Rex

After twenty minutes of burping and an additional diaper change, I settle him back into the crib. Felicia is sleeping so hard that she’s actually snoring just a bit. I’m tempted to record it with my iPhone, but I decide to let it go. It’s just so cute when she snores like this. I click off the lamp and close the door quietly, retreating back to my laptop. The sun is just coming up, so I throw on a sweatshirt and head out to the deck to do a little more research.

The whole situation with Brix, Daphne, and Richard was the first thing that popped into my mind after waking this morning. The fact that Daphne was running away from the situation with Richard has me wanting to find out whatever I can about him and his background. Something about him creeped me out that night at the sex club, which is why I was glad that Alex showed him the door. It turns out that he made his money selling a fairly shady internet startup during the dot com bubble. That figures. Guys who were fortunate enough to cash in on the hysteria back then often throw around their weight and wealth, even though it was almost purely a matter of luck. The company Richard sold was absorbed into a larger conglomerate and written off as a loss within a couple of years. Since that time, Richard has billed himself as a venture capitalist. He’s obviously well aware of all the major porn networks out there too, because he’s been uploading to all of them.

A couple of months back, we ran some experimental ads with several of the porn sites and they met with mixed results. Looking back in my notes, however, I still have contacts at several of those sites. I jot down the names and contact information for several of them. I don’t know any of them very well, but I think if they know that someone is purposely uploading child pornography to their sites, they will want to help find the culprit. I smile at the thought of taking that smug bastard down. Looking at my watch, it’s still a few hours before I’m going to find anyone to talk with so I might as well get a little more rest. I know if I stay up, I’ll be exhausted by noon.

Awaking a few hours later, I find myself struggling to remember what day it is. “Breaking up your sleep like that kind of messes with your mind,” I mention to Felicia as she finishes giving little man his breakfast.

“Yeah, it does. I couldn’t figure out why you were so awake at four thirty,” she says with a smirk.

“I don’t know either, but it was short-lived.” I let out a long yawn, trying to wake up again.

“What do you want for breakfast?” she asks, pulling out a pair of yoga pants and a top while balancing him on her hip.

“What he just had looked good,” I tease, taking the little guy off her hands so she can get changed.

“Apparently, being exhausted doesn’t affect your sex drive as much as it does mine,” she says with a sigh. “The only thing on my mind right now is a caramel latte.”

“Michael and I will go make you one,” I offer, taking him with me to give her a little time to get ready for the day. Pulling out the coffee, milk, and syrup, I notice my old phone buzzing in the drawer. I haven’t looked at it in a week but retrieve it out of sheer curiosity. Jessica T. is flashing on the screen, and I notice this isn’t the first time she’s called. I click over to voicemail and see that she left two last night. I click on one and read the transcript.

It seems that she’s accusing me of taking advantage of her while she was under the influence of the epidural. I had no idea they had even given her one, so accusing me of taking advantage of the situation is a little ridiculous. I shut off the screen and throw the phone back into the drawer. After retrieving my other phone from the charger, I send Mom a text message to see if she has talked to her, and if not, whether she wants to give her a call. Mom will be able to handle her better than I would right now. I click the button to make a shot of coffee and pour the milk and syrup into the frother. “How are you today?” I ask my little man while the machines go about their business. He coos and blinks his eyes, communicating in the only way he knows. “You’re going to be a lady killer just like your old man one day.”

“Really? Day two and you’re already corrupting him?” Felicia asks, overhearing our conversation.

“You’re supposed to be in the bathroom primping,” I tease, adding the warm milk and caramel drizzle to her shot of espresso. “Here’s your one-handed latte.”

“You’re so talented.” She winks, giving me a sly smile. “Did you decide what you want for breakfast?”

“Yeah, I already told you.” I set Michael down in the cradle next to the table. “But if that’s off the table, how about I make us a couple of egg, ham, and cheese croissants?”

“Mmm, that sounds really good. You’d better use American on mine instead of pepper jack,” she says, still giggling about last night’s diaper.

“Believe me, there’s no pepper jack in the near future for you,” I reply with a chuckle. “I think I was having a nightmare about that diaper and that’s what woke me up the second time.”

