A Life Unplanned (4 page)

Chapter 5 – On Company, Good and Bad

Over the next several weeks, Maylene was in and out, visiting with Tyler in between taking care of Meredith and Charlotte. I did find it odd that Trent always seemed to be the one dropping her off lately. Maylene said her car was in the shop, but I wondered if that was really true. He tended to linger and had gone as far as getting his mother's door every time. I think he was trying to prolong his stay by the way he would glance at my door, and if Tyler was around, he'd give him a smile and a head nod, before he would let his gaze settle on my belly. The exchange never took more than a minute, but it was enough to unnerve me.

"You know, I wouldn't mind giving you a ride or picking you up," I offered to Maylene, hoping to keep Trent away from my house.

She smiled widely. "That's so sweet of you, would you mind picking me up tomorrow at Trevor's house? Charlotte has a doctor appointment, and they'll be gone for most of the afternoon."

I should have known then something was up. When I drove up, no one seemed to be at the house. I took Tyler out of the car to let Maylene know we were there. She invited me inside to wait, so she could look for her misplaced purse. I heard someone pull up and looked out the window. Trent was parked behind my car, looking at it confused. I suspected he had been set up as well.

When he walked in, he stopped in the doorway. "What…?" He looked at Tyler, who was watching him closely, and he shut his mouth and shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat. "I was supposed to get my mom and take her to your house."

"I'm here to pick her up." I wondered what the hell was taking her so long.

He nodded, and his eyes settled on my stomach, "So, soon, right?"

"Another month, but yeah, she's due soon." I covered my belly, like I could keep him from taking my baby.

"He looks just like me," he glanced at Tyler, and I stepped in front of my son protectively.

"Your point?"

"Just, you know, I'm sorry," he shrugged.

I laughed blackly. "That doesn't change anything."

He took a step towards me, but I pushed Tyler back a little, moving us away from Trent.

"Could I…?"

"No," I answered quickly.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask."

"It doesn't matter. I don't want anything from you, and I don't feel obligated to give you anything, either."

He scratched the back of his neck, looking frustrated. He took a deep breath. "I want to be there."

I scoffed.

"You were going to tell me at one point." I looked away. "I'm not that guy anymore."

"I have a belly to prove otherwise."

"You can't blame that all on me. I was drunk, but I wasn't completely out of it. You…" he looked at Tyler, "You know what you did. It wasn't one way. Anyway, I don't do that anymore."

I snorted at him.

"I don't! I live like a monk! I was ashamed of my actions. I went to school to be a doctor and had to do a stint in the psych ward. I learned a lot more about the psychology of women, and I saw the damage that can be done by..." He shook his head not saying anymore. "I felt like an ass."

"Language!" I snapped at him.

He pulled on his hair, frustrated. "The point is, if I'd known…"

"You would've pushed for me to get an abortion. Don't try and deny it."

He let out a deep breath and focused on the ground. "Maybe then, but if you'd told me last year about…" he glanced at Tyler, "I would've reacted very differently."

"I don't believe you. You acted like…like…" I glanced at Tyler, "a bad guy."

Trent nodded. "I was afraid you were a bad girl." He smiled at his words. "There've been…bad girls, girls who've tried to do mean things, when they've found out I was a doctor. Everything was always proven otherwise. They were just trying to take advantage of me, like a robber. I thought you might be a robber, too."

"Mommy no bad!" Tyler snapped at him.

"I know that now. I was just hoping for a chance to prove that I'm not a bad guy, either," he spoke directly to Tyler.

"Is Maymay your mommy?" Trent nodded yes. "You good," Tyler stated like it was a fact.

If it were only that simple…

Maylene walked out holding her purse. "Found it." She was smiling way too widely. "Oh, Trent, didn't you get my text?"

He pulled out his phone to check. "No, Mom, I haven't received your text yet." He gave her a suspicious look.

"Well, then, since we're all together, why don't we get some food somewhere with a play place?"

Tyler cheered instantly. She knew there would be no getting around it now.

"Why don't you meet us at the burger joint on First, Trent? Tyler really enjoys that place."

She knew I had a weakness for their chicken fries, damn her.

When we arrived at the restaurant, Tyler ran off to play, and Maylene seemed focused on cheering him on, as he climbed around and played.

"You're thirty-four weeks now." I wasn't sure how he knew. "OB/GYN," he pointed to himself. "I know the conception date. I was there for it, remember," he smirked.

"I was a robber," I confessed. "I wanted to get pregnant." He looked at me confused. "I didn't want to look like a whore with different baby daddies. That was why I looked you up."

"Are you kidding me? You're just saying that to piss me off."

I shook my head no. "Honest to God. I knew you were an ass, and the sperm donor for my first child. I figured you still were and would be good for a second one, without wanting any involvement."

"Did you get pregnant on purpose with him, too?" His voice wasn't raised, but he was definitely pissed.

I shook my head no. "I was scared out of my mind and alone. If I hadn't been just another notch on your bedpost, you'd have remembered that the condom did break. It was one you supplied, not me."

He looked away. I suspected he knew about it. He was looking very uncomfortable. I sat up straight, trying to get more air. "You knew. I'll bet that wasn't the only one, was it?"

He looked down.

I laughed, annoyed. "Who else? Really, how many kids do you have running around?"

"There were four, yours and Tiffany's were the only ones that, um…"

"Resulted in babies?"

He nodded yes shortly.

"You didn't even bother with a condom with this one," I pointed to my belly.

"You were on birth control."

