I really didn't expect to get a lot of good feedback about this fic, i thought it would be ignored. hehehe! i'm really happy that you guys are enjoying this, and for those stories that i haven't reviewed so far, i'm sorry coz my net is busted and the review button won't work..here's the next installment, randy's in here... :-)
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My doorbell buzzed at exactly seven. I told him to come right up. He was on time, as always. Impressive, really, but I reminded myself that it was all part of the RKO Legend Killer charm. I mentally ticked off the minute and a half it would take for him to get on the elevator to the 18th floor of my apartment. I had ordered Japanese take-out that was now spread on the dark wood table that served both as a dining table and large work desk. I surveyed the fruits of my labor. It's really quite romantic, in a fast food kind of way, but I really need to learn how to cook while I'm still on maternity leave. The only thing made from scratch in the apartment was the coffee brewing in the corner, but even that was pre-ground. Now that I'm a mother, it might be expected of me to know at least one dish. Are scrambled eggs considered a dish? I could have a scrambled eggs/omelet buffet to show off my scrambled eggs repertoire. My family was really big on breakfast. But that was it.
I sighed. Cooking with the expertise of a chef was one of those things I knew that I might not be able to live up to. I always hated the saying; the one about the way to a man's heart was through his stomach. That only meant most women should be housewives or chefs, which was pretty pathetic and too disgustingly macho for words. Nothing wrong with being a housewife or a chef, it was just that I couldn't be either. I couldn't even remember the last time I went to the grocery.
What the hell is wrong with me? Where did this self-depreciating attitude come from? Before my pregnancy I wouldn't have considered the inability to make a meal a liability. Now, I felt nothing less than being a gourmet chef and mom with instant midwife knowledge that were expected of me. Motherhood, and wifehood for that matter, were perhaps more up to Amy's alley. I felt totally ignorant, fumbling with everything that I touched when less than a year ago, I was an all-knowing, super sexy kind of gal. Now, none of my clothes fit, not even my jeans. A month after giving birth, I was still wearing my maternity clothes. It was tragic. My only consolation was that I bought my maternity clothes from stores I would normally buy my pre-maternity clothes from, only now in large and extra large sizes.
I checked myself in the mirror. The least I could do was put on makeup before Randy arrived. While pregnant, everybody told me that I was positively radiant. I guess it's because I take good care of my skin by drinking lots of water and vitamin E. All I needed was a little pink blush on my cheeks, lip-gloss and I was all set. If I had done anymore, he might think that I liked him, and I wouldn't want him to think that—even if he was the father of my child, even if I still kind of liked him, well, just a little bit, but I would rather die than admit to ANYONE that fact. Guys, especially Randy, didn't need the extra ego boost.
I answered the door on Randy's first ring. "Hi."
"Hi," he said before leaning over to kiss me on the cheek. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and faded jeans. He smelled faintly of Obsession. His hair was a bit damp and his strong jaw looked clean-shaven. He looked like he took the time to shower and change before hustling over to my place. His trademark smirk lit his face when he lifted his hand that held a tub of cookie dough ice cream. "I picked up a pint for you. I remembered this was your favorite when you were still craving." I was such a pig.
"Umm, thanks," I said as I let him in. Oh, God, he is so annoyingly fit.
"How's Alex?"
"Sleeping, finally." I said as I went into the kitchen to put the ice cream in the freezer. Must exercise willpower to give this to Matt. "Everyone keeps telling me not to worry, that she'll sleep through the night soon enough. Amy says to give it a couple of months. I don't know. I can't wait." I had been keeping odd hours lately because of the baby, trying to grab some sleep when the baby was sleeping. I found that this left me little free time to do anything else but care for the baby so I really appreciated the time Amy took to help me. I knew that I seriously needed a nanny, but looking for a trustworthy one seemed like an impossible task.
"Can I see her?" Randy asked tentatively. "I mean if it's OK and if my hanging around won't wake her."
"Of course." I led him to my room, where I kept Alex in a bassinet next to my bed. Although I had transformed the other room into a nursery, I found it easier to keep the baby with me so I didn't have to walk far whenever the baby had to be fed, changed or comforted.
We both peered into the basket to look at the sleeping baby. Alex was barely two months old, and already she had a full head of blonde hair. Her closed eyes were fringed with long thick lashes, something she got from her father. She was breathing steadily, her soft mouth slightly open. I had her wrapped in a pink fleece blanket to keep her warm. It must have been a full ten minutes before I realized that Randy had held his breath and was staring at our child.
"You, uh, wanna eat?" I whispered.
