24th January, 2027
Our House
San Francisco, CA. America
I had just finished putting my pants on when the doorbell rang. I glanced at the clock. It was 9am sharp. Yep. Figures. Right on time. Literally. I walked downstairs and opened the front door. There stood Monika wearing that orthopedic boot thing. You know the one right….what? YES, she was also wearing regular clothes! The hell is wrong with you?! I thought that was a given! She was standing there with a look I knew quite well. It reminded me of her expression at my grandpa's funeral. Monika was devastated when he died. Granted, this was the first time she had seen me since the attack. I could tell she was begging to hug me. Seeing as she was my sister that I trusted with my life, I held my arms open for her. She immediately collapsed into them.
"That evil…that VILE…unbelievable KOTZE," she was saying through small sobs.
"You're lucky the kiddos aren't here to hear their Tante's foul mouth," I said. One of my neighbors saw me and gave me a surprised expression. I mouthed "my sister" at them before taking Monika into the house. I lifted her in the air a little so her ankle didn't drag across the ground.
"How have you been," I asked her. She didn't respond immediately. I sighed. Understandable. She was very worried about me. Even as she was in her 40s and I in my late 30s. Monika will always have that big sister mentality for the rest of her life.
"Are…are you ok?" she finally said after a few seconds of just holding her little brother.
"Answer my question first," I responded. Monika sniffed.
"I'm…I'm fine…just been worried sick about…about everything," she said.
"Hey Mon, breathe. Tell me some things you can see, feel and hear," I retorted, noticing the signs of Monika's panic.
"You…the birds outside…a photo of you and Ela…You as Spider-Man…wait," Monika rattled off looking around the area. "Speaking of Ela, where is she? And where are the babies? DID SOMEONE STEAL THEM?!"
"Holy crap sis, chill. Ela's out jogging with the kiddos. You didn't see her on your way over?" I said. I had to grab Monika's shoulders to keep her in a sitting position. I decided now was the time for some water and I got up to get her a glass. By the time I got back, I saw that she was reverting to her version of normal. She took the glass from me and sipped it.
"How…how much did you see?" I said, deciding it was a good idea to talk about what happened over a week ago. Monika swallowed and then looked over into my face. I saw utter pain there.
"Enough…I…I heard you call…for mom," she said in a very soft voice. "I should have stopped it. I got captured. I was stupid. You got assaulted and it was my fault. If I hadn't gotten captured it wouldn't have happened." I didn't respond. Monika didn't like that.
"SAY SOMETHING!" she shouted suddenly before realizing what she had done.
"What? Do you want me to agree with you? Because I don't. We all got jumped but Derrick and he couldn't do anything either. Stop blaming yourself for things that happen to me," I said firmly.
"You first," Monika said, also firmly.
"Huh?"
"I know about your departure from the life you have for a day," she said. "If I wasn't in such a weakened state at the time, you would have heard my own rage from a mile away."
"Please sis. Your rage is nothing compared to Ela's."
"Oh really? Did Ela give you that bear? Did Ela teach you pretty much everything you know? Did Ela cause a rift between us that I still think will happen again," Monika said before her voice broke on the last sentence. Here we fucking go again. Blaming herself for something I had actually done.
"For the final time. YOU did not lose control at a Christmas party and call one of your favorite people in the world a stupid bitch did you? You were just worried about me. Let me guess, you would have preferred I went to BPOL or GSG9 with you right?" I asked. Monika nodded.
"Well, we're together now aren't we? Both of us married in the States and I'm most likely staying here for the time being. Talked with Harry and the BKA guys a few days back. They agree having me here is an asset. And with you marrying an American citizen, I think you'll stay too, right?" I asked.
"Yes," Monika stated. "I do like this city. I was in LA once but San Fran is much nicer." I put my hand against Monika's shoulder.
"I really am doing better Mon," I said. "Ela's been here the whole time." Monika smiled.
"I know," she said. "I'm glad she chose you. I mean I did help but still." I frowned.
"You wanna explain that? Ela had said something about talking to you before our first date," I said recalling that event with some form of clarity. Monika took another sip of water and started to explain what she had meant.
