Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Rhett
I can’t believe what happened today in court. We leave tomorrow and we have to leave the twins here. And it’s not the leaving them here part that’s the most upsetting, it’s the part where they’re going to be forced to see Seth’s parents. They don’t even know them.
“Do you want me to be with you when you talk to the twins?” I ask Emiko.
“You would do that?”
“Of course I would. I told you, you and the twins are mine. And if you want me to be there when you have to explain what’s going on, I will. I don’t want to overstep at all. But I am here for you. I love you.”
“Thank you. And yes, I want you to be there with me. I’m so scared about all of this. I remembered something when we were in court today. That judge? He’s a good friend of Seth’s parents. I met him a long time ago.”
“We need to tell Lorenzo, maybe that could help him get the court moved to Lake Renegade.”
We head over to Lorenzo and Emiko tells him about meeting the judge.
“That’s a huge deal, that’s a conflict of interest for him and you can bet your ass I’m going to use it. I’m going to be on the phone for a while. I need to get this rolling since he gave us a court date in two weeks. I don’t know if I can get the venue moved by then, we might have to start it here and end it in Lake Renegade.”
“I can’t lose my kids.” Emiko starts sobbing again and I can’t stand to see her cry.
“You’re not going to lose them. I just need to figure out how to fight for them. And right now, they’ll be with your parents.”
“What about when they’re being forced to see Seth’s parents? Can they really keep them overnight?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, they can.”
“I need to talk to the kids,” Emiko says softly.
“I’ll keep you posted on everything. We’re going to win,” Lorenzo says as he hugs both of us.
“Thank you,” she says to him as I take her hand.
We go to find the twins.
“We need to talk to you both,” Emiko says to them.
“Why do you look sad, Mommy?” Miyuki asks.
“Mommy and Rhett have to go back to Wintervale tomorrow. You and Kaito have to stay here with Ojiisan and Obaasan.” Grandpa and grandma.
“Why do we have to stay? Why can’t you stay with us?” Kaito asks as his eyes fill with tears.
Emiko grabs them both and hugs them tight. I wrap my arms around all three of them.
“Remember Mommy went to the courthouse today? Well the judge said that you have to stay here. And you’re going to meet some people. They are your daddy’s mom and dad. They’ll probably tell you that you have to call them ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Grandma.’ But you don’t have to if you don’t want to. And no matter what, you remember that Mommy loves you. More than anything in this world.”
“Can you stay with us, Rhett?” Miyuki asks.
“I don’t want to see them. Why do we have to see them?” Kaito frowns as he wipes his tears.
“I wish I could, sweetheart,” I say as I hug her tight. “If you need me or your mommy, we’ll come back.”
“How long will you be gone?” Miyuki asks as she starts bawling.
“Two weeks. We’ll be back. Sooner, if Mommy can get the time off. If I can, I’ll be back sooner.”
“Will you come back too?” Kaito asks me.
“Yes. I’ll come back with your mommy.”
“You promise?” they both ask us.
“I promise.”
I hold my little family as they all sob in my arms. I feel so fucking helpless, I need to fix this and I don’t know how. But I trust Lorenzo to help us. He won’t let us down. We just need to find a way to keep Seth’s parents away from my kids.
Emiko
We’ve been back in Wintervale for a week. Leaving my kids was the second hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. My parents called to tell us that Seth’s parents called and said they want to see my kids tomorrow. They’re supposed to drop them off for the day and pick them up in the evening. Kaito and Miyuki don’t want to go, but we can’t say no. And they said they don’t want my parents or my brother there. Every time I think about it, I start to cry. I want my babies back in my arms.
I feel arms wrapping around me and I hold onto Rhett.
“I love you,” I whisper to him.
He squeezes me tighter.
“I love you, Emiko. We’re going to get through this and our babies will never have to see them again.”
I look up at him, “Our babies?”
“If that’s okay, yes, ‘our babies.’”
“It’s okay. I’d like to sit down with them and talk about what we are and what you are to them.”
“Sure. I want to ask them what they want, too.”
“When this is all over, that’s what we should do. Thank you for loving us, I never thought I’d find someone to love us again.”
“I hope that I’m doing Seth proud. I never want to take his place, for you or for the kids. I want to be the next part of your life.”
“You are the next part of our lives. And thank you for not trying to take away Seth’s memory.”
“I’d never do that. Seth is the reason I have you and the kids. He’ll always matter in our lives and he’ll always be a part of it.”
I’ve been staying with Rhett since we came back from Springfield. I can’t stay in the apartment without my babies. Being with Rhett and his family makes me feel happy. And I need to feel that right now.
This school day is finally over and I can call my babies when I get back to Rhett’s house. We call them everyday and talk to them, and sometimes we video call. I miss tucking them in at night and making breakfast every morning.
I stop at the country store to say hi to Rhett. When I walk up, he’s yelling at someone. He never raises his voice.
“Who the fuck do you think you are? You don’t know Emiko or our kids.”
I turn the corner and see Sabrina standing in front of him.
“She’s not yours and she doesn’t deserve you. You and I can start over. You know that’s what you want.”
“Fuck you. You don’t know what I want. But I’ll tell you. I want Emiko. I love her and my kids. Yes. My. Kids. And if you continue to fuck with my family? You’re going to regret it.”
“What does she have? A fucking magic pussy that’s sucked you in?”
Felicity comes running up and slaps Sabrina.
“My brother won’t hit a woman, but I will. Now get the fuck out,” she says to her.
“You’re going to regret this,” Sabrina says as she stomps out.
I walk over and hug both of them.
“Thank you,” I sniffle to them.
“You and your ‘magic pussy’ are welcome,” Felicity says as we all laugh.
“I’m almost done closing up the pharmacy, if you want to wait. Or I can meet you at home,” Rhett says to me.
“I’ll wait for you. I like going home together.”
“Well, I guess I’ll close up with the rest of them,” Felicity makes faces at us. “Tell my niece and nephew I love them and can’t wait to see them.”
“We will,” I say to her.
It takes Rhett thirty minutes to finish closing up. I munch on some popcorn while I wait for him. My phone rings while I’m waiting.
“Hi Mom, is everything okay?”
“Is Rhett there with you? I need you both to hear this.”
My stomach drops as I run to the pharmacy.
“Rhett, my mom’s on the phone and she needs us both,” I say to him as my tears fall.
“We’re both here, Mom.”
“We went to pick up the twins and Seth’s parents wouldn’t let us in to take them home. We could hear them screaming for us inside. But his parents said that they wanted to stay over night. They don’t—I could hear them crying for us.”
My mom is sobbing as she tells us what’s going on. Rhett gets on the phone to Lorenzo.
“Rhett is calling Lorenzo. Please don’t cry, Mom.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. Your dad and I tried to force our way inside but we couldn’t get in. We’re outside in the car, trying to figure out what to do.”
“Lorenzo says to call the police. Tell them what’s going on and they’ll have to talk to the twins,” Rhett says to her.
“Okay, Kiyoshi is calling now. Do you want to stay on the phone? Or I can call you back.”
“We’re going to head home and book a flight to Springfield. We’ll call you and let you know our flight number. Call us back when the police get there.”
“Okay. Drive safe.”
All I can do is cry as we drive home. Rhett took a few minutes to tell his siblings what’s going on. And he even called my principal for me to let him know. And get me some more time off. I love this man so fucking much.