She laughs and nearly shoots latte out of her nose. “Don’t do that when I’m drinking something!” She coughs a few times before getting everything under control. “I’m sure that won’t be the last traumatizing diaper you see, so you’d better buck up, buddy.” She giggles once more before taking another sip of her latte.

“No, if you want four kids, I’m sure that is the first of many nasty surprises in my future.” I cringe at the thought while cracking a couple of eggs into the pan. “At four thirty this morning, I was thinking about how crazy it is that I’m going to be married with children. I used to swear that it would never happen to me.”

“Last Friday, I was partying and getting laid in a sex club. Now five days later, my nipples hurt and I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck from being up nursing half the night.” She shakes her head with a bewildered look. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of it too.”

“Yeah, I knew this was coming, but it all happened so fast,” I reply, knowing exactly how she feels. “But doesn’t it feel right?”

“It totally feels right. It already feels like he’s my own son,” she says with glistening eyes.

“That’s because he is your son,” I reply, walking over to give her a good morning kiss. “Sorry, I forgot to give you one earlier.”

“Yeah, good morning kisses are too important to get lost in the shuffle.” She smiles before giving me another one. “We have to make sure we always make time for each other, no matter how crazy things get.”

“I agree, and these aren’t just for him,” I tell her, softly running my fingers over her nipples. “I love them too.”

“I know, and once they toughen up, there will be plenty for both of you,” she assures me with a sorrowful look in her eyes. “But today, they’re sore as hell… so leave them alone.” She turns away with a laugh and goes back to her latte.

“Sore nipples and burning eyes. That’s what our life has become,” I mumble, going back to finish the sandwiches. A thought pops into my head about being sixty years old by the time our last kid finishes college. I’ll be my father’s age since Felicia wants them all to be two years apart. That’s why life goes by so quickly. You find the right woman, you have a few kids, and by the time you get your freedom back, you’re in your sixties. That’s why I’m determined to enjoy the ride, no matter how many bumps there are in the road. The phrase life is a journey, not a destination pops into my head. It’s something I first heard in Psych 101, and it’s definitely true. You never know where you’re going to end up, so you’d better make sure you have some fun getting there.

Halfway through my sandwich, I hear that stupid phone buzzing once again in the drawer. “Jessica called last night and again this morning telling me that she feels that I took advantage of her while she was under the influence of an epidural.”

“You talked to her?” Felicia asks, sounding surprised.

“No, I just read the voicemail she left me.” I take another bite of my sandwich, which is now ruined by the thought of her. “I’m sure that’s her calling again. I sent Mom a text asking if she would talk with her.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” she replies, raising her eyebrows. “You two have never had a pleasant conversation.”

“Which is why I don’t understand why she won’t just walk away and leave me alone,” I tell her, feeling exasperated by the woman. “I mean, just get on with your life and I won’t send you to jail.”

Felicia walks over to the drawer and opens it, retrieving the phone. I watch her facial expressions turn dark as she scrolls through something. “Did you see the message she left you this morning?”

“I think the one I read was from last night,” I reply, getting up from my chair and bracing myself for another round of bullshit.

“Well, you’d better take a look at this one,” she says, giving me a disgusted look.

Reading her latest message, I can literally feel my blood pressure rising. “I’ve had enough of this bullshit. If you guys are okay hanging out, I’m going to have my attorney meet me at the office and we are going on the offensive. I’ve had enough!” I repeat, grabbing both phones and heading back to the bedroom to change into some ass-kicking clothes. “By the end of the day, this shit is going to all be put to rest. People shouldn’t fuck with me when I’m this tired. I’m going to fuck both her and Richard up before the day is through.”

Felicia

Rex is always so laid back, but it seems he reached some sort of breaking point this morning. That threat from Jessica was the final straw. No matter what she knows or has access to, there is no way a court would find her to be more fit to raise this child than Rex and me. I look down at my little blue-eyed boy and can’t imagine going back to a life without him. In hindsight, we have made some foolish choices since we got together, but none of it could hurt anyone except maybe ourselves. For someone to use it against us and to drive a wedge right through the center of our new family would be simply heartbreaking.