"You're a gynecologist, don't try and play stupid." His eyes focused on the ground again. "Why would you risk knocking me up or getting an STD?" He shook his head no. "Don't even try to lie to me. I'm a mom, and I can tell when you're lying, it's my job. Not to mention, you have the same tells as your son."

He smiled a little. "When you sent the friend request, I looked up your Facebook page and saw pictures of Tyler. I wasn't sure why you wanted to meet, and I didn't know if you were another woman with a scheme, hell bent on revenge. You do realize I knew we'd never had a biology class together. I was finished with all those base courses long before you even hit college. I knew you were up to something right from the start.

"When I told Trevor about it, worried that another shit storm was going to tear at my family, he looked you up, too. He was the one who set up the first meeting, and the second meeting, too, I guess. He said the pictures were too good to be Photoshop fakes. I was in denial. After our first meeting, Trevor just about knocked me out and called you to meet him, so I could try and talk to you again. He was so sure Tyler was mine, and I was messing everything up.

"You were leaving, and I figured it'd be best to just leave you alone and try again later. Then you stopped me from driving, even though you obviously hated me. I was an ass to you, and you still took care of me. I knew you were a good person then. The way you yelled at me, it was…" he smiled, "I knew you were a good mom.

"You not only took me to my hotel, but you made sure I got to my room. It turned me on. That and you're hot…and I hadn't been with anyone in a long time." He flashed me another smirk. "When you came on to me, there was no way I was saying no. By then, I knew Tyler was mine. Somehow, in my drunken mind, I thought we should be together. I wanted to be with you. I was selfish.

"I did use a condom at first, and then when I saw you had birth control, I wrongly assumed you were taking it and gave you a quick exam before our next round. I planned on talking with you that morning about starting something up between us. I hid in the shower, working up the courage and planning out what I'd say, so I wouldn't mess it up. Then you just left. I'd walked out on so many women in my life, but that was the first time anyone had ever walked out on me."

So his crappy foreplay that had felt more like a vaginal exam really had been a vaginal exam.

He sighed. "I missed being there for Tyler. I was hoping to not miss out on this one."

"But you have, you denied her."

"It didn't look like you were lining up with the date of our consummation. You looked further along. If you were lying about this baby, then maybe I'd made a mistake, and you were lying about Tyler, too."

"Thanks for calling me fat."

He leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. "I know I fucked up." He leaned across the table. "I've been trying to figure out how to fix it. You're so damn stubborn."

"No, I'm just protective of my family. I have a right to be. You can't just waltz in here and try and take my children from me."

He took a deep breath. I was sure he was trying to calm himself. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then he smiled when he opened them. "Okay, I get why you'd think I'm trying to take your kids, but I'm not. I'm just trying to be a part of their lives. I want to be a dad. Don't you think, at some point, Tyler will notice everyone else has a daddy but him?"

"He has my dad."

"He's his grandpa, it's not the same."

A man with a little girl came walking in with some food. She turned her puppy eyes on him, and he waved her off to go play with Tyler. I saw my son watch their interaction. I wondered how long it would take before he would start asking questions.

I looked up at Trent to see his eyes fixed on my son. He was waving at him every few seconds, as Tyler climbed up the high tubes to the big slide. He usually didn't go down that one. It was too high for him. He went down the slide and popped out with a squeal. "Did it, did it, did it!"

"Great job, Tyler!" I cheered.

"Alright, big boy, look at you! Give me five!" Trent encouraged. I watched as he gave my son's hand a slap, and then Tyler jumped into his arms. Trent didn't expect it, but he quickly caught him in his arms. He hugged him tightly, and I could see his eyes shining with tears. He sniffled, and Tyler pulled back to see what was wrong. He put his little hand on Trent's cheek, showing his concern.

"I'm alright, buddy. That was just the best hug I've ever had. You're the best hugger in the whole world, you know that, big boy?" he gave him a watery smile.

Tyler seemed appeased and ran off to go play again. I looked over at Maylene to see if she had her eyes on Tyler, but she was looking at Trent with such emotion that it was killing me. She caught my gaze and then pointed at the play place and turned around, letting me know she would watch Tyler, while Trent and I talked.

Trent was poking at some French fries. I could tell he was trying to think of something to say to me. He finally looked up at me. "You don't have to tell him who I am, just, please..."

I let out a sigh of defeat. I had a feeling Maylene would be arranging more of these accidental meetings, until I gave in. It would be best if I took control of the situation myself, before things got out of hand. "Fine, I don't see why you can't tag along occasionally. I don't know how much experience you have with children, and I think you should have a warming-up period."

I would swear he looked like he was going to pop like a balloon. He finally jumped up and hugged me, which was very unexpected. I did my best to not breathe in his cologne or even think of how good it felt to be in his arms. I couldn't let my loneliness distract me. My kids came first.

When he sat down, he seemed to be thinking hard about something. I was surprised when he actually bit his lip. "Have you had an ultrasound? Of course you have, that's how you know she's a girl. What I meant to ask is…can I do one on you?"

"Why, still don't believe she's yours?" I nearly growled.

"No, I do wholeheartedly believe she's my daughter. That's why I regret missing her ultrasound." He looked defeated; as if he was sure I would say no. Honestly, I was in a pissy mood, so the word no was on the tip of my tongue. "I'm so sorry. I know I don't deserve it. I thought you were…"

"Further along, I get it, I'm fat. I appreciate you pointing that out, again," I snapped at him.

He looked down, ashamed. "It's happened before. It's why I was so skeptical. When mom told me you were pregnant, I was okay with it. I was shocked, but glad she'd found you. Then when I saw you, I was sure she wasn't mine…that the dates wouldn't match up."