Chapter 12
Jalen watched the class of kindergartners run around Maria’s backyard.
She’d invited the twins’ entire class, and to her surprise, all but about four of them showed up.
She was happy that Maria had been kind enough to allow her to use her backyard.
Jalen couldn’t have imagined trying to have this many kids at her apartment.
She had forgone having a costume party since Halloween was the following evening, and she didn’t want all the parents worrying about having to wash any costumes that got dirty. Instead, they’d thrown a fall-themed party.
Her sisters were all manning different areas of the backyard that was set up with tables, along with Maria, and her husband, Clint, who’d gotten roped into doing the wagon ride.
Landon was doing face painting, and the kids loved that.
Kodi ran the bag toss game, where the kids could win small prizes.
Mikal managed the photo booth, taking pictures with the old Polaroid camera that Jalen had found for her birthday last year.
Maria was working the magnetic fishing game, while Jalen was manning the snack table.
Some parents had elected to stay, and they were mingling with one another or helping with the festivities as well. However, most of them had dropped their kids off, opting to take advantage of the free babysitting services.
Jalen was filling up juice pouches she’d bought to put the punch in when someone approached her. She glanced over, giving the newcomer a smile before focusing back on the task at hand, being sure not to waste any.
“You need some help over here?” he asked.
Jalen didn’t actually need help and had been enjoying the peace and quiet. Well, as much of it as you could get at a birthday party. However, she didn’t want to be rude and decided that the help would make the job go by more smoothly and faster.
“Sure. Thank you.”
“No problem,” he responded, using some of the hand sanitizer that she had sitting at the edge of the table. He then grabbed some pouches and started filling them. “I’m Rick,” he introduced himself.
“Jalen. Nice to meet you,” she replied, sealing the pouch.
“So, how’d you get roped into being here? My sister asked me to bring my nephew since she had to work. Though a party with a bunch of screaming kids isn’t how I wanted to spend my Saturday afternoon,” he told her with a chuckle.
“Well, it’s only a few hours. I’m sure you can still do whatever you want after it’s all said and done,” she responded.
“Right. Of course,” he stated, and Jalen glanced at him before filling another pouch. She could see him trying to backpedal in his mind. “So, which one is yours?” he questioned.
She nodded her head toward the twins. “The birthday girls.” She then nodded her head toward each of her other sisters. “And them.”
“Bullshit,” he stated. “The twins, yeah. But the other three. I mean, at least one of them is a teenager, and you are not old enough to be her mother.”
She simply shrugged at him. “I have good genes.” She saw Kodi approaching them, and she smiled as her little sister got near. “Hey, baby,” she greeted. It was what she usually called the teenager when she was trying to get out of something. It was essentially their code.
“Hey, Mom,” Kodi held up the bucket that had once held prizes. “I’m all out of prizes. Each kid got two.”
“Okay. Will you tell Landon to wrap up the face painting? We’re going to give out treat bags and pouches. It’s time to wind the party down.”
Kodi nodded, setting the bucket on the table before turning and going in Landon’s direction.
“I’m going to go grab my nephew,” Rick stated.
“Thanks for the help,” Jalen told him, keeping her eyes on the task at hand.
She finished up the bags. Preparing to hand them out, so the children could head home, and she could clean up Maria’s backyard.
Jalen was dressed in her Moana costume, with Nathan and Omari holding either of her hands.
They were at a Halloween festival downtown.
It was the first one being thrown, and she was honestly thankful for it.
It saved her from having to drive all around to find places for them to trick-or-treat.
Though the twins had still insisted on doing it on the way to the festival.
When they had arrived, they’d had to park about two blocks away in the old train station parking lot.
At the entrance, they were each given enough tickets to participate in the games and booths once apiece.
Jalen knew she wouldn’t use them, so she split hers between the twins, while Kodi gave all but three of hers to Mikal and Landon.
They’d been walking through the festival for a little over an hour, and it was going on eight.
Jalen had decided that they would stay until about eight forty-five, and then they would head out.
The girls had school tomorrow, and she knew from experience that it was not a good morning if the twins didn’t get enough sleep.