10th March, 2023
West Coast Rainbow Headquarters
Portland, Oregon. United States of America
I sat in my room trying to get some needed sleep after a long day at work in the lab. Meghan had been there and it was very hard for me to concentrate with her standing so close to me. She was so beautiful. I loved her work ethic and how knowledgeable she was with surveillance systems…but there was simply no way she was interested in women. Not with a physique like that. Deciding that sleep was simply not happening at the moment, I got up off my bed, stretched and walked around my room looking for something to do. I couldn't find anything that needed my immediate attention so I decided to walk around the base. The first thing I did was something I had used to do when Lukas was still a baby, make sure he was still fast asleep in bed. I walked to his room and peaked inside. Sure enough, my little brother was sleeping quite comfortably in his bed. I turned to the sound of movement and female voice swearing in Polish. Ela wasn't quite fast enough to hide from my gaze.
"Ela?" I asked quietly as to not disturb Lukas. Ela walked out from the shadows with a frown on her face.
"Fine. You caught me," she said shortly.
"And…what did I catch you doing exactly?" I asked channeling Derrick a little bit. No one else but Eliza knew that Derrick and I had worked together previously. We needed to keep that on the downlow until Nighthaven was properly disbanded. God, I still can't get the stench of that place off me. I had to act like it was such an improvement to Rainbow's lab.
"I do have a crush on your brother. A big one. I wanted to see if he was playing music again. There. I said it," she muttered and started to walk away. I stopped her which was against my better judgment. But to my surprise, she had not shoved me away like I thought she would.
"Yes. I figured that out. I saw you staring at him during the Tournament," I said. "Do you like him just because he can play music?" I have seen many women try to get with Lukas in the past just because of his guitar skills. I could see right through them every time. None of them even wanted to get to know him, they just wanted a big tall man to show off to all their friends. Lukas' friend Jackie had told me about one of his ex's that threatened to claim he was abusing her and I had nearly flown to Berklee just to give that bitch a piece of my mind. To my surprise again, Ela shook her head.
"He seems…really nice and knowledgeable about music…this is stupid. Why would he want me?" she muttered. I could tell she was being genuine.
"You are just his type honestly," I said. Ela was able to find the strength to look me in the face.
"R-really?"
"Foreign girl, dresses like someone right out of the 90s and also likes the arts. If your name was Gwen or Mary Jane, he'd have already asked you to marry him by now," I said, smiling. Ela managed a smile.
"He…he likes Spider-Man too?" she asked.
"Oh yes. Big time. It's how he really learned how to read English," I responded. "Why? Do you like Spider-Man?"
"I know who he is and I've seen one or two of the movies," Ela responded. "Do…do you think he'll actually like me?"
"Yes," I said truthfully.
"But…I don't have a relationship with Zofia like he has with you. Derrick said he was your younger brother too," she said. I nodded. Lukas was several centimeters taller than me but I had him beat by 5 years.
"Have you tried rebuilding it? I remember when you joined Nighthaven. You basically spit in her face," I said. I knew Ela was recommended for Rainbow by Meghan as well. Ela scowled.
"Why? She constantly pushes me…just like he did," Ela snarled. Oh my. That was frightening.
"Maybe she just wants to know if you can handle yourself," I responded.
"She left me alone," Ela snarled again and narrowed her eyes at me.
"But as our friend Jack Estrada told you, you did the same exact thing to her," I said and folded my arms. Ela continued to narrow her eyes at me.
"That wasn't Jack. There's no way it was…although Jack does do dumb shit like that," she said. Hmm, she must not have pieced it together that Jack had actually been Derrick. I bet you she was still too focused on my little brother to think about it hard enough.
"But…you might be right," Ela continued.
"You don't have to mend the relationship immediately. Things take time. There was a time where he and I weren't on speaking terms either," I said and repressed a tinge of regret. It was my fault that he had lashed out at me. Why didn't I just leave it alone?! He was a big boy now! He can clearly handle himself! AND I had almost gotten him killed one night by some maniac! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!
"Really?" Ela asked, snapping me out of reliving painful memories.
"Oh yes," I responded. "We reconciled after a time. He's literally one of my best friends. As for my brother's observations about dates, he's not very good at reading signs that women give him. Just be direct. Ask him on a date. I know he'll say yes."
