I hope you guys enjoy it. I have now figured out that weekends are perfect for updates. I will work on my Retribution story on Saturdays, and this story on Sundays.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this semi-dramatic chapter.
Wendy could almost feel the death glares Stan was sending her as he invited her inside. They walked across towards the living room, where Wendy saw from the corner of her eye a high chair between the living room and the small kitchen, where a one-year-old toddler sat, craving his oatmeal.
Wendy cooed slightly but just when she took a step towards her son's direction, Stan rushed past her and over to Sterling and picked him up from his eye chair, and held him to his side.
Wendy frowned as she herself couldn't blame Stan for wanting to distance Sterling away from her. After all, Wendy looked as if she had just come from the streets, wearing a baggy sweater and stained jeans. Sterling looked curiously at the woman and whined in discomfort, but Stan held him tightly in order to calm him down.
Wendy sat on the recliner while Stan sat on the couch that lay on the adjacent side of the living room. "You missed his first birthday." He commented.
Wendy sighed. "I know...I know that it was a bitch move for me to leave."
"Oh, really?" Stan said with a mocking tone. His glare was still etched on his face.
"I just...I had no idea was coming over me." Tears began to form in Wendy's eyes, but she fought them. Her voice was becoming hoarse. "I just never believed I could move forward with being a mother, but now I am done running away. I am here, and I am staying."
Stan's expression softened a bit, but he still looked annoyed. "Yeah, well good luck with that. I already packed your stuff up a long time ago. You can visit to see your son, but you are going to have to sleep somewhere else."
Wendy's eyes widened for a moment but then let out a defeated sigh. "Well, Bebe needs a roommate, anyway. Rent is too much for just one person, and I can ask Nichole if I can work with her at her office. Probably as her assistant or secretary."
Stan nodded his head.
"I am going to have to call my parents, too."
Stan raised an eyebrow.
Wendy noticed the questioning look on his face and spoke. "You were the first person I came to see. They don't know I have arrived yet."
"You know that they have been looking for you for months before giving up." Stan found pleasure in the shock and heartbroken look on Wendy's face, indicating that she had no idea the effect her absence had on her own parents. "Though my mother promised to give you a hard lecture and screaming episode if you had ever returned."
Wendy gulped. This is going to be rough.
"I just want to be the mother our son deserves."
Stan chuckled. "I think you mean my son. You are only allowed to see my son on one condition."
Wendy raised an eyebrow.
"You must see a therapist."
Wendy looked over at the curious expression on Sterling's face and sighed. She knew this was going to be a long chapter.
Her friends have all had mixed reactions to her returning home, from Bebe berating her for what she had put Stan through the past year, to Heidi wrapping her arms around Wendy and holding her tight. Bebe, despite being peeved, allowed Wendy to stay at her apartment. Wendy asked if she could use Bebe's phone to call Nichole and ask her for a job. Nichole recommended she drop by her firm to see what they can do.
Wendy took a deep breath and braced for her parents' reactions as she dialed up each of their phone numbers. She called her father, who scolded her through the phone, and then her mother, who screamed at her before breaking down into tears. Wendy had to hold back the tears on her way back to Stan's apartment. She had pretty much stained her relationship with her lover and their son, along with her own parents and her entire group of friends.
Stan woke up the following day after Wendy's scheduled visit. Today was a typical field environment day for him and his coworkers, so he put on his typical steel-toed boots and field hat. He had to get his son ready for the day as well. He thought of Wendy and wondered if this was reality. That she had returned, but there seemed to be a mental barrier that was blocking Stan from ever fully cooperating with his childhood crush again...or maybe.
He shook these thoughts off as he entered his son's room. Sterling was already babbling as he stood up on his crib. Stan smiled as he got his son onto the changing table across the room. After slipping off the wet diaper and putting on a fresh one, he found a white shirt and a pair of blue overalls for Sterling. After the two finished getting dressed, Stan picked his son up and they traveled over to the kitchen for some breakfast.
