Chapter 43: It's Complicated

Monday had arrived and Ashley couldn't wait to see her kids. She had dragged Stephanie to the show with her. Ashley paced the room anxiously.

"You know you can relax" Steph said she while her youngest daughter 1 year old Murphy sat on her lap.

"Yeah I could relax but I don't think I can"

"Mommy I want to play with Phinnigan when is he getting here?" 3 year old Aurora asked.

As if on cue Phinnigan bounded into the room and made a b line straight for his mother. She stopped pacing and scooped the little boy into her arms and hugged him tightly.

"I missed my little man" she said to him.

"Mama leave"

"But mama is here now baby" she said rubbing his back.

"No leave again" he said nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

She had a feeling he wasn't going to let her go anytime soon so she had a seat on a near by chair and motioned for Randy, who until then had been standing near the door with Faith in his arms to come closer. She took the baby in her arms too and there she sat with her two children in her arms.

"Phinny come play with me" Aurora whined.

"No" he protested.

"It's ok sweetie mommy's not going anywhere I promise"

He removed his little arms from around his mother's neck and hopped off her lap to go play with his friend. They moved to the far end of the room where Aurora had her toys set up. Every once in a while Phinnigan would look up to see if his mother was still there.

"You know he's gonna freak out when you leave" Randy whispered to her.

"There is nothing I can do about it Rans John kicked me out" she frowned.

Randy smiled and tickled Faith's tummy. This was the first time he had seen her quiet in almost 2 weeks. She kicked her legs around while happily babbling to herself.

"You telling everyone a story?" he asked her.

She looked at him for a moment as if trying to decide if she wanted to answer him or not. Then she let out a high pitched squeal and started blowing bubbles.

"Babies are so gross" he grimaced.

"So if Dommy told you she wanted kids you'd say no" Randy's face reddened at the mention of Ashley's cousin.

"I have no idea what you are talking about"

"Come on Randy your face is completely red so I know you like her why not ask her out already"

"Why do you care?" he asked.

"Because I want to see you settle down with a nice girl … Dean needs a mother in his life and Dommy is the best"

"I'm just not ready to rush into anything right now I'm still trying to get over the whole Courtney fiasco"

"If it helps I don't think Dommy would break your heart like that and from what I've seen Dean seems to really like her"

"End of conversation" he told her.

"Come on Randy I know you like her"

Stephanie watched the two friends bicker with each other and it reminded her of her brother Shane and herself while they were in their teenage years.

"Just admit you like her and that will be the end of it" she said.

"Fine I like her ok … I like her a lot"

"I knew it!" Ashley exclaimed.

All the kids in the room stared at Ashley in wonder. They weren't used to the adults raising their voices so of course they were all curious. After a while Phinnigan got tired of playing with Aurora. Faith had since fallen asleep so Ashley had put her in her stroller and was moving it back and forth from her seat. Phinnigan climbed into her lap and she used her free hand to run her fingers through his hair. He wrapped his little arms around her neck again and rested his head on her shoulder. Soon his soft snores could be heard.

"Poor thing probably hasn't had a proper nights sleep since I left" she sighed.

"There has to be some sort of way to sort this out because these kids don't need anymore drama in their lives" Randy said.

'I don't know what you want me to tell you Randy I mean I could take them with me but that isn't going to solve anything because they will be leaving their home and everything they know once again"

"Why not just work around John's schedule … he works Thursday through Monday stay with the kids till Tuesday morning and the John gets to spend time with them and then when he leaves then you come back" Steph suggested.

"That sounds way too complicated" Ashley remarked.

"It may be complicated but it's better than what you have going on now"

"It could work" Randy agreed.

"John is not going to go for it" Ashley said.

--

"What do you mean he went for it?" Ashley asked stunned when she and Randy were having dinner with the kids later that evening.

"He wants what is best for the kids" Randy said taking a bite of salad.

"But I still don't think he's thought this whole thing through"

Randy's cell phone went off and he reached into his pocket to get it. He flipped his phone open and got this goofy grin on his face. Ashley assumed he was reading a text message. He sent whoever had sent him the text one back before retuning to his meal.

"Who was the text from"

"None of your business"

"It's Dommy isn't it" she teased him.

"No"

"Yes it is … Randy loves Dommy … Randy loves Dommy" she sang.

"What are you 5?" he asked.

"You betcha"

"I am not confirming or denying if the text was from Dommy"

"You and I both know it was" she retorted. "just ask her out already"

"Leave me alone"

"Not until you take my advice and ask my cousin out" she said.

"How about you stop trying to control my love life and start getting yours on track"

"That hurt Randal it really did" she held her chest where her heart was.

"Truth hurts" he excused himself.

When he was out of her hearing range he pulled out his cell phone again and dialed John's home number.

"Hey Dommy it's me … how would you like to have dinner with me and then maybe a movie?"