Chapter 4
Liesel sighed as she rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of her car. She clicked the car closed and made her way to front doorstep.
She placed the key in the lock, and the door swung open with a click.
“Mummy!” A little voice yelled out as she ran towards her. Liesel scooped her up and held her close as she inhaled the scent of her baby shampoo.
“You’re getting big, lady bug.”
The little girl drew back and gazed at her mother with hazel eyes, eyes that were an exact replica of her father’s. Her blonde hair fell just past in her shoulders in loose ringlets, but right now it was sticking up on all ends.
“Mummy, you’re funny.” Her little girl-Elsa-tweaked her nose and proceeded to giggle uncontrollably at the face her mother made.
“What have you been doing, lady bug?” Liesel set her down and began to pat her hair in an attempt to get it to lay down.
“Aunty Rachel and I were playing hide and seek.”
Liesel gazed at Elsa, one eyebrow raised in amusement. “And where is your aunty Rachel?”
“She’s supposed to be hiding, and I was supposed to be looking for her.” Elsa squirmed as Liesel set her down on the floor. Elsa took off like a bullet in search of her Rachel.
Rachel Samuel was Liesel’s best friend. She was a petite blonde with a fiery attitude and fierce loyalty that made the two women as thick as thieves. They were both publicists working for different firms, and they had bonded really fast. Most of the time, they were like sisters, not best friends.
They lived together along with Elsa, who considered Rachel family.
Elsa emerged a while later with a triumphant smile on her face as she clutched Rachel’s sleeve, as if somehow afraid that Rachel would take off.
“Here she is.” Elsa announced proudly as Rachel grumbled and stood before her trying to look dismayed at being caught by a five year old.
She ran her hands over her rumpled pajamas and straightened her hair. She gave Liesel a quick grin before leaning down to pat Elsa on the head. “You definitely won that round, teddy bear, why don’t you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed? Your mum will be up in a minute to read you a story.”
Elsa nodded eagerly before she scrambled up the stairs. Liesel watched her go in amusement before she turned to face Rachel.
“Rough day at work?” she asked sympathetically.
“I saw Keith today.”
Rachel blew her hair out of her face. “Ouch, that’s tough. You okay?”
“Let me just put Elsa to put bed, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“I’ll pour you a glass of wine.”
Liesel made her way up the stairs and headed towards Elsa’s room where Elsa was already in between the covers holding up a storybook.
Liesel smiled as she walked in and picked up the book. “Another Dr. Seuss book?”
“Yes, mummy, he’s the best!” She slid deeper into the covers and gazed at her mother through hope filled eyes.
Liesel’s heart melted as she sat down on a chair and flipped open the first page.
***
Liesel quietly tiptoed down the stairs a while later and smiled as she noticed that Rachel had poured two glasses of wine and made some popcorn.
“Rache, you really are the best,” Liesel sighed as she kicked off her shoes and reached for the glass of wine.
“I know.” Rachel emerged from her room with a DVD in her hand.
“I’ve got a selection of movies here that you can choose from, we have sappy romance, or something a little trashier, like 50 Shades of Grey.”
“I don’t know if I’m in the mood for either to be honest.”
Rachel set the DVDs down on the couch and made her way towards Liesel with a sympathetic smile. She tied her hair up in a high ponytail before she sat down at the kitchen counter opposite Liesel and gestured for her to start.
Liesel sighed as she rubbed her temples in soft circular motions. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Well, you ran into Elsa’s dad, that can’t have been easy.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it running into him per say, he’s kind of my client now.”
Rachel nearly choked on her glass of wine. “He’s your what now? Back up, how did that happen?”
“His manager came by today, and he was talking about him, and he was like Keith blah blah, I didn’t really put the pieces together until Keith walked into my office a while later.”
Rachel sat back. “and how did that go?”
“How do you think it went?” Liesel shot her a wry look.
Rachel gave her a sympathetic smile. “That bad?”
Liesel pursed her lips for a minute. “Well, no, I suppose it could’ve gone worse. The meeting was cordial I suppose well aside from the part where he dismissed our marriage out of hand.”
“Really? What did he say?”
“He said, ‘we were married, now we’re not.’”
“Bloody effing jackass.”
“Yeah, so I tried to be professional and cordial like him, but his comment stung, you know.”
“Of course, it did.” Rachel patted her hand consolingly. “You’re only human, and I’m not saying rehash the past, but pretending it never happened, that’s just insensitive.”
Liesel sighed as she picked up her wine glass and moved to the couch. Rachel followed with her wine glass, and the bowl of popcorn.
“I don’t know, Rache.” Liesel plopped onto the couch and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Seeing him today brought up all kinds of memories for me, and even though there was a part of me that wanted to throw something at him, there was also a part of me that wanted to jump his bones.”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Rachel commented as she sloshed the wine around in her glass.
“Well, not exactly.” Liesel squirmed uncomfortably.