I cradle him in my arms and go to the comfort of an old wooden rocking chair that Joyce brought over a couple of weeks back. It’s the one that she used to rock Rex when he was a baby. It fits perfectly, and the smooth rocking motion does seem to settle the nerves. Everything will work out. I have faith. If not, life will be hard for a while, but we’ll fight our way through it. “Don’t you worry, little man. I’ll always be here for you.” I click on the TV, looking for a distraction. I click the channel button a couple of times and a music video pops onto the screen. The first words I hear are, It ain’t my fault. How fitting. I’ve never listened to much country, but I kind of like these guys. They must be the country version of Nickelback. Brothers Osbourne is their name, so I pick up my phone and search for them on Spotify. My favorites playlist now contains a country song as I add It Ain’t My Fault to the list.

My mind drifts to my father. I should try his old cell number just to see if he’s still reachable. It would be kind of nice to let him know that I’m getting married and he’s now a grandfather. I’ve already decided that I’m not going to invite him to the wedding, though. That would just ruin it for Mom. Since it’s already been a turbulent morning, I decide to send him a quick text instead of calling. Give me a call sometime, I simply tell him, thinking that if he doesn’t bother calling me back, I’m not going to tell him anything. At this point, my life is probably much easier without him. Mom has never forgiven him for how he simply abandoned us, so it wouldn’t be much fun having the two of them in the same room. I sigh, turning the channel to E! for a little mind candy. “We have to see what the Kardashians and Miley Cyrus are up to,” I tell Michael, who simply blinks at me with those innocent eyes. “You’re too damn cute.”

I pick my phone up again, scrolling through my recent photos for the cutest picture of him. I haven’t posted anything to Facebook for months, so I think it’s time to shake things up with a picture of my little man. It should generate some interesting comments if nothing else. I choose a picture that Mom took of the three of us last night. After thirty seconds of debate, I type, The Beginning of Our Family and click to upload it. Within a matter of minutes, I have several likes, a couple of loves, but mostly wows. The first two comments are: What?!?! and WTF??? Pretty much what I expected. I close the Facebook app and set my phone face-down on the side table, content to let everyone speculate as to what’s going on. If anyone actually calls or texts, I’ll be happy to tell them the whole story. None of my girlfriends liked Kip, so over the past couple of years, I’ve fallen out of touch with most of them. In the end, I guess they were right. Maybe it’s time to mend some fences.

“Are you getting hungry, little man?” I ask one of the few people who actually matters to me. It’s been a few hours since his last feeding, so I automatically assume it’s time to feed him again. The way he latches onto me lets me know that I was correct. Hmm, what a simple life this is. Feed, change, sleep, and repeat. I know things won’t stay this simple, so I’d better enjoy it even though I might need to start napping once in a while.

By the time I finish with Michael, my phone is blowing up. Between Messenger and text messages, I have a couple of dozen to reply to, so I compose my explanation, then paste the reply to each one. If I were to truly explain the last few months, it would really be a crazy story, so I just cover the highlights. I got a new job and fell in love with the boss. I find myself struggling to explain the baby, so I keep it a little vague. I don’t think anyone really needs to know all the details anyway. After spending more than an hour going back and forth with old friends, I realize that I need to do more to keep in touch with some of them. I tell them that I’ll be in touch and maybe we’ll have a reception sometime after the wedding. It would be good to see some of them again. Setting down my phone, I realize that I haven’t heard from Becca. I scroll back through my old voicemails to listen to the one she left the other day which I had blown off at the time. I click to listen to it.

“Hi, Babe, I just wanted to say that I’m pissed about what you told Kip, but I also deserved it. If I can figure out his phone code, I’ll erase that video for you. If you never speak to me again, I’ll understand. I just want you to know that I miss you. Even though we’ve had our ups and downs, I always considered you my best friend. I’m sorry I was always jealous of you. You’re pretty hard to compete with. Love you.”

I swallow the lump that’s forming in my throat and decide to send her a message.

Me: I’m not ready to talk to you, but I honestly want to thank you for what you did. It literally pushed me into Rex’s arms, and that’s something I’ll never forget. I’ve done some crazy things since I started dating him, but I’ve also fallen in love for the first time. Not to mention all the incredible sex… WOW! I hope you’re doing well and I wish you the best. We’ll catch up someday soon. XO

I click Send and turn my phone to vibrate mode. It’s time for a quick nap before the little man wakes up.