"Ok…Ok…I'll do that…whenever we're both free. I think that's the 20th actually. Just checked the schedule…Monika…thanks," she told me.
"Sure, just be sure to invite me to the wedding," I said. Ela managed to smile again.
"Don't…don't tell him about this," she said.
"I won't. Trust me."
"I wasn't done," Ela said. "Don't tell him about this until after we're married."
24th January, 2027
Our House
San Francisco, CA. America
In the words of my best friend, "FUCKING BRUH?!" First off, my sister was a god damn comedian apparently and second, that same sister had basically pushed my wife into my arms. Damn. Monika was leaning back against the couch looking rather pleased with herself.
"She liked you for a long time, Lukas," she said. "And unlike some of the other hussies that tried to get with you, she genuinely liked you. I didn't tell her to just kiss you immediately though and I know for a fact Derrick also helped."
"Why…why didn't you tell me?" I said.
"I kept my word to Ela about not telling you until you two were married. Something was telling me you would marry her. I know your preference in women Lukas. It's close to mine," she said. At that moment, the front door opened and I heard Ela's voice say "We're home! And guess what, someone's here to see you little ones!" Monika continued to smile at me, partly she saw how happy I got when I heard my family come home. She placed her hand on mine and said "Now I believe that you're doing better." Ela came around the corner with Tobey and Izzy. They were both awake and looking around for someone. Izzy saw me and Tobey saw Monika.
"Dada!" Izzy said. Monika gasped.
"She…she can talk now?" she said as Ela handed my daughter to me. Izzy giggled. Monika looked over at Tobey who was looking at her with excitement. She smiled and held her arms out for her nephew.
"Hi Tobias," she said.
"Hah!" Tobey responded and leaned into his Tante's warmth. Monika made an "Oh my god, I love him" face. Ela had left the living room to change out of her jogging clothes and returned a few minutes later with Kuschelt in her hand. She looked from Monika to me.
"You told him?" Ela asked.
"I told you I'd wait until you were married," Monika said. "Yes Tobias! Tante helped mommy and daddy get together!" She started bouncing Tobey up and down a little while he giggled. Ela placed Kuschelt next to Monika. Tobey noticed and tried to reach for it. He made a sort of crying sound because he couldn't reach it.
"Mon," I said. Monika looked at me. "Hand him the bear." Monika hesitated. I knew what was going through her head as Tobey looked just like me. She was imagining herself at 6 years old handing the very same bear to a similar looking baby. Monika picked up Kuschelt and held him out to Tobey. Tobey immediately smiled and took the bear from Monika. Then he looked back at Monika, smiled again and said, quite clearly, "Monka!" I don't know who cried harder. Monika or Ela. My bet was Monika because, as you might be aware, that is the first name I had called Monika when I was a baby. I have a very vague memory of me doing so. Zoey had reminded me of it when she started calling Monika the same thing. I didn't start calling Monika "Har-Monika" until I was really getting into learning music.
"Izzy," I said to my daughter while Monika gave Tobey the best auntie hug ever. "Who's that? Who's holding Tobey?" Izzy looked at Monika for a few seconds before she said "Onka!"
"Stop. I can't," Monika said while still holding onto the giggling Tobey. "I want one. I want one so bad." Tobey was still hugging his Tante while holding on to Kuschelt. I managed to snap a picture with my phone before Ela asked "Oh yeah, the interview. How did that go?" Monika's eyes snapped open and she gulped. This could go one or two ways. I prayed for the better option.
"We…Meghan and I…we're going to meet a little boy who wants a new mommy," she managed to say.
"That's great! When?" I asked. Monika looked over at me while Tobey said "Monka" again.
"In a few days…will…will you come with me?" she asked. I smiled. Of course I would go with her to meet my potential new nephew. Ela put a hand on my free arm.
"Lukas, go with her. I can handle the babies for an afternoon. Isn't that right Izzy?" Ela said.
"Mama!" Izzy stated and reached towards Ela. Ela took her and gave her a motherly hug.
"You and your brother get to spend a whole afternoon with Momma in a few days! We'll talk about how much we love Daddy!" Ela said. Tobey turned to face Ela and said "Mama! Monka!"
