you haven't, Abby. You've been a great mother to them, and you've done an excellent job of providing for them by yourself." He paused. "But you're not alone anymore. They're my kids too, and I want to help you. You need to get some rest and build your health back up, and I need to get to know my kids. You've spend your whole life worrying about them day and night. Let me take a turn, okay?" Abby smiled. "How about you just stay for another week? You can spend some time resting, and I can spend some time with the kids. After that, you can start looking for a new job. How bout it?"
Abby shook her head. "It's not like I had pneumonia. It was just a mild case of malnutrition."
"And dehydration, anemia, and vitamin deficiency," Carter reminded her.
"But anyway, I don't need a week to recuperate. And it will devastate them if they get used to living here, just to have to move away in a while. They need some stability in their lives."
"Then don't leave," Carter said abruptly. "I just met them, Abby. I want to get to know them, spend some time with them. I've missed so much of their lives, just give me a little time, okay?"
Abby looked down, undecided. After all, it was her fault that Carter had missed so much of their lives; didn't she owe it to him to give him a chance to get to know them? Fortunately for Abby, the sound of Jill crying interrupted their discussion. "Jill must be having a nightmare. I better go check on her," she said, fleeing up the stairs.
"What's the matter, honey?" she asked, kneeling over her daughter's bed.
"I had a bad dream, Mommy. I don't wanna sleep anymore," she whimpered, huddling next to her mother. Her crying had woken Riley, who sat up in his bed.
"Where's Daddy?" Riley asked his mother. Abby was amazed at how soon he had gotten used to the new name.
"He's in the kitchen, Riley," she told him, stroking Jill's hair.
"Daddy!" Riley yelled, surprising them all. In a matter of seconds they heard Carter's footsteps on the stairs.
It warmed Carter's heart to hear himself being called Daddy, and he was out of his seat before Riley's call had ended. He bounded up the stairs to check on his son. "What's wrong, Riley?" he asked, seeing Riley sitting peacefully on his bed.
Riley shrugged. "Nothing," he said, holding out his arms. He was jealous of the attention Jill was receiving from their mother, but now, there was enough attention to go around.
Jill, distracted by Carter's arrival, had stopped crying. "Can we get up now?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm not tired anymore," Riley agreed.
Abby stood up and was about to respond when a familiar dizziness overtook her. Not again, she thought just before she passed out.