by Ford, Mia
It was Leia. I pushed ignore and started to put the phone back in my pocket when I saw I had a voicemail.
She hardly ever left voicemails. I pulled it up and listened to it briefly.
“Ted! I’m in labor. It’s really happening! I’m on my way to the hospital. Sharp Memorial. Please head there as soon as you can!”
Leia’s voice was full of pain and she appeared to be trying to breathe smoothly and not succeeding. In the background I could hear women’s voices, most likely Penny and one of the other idiot friends she hung out with. The three of them were going baby clothes shopping or something stupid that day.
“Everything OK?” Andrew asked.
I smiled and put the phone back in my pocket.
“Yeah, it’s all good.”
I found my ball and grabbed my putter. Carefully lining up the shot I got into position. Leia kept sticking in my mind though. I knew I should go be with her and play the role of supportive husband, but as far as she knew I was on the golf course and I hit a dead spot where I had no reception. I didn’t get her message for a few hours and of course I rushed right over to be with my wife.
At least that was the story I’d give her---if I gave her one at all.
I was starting to get very fed up with her. She’d been moody as hell since getting knocked up and she’d gotten very big and felt like crap. It was all making her whiney as hell. So the past several months I’d spent as little time at home as possible, all under the guise of working on the business. The business as of late was more of a hobby than anything, but I hoped something cool came of it. It would be awesome to have my own company and get a bit of pride back. I saw the way people looked at me, like I was some kind of kept man. It was infuriating. And now they would know what I was all about.
I held my breath, tapped the ball gently, and watched it roll down the green and up a slight hill before dropping into the hole.
“Sweet,” I said. “That’s how it’s done.”
“Ah, you got lucky,” Andrew joked.
I agreed I appeared lucky, but I’d worked so hard to get everything in my life just the way I wanted it. And now those brat kids were going to destroy everything. That was more people I was going to have to split the money with. There would be non-stop whining and noise in the house. We’d have to pay a staff of people to care for them while we were working. And something about having two people out there that had sprung forth from me and Leia was unsettling. It was weird to think about, but it almost made me feel as if I’d lost something of myself.
Having kids was something I’d never really wanted or planned on. I was sure that I would find a way to get out of it, and now it looked as though that ship had sailed. I was going to be a father whether I wanted to be or not.
The thought of divorcing Leia and just running away from it all was so tempting, but I couldn’t do that. I’d lose a lot of the money and the prestige that I had worked so hard to obtain. Plus, there were times when being a father did appeal to me. It was possible that the kids would turn out more like Leia than like me. I wouldn’t have wanted kids like myself. I couldn’t really be trusted by anybody. Who the hell would want a kid like that?
I chuckled at the idea as I drove away from the golf course about two hours after the first phone call. Leia had called twice more since then and I’d ignored both of those calls, each one sounding more frantic than the one before. It was turning into a weird, almost sick little game for me. Let’s see how many times we can make her call! And maybe there will be some sort of a lucky emergency that would take Leia and both kids straight to hell.
“Now, then I’d consider myself lucky,” I said through my laughter.
In all seriousness I did often contemplate getting rid of Leia for good. But it would be a very risky venture. People tried to knock off their spouses all the time and hardly ever got away with it, and when they did it was usually because of inept police work which one could not always count on.
Leia was a beautiful, sweet, wonderful woman who had been a lot of fun in the beginning, but as I figured, she’d grown tired of my independent nature and she’d tried to reel me in, to domesticate me—basically, to house break me like some animal. But I have always been a wild stallion who can’t be broken. I have to roam free and do what nature calls me to do.
But for right now, I still had to play it cool. I was sitting pretty comfortably and I didn’t want to rock the boat on that.
I arrived at the hospital and located the room that Leia was in. She was already in the back room of the emergency room with a doctor and several nurses around her. One of the nurses quickly got me suited up in a pair of scrubs, a mask, and a head wrap. I felt like a mummy and I was sure I looked really silly as they led me back. As I rounded the corner into the room I prepared my frantic and worried look so that when I bounded into the room I could have the appropriate affect.
“Baby!” I hollered as I walked quickly into the back area. Leia was there with her doctor who was crouching down in front of her.
To the side I could see a nurse cleaning off a baby, wrapping the child up, and handing him to Leia. Then they did the same with the other, this time handing him to me.
“Congratulations,” the nurse said.
I took the child in my arms as I’d been forced to practice by Leia at home (I’d refused to attend most of the childbirth classes) and looked down into the eyes of my new son. He looked like a baby. His eyes were closed, he was still a bit covered in nasty fluids, and he was quiet. I always thought babies came into the world kicking and screaming, but I guess some of them just relax and calm down right away. The kid was probably hoping it was all a nightmare. Sorry to burst your bubble kid, but the nightmare is just beginning.
I tried to be excited and act like the proud papa, but honestly I was just not that interested. It was a baby. It looked like more of a job than anything. But still I held the child gingerly and pretended to dote on it and make googly faces acting every bit the part of the proud father.