"Yeah little man! That's your Tante Monika," Ela responded. Monika proceeded to hug my son again. I could tell she loved him so much. As she did me.
"Oh yeah, Lukas. I thought of something we can do to get you out of the house," Monika said after composing herself.
"Please do. I can't take the guitar playing and singing to himself," Ela joked.
"No. Game night." Monika said.
"Like…board games or?"
"Video games. There's an arcade downtown that looks fun. Before you ask Ela, Zofia agreed to watch Tobias and Izabela for you. She wants you to have a break too. Plus Meghan and I open for childcare help too," Monika explained. Dude. I am SO in!
"Are you going?" Ela asked. Monika nodded.
"Meghan too. As well as someone else who deserves a bit of a break from being a great dad," Monika said and smirked at me. I smiled a little wider. This is going to be AWESOME!
27th January, 2027
The Detour
San Francisco, CA. America
Ela and I walked through the door of The Detour which is one of San Francisco's local arcades. It wasn't really that packed as it was a Wednesday night in January. A few groups of people were mingling about at the bar and some of the games. Tobey and Izzy were with Zofia and Andrzej as we planned a few days ago. The best part was that Izzy had recognized Zofia and said "Fee-ah!" again. That got Zofia quite emotional. Why? Because that is what Ela called her when she was a baby. Oh yes, I FINALLY had something else to tease Ela with! I was the one who spotted Derrick, Meghan and Monika as I was tall. Derrick looked over at my approach.
"Oh this is the BEST day! Tina gives me the night off AND I get to play video games with my best buddy?!" Derrick exclaimed.
"You know she only agreed to this if she gets to do something similar after the baby is born right?" Meghan retorted.
"Pfft, Tina doesn't play video games," he responded.
"Oh yes she does. She used to tell us about watching you play and got back into it. Ask her how good she is…what was it…Zombie House? No…" Ela said.
"HOUSE OF THE DEAD?!" both Derrick and I asked incredulously. Ela nodded.
"Well…this explains why my Nintendo Wii was set up downstairs when I didn't remember doing it," Derrick said after pulling out his phone and dialing his wife. I meanwhile had spotted the Time Crisis II machine. One of my absolute favorite games of all time. I remember playing the Ps2 version with Richter at his place when I was like 10. I started to walk over to it but only got about 2 steps before I heard it. The character select theme for Marvel vs. Capcom II. I reverted my direction that way instead. Ela came up behind me and inserted credits too.
"Come on Big Guy, I'll play you," she said. I scoffed internally. She did not realize how good I was at this game. I played it all the time growing up. To the point where I think Monika and my parents experience extreme annoyance whenever they hear "I wanna take you for a ride!" I selected my old team of Gambit, Captain Commando and Spider-Man. Yes. I know it's not a tournament tier team but I could do pretty decent stuff with them. Ela went with Doctor Doom (dammit!), Sentinel (DAMMIT AGAIN) and fucking Dan. This was most likely going to be easy. Sorry babe! Or…so I thought. I got my ass kicked by Ela's team. Like it wasn't even funny. I even lost Spider-Man to fucking DAN of all people!
"KO! 2P WINS!" the speaker from the game announced. Ela looked over at me all smugly.
"Dude, you just got de-fucking-molished," Derrick said from behind my shoulder. I was still staring at my wife incredulously.
"What? You don't think I play video games from time to time? I had a lot of free time when I was pregnant with the babies," she said. "I played a lot of this and the Witcher 3."
"Hah! Nerd!" Derrick said before going "Oh HELL yeah, Star Wars Trilogy!" Ela gave me a quick peck on the cheek before motioning towards the game again.
"Come on Luke, best 3 out of 5. Loser gets food. I'll use my best team if you use yours," Ela said.
"That…was my best team," I muttered. Ela smirked.
"Royal Flush has a terrible recovery. Just an FYI," she said. Ela changed to her actual team of Storm, Strider and Cammy. I ended up taking 2 out of the 5 matches. The last match I only barely lost cause I whiffed the Kinetic Card and Ela got me with a jab. Ela pecked my cheek again and said "Wings and tacos please, I'll be at the table ok." I proceeded to pay for some hot wings and adobo tacos for the pair of us. Derrick came over as we were finishing up. He motioned towards the Time Crisis II machine.
