After dinner, Johanna took the girls out for ice cream. Noah wanted to go with his sister and grandmother, but Kate tackled him and told him, "You need to stay here with me buddy."
Noah looked at his mom and asked, "Why?
Kate laughed at her little boy. He was so much like his father. Always asking questions and wanting to know the why about things. She tickled him and said, "Well, I want you to get to know my friend Rick better. Then, you need to take your bath and we will tuck you into bed."
Noah shook his head, "No bath..."
"Sorry buddy. You got more of your food on you than you got into your stomach." Her son started to protest again, but was stopped when Rick said, "How about if I teach you the rubber ducky song."
Kate and Noah both turned to look at him. Kate had a look of disbelief on her face and Rick asked, "Does he have a rubber duck?"
Kate nodded, "Yeah. He's afraid of it."
Rick smiled, "Go get it please..."
Kate nodded and walked out of the room. Then, Noah said, "Lexi?"
"Yeah, I sang the song to Alexis when she was little. It was her favorite song for a long time."
Noah looked like he was interested in learning about a song that his sisters friend knew. So, when his mom brought the toy into the room, he simply stared at it. Rick smiled at Noah and they walked together to the bathroom together.
Kate walked behind them. Wondering what he was up to. She watched as Rick filled up the tub and then undressed her little boy. She should have been jealous of him, but watching her son interact with his father, she couldn't feel even an ounce of jealousy. All she could think was that it was about time. She had wanted this for so long. There were so many times that she had wanted to call him up and tell him about his son. Maybe, just maybe they were on the road to recovery.
She smiled when she heard him start singing to their son.
"Rubber Duckie, you're the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Rubber Duckie, I'm awfully fond of you;
(woh woh, bee doh!)
Rubber Duckie, joy of joys,
When I squeeze you, you make noise!
Rubber Duckie, you're my very best friend, it's true!
(doo doo doo doooo, doo doo)
CHORUS:
Every day when I
Make my way to the tubby
I find a little fella who's
Cute and yellow and chubby
(rub-a-dub-a-dubby!)
Rubber Duckie, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber duckie, I'm awfully fond of you.
(repeat chorus)
Rubber Duckie, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber duckie, I'm awfully fond of -
Rubber duckie, I'd like a whole pond of -
Rubber duckie I'm awfully fond of you!"
By the time he was done singing the song, Noah was laughing and splashing in the bathtub. Her son had never particularly like bath time. However, having Rick there seemed to make it more fun for him. Noah splashed Rick again and asked, "More?"
Kate laughed at how much water Rick had on him. He looked like half of the bath water had ended up on him. Kate held out a towel to him and said, "It's time for you to get out of the tub my little water monkey. Then, maybe Rick will read you a bedtime story."
Kate's breath caught in her throat when father and son gave her an identical smile. It was almost enough to make her cry. She had to ask herself why she had kept this from him for all these years. She realized then that it was for no other reason than she selfishly thought that her son wouldn't love her if he had to choose between her or Rick. What she had failed to keep in mind was that there was more than enough love to go around.
She dried off her son and then she dressed him. Kate patted his bottom and told her son, "Brush your teeth buddy and then Rick will meet you in your bedroom."
Noah nodded and pulled his footstool over to the sink, Rick and Kate watched him as he put the toothpaste on the toothbrush all by himself. Kate smiled at the familiar routine of it all.
Rick seemed to be captivated by Noah's every little move. Things that Kate normally took for granted, seemed to be a miracle to Rick. She took a deep breath and whispered softly to Rick, "I'm so sorry. I've been so selfish. Not only to you, but to Noah."
Rick said nothing. He simply watched as their son rinsed off his toothbrush and hopped off the stool and put it away. Then their son did something that surprised both of the adults in the room. He reached out and took Rick's hand. It took his breath away and made Kate smile. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Oh..."
Kate had hoped for this day for a long, long time. Because as much as she feared it, she longed to see father and son together. It nearly took her breath away. Noah climbed into bed and Kate leaned down to kiss his forehead. Then, she told her little boy, "Goodnight sweetie. I love you."
Noah smiled up at his mom, "Night mommy. I love you."
Kate swallowed hard and told her son, "Rick's going to read you a bedtime story. Is that okay?"
Noah looked at Kate and then at Rick. Then he nodded and said, "Okay..."
Smiling, Kate walked out of the room to leave father and son alone. This was something that had been a long time coming. She had stolen enough of Rick's time with his son. She made a silent vow to them both that it would change now. Rick and Noah deserved to know one another. They needed a relationship and Kate knew that she would no longer stand in the way of that.
Kate busied herself with cleaning up the dishes from dinner. She wasn't sure how long it was before Rick came out to the kitchen. When he did, he was all smiles. He looked at Kate and whispered, "Thank you Kate."
Kate closed her eyes. He shouldn't have to thank her for what she did tonight. He should have been here all along. She hated that he made it seem like she'd done him a favor. Kate shook her head, "Don't thank me Rick. I don't deserve your kindness. What I've done to you. To Noah is so terribly unfair. To both of you. How do we go forward from here Rick?"
"I don't know. I guess we need to take it one day at a time. I just know that I want to be very involved in his life going forward. I want to, no I need to, be there for him. For all the good times and bad times. I want him to know that I'm his father."
That was when they heard a voice screech, "You're who's father!?"
Rick and Kate turned to see Samantha standing there with her hands on her hips. Her face was beet red and she was breathing heavy. Then she said, "I asked you a question. Who's father are you?"
