Tangled Paths

by Kimi Flores

  A huge grin broke out on his face as he parked the car and turned to her. “You didn’t really think nobody would be there for you on your wedding day, did you?”

  With her mouth gaped open, she looked past him at what had to have been over fifty people gathered together, waiting for them. “We’ve only been gone a few hours. Who planned this?”

  Josh pulled her hand up to his mouth and delicately kissed her knuckles. “I’d love to say that I did, but it was all Leah, Dani, and Abby. I had no idea something like this could be put together so quickly, but when I asked, they assured me it could be done. You deserve to have the full wedding experience, babe. I know you would’ve been fine with the courthouse wedding, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted you to have this.” He pointed out toward the crowd that had their eyes on them, patiently waiting for them to step out of the SUV.

  Her heart filled with so much joy. Most women would probably be upset that they didn’t have a say in every detail of their wedding, but Josh was well aware of the fact that she was not that girl. He also knew how much she trusted the women in her life to give her the most beautiful wedding that could be put together in five days.

  Her door popped open, and she turned to find her father standing there.

  “It’s time, princess.” He held his hand out and helped her out of the car.

  By the time she turned, Josh was gone. She imagined he was already on his way to the alter. She’d already told him she was a blessed woman, but it couldn’t have been truer than this night, the night she became his, officially.

  A sharp pain pulled her out of her daydream as her stomach tightened for the third time since they’d left Santa Ynez.

  Ending his call, Josh turned his head to her while squinting his eyes. “Are you okay over there?”

  This is a big night for daddy and the rest of the family. Hold on, sweetheart.

  Clearing her throat, she took a napkin from the limo’s bar and dabbed her chest, then her forehead. “Yeah, I’m just a little hot.”

  She’d been experiencing Braxton Hicks for the last several days but wasn’t due for two more weeks. They’d been told she probably wouldn’t go into labor any sooner since it was her first baby. If their daughter was anything like them though, she was going to rush into the world before it was her time, just to prove that she could.

  He rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand, unconvinced. “You look really uncomfortable.” Reaching up, he moved the air conditioning vent so it blew directly on her.

  She sat back with a sigh. Oh, sweet relief.

  Looking down at her skintight dress that showed off her very swollen belly, she had to agree. “I am uncomfortable. I should've gone with my yoga pants and flip flops, but I don’t think that’s the look anyone else at the movie premiere will be going with.” She needed to get her mind off her discomfort. “So I know you said your dad liked your idea, but what else did he say? Can he help?”

  He huffed, well aware of what she was doing. He went with it though. “Dad does think it’s a great idea. He’s working on getting a few more actors to help out and some of the children’s agents are jumping at the opportunity. The more levelheaded these kids are, the more money they make.”

  She furrowed her eyebrows while the corner of her mouth scrunched up. “That’s awful. What about the parents?”

  “Some parents only care about the money too, then there are the ones like my dad, who don’t know any better.” Josh shook his head. “All I care about though are the kids. It kills me when I see these young actors making headlines over the dumb ass things they’re doing and nobody says a damn thing to them. Well, not people they will listen to at least.”

  Bri was so proud of her husband. He’d been working on this for months now and finally presented it to his dad last week.

  Her belly tightened again. Shit, that one hurt. She did her best to hide the pain as Josh glanced out his window.

  Turning, he smiled at her when they pulled up to the red carpet. “You ready?”

  As ready as I’ll ever be. She breathed out, “Yep, let’s go.”

  The limo door opened and the sound was just as Josh had described it—deafening. Bri never imagined something could be so loud. Josh gave her a reassuring kiss, stepped out of the limo, and offered his hand as she scooted across the seat. She was blinded by flashes as soon as she stood. The dizzying lights made her feel disoriented.

  "Josh, this is crazy," she yelled into his ear. As another contraction hit, she groaned. “Mother fucker…” Her nails dug into Josh’s hand.

  He grabbed onto her, his voice filled with concern. “What is it? Don’t you dare tell me it’s nothing?”

  She took one deep breath in and out. “I’ll be fine, but I don’t know how long we can stay.”

  His eyes went wide, but he kept his voice low. “Are you in labor?”

  She grunted, pressing her hand to another tight spot on her belly. “I think so, but let’s get through this first.”

  “Shit,” he whispered under his breath. “I told you we shouldn’t have come.”

  As the pain eased, she placed her delicate hand on his face. “And I said we need to do this. You need this, and I’m right here with you.”

  He kissed the inside of her wrist, leading her down the red carpet. "We'll talk to a couple of reporters, then get the hell out of here, deal?"

  “Deal,” she said in as calm a voice as possible.

  They walked up to a tiny redhead wearing a skimpy black dress. "Hey, Josh. How are you doing?" she flirted.

  Even though Josh told Bri he'd been alone for years, she couldn't help but wonder how well this redhead knew her husband.