“Jalen?”
Looking around for the source of the voice, she saw Alynn approaching her. She glanced back to where the twins were, with Kodi shooting water guns at a target, before turning her attention back to Alynn.
“Hey, Alynn,” she greeted.
“I thought that was you,” the little girl stated before hugging her. She hugged her back.
“Are you here with your dad?” she questioned when the two of them pulled apart.
“No, I’m here with—”
“Jalen?”
“Rohan,” Jalen stated. She had not expected to see him. Her mind had vaguely wondered what she would say to his brother if she saw him, since she was out with her sisters. Never had she thought of what she would say to the man himself.
“You look festive,” he told her, taking in her costume.
“So do you,” she responded. “A doctor was a cop-out though, don’t you think?”
“Not when you aren’t actually in the medical field,” he responded with a smirk and a shrug. “Did you come here with your girls?”
“I...did. Yeah.” Jalen was contemplating with herself.
She wasn’t sure if now was the right time to introduce him to them or not. However, that choice was taken away from her when Kodi returned with the twins. She watched as Kodi looked at her, more than likely wondering if she was going to say the code phrase.
“Who’s your friend, Jae?” Kodi questioned when she didn’t give it to her.
“This is Rohan, and his niece Alynn.”
“Flowers guy. Nice,” Kodi said with a smile, waving at them both.
“I’m Kodi. This is Nathan and Omari,” she introduced, pointing out each twin.
“Mikal and Landon are…” Jalen and Kodi looked around until they spotted the two girls.
Mikal was getting candy dropped into her bucket.
When the two younger girls looked in their direction, Kodi flagged them over.
“Mikal, Landon.” Kodi then pointed them out. “This is Jalen’s friend Rohan.”
“Date guy?” Mikal questioned, and Jalen face-palmed while Rohan chuckled.
“So, you’re the one our sister has been texting like some teenager,” Landon stated, and Jalen didn’t miss the way his eyes slid to her at the word sister.
“I hope so,” he told her. “Because if it’s someone else, I just might be heartbroken.”
“It’s okay. You’re a doctor tonight, so you can fix yourself,” Nathan told him.
Jalen listened as Rohan chuckled again. “Alynn and I were just about to get some curly fries from the truck over there. Do you all want to join us?”
Jalen opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by Kodi. “Curly fries sound good. I propose that Landon and I take the others to find a table, and you two order five fries.”
Her sister was not slick. Intuitive little thing that she was.
Jalen knew exactly what she was doing. She was giving Rohan and her some alone time to talk.
Kodi knew Rohan knew she took care of the five of them, but he didn’t know that they were her sisters.
Jalen was sure he’d assumed they were her daughters, and Landon dropping the bomb that they weren’t gave them something to talk about.
????????????
“Sisters, huh?” Rohan questioned as he and Jalen stood in line to order the curly fries.
He could see all six girls at a table close by.
Alynn and Mikal were already having an animated conversation while the twins, Nathan and Omari, seemed to rifle through their candy buckets.
Landon was attempting to get them to stop while Kodi watched him and Jalen.
“I can explain,” she told him.
He honestly didn’t need her to. If she hadn’t been comfortable telling him that they were sisters, then she must have had a reason for it, and he didn’t feel that it was his place to question that or demand any type of explanation from her.
However, she looked cute in her flustered state.
So, he would let her explain if that was what she wanted to do.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” he told her. Still wanting it to be clear that he would not push her into anything. “But I’ll listen if you want to tell me.”
“It’s just easier a lot of times to let men think that they’re my daughters. They rarely stick around long once they find out that I have five girls at home. So, I don’t see the point of giving out the information or telling the complicated story of how it ended up like this.”
He thought about it for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully.
Because while he’d said she didn’t owe him an explanation and he’d meant it, a part of him was a bit hurt that she’d put him in that category.
They’d been dating, talking, whatever they were doing, for the past two months, and he’d asked her about them whenever they spoke.
“I can see how you would have been worried about that, and that you had to worry about it in the past. But this is now. The present