I walked over to Leia and kissed her softly on the lips. “You did it! Way to go, honey!”
She smiled and pressed her head against mine. I could tell she was exhausted. Apparently, she’d been in labor for about four hours, which I was told is not terribly long to be in labor, but sounded like a long time to be in agony when you thought about it.
“I’m so glad you are here,” Leia said. Her voice sounded strained and quiet. “Where were you?”
“I was out on the course still and there was a dead spot out there. I called you and told you I was on my way the minute I heard. You are a week early. I thought these things typically were overdue rather than under.”
Leia smirked and shook her head slightly. She was too exhausted and too happy about being a brand new mother to care about me. And I was perfectly ok with that.
The past few months had been better between Leia and I, mostly because she’d been preoccupied with becoming a mother and with running her business. I had been preoccupied with not being around, so there was much less chance for us to fight. I’d worked on controlling my temper though, mostly because I didn’t want to waste time with fighting and because things just went smoother if Leia thought I was the perfect guy.
And it turned out that she looked rather hot when she was pregnant. It also made her even hornier than normal, so we’d done a lot of making love the past few months. I was always happy for that, but lately she’d been getting too big and it was a bit of a turnoff. I was glad to see that most of the weight she’d gained had fallen out with the baby.
The rest of the day was spent just being supportive for Leia and helping her start the road of recovery. It blew my mind when they said she would probably be going home either that night or first thing in the morning.
After all the health tests were run on our twin boys I was glad to hear that everything about them seemed normal and healthy. Having a kid with some weird health issues was the last thing I wanted. That was just another problem we’d have
to deal with and with all we had going on I sure didn’t want that kind of stress.
After a while Penny and Cheryl, who’d both been with Leia shopping when she went into labor, came into the room to see Leia and then the babies. Neither one of them could stop crying. I had to stop myself from laughing at their emotions. I’ve never for the life of me ever understood how or why people cry when they are happy. Crying was a sad thing. There was so much about people I have just never understood.
That night I drove home at Leia’s insistence. She was going to be released first thing in the morning and I volunteered to pick her up. I could have just sent a car but I felt it looked better for me to suggest this. As always appearances were everything.
That night as I played some pool and had a few drinks of whiskey I found myself wondering what was going to come next. I was hanging out, relaxing in my quiet mansion, knowing that tomorrow my life was going to change dramatically when the twins were brought home. Did this mean the end to my quiet, relaxing lifestyle?
I laughed at the thought. “Not hardly,” I said as I broke a new rack and scattered the balls across the table.
It was true. I didn’t plan on letting this get in the way of me or my plans. If anything, the kids would just give me another thing I could leverage over Leia, because now if she double crossed me in some way it would not just be her who would pay, but the kids as well.
Something told me that she would do anything to keep the kids safe, always.
Chapter Fifteen
Leia
Six Months Later
I heard the cries over the baby monitor and my eyes instantly flew awake. It had become an automatic response and I was out of bed before I even realized that I wasn’t asleep anymore. This sort of immediate response to the cries of my children had been there since the day they were born. It was innate, ingrained in me. My first thought was always them, about anything. And I wouldn’t have wished for it to be any other way.
I glanced back briefly as I reached the door and looked at Ted still fast asleep in bed. At least he’d made it to the bed today. On most nights the past few months I’d find him passed out drunk in front of the television or the couch in the billiard room. Although, on rare occasions he’d be gone before I got up, off on another one of his ‘business meetings’ on the golf course. I was tempted to ask him if any of these meetings actually involved any business.
I liked to nitpick him about it, but he’d made a few contacts and from what I understood he was in talks with the manufacturer about another wave of bikes. His other investors, like Andrew and David—who used to be good friends of his until their investments dried up—had all backed out and Ted had been garnering a bad reputation in the business world. I was glad that he had nothing to do with my family’s business; he seemed mostly content to just let that go for now. Although, I suspected he wanted to get more control in it. God forbid if he ever actually succeeded in this venture.
When I entered the twins’ nursery I saw that Alex was the one crying. I figured as much. I’d taken him to the doctor yesterday with an ear infection and a slight fever. The doctor had prescribed some medication but it could take a few days to kick in. Until then we just had to try to make him comfortable. His brother Nicki was still sleeping soundly in the other crib.
I picked Alex up and held him closely to me. “It’s ok, honey. Mommy’s here.”
Sitting down in the comfortable rocking chair I let him cry against my chest and felt his forehead. He actually felt normal as if his fever had gone down. He wasn’t sweating and didn’t appear to be sick even, but I was sure his ear was hurting.
As we sat there rocking together I continued to try to soothe him and kiss him softly on the forehead. He just needed to know his mother was there for him. We all needed that sometimes. I’d been wishing my mother could hold me for ten years at that point. I thought about it at least once a day. And every time I did it made me so sad.
“Are you ok, baby?” I whispered. “It’s alright. Don’t worry. You will feel better soon.”