"Oh, sure." He put his hands in his pockets and nodded his head. He seemed embarrassed about being caught staring. "I'm starving."
I smiled at him and led him to the table. I must tell Amy about this: Randy was awed by his child.
"It looks delicious," Randy said.
"You're being sarcastic."
"No. Japanese is my favorite and I'm starving." He pulled out the only two chairs around the table and motioned for me to join him. "So how has it been so far?"
"Except for the sleepless nights, I love it. She's such an angel," I said, keeping the fact that I sometimes felt insecure about the future and worried the kind of life Alex would have growing up with a part-time dad. "I have to start working soon, though. Amy said she'll help me get a nanny. That way I can work my usual schedule. Right now, I'm just trying to do promos and appearances within the area, though even that is hard. It helps me establish my milk to be with the baby almost 24 hours."
"You intend to leave the baby with the nanny when you go out of town?" he said quite casually while dipping the sushi in the sauce that I almost missed the accusing tone of voice. I decided to ignore it.
"Both the nanny and baby can come with me when I work, if possible. I still have to ask permission from Vince, but I'm sure he'll understand. Although, I intend to leave them at home when I go out on dates and stuff." This time he looked up.
"Dates?"
"Yup," I nodded. I couldn't bring myself to look up from my plate. I picked up a piece of sushi, popped it in my mouth so that I didn't have to elaborate. I really didn't know how to go about dating again but I was definitely no going to be a hermit.
"You going out with someone?"
"Well... I'm not exactly in a relationship right now, am I?" This time I looked up at him and couldn't suppress a smile. He can't be jealous. There was absolutely nothing between us except our daughter, of course. "Come to think of it, Alex needs a dad."
"I'm her dad."
"She needs to be in a family setup."
"Trish, it's the modern world. This is a family setup." He had stopped eating by then and had put down his food. He was looking at me directly. "I mean, you know what I mean."
"Not really."
"Sorry." He sighed. "But you do know what I mean."
"Are you going to stop dating?" A picture of Stacy, her long blonde hair and mile-long legs and arms wrapped around his waist entered my mind.
"No, I guess not." His voice was resigned.
"There you go. You don't expect me to stop seeing other guys, right? It's the modern world, after all," I mimicked.
"No. I just thought..."
"You thought I should just be a mom?"
"Well yeah... and..."
"And you though single moms should be just that—single?"
"No. But well...it just seems weird."
"That's typical." I shrugged my shoulders. It was just like Randy, with his typical taste in Stacy-like women to be so typically male.
"You know I'm not going to abandon Alex. It's just that I can't help feeling inappropriate, Trish. Fine, it's a macho thing. It's hard to accept."
"Yeah well, face it. This mom will be dating, also known is single-mother circles as daddy-slash-husband hunting." I must be getting the old Trish Stratus back. That's a start. Now, if only I could just have the body that went with the attitude. It was time to go to the gym.
Randy didn't say anything after that. He just picked on his food, seemingly in deep thought. Then after what seemed an eternity, he said, "So do you have a nanny in mind?"
"Well, not yet. Although Amy's older sister gave me a few numbers. I was going to give them a call tomorrow."
"You know what," he said while getting up and stacking his dirty plate and boxes, "I can be your nanny."
"What?!"
"Yup. I can come over when you need help while you work, since we now work with different brands. And I can definitely be around when you go out on dates."
"No way."
"Yes way," he said as he strode over to the sink under which I stored the trash bin. "It's settled then."
"No, it's not. You can't be a nanny. What do you know about caring newborns? Besides, how will you work?"
"We work on different nights, remember? So my work nights are your days off and vice versa. And you know that she can come with us whenever we have joint pay-per-views. Maybe we can even convince Amy, Matt and the others to help out. As to knowing how to care for newborns, may I pose the same question to you? What do you know about it? Ha, I thought so. Now, unless you want to get a restraining order on me I don't see how you can get rid of me." After the last draft lottery and me getting traded to Smackdown, I do usually get the days off whenever Randy was working with the RAW brand. He does have a point but still...
"This is ridiculous. I'll get a nanny and you can quit this nonsense, OK?"
"Sure, but what will you do while you don't have one? Stay at home? Think of the savings at least!"
I deliberated for a moment, thinking of the impossibility of the situation he was suggesting. It would be great for Alex but what would that do to me? Not that I should worry about anything like that at all, right? Why was he feeling fatherly all of a sudden? Why was it making me nervous? It's only temporary.
"Fine."
"Good. Call me whenever you have a promo or a... date or something. I gotta go." And with that he got up and left, leaving me to figure out what just happened.
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So, how was it? :-) Please R & R! It reall y inspires me... :-)