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And then we're family and everything feels right.
As for Methew, he thought he'd be cute and take me to court to try to fight for custody. However, somebody released a phone recording of that conversation that I had listened to, and it was presented as evidence in front of the judge that he was not a fit parent and that he wouldn't make a good home.
The judge, absolutely disgusted by what he'd heard, ordered him to pay the maximum amount of child support and denied any visitation even though I hadn’t requested anything. I've since learned that the person on the other end of the line was Arson, and that Methew had made a big mistake with who he trusted.
Apparently, Arson, recognizing that his friend was in love with me, decided to find some dirt on Methew so that he could push us closer together without realizing we were already pretty darn close. Of course, I don't hold it against him or Laurel.
Laurel is absolutely adorable right now and ready to pop. I bought her a beautiful bassinet and some absolutely adorable outfits that I think she'll love. While she and Arson haven't released the gender of the baby, I don't really care.
What I care about is that her kids and my kids will be friends because she and I are friends.
Evie squeezes my hand. “I'm going to go get a snack.” With that, she crawls out of the tent and I'm quick to call after her.
“Anything on the third shelf of the fridge is fair game, sweetheart.” Now that I live with Charles, it's much easier to meal prep and make sure that everybody has snacks and foods they can eat throughout the day that are healthy, delicious, and nutritious, as well as fulfilling for the soul.
Charles no longer eats his feelings, and he's gathering all of his courage to start grilling. I'm not stressing it at all. I'm just glad that he is finally starting to feel more comfortable and safer to do the things that he loved to do with his father.
Healing is a long process. It's not an easy one, and the fact that he has made great strides like he has in such a short period of time tells me he just needs somebody to love him through the worst moments of his life and understand his pain.
I stare up at the stars for a few more moments before getting up and crawling out of the tent. Our lives have changed so much, and I know that they are not done changing yet.
Just like when I thought things were over with Methew, his wife found out about the baby and reached out to me, asking if he was paying child support or not. I'd given her the rundown on what was going on and she simply said, “Good, because if he wasn't, I would have reported him and made sure he started.”
One good thing to come of that, we'd scheduled a lunch date together because we seem like we're a lot alike. It turns out he and his wife were not planning on getting a divorce. He’d just lied. Though now it sounds like she might be serving him with papers, which makes me happy. Maybe he'll finally be held accountable for the awful things he's done to her and the other people in his life.
Of course, when I said I didn't expect any money from him, I meant it. Every dime he pays in child support goes into an account just for her when she comes of age. Which I think will be very, very helpful for her when she's ready to start out on her own because she’s going to face her own unique and beautiful challenges.
Knowing that he'd be paying child support before would have been much more helpful, but then I wouldn't have taken the job for Charles. Not taking the job for Charles would mean missing out on the love of my life. So now when I think about it, I realize everything happened exactly the way it had to happen for everything to work out in our favor, and I couldn’t be happier... and neither could Evie.
I make my way toward the kitchen, but before I can get too far, Charles grabs me and pulls me into a hug, pressing his lips to my forehead. “I can't believe my luck. First I got Evie and then I got you; I'm a lucky man.” With that, he presses several kisses against my cheeks and chin, and I push him away, laughing.
“I can't imagine she was too cool with that,” I say as he releases me.
He looks offended. “She was cooler with it than you were.” He puts a hand over his chest as if he suffered a mortal wound, and I giggle. “What are you up to?”
“I just got done hanging out with Evie for a few checking out her awesome galaxy projector.” Side by side, we walk into the living room and sit down onto the couch together.
“Did she tell you that Cassiopeia is her favorite constellation?” he asks with a very serious face.
I nod my head. “She even pointed it out and traced the w shape for me.” I love that I get to learn things from my daughter and that she has an absolute, unabashed thrill for learning new things. I have no doubt that life will have great things in store for her and that she's going to challenge everything and everyone she meets in the best of ways.
Sure, some people won't understand her, but that's their loss because she is an incredible human being and I feel lucky to have her.
“I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the amusement park that just opened up in the next town over.” He’s suddenly serious, and I think about it for a moment.
“I mean, we can, but I'm really restricted on what rides I can enjoy.” As I say the words, I see his brow furrow as he tries to figure out why I'd be restricted from anything. But instead of figuring it out, he seems to come up empty and lifts both shoulders.
“Okay, you got me. I’m stumped. Why are you restricted?”
I can't hold back, smiling, wondering if now is the time to tell him. To make sure that he's the only one that hears, I lean in very close and whisper directly into his ear. “We're going to have a baby.”
His eyes widen and a huge smile crosses his face before he envelops me in a huge, tight bear hug. “Are you serious? You must be joking.”
I shake my head. “I am not joking.”
“I'm so happy, Alisha! This is the best news I've gotten all week.” He rocks back and forth, taking me with him before lowering a hand to my belly.
“You're not going to feel anything yet, silly,” I say. I guess Lady Luck had been on our side the night that we'd slept together and the condom broke.
