Ephram walked into his two-bedroom apartment and threw his keys on the
counter in the kitchen. He stopped and looked around at all of the boxes
that still needed to be unpacked. He looked around at his apartment, which
wasn't very big, and for the price he was paying it was pretty decent. He
grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and went and sat down on the couch.
He leaned back and took a mouthful of beer and sat there. He began to
rethink the meeting with Madison. His immediate thought was of the words
"babysitter" and "son". He began to contemplate. Is she married? Is she
divorced? Is she happy? How long had she been in L.A.? How did it feel
for her to see him again after all this time? How did he feel about seeing
her after all this time? He took another swig of his beer. How did he
feel? He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He felt like he
had been visited by a ghost of Christmas past. Out of all of the cities in
the country, he had to pick the one that Madison was in. He had to work
for a company that had a strategic alliance with the company Madison worked
for. Why now? Why after all this time? There was one thing, Ephram could
not deny and that was the fact that Madison was still beautiful and there
was this glow about her that made him feel out of sorts. Obviously, she
had moved on and was doing really well unlike himself. Ephram made a
decision that he needed to move on and that was what he intended to do.
Ephram just sat there until he fell asleep.
On the other side of L.A., Madison was walking toward her bedroom and the door to Jake's room was cracked. Jake being a typical 4 year old had kicked the covers off of him and was laying sideways on the bed. Madison smiled when she saw this and went and repositioned Jake back on his pillow and covered him up. She gave him a small peck on his forehead and brushed his sandy blonde hair with her hand and whispered "I love you." She went back into the den and sat down on the couch. Mindy walked in the den with two cups of coffee and sat down next to her on the couch.
"Okay, what's so important that it couldn't wait until the morning and I had to rush over here," Mindy asked with curiosity handing Madison a cup.
"The one person I never thought would walk back into my life decided to show up tonight and I-I'm not sure what to do," Madison said flustered.
"Who?" Mindy replied.
Madison raised her eyebrows and her eyes motioned toward the bedrooms.
"Who? Ephram?" Mindy replied shocked.
Madison lowered her head and sighed.
"No way. What in the hell is he doing in L.A.? Did you talk to him? Did you tell him about Jake?" Mindy questioned hurriedly.
"Ironically enough, he is working for the production studio that my company just signed a strategic alliance with and the band I am promoting is supposed to create songs for the screenplay that Ephram is working on," Madison responded.
"So... What happened?"
"Nothing much. His boss was with him and we kept the conversation to work. It was the most awkward feeling I've ever had in my life. Sitting across the table from the one person who changed my life forever and knowing that he had no clue about the way he changed my life. I don't know it was just weird," Madison said with an unsettling expression on her face.
"Are you going to see him again?" Mindy continued to question.
"More than I want to. We are going to be working on this project together pretty much nonstop for the next month or so, so I'm going to have to get over the awkwardness."
"Are you going to tell him about the little squirt in the next room?"
"I told him I had to get home because I had a son, but I didn't explain the whole thing to him."
"Are you going to?" Mindy still trying to pry out the answer.
"Not until it's the right time, which may be never. He was completely shocked when I told him that I had a son."
"Well, I think you should tell him. He might surprise you."
"Oh, yeah, he'll surprise me alright. I'm sure he'll take off so fast that he'll be a blur running out on me and Jake," Madison said assuredly.
"Look you two are both older and I sure hope wiser. I think you two should discuss Jake," Mindy said.
"I don't know. I have no clue where he is in his life. I don't know if he's dating anyone or engaged or even married. Probably to Amy nonetheless. I know I can't just walk into his office and blurt out, "Hey. I know we haven't seen each other in 5 years, but by the way, before we broke up, that one last night of passion between us resulted in a son who is now 4 years old. And on top of that I never stopped loving you and I'm miserable without you." Oh, yeah, that'll work. I'm sure he'll just jump for joy and take me in his arms and tell me he feels the same way."
"You never know, but it would be cool if that was what happened."
"What do you know? I can't risk Jake getting hurt by all of this, let alone me. I can't get my hopes up. Jake's had enough trouble relating to the two guys I have dated since he was born. How do I know he would react differently to finally finding out his real Dad and his Dad not wanting to be a part of his life?"
Mindy just looked at her without an answer and sipped at her coffee. Madison just sat there confused and worried.
On the other side of L.A., Madison was walking toward her bedroom and the door to Jake's room was cracked. Jake being a typical 4 year old had kicked the covers off of him and was laying sideways on the bed. Madison smiled when she saw this and went and repositioned Jake back on his pillow and covered him up. She gave him a small peck on his forehead and brushed his sandy blonde hair with her hand and whispered "I love you." She went back into the den and sat down on the couch. Mindy walked in the den with two cups of coffee and sat down next to her on the couch.
"Okay, what's so important that it couldn't wait until the morning and I had to rush over here," Mindy asked with curiosity handing Madison a cup.
"The one person I never thought would walk back into my life decided to show up tonight and I-I'm not sure what to do," Madison said flustered.
"Who?" Mindy replied.
Madison raised her eyebrows and her eyes motioned toward the bedrooms.
"Who? Ephram?" Mindy replied shocked.
Madison lowered her head and sighed.
"No way. What in the hell is he doing in L.A.? Did you talk to him? Did you tell him about Jake?" Mindy questioned hurriedly.
"Ironically enough, he is working for the production studio that my company just signed a strategic alliance with and the band I am promoting is supposed to create songs for the screenplay that Ephram is working on," Madison responded.
"So... What happened?"
"Nothing much. His boss was with him and we kept the conversation to work. It was the most awkward feeling I've ever had in my life. Sitting across the table from the one person who changed my life forever and knowing that he had no clue about the way he changed my life. I don't know it was just weird," Madison said with an unsettling expression on her face.
"Are you going to see him again?" Mindy continued to question.
"More than I want to. We are going to be working on this project together pretty much nonstop for the next month or so, so I'm going to have to get over the awkwardness."
"Are you going to tell him about the little squirt in the next room?"
"I told him I had to get home because I had a son, but I didn't explain the whole thing to him."
"Are you going to?" Mindy still trying to pry out the answer.
"Not until it's the right time, which may be never. He was completely shocked when I told him that I had a son."
"Well, I think you should tell him. He might surprise you."
"Oh, yeah, he'll surprise me alright. I'm sure he'll take off so fast that he'll be a blur running out on me and Jake," Madison said assuredly.
"Look you two are both older and I sure hope wiser. I think you two should discuss Jake," Mindy said.
"I don't know. I have no clue where he is in his life. I don't know if he's dating anyone or engaged or even married. Probably to Amy nonetheless. I know I can't just walk into his office and blurt out, "Hey. I know we haven't seen each other in 5 years, but by the way, before we broke up, that one last night of passion between us resulted in a son who is now 4 years old. And on top of that I never stopped loving you and I'm miserable without you." Oh, yeah, that'll work. I'm sure he'll just jump for joy and take me in his arms and tell me he feels the same way."
"You never know, but it would be cool if that was what happened."
"What do you know? I can't risk Jake getting hurt by all of this, let alone me. I can't get my hopes up. Jake's had enough trouble relating to the two guys I have dated since he was born. How do I know he would react differently to finally finding out his real Dad and his Dad not wanting to be a part of his life?"
Mindy just looked at her without an answer and sipped at her coffee. Madison just sat there confused and worried.