"Eh? Eh? You and me vs Ernesto Diaz?" he asked.
"I'll be at the pinball machines if you need me," Ela said. Derrick and I walked over to the machine. He took player 1 while I took player 2. We managed to beat the entire game on one credit each. I blame the military training. The only close call was on one of the later stages where Derrick and I only had one hit point left. After each stage cleared, we bumped fists. As the credits rolled I looked around the arcade.
"Hey, where's Meghan?" I asked.
"Tekken," Derrick said and led me over to the machine. Sure enough, there was Meghan beating the absolute shit out of the arcade mode as…I think Nina.
"See?" he said. "I used to get my shit rocked by Megs back in the day. Cept this one time where I beat her and she didn't talk to me for a week."
"Cause you cheated," Meghan said as she achieved a perfect round.
"No, you whiffed your combo and I got you with the flying dragon kick. You have no idea how hard I practiced against an A.I. Nina. Literally HOURS at a time. Dude, I yelled yes so loud, our dad yelled at us to keep it down," Derrick said. Megs muttered something I couldn't make out.
"Who'd you play back in the day?" I asked.
"Law mainly. Or Asuka," Derrick said.
"Mhm. Checks out with who you married," Meghan replied, smirking. She had just reached the arcade mode's final boss.
"I HAVE A TYPE OK!" Derrick exclaimed.
"Oh yes we know," Meghan said after landing a nasty combo on Jinpachi.
"So do you," he countered.
"Speaking of that, do you know where she is?" Meghan asked.
"Let's see, there's a bunch of classic games here. My guess would be Tempest if it's here," I said. Sure enough, I spotted her blonde hair from a distance standing in front of the Tempest machine.
"Come on Derrick, I wanna see if I can beat you at Mortal Kombat 3. I've been practicing," Meghan said.
"Oooh, challenge accepted. You're lucky Raiden's not in this game," he said and they proceeded to walk towards it. I eventually found Ela at one of the pinball machines. She looked up at my approach.
"Having fun?" she asked.
"Yeah…yeah I am. I haven't thought about it once," I replied.
"You just needed to get your mind off it. Hey, look at me, I still love you," Ela said softly.
"Yeah…yeah I know," I said. For some reason, my mind had decided that now was the time to enter panic mode.
"Lukas…LUKAS," Ela's voice said from very very far away. I was back in that field with that monster walking towards me with desire in her eyes. I was helpless…until
"Hey, hey. Listen to me, it's alright. You are not there. You are with me. I've got you," Ela's voice said, stronger now. My mind stopped panicking and I returned to reality. Ela was holding onto my shoulders and speaking softly to me.
"Focus on me. I've got you," she said. She must have seen my eyes return to normal or something because she then asked "Are you ok?" I put my hand over one of hers.
"Thanks. I was on the verge of losing it," I said.
"I will always help you, understand?" she said. I nodded.
"Alright, how about this, the highest score wins?" I asked, pointing to the pinball machines. Ela smiled.
"You're on. I could use a drink."
28th January, 2027
Derrick's House
San Francisco, CA. America
Ela and I walked in the door of Derrick's house the following day as Tina had invited us over. Zoey had come running up to me as soon as she saw us.
"Lookus friend Dada!" she said after hugging my leg. Tina came around the corner with Derrick.
"Aww! Did you miss seeing Lukas sweetheart?" Tina asked. Izzy, who was awake as opposed to her brother, had heard Zoey's voice and was looking around for her. Eventually she found her and motioned to me that she wanted to get down. I put her on the ground in the play area with Zoey and she started crawling over to Zoey while Zoey started getting some of her toys. Eventually, Zoey picked up her Scooby plushie and showed it to Izzy.
"Dis Scooby!" she said. Izzy didn't respond. Instead she sat there quietly. Then Zoey grabbed one of her many other stuffed animals, which happened to be a bunny, and handed it to my daughter.
"Here, you can has dis one!" Zoey said. Izzy took the bunny and hugged it just as hard as Tobey hugs Kuschelt.
"Oh-ee!" Izzy said. Ela was smiling down at the pair of them while Tobey continued to snooze against her. Tina, who was on the couch next to Derrick, smiled at her daughter as well.
