“Look, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you,” I tell Madilyn, looking deep into her pretty brown eyes and hoping she doesn’t hate me. “I just didn’t want you to be stressed. It wasn’t good for your pregnancy.”
“Okay, so I’m not pregnant anymore,” she says. “Thank goodness. I couldn’t bear being so swollen and sore all the time anymore. That’s one of the good things about being pregnant with twins, I guess—they usually come earlier. And I’m so glad our babies are here.”
She nuzzles Remy’s nose and I gaze at him, and then at Ashlyn. They are both so adorable and I hope I can make things right with their mother.
“So go ahead and tell me,” she says. “I can handle it.”
“It all started right before Katie and Damien’s wedding,” I tell her. “It’s why I was late leaving the office the night of our flight.”
“Way back then, huh?” she asks, shaking her head to show her disappointment. But I can tell she’s trying to be understanding, and I appreciate it. “I knew you had to stay late for something at work but I didn’t know why.”
“Janice called me and said she had taken my ex-wife’s case,” I explain. “Of course, Janice would do that, gleefully. She still has sour grapes, even though I helped her exit with clients of her own to assist her fresh start.”
“What case of your ex-wife’s?” Madilyn asks.
“That’s exactly what I asked Janice,” I tell her. “What case? We’d been divorced for so long and had already settled everything. But they are bringing this trumped up request to re-open the case and allow her to get more money. It’s ridiculous.”
“Why?” Madilyn asks, incredulous.
I shake my head.
“I know she’s just jealous,” I tell her. “She heard through the grapevine that you were pregnant— with twins, no less, after how long she and I had tried. And she and Janice both know that the firm is making even more money now, thanks to Damien’s cases, and how hard Ron and Jameson Reed have been working on them, as well as me, and you, and Ruby and Katie of course. Everyone’s efforts have paid off so well, word was bound to get around.”
“But what kind of case could they possibly have?” Madilyn asks.
“That’s the stupid thing,” I tell her. “She’s saying that I sexually harassed former associates of mine, and came up with a theory that it somehow hampered my ability to focus and make more money at the firm, so that basically I shortchanged her during the years I paid alimony.”
She shakes her head, but then her legal mind kicks in, even in its post-partum daze.
“So her theory is that once you met me, you could concentrate more and make more money, and no longer had to pay her alimony because the time to do so was up. But while you were paying alimony, you were too busy chasing other girls to do make as much money as you could?”
“Yeah,” I tell her, amazed that she had figured it out so quickly.
But I shouldn’t be. I know she’s smart— which is a big part of why I chose her to be my pet and why I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. And she’s also been working on some of the case pleadings and had to have been wondering what kind of legal theories I was trying to defend.
“How is she even attempting to prove her case?” Madilyn asks. “With what evidence?”
“That’s the stupid thing,” I tell her. “It’s all just testimony of people from when you and I got together, and I don’t see how that will help her prove I sexually harassed anyone in the past. It only shows that once I met you, I got serious about my life.”
“Well, yeah,” Madilyn smirks, looking at the babies in each of our arms. “But doesn’t she have to have more than that? Some testimony from earlier on?”
“I think so,” I tell her.
“So why would Janice even be talking about a deal?” she asks. “Why would they think a deal would even be on the table? How could they possibly think they’re winning this trial?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” I reply, looking down at Ashlyn because I can’t bring myself to look Madilyn in the eye.
“What?” she asks.
“I’m the one who was trying to get them to talk settlement,” I admit. “And the case is going so badly for them that this is the first time they’ve been open to such an offer. I obviously didn’t even expect them to be, or else I never would have told you to answer the phone. I thought it was Ron calling to ask if the babies were here yet and what kind of celebratory gift he should get— one of his favorite jokes is asking whether I prefer ‘it’s a girl’ or ‘it’s a boy’ flavored cigars.”
“Ha,” Madilyn laughs. “Ron. I don’t even know what Ruby sees in him.”
She shakes her head.
“But I guess everyone has their own tastes,” she continues. “And mine is apparently in a husband who becomes a softie once he becomes a father?”
“Hey now,” I tell her, trying not to raise my voice so as not to wake our sleeping babies. “That’s not true.”
“But you have a winning case and you would never settle if it weren’t for the babies.”
“I can’t think of just myself anymore,” I tell her. “There are the babies to consider, and you…”
“Why would you settle because of me?” she asks. “You know I’d want you to win.”
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” I tell her, shaking my head. But it’s time to lay it all out on the table. I can’t just pretend this problem doesn’t exist anymore, or hide behind her pregnancy as an excuse now that she’s no longer pregnant. “But they’re calling Jimmy to testify.”