Alex seemed to quiet for a moment and then started screaming at the top of his lungs again. He couldn’t get settled, the poor little guy.
I suddenly heard Ted coming down the hallway. Was he actually going to help this time? I’d long ago resigned to the fact that Ted was going to do the absolute bare minimum when it involved the kids, as he did with everything. He was so hot and cold that I never knew what to expect. There would be a few weeks or even a month where he was the perfect husband and father and then he’d revert to his old ways and be the worst person to be around for a few months. I was getting so sick of it. I wanted to leave him so badly, but I knew how much I’d loved him once and I kept hoping that same man would return. Plus, now we had the boys and I didn’t want to complicate their lives.
And Ted had me over a barrel financially. I’d been stupid, reckless. Why hadn’t I signed a pre-nup? Why did I give Ted my Power of Attorney? These were things I’d done hastily. My idiot lawyer had fed me that load of crap and I’d swallowed it. And now I was living with the consequences.
I just had to keep hoping that things would get better. That’s what my mother would have told me. She would have said to have faith and things will work out on their own.
But sometimes she failed to mention that things often went through horrific changes before they finally found their way.
Ted opened the door hastily and stepped into the nursery. I could tell he was angry and I braced myself for impact.
“What the hell is wrong with that kid?” Ted asked.
“He’s sick, remember?”
“Yeah, well he’s making me sick. Can’t you shut him up?”
“I’m trying to calm him down. His ear hurts. There isn’t a lot we can do.”
“I’m trying to get some sleep and that kid is screaming bloody murder night after night. When is that going to stop? Five? Ten years?”
“Welcome to the world of kids,” I said with a smile.
“You love this, don’t you?” Ted asked.
“I love what?”
“This. You love that these little babies need you so much. I think it’s an obsession and I don’t think it’s healthy.”
I had to laugh. “Wow, you are calling motherhood an obsession. That’s rich.”
“We are rich. Why don’t we hire a full time nanny to take care of these brats? We’re both busy and have a lot to do.”
I grimaced. “Why do you always call them that? They aren’t brats; they are our sons.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ted mocked. “I didn’t realize you were that sensitive about it. Our sons… they are a nuisance is what they are.”
“Everything that disturbs your permanent vacation is a nuisance,” I said. ‘Welcome to the real world, Ted. Life isn’t all a bunch of chocolates and roses. If you find a paradise like that, let me know. Oh, wait—you already have it because I give it to you.”
Ted glared at me and stepped towards me. “What have I told you about calling me a freeloader? I’m not a stable boy!”
“I never said that.”
“You implied it. You know you did.”
I had. And it felt good to get it out in the open, to clear the air. I was sick and tired of living this way.
I wanted something better.
I sat the baby back in his crib. “I’m so done. I’m just so over your bullshit.”
“My bullshit? You are tired of having a guy like me who loves you and bothers to give you the time when you’ve let yourself go completely?”
He pointed at the pudge on my stomach. It hurt when he did that. I’d had trouble losing the last ten pounds of the baby weight, but I thought I still looked pretty good for a woman who’d just had twins. I ate right and I exercised regularly. I was doing well, as far as I was concerned.
“That’s right,” I said. “Go ahead and run me down. Remember that I’m your meal ticket.”
“My meal ticket? In case you’ve forgotten, we are married
and I basically own half of it all and you gave me legal precedence to seize the other half if you aren’t fit to take care of it.”
I laughed. “Wow, if I didn’t know better I’d swear you married me just for my money.”
Ted laughed. “Yeah… and?”
I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. My breath wouldn’t move in or out of my body. Did he really say that?
“What?”
He’d said a lot of hurtful things to me in the past, but this was too far, even for him. He didn’t really mean that…did he?
Ted laughed. “Ooops, did I spoil the surprise?”
“You are despicable. Don’t say something you can’t take back, something that you will regret.”
Ted was in my face now. “I regret nothing. I married you for your money. I knew who you were the day I met you. In fact, I planned all of it out perfectly. And you fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”
Tears were forming in my eyes. I tried to blink them away but I was in too much pain. What… what was he saying? It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. I wouldn’t let it.
“That’s right,” Ted said. “I played you like a fiddle and you were too stupid and too gullible to realize it. And now you are stuck with me. So you’d better make the best of it and quit being such a stupid bitch, before you really piss me off.”
“Get out. Get out of my house!” I screamed at him.
Ted was shocked for a brief moment and stepped back. Then he got in my face again.
“Make me, bitch!”
I walked to the other corner of the nursery to get out of his face. “We need a break. Listen to the horrible things you are saying. I know you can’t possibly mean that. Look at how you are hurting me and destroying our family.”
“Our family? This is your family. I just live here. You wanted to be a mother and now you are one. Hell, you probably planned that. I know the type of stuff women do to trap men in things they don’t want. Well, these are your kids. I’m not dealing with them.”
“We need a break from each other. I want you gone. If you don’t go then I will call the police.”