"Are you sharing your toys with Izzy?" she asked.
"Yah!" Zoey responded and then gave Izzy a hug. "Fend!"
"Are you letting Izzy have that bunny Snowflake?" Derrick asked.
"Yah! I has lots of aminals! Izzy needs one," Zoey said.
"You can have that one Ela," Tina said. "I know you have an affinity for stuffed animals too." Ela's smile faltered and she gave me a look.
"Who do you think helped me track down Snocap," I said and jabbed a thumb at Derrick. Derrick gave a sort of mock bow.
"Ela's was a cool animal while Tina's was just a red bear named Pierre. STUPID Canada!" Derrick said in German. Tina got the gist though.
"Canada!" Zoey said from the floor.
"Yeah! You go girl!" Derrick responded in English as Zoey giggled.
"How goes it with mini Derrick Tina?" Ela asked. Tina put a hand on her stomach.
"He loves his momma already," Tina responded. "How are you doing Lukas?"
"Better," I said but heard a bit of panic come out in my voice. Ela quickly put her free hand over mine.
"Mind if I tell you a story Skywalker?" Derrick asked. "I too have been in a similar situation in the past." I nodded while Tina gasped.
"Many years ago, college I think…yeah. Freshman year? Yeah, that sounds right. Anyway, I started seeing this girl after she started talking to me at work. She seemed like a nice girl. Went on a few dates. Then eventually she decides to dump me for a much older guy just like out of nowhere. I was devastated because it was my first relationship since high school right? Whatever, I'd take the blow but then the guy she dumped me for just leaves town and she decides NOW she wants me back. I thought alright cool, fantastic, this could work. And then, the guy shows back up and she takes him back without so much as a second thought because 'he loves her and I love him.' Then the girl proceeds to use me for rides to and from the same place we worked at at the time while also using the fact that I still had strong feelings for her to get me to do stuff she wanted. She constantly dangled herself in front of me promising things that she never delivered on even if I had done something for her that she wanted me to do. My roommates at the time were like 'Dude, let it go' but I couldn't. I was obsessed until one day I just woke up and felt nothing for this girl anymore. Like zero feelings. Didn't even care if she went missing. I went to work before my classes for the day and found out she had been let go the previous night. The last time I saw her was a few months after when my parents were visiting me. She took one look at me and I saw her face go from puzzlement to complete shock because I had gained a good amount of muscle since she last saw me. Looking back on it years later, I too suffered abuse. Mine was more emotional however. You are not alone buddy," Derrick explained. I looked at him with utter amazement. He had never once told me this story. It almost felt like he was ashamed to tell this story to everyone and I could see it in his face. Zoey and Izzy had even stopped making happy noises to listen to Derrick's story. Zoey was actually the first person to break the silence.
"That lady was mean to you Daddy! Mama isn't!" Zoey said and walked over to hug Derrick's leg. Tina looked like she was on the verge of crying as was Ela. Tobey had woken up and started to fuss because he didn't realize where he was.
"It's ok," Ela said while holding back sniffs. "Mommy's got you. No girl will ever ever do that to you, Tobey. Mommy will not allow it." Derrick found the courage to look at his wife. Tina immediately hugged him tightly.
"She didn't deserve you," I heard Tina say. "I've never done any of those things to you…have I? Does Meghan even know about that?"
"No to both questions," Derrick said. "When you tell me you love me, I know you mean it."
"That's right Kal-el," Tina said. "And don't you forget it." Ela looked over at me and basically said the same thing to me with her eyes. Tobey saw me too.
"Dada!" he said.
"Hey little guy, did you know Miss Tina is going to have a baby?" I said to him, "A boy, just like you!" Tobey looked over at Tina and then asked "Fah?" Tina smiled back.
"Of course Tobey," Tina said. "My son would probably love to be your friend." I put my hand on Ela's shoulder.
"You told me at my wedding we picked real winners for our wives Derrick," I said. "Both of them listened to us about our abuse stories. Tina even witnessed one of the worst parts of your life as well as the aftermath. Did she run away or use them against you?" Derrick shook his head.
"And did Ela leave you after what happened with…well you know," he asked. It was my turn to shake my head.