Stan sat his son down into the high chair and poured him a bowl of his favorite oatmeal. While his son ate, Stan helped himself with a nice cup of coffee and a granola bar. He had a hard time fathoming how both unfortunate and lucky he was. His girlfriend left him for an entire year, sure, but now it seemed as if his son was the only engine helping him drive forward.
After finishing his breakfast, he cleaned his son up before putting his shoes on and bringing his son outside and into the car. It was a short ride to the house he grew up in.
"Oh my goodness, Sterling! You have gotten so big!" Sharon began smothering her grandson with kisses, then looked over at her son, frowning at him. "I hear Wendy has returned." That dirty, bitchy bum! She then thought but kept those words to herself.
Stan groaned and rolled his eyes. "Mom, she is staying with one of her friends for the time being. She's also seeing a therapist. I booked the appointment for her."
Randy laid lazily on the couch, opening his morning can of beer, shaking his head with disapproval. "You know, son, why don't you just move on with Wendy."
Stan sighed. "I said nothing about getting back together with her, dad."
Sharon snorted before giving her son a smirk. "You know, you have known Henrietta for some time. Perhaps I should set you two up."
Stan's eyes widened before he defiantly objected to the offer. "Mom, no! In fact, she creeps me out to this day. She's probably sleeping in from getting drunk the previous night."
"What about Turner's daughter, Heidi?"
Stan looked disgusted. "One, she is one of Wendy's friends. Two, she used to date Cartman. That's two reasons why we would make an awkward couple. Besides, Wendy is busying herself with being a mother."
Randy scoffed. "It was your fault for getting her pregnant, son."
Stan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to have this argument, especially at that time. He opened his eyes and spoke up. "Guys, I have to get to work." He then looked over at his son and spoke. "Be good for Nana and Pappy. Okay, son?"
Sterling blew a tiny raspberry, which was his own way of saying 'okay, daddy'.
Stan gave his son a kiss on the cheek. "Love you, pal." He spoke before heading out towards the door. "Thanks, guys," he called out to his parents before heading into his car and driving off to work. He tried to keep his mind off of the situation but knowing full well that Wendy would drop by at his apartment when he comes home later kept haunting his mind. Once he made it to his research facility. He parked his car and pulled out his phone. He dialed up a certain number and waited for an answer.
The person on the other line picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Kenny."
"Oh, hey Stan!" Kenny greeted. "What's up?"
Stan sighed. "You heard what happened, right?"
"Yeah, heard Wendy finally showed."
"I just need some advice."
"Sure, what is it?"
"If you were in my situation, what would you do?"
Kenny had a hard time answering that question. At the moment, he was in Toronto working on his doctorate in theoretical physics. He would never think of being in Stan's shoes, as a young single father dealing with the sudden return of his son's mother.
"Well...what's up with her right now?" Kenny asked curiously.
"Well, she's heading to Nichole's firm," Stan answered firmly.
"Well, man, if she's trying, you should let her."
"But she-"
"Let me finish," Kenny interrupted. "If Wendy never cared about having children, she would just return but promise to not come near you. There is nothing she has to gain besides your forgiveness and her son's love. She is doing her best to make up for what she had done. I am not saying it was right for her to leave, but seeing the circumstances that were held against her will, the disappointment from her parents for conjuring a child, the 9 months of carrying a baby, the impossible choice of keeping it or not, the side effects of pregnancy, and the scary thought of being a mother...I can see why she would do something as crazy as that. I am not saying you should immediately forgive her, but try to set a bait for her to reveal her true nature, and if it is to be the mother Sterling deserves, then this whole situation would become a relieving breeze for everyone. It is just up to you whether you want to welcome her back into her life."
Stan was stunned at the moment before he blinked twice and nodded to himself. Kenny had a point. Wendy is back, so he might as well see where this goes.
See you guys next time! College is getting rough, so updates are getting pretty rare, but I hope this made you guys' days!