  "Pretty good, Victoria,” he said casually. “And you?"

  He seemed so comfortable with her, Bri couldn't shake her instant jealously as she broke out in a sweat.

  "Not bad.” Victoria dipped her head and batted her eyelashes. “Mind answering some questions?"

  I might pluck those damn eyelashes out if she keeps that up.

  "Fire away." Josh flashed his million dollar smile for all the cameras.

  All of a sudden, a strong pain hit Bri, expanding into her back and lower stomach. Her legs began to feel weak, and she grabbed on to Josh. No more time to be jealous. She needed to get the hell out now. “I think we need to leave, Josh. Now. Unless you want your daughter saying hi to all of these cameras.”

  “Push, baby, push.” Josh held one of Bri’s thighs as a nurse held the other to her chest.

  Her screams tore his heart apart. He'd hoped that her labor would be easier than this. But when they finally got into a room, she was already fully dilated, and her window to get an epidural had closed.

  So now this was on him. He had to be everything—her comforter, her pain reliever. Whatever he could do, he would. “Come on, baby. You can do it.” He released her leg, letting her relax a moment before the next contraction hit. When her head snapped in his direction, he almost took a step back. As much as he loved his wife, she was not her sweet self at the moment. Her face resembled a demonic character from one of those freaky horror films.

  Where did my beautiful wife go?

  “That’s easy for you to say, asshole,” she spat at him, her hair a sweaty mess. “You don’t have a human being coming from between your legs. How about we wrap some wire around your balls, and I pull on it every time I feel a contraction?” There was a scary malicious glee in her crazed eyes.

  He sucked in a breath, afraid to move. He wanted to say something soft and comforting, but he only managed a gulp.

  The doctor said, “Here comes another one, get ready to push again.”

  “No, I’m not ready,” she screeched. “I wanna stop.” She began to sob before a loud ‘son of a bitch’ came out of her mouth.

  Still scared, he grabbed onto her leg again as she bared down.

  “The head is coming out now,” the doctor announced as Bri screamed again.

  Josh snuck a peek and wished he
hadn’t. Shit. He pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling lightheaded at the sight of the blood. Then he realized that it was, in fact, a head.

  Holy shit. How is that even possible?

  He never thought this would be as fascinating as it was, but he couldn’t move. His daughter was about to make her appearance, and he didn’t want to miss a thing. The only problem was that his wife needed him more.

  Refocusing on Bri, he shook her a little. “Babe, open your eyes,” he said, his voice full of awe. “Look, she’s coming. She has so much hair. Just a little more Bri, please! You can do this!”

  Bri’s eyes opened, and she looked at the large standalone mirror on the side of the doctor that showed their daughter’s arrival. Though she was still yelling as she pushed, she seemed to calm. Giving one final push, Bri screamed at the top of her lungs, and Josh watched the doctor maneuvering shoulders and limbs until the baby was out—she was out, and screaming for all the world to know she had arrived.

  Overwhelmed, tears filled both their eyes as they held onto each other. Josh gave her a light squeeze. “Baby, you did it. I’m so proud of you.” He kissed her cheek trying his damndest not to blubber.

  The doctor held Ella up. “Daddy, you’ve got yourself a sweet princess here. Want to cut the cord?” He handed Josh the scissors.

  Um…not really.

  Josh stared at the silver things in his hand and cleared his throat. “Will it hurt either of them?”

  “No, neither one will feel it.” The doctor assured him with a smile, as though he’d heard that question a million times before.

  Josh took a look at the cord before reaching over and cutting between the clamps. He set the scissors on a tray near him and had to force himself not to dissolve into a bucket of mush. Wow, this is real. I’m a daddy now. He turned to face his bride, trying not to lose it. Placing his hands on her face, Josh leaned in and kissed her lips. “Thank you,” he whispered, hoping she knew how special this moment was, how incredible she was, how amazing their new daughter was. He felt so full, more than he had just a few seconds ago. How was that possible?

  Ella’s bundled up body was placed in Bri’s arms. Josh touched her little head, then rubbed his knuckle on her soft cheek. She had a full head of dark hair just like her mama and she tried with all of her power to open her eyes to see the world around her.

  His heart swelled as he glanced at his wife, holding their precious baby. She was so tiny and perfect. He had to clear the emotions from his throat so he could speak. “We haven’t picked Ella’s middle name yet, but I have an idea for it?”

  With all the busyness these last few months, the middle name had kind of slipped to the back burner, and they never did finalize it. But that didn’t matter now. He knew what he wanted it to be.

  “Sure,” Bri said tiredly, smiling up at him as she enjoyed their daughter in her arms. “What were you thinking?”

  “Grace,” he said softly.

  “Grace? Like Madison’s grandma’s name?”

  “Yeah. Because you gave me grace, even when I was an asshole to you. And because…” He paused and shrugged, feeling the emotions taking over him again. “We’ve all made mistakes, and have been given grace at one time or another. I want her to know that it’s okay to mess up as long as she makes amends. Don’t you think it fits?”