“Jimmy?” she asks, looking confused. “What does Jimmy have to do with any of this?”
“I know,” I tell her. “It’s so dumb. I think it’s just a way to get at me. To attack you so that I’ll settle. They know it’ll work, too.”
“It will not work,” she insists. “Don’t settle no matter what. But what is Jimmy going to say?”
“That I have the propensity to take nice girls and turn them bad, mostly,” I tell her.
“Really?” she laughs.
“I know, right? As if it took big bad me to make you horny and desperate to have sex. That was all his fault.”
“Hey!” she says, quick to defend herself— and me— which is another thing I love about her. Loyal Madilyn. “It definitely took meeting you to draw out that certain part of me that knew what she wanted. Or, who she wanted.”
I smile at her, thinking that if it was her intention to blow up my ego— and something else as well— she’s definitely succeeded.
“How long did the doctor say we have to wait before we can start… doing the deed… again?” I ask, looking down at Ashlyn to make sure she hasn’t overheard anything she’s too young to hear.
“I think six weeks,” Madilyn says, laughing. “But I’ll double check. Dr. Morris might make an exception for us, if you promise to be gentle.”
“You know I can do no such thing,” I tell her.
“Well, I can’t let you go down in this ridiculous case without a fight,” she says. “And that’s exactly what you were trying to do. Not fight, just to protect me.”
“It’ll be so much easier if they just go away and if I can put this behind me,” I tell her. “They don’t even want that much money. They can’t get it— it’s an alimony case and alimony is over. They can only claim I could have made more and paid more, and they know it’s a flimsy argument. They’re just trying to make a point. I should just let them make it, and be done with it.”
“No,” Madilyn insists, bringing out that feisty side of her that I love so much. “I won’t let them. We can’t. Then they’ll never go away. They’ll think we’re weak and they’ll know we’ll cave if they hit us in the right place at the right time. We need to crush them so they know to leave us alone. We’ll ask for sanctions and make them pay for bringing such a frivolous lawsuit on such petty and self-serving grounds.”
“Wow, I really like this fighter’s spirt,” I tell her, genuinely impressed. “I mean, I’ve always known you were a good lawyer, but this is a new side of you.”
“I’m a mother now,” she says, nodding her head. “I need to fight for my family.”
“So what’s your solution, Counselor?” I ask her.
“Put me on the stand,” she says. “I’ll testify that my relationship with Jimmy was long over and that you didn’t do anything to me I didn’t want you to do.”
“You’d say that? In open court?” I ask her.
“Of course,” she says. “We’re married now, and even if we weren’t, it was the best sex of my life and I have no reason to be ashamed of it. Especially, of course, because we didn’t get caught having sex in the office.”
“Not yet, anyway,” I add, and we both laugh. “But it’s a personal goal of mine. One day it will happen. Maybe just when we need our sex life to be spiced up a bit.”
She smiles at me. I look at her, holding our son while I hold our daughter, and I can’t believe how lucky I am.
“You’d do that for me?” I ask her, knowing that if she does that, I’ll win for sure.
The case is already heavily swinging in my favor, which is why Janice wants to deal. But if she testifies, I’ll win for sure.
“I sure will,” she says, kissing Remy and then winking at me. “I’m allowed to stress now, and I feel like doing something for you the way you’ve done something for me. As long as you promise to always tell me things in the future.”
“I will,” I tell her. “Unless you’re pregnant and the doctor says not to stress you out. Or unless it’s a surprise.”
“Okay, deal,” she says.
“So what have I done for you?” I ask her.
“Oh, you’ve only mentored me, married me, knocked me up with two babies and have proven you’re a great husband and father. That’s it.”
I smile at her. Then I smile at our babies.
“That’s it, huh?” I ask her. “And for that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to fight for me?”
“Yes, Boss,” she says, smiling down at our babies as well.
“I can’t believe my fucking luck,” I continue. “I’m going to have a great life with my amazing life and two adorable babies.”
“Please, Boss.”
“For all I know, maybe we won’t stop at two,” I say, just to continue the game we used to play. But this time it isn’t a game. It’s for real. It’s for keeps.
“More, Boss,” she says, as if on cue.
“And we’ll be together forever no matter what, right?” I ask her, just to hear what she’ll say next.
“Of course, Husband.”
Ashlyn begins to stir, but she doesn’t start to cry until Madilyn says the words I’ve been waiting for. The words I hope to hear when I’m an old man and our kids are happy, healthy and grown. And I’ll still be taking their mom in the bedroom and telling them to play video games and leave us alone for a while.
A good, long while.
“Always, Boss.”
THE END.
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