Kate and Rick looked at each other and then Alexis stomped her feet and pointed at herself, "I know that you are my father, but that's not what you were talking about. Was it?"
Kate looked at her mom and Johanna swore that her daughter wished that the ground would swallow her whole. Johanna finally told her daughter, "You need to tell them."
"I can't mom..."
"Katie..."
Kate shook her head and wanted to run from the room. However she knew that she had done enough running and it was time for her to start acting like an adult for once. She took the girls hands and led them into the living room. She sat them down on the couch in front of her and knelt in front of them. Then she whispered, "I should have told you this a long time ago, but Rick is..." God this was so hard...She looked at Rick and then she felt his hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it softly and it gave her the courage to go on.
She closed her eyes and then looked at Alexis and told her, "Your father is Noah's dad Alexis."
Both girls simply looked at each other. Then, Samantha shook her head and pushed her way past Kate. Alexis looked at Kate and then at her father. She whispered, "No... You guys didn't even know each other until the other day and...No... How could you do this to us?"
All of the adults simply looked at each other as Alexis ran out of the house and slammed the door at the same time that Samantha slammed the door to her room. Kate flinched as Rick took off after his daughter. Leaving Kate and Johanna standing in the living room together. Wondering how things could get any better after the way Samantha and Alexis reacted to the news of Rick being Noah's dad.
Johanna hadn't known what to expect, but it certainly hadn't been that. She had been hoping that they could ease the conversation in that direction, but they walked in on Rick and Kate's conversation that night and Johanna knew that things had just gotten infinitely more difficult.
Walking over to her daughter, Johanna put her hand on her daughters shoulder and told her, "Give them time. They will come around."
Kate shook her head, "I screwed everything up. Rick and Alexis missed out on three years of Noah's life and now..." Kate took a deep breath and continued, "And Samantha and Alexis...They think we lied to them. I've made a huge mess out of everything."
Johanna hugged her daughter tightly and Kate collapsed in tears on her moms shoulders. Her whole body wracked with sobs and Johanna couldn't remember when she'd known her daughter to cry so hard.
Meanwhile, Rick was outside trying to talk to his daughter. Alexis was pacing back and forth. Talking to herself and throwing dirty looks at her father. Rick finally told her, "Would you just stand still for two seconds! Please?"
"Why? So you can lie to me some more. How long have you known that you were his father?"
Rick swallowed, "I just found out today Pumpkin."
"He's three. When did you and Kate meet?"
Rick took a deep breath and then told her, "Back when you and Sam had your first sleepover."
"How long did you guys date? Have you been seeing her this whole time?"
Rick shook his head, "We dated for about six months. She never told me about Noah. At least not until yesterday."
"Why?"
"It's complicated. But you need to know that I love you and that will never change. He's your brother and I want to get to know him better." Rick took a deep breath and asked, "Is that okay with you Alexis?"
"If I say no?"
Rick sighed, "I would hope that you would want to get to know him. But even if you say no I want to be a part of his life."
"What about Kate? Are you guys going to start seeing each other again?"
Rick honestly didn't know how to answer that question. Part of him still love Kate, but another part felt deeply betrayed by her. He just wasn't sure right now. So, he answered his daughter honestly or at least as honestly as he could, "I don't know Pumpkin. It's complicated."
Alexis nodded sadly and then headed to their car. She got in and slammed the door and refused to come out and talk to him anymore.
Meanwhile, Kate was dealing with the same thing with Samantha. However, Sam refused to talk to her mom. Giving her the cold shoulder the entire time. She finally pulled her blanket over her head and refused to come out.
Kate finally whispered, "I love you Sam. You know that right?"
Sam shook her head, "Why did you lie to me? About who Noah's father was... Why lie about it mom?"
Kate sighed, "I don't know Sam. I guess I didn't want your friendship with Alexis to suffer because of my choices. I was the one that messed up, not you."
Sam shrugged and whispered, "It's fine mom. Alexis isn't ever going to come over again. She probably hates me now."
Kate leaned down to hug her daughter. She laid down beside her and held her daughter while she cried herself to sleep. Kate had never hated herself more than she did at that moment. She had hurt three other people and for no damn good reason. Other than she was afraid of losing Noah. God, would her betrayal and hurting people never end. She cried along with her daughter and they fell asleep together.
When Kate woke, it was late at night. She had a major headache and her eyes were puffy. She walked downstairs and saw her mother sitting at the kitchen table. Johanna asked her daughter, "How is she?"
Kate shrugged, "She hates me. She thinks that I've ruined everything between her and Alexis."
"She will come around Katie. It's going to take them some time to get used to everything. Alexis is getting a brother and Samantha feels like she's losing her best friend. All of you need to spend time together. As a family."
"You make it sound easy mom."
Johanna shook her head, "It isn't, but I have a suggestion."
"Anything."
"Take everyone up to our cabin. Christmas break starts soon and it will be beautiful up there. The snow and the view will be amazing. You and Rick and reconnect and the kids can see what being part of each others lives is all about."
Kate chewed on her bottom lip and then smiled softly to herself. She hugged her mom and she knew that this was just what they needed. Two weeks to show the kids that the news they had just been given that night wasn't a bad thing. Kate grabbed her cell phone and called Rick. Wanting to tell him about her mothers idea. She honestly didn't know what she would do if he didn't want to go along with it. She could only hope that maybe this would work and that Sam and Alexis would come around and at least pretend to be happy about the news that they had thrust on them this evening. She had a feeling that everything was depending on it...