"But…about…about what I didn't do," Derrick began. I silenced him with a bro hug.
"You did help me buddy. You helped me calm down and found and returned me to my family," I said.
"Dada fend!" Izzy said from the floor with her new bunny in her arms.
"Yeah Izzy, this is daddy's best buddy. Did you know something, he can do funny voices," I said to Izzy. Izzy's eyes got wide with excitement.
"Dada can do Scooby!" Zoey said to Izzy. Derrick smiled down at the pair of them and did the Scooby laugh. Both girls laughed extremely hard. Tina was looking at her husband with a look that said "you are a great father and husband." I saw that Ela was giving me the same look. Even Tobey was telling me he liked having me as his father…well in actuality he just said "Dada!" again.
"Megs asked me if I would go meet her potential son with her next week. I assume Monika asked you something similar," he said. I nodded.
"Cindy's going to come over to watch Zoey while I'm at the doctor sweetie," Tina said. "Don't worry, Zoey will be safe." Derrick was still looking a little on edge. Probably because of those teenagers he rescued from Jayke. Zoey was busy showing Izzy the rest of her stuffed animals. Izzy was content with her bunny though. Just as I thought, Izzy was going to be best friends with Zoey. Both of them shared their respective mother's compassion. That's something Derrick and I needed in our recovery from a traumatic event, compassion. Again, I looked over at Ela and my son and saw her whispering to him that she loved him.
"And your daddy. I will always love your daddy," she added when she saw me looking.
I had no reason to doubt her.
30th January, 2027
Our House
San Francisco, CA. America
I was just finishing cleaning up after my solo dinner when I heard Ela walk in the door. I expected her to hug me from behind like usual but the look on her face told me something bad happened.
"Hey," I said as she saw me. Ela responded with an indignant huff and retreated to another part of the house. Oh my, something must have happened at the gym and following dinner with Zofia. Before you ask, Meghan and Monika were watching the kiddos for the weekend in preparation for meeting their potential son. Both babies had their respective stuffed animals. Izzy was now carrying the bunny Zoey gave her as much as Tobey carried Kuschelt. Monika has been keeping me updated with text messages. Most of them being anxious things such as "He coughed! Do I need to take him to the doctor?" or "Izabela bonked her head on the coffee table! I'm so sorry!" Last time I checked (with Meghan this time), the babies were doing fine at their aunties' house. I was told that Izzy missed her daddy though. I sat down on the couch in the den and turned on the TV. A new documentary about the History of Heavy Metal was on tonight and I wanted to watch it either with Ela or by myself. That however was interrupted by Ela walking through the door to my man cave holding one of my acoustic guitars. She spotted me and handed over the guitar. I looked at her with a confused expression .
"I had a bad day," she muttered. "You promised." I racked my brain for a few moments until I realized what she was talking about. The vow I made at our wedding. She was cashing it in. It's not a one time thing but I'm still surprised it took this long for her to do it. Ela's not a huge people person, especially after that one guy called me a Nazi. I smiled at her but she didn't smile back.
"What happened," I asked bravely.
"People," Ela growled.
"Dude was laying it on a little too thick at dinner and didn't fuck off when you told him to?" I guessed. Ela nodded and showed off her ring.
"It's like he didn't even see this," she muttered. "No one ever gets to steal me from my family…" Ela's last sentence trailed off as I started playing the intro to "Far Away" by Nickelback. Yes. I said Nickelback. They are not awful. Better than that pop country shit I know Eliza kind of likes. I repeated the intro lick a few times and looked over at Ela.
"English or German?" I asked.
"English…sing it to me instead of closing your eyes," she said softly and no longer with a bit of anger in her voice.
"As you wish," I said before singing, "This time, this place. Misused, mistakes…" I did what Ela asked and sang the song directly at her which I could tell she liked. I could see the anger in her expression fade completely and be replaced with pure joy. The moment I finished singing, Ela gave me a long kiss.
"I love you so much," she said after pulling away.
"I love you too," I responded. "Thanks…thanks for caring for me…and not running away." Ela grabbed my hand and rested her head on my shoulder.
She was cashing in one of the vows she made too. She promised to hold me and lie with me for the rest of her life.