“You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t jump his bones.” Rachel said, torn between wanting to ask for details and dismay because of their complicated history.
“We didn’t get that far, but Rache, we almost did, and to make matters worse, I initiated it.” Liesel groaned as she placed her head in her hands.
“How did you go from being cordial and professional to nearly jumping his bones?”
“I kissed him actually.”
Rachel wheeled around to face Liesel. “How much have I had to drink?”
She peered closely at the glass while Liesel laughed. “You haven’t had much to drink. I’m the one who kissed him, I don’t know what got into me, we were arguing, somehow he got under my skin-“
“What were you arguing about?” Rachel interrupted.
“I don’t even remember how it started, that’s usually the case with us, or it was, I guess old habits die hard.” Liesel shook her head at a particular memory that surfaced, a wistful smile appearing on her face.
“Exes are like that.”
“So yeah we started rehashing the past, much to my dismay.”
“Was this before or after you kissed?”
“It was after we made out. An intense make out session, I might add.”
Rachel wolf whistled. “How intense?”
“Tops and bra off intense.”
“Both tops?”
“Yup.”
“Damn.” Rachel gulped down a mouthful of wine.
“Yeah.” Liesel grabbed her glass of wine and did the same thing.
“Look, El, do you want him back?”
“I don’t know, Rache. Sometimes, I miss him so much, it’s hard to breathe, other times I hate him so much, I don’t want to be in the same room with him.”
“You guys had a good relationship?”
Liesel gave her a small smile. “it was the best. We made each other happy, we teased each other, we fought like crazy, but it didn’t matter cause we could never stay mad at each other for long.”
“Sounds like it was a great relationship, the kind most people want.” Rachel said finally.
“It was to me.”
“But then why did he cheat on you?”
“Why does anyone ever cheat?” Liesel shrugged as she put her wine glass on the table and grabbed a handful of popcorn. She popped one into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully before answering. “But it’s different now, before I only had myself to worry about, now I have Elsa to consider.”
Comprehension dawned on Rachel’s face. “He doesn’t know, does he?”
Liesel shook her head. “He doesn’t know, by the time I found out, we were already divorced, and it was too late, I didn’t want the person he had become in Elsa’s life. He’s her father for heaven’s sake!”
“But maybe you should’ve told him.” Rachel said, not unkindly.
“Perhaps back then he had the right to know, but what about right now? When Elsa is older and has a stable life. Having a dad in the NBA would change that especially given how much he’s changed.”
“When you say changed, what exactly do you mean by that?”
“He propositioned me.”
One eyebrow went up as Rachel stared at her, her brown eyes reflecting the incredulity that no doubt shined forth from Liesel’s own blue orbs. “As in one of those hook up deals?”
A laugh that sounded somewhere between a snort and a giggle escaped Liesel’s lips. “One and the same. He said that we don’t work as a couple, and that we already tried but clearly our failure to make it work was indicative of the fact that we just weren’t meant to be a couple, but that it doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun.”
Rachel’s mouth dropped open. “He actually said that?”
“Yeah, he even promised he wouldn’t sleep with any women the same day he’s sleeping with me.”
Rachel snorted in disbelief. “Bastard probably thought he was being generous.”
“I think that was his intention, yeah. Of course I let him know what I thought of that and all, and hauled him out of my office.”
“I sense a but coming on.”
Liesel shot her an amused look. “But he’s Elsa’s father. He and I might not be on the best of terms, and maybe we will or maybe we won’t, but either way that shouldn’t affect her relationship with her father.”
“You’re kidding me right? Please tell me you’re joking right now.” Rachel frowned as she set her glass on the table and turned around to face Liesel. “You want that arrogant prick of a pig in your daughters life? Your daughter who is this amazing little girl with so much goodness in her heart. Why in the hell would you want her around a guy who can’t even keep it in his pants? What kind of example would you be setting?!”
Liesel stood up and faced Rachel. She loved her for fighting for Elsa like her own daughter, she really did, but this was a decision she had been struggling with for years, pretty much since the moment she found out she was pregnant, and she didn’t know if Elsa would be as understanding when she was older. At least now she had the chance to shield Elsa from the hurt her father might inflict, but if Elsa is older then she might not have the same opportunity, and she wanted her little girl to understand.
If she was being completely honest, she also wanted Keith to have a chance at being a father. Just cause he was a lousy man doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a good father, and she really wanted him to be, for both their sakes.
“Rache, I love you for fighting as fiercely for Elsa as I would, but you know what, no matter how you or I feel about him, it doesn’t matter, we need to set it aside for Elsa’s sake. Just because he’s a womanizer doesn’t mean he won’t be a good father.”
“You can’t guarantee that he will be.” Rachel said sadly as all the anger left her body.
“You’re right, I can’t, but if there’s even a small chance that she can have both a mother and father who love her unconditionally then I have to try.”
Rachel nodded grimly. “I’m here for you and Elsa, El, you know that.”