  Bri glanced down at their baby again and sighed. “Grace. It’s perfect. Ella Grace.”

  “Ella Grace,” he repeated tenderly. And Bri was right. The name was perfect. Just like their new baby girl.

  “How ya doin’, princess?”

  Bri looked up from her beautiful daughter’s eyes to find her own father leaning against the door frame of her hospital room holding a huge square vase filled with flowers. She was very familiar with this bouquet of pink roses, pink Asiatic lilies, pale peach carnations, and pale green mini carnations.

  He must have called Leah for help with those. She knows that’s my favorite arrangement for new baby girls. The thought of her father going out of his way to make sure he was giving her something meaningful filled her with joy.

  “Daddy. You made it.” She didn’t know if it was because of her raging hormones or what, but her tears welled up for the thousandth time since her daughter had been born. She loved the look of pride in her father’s eyes.

  Bri cradled Ella Grace in her arms as her dad approached and kissed the top of her head then placed the large floral arrangement on a table by her bedside. “I’m so proud of you, baby girl. Are you feeling okay?” He ran his fingers tenderly along Ella’s soft cheek.

  “Yeah, I’m good.” She gave him a pointed look. “Now that it’s over.” Everything south still hurt, but she wasn’t about to talk to her father about that.

  He pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and sat down. “So listen. I know we talked about this and you said you didn’t want to find out, but when you told me you were pregnant, I searched your old bathroom and found a hairbrush you left behind then got a DNA test taken.”

  That’s when Bri realized he had a letter sized envelope in his hand. She handed Ella over to Josh. Her eyes darted from the envelope to her father’s face, then to Josh and back to the envelope. “Daddy, I told you I don’t need to know. You are my father, no matter what this says.” Her anxiety level began to spike and she imagined if she was hooked to a monitor, nurses would come charging into the room to see what was going on.

  She was hyperaware of where that envelope was at all times now that she knew what was in it. It sat on his lap when he held his hands up, blinking quickly. “I know, and I feel the same way, but,” he pointed to Ella, “she has a right to know who her biological grandfather is, and I didn’t want there to be any obstacles in her way when that day came. You can just lock this away until she wants to find out, but that baby girl deserves to know where her lineage comes from and shouldn’t have to go through hurdles to find out.”

  Bri swallowed the huge lump in her throat, then begged Josh with her eyes for the right answer.

  He slowly shook his head as he rocked their baby back and forth. “Up to you, babe.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead, and she momentarily closed her eyes, letting his strength seep into her. “I agree Ella has a right to know someday, but it’s your decision if you want to find out now.”

  Her eyes zeroed in on the envelope. She knew this wasn’t a decision she had to make at this very moment but like everything else that had fallen into place for her, it felt…right.

  Could the answer on that piece of paper change everything? Would it really change anything? He will always be my daddy.

  “I see your wheels spinning, princess. You don’t have to look at it now.” Her dad grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb along her knuckles.

  Taking a deep breath, Bri gathered up her strength as her curiosity continued to build. “I’ll look, but like I said, you are still my daddy no matter what.”

  Smiling, he stood up while nodding then handed the envelope to her. She breathed in, exhaled then opened the seal. Her heart beat so fast and hard, she thought it might come out of her chest. As she pulled the slip of paper out and unfolded it, she closed her eyes and took one more deep breath hoping she didn’t start to hyperventilate.

  I can do this. It will all be fine.

  Her eyes popped open, scanning the words that had the ability to alter her entire world, and there it was—the answer she hadn’t wanted to look for. Sighing, she almost burst into tears as the final answer stared her in the face. Her gaze shifted to find her father walking around the end of her bed toward Josh.

  The grin on his face couldn’t be mistaken. He’d read the results already.

  Extending his hands toward Josh, his words sounded like the most beautiful song Bri had ever heard. “Now let me hold my granddaughter.”

  Shuffling along the sidewalk, Dani slumped forward as she made her way home. She attempted to keep her chin up, taking in the scenery around her as she passed the familiar Spanish homes that lined the street.
It was no use, she was humiliated and heartbroken. Her eyes made their way back down to her feet.

  What was I thinking, she scolded herself, kicking prickly brown sweet gum seed pods along the way.

  She heard loud alternative rock music blaring from behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a truck full of boy’s from school pull up beside her. They yelled their catcalls for everyone around to hear, “Hey, we heard that you’re an easy piece of ass. Problem is that ass is too big. When you lose some of those rolls, give us a call so we can all have a turn.”

  As difficult as it was, she fought the tears. Pulling her backpack strap up further on her shoulder, she looked straight ahead, ignoring them as best as she could. She’d already heard this same shit at school all week from different boys, but she refused to give these assholes the satisfaction of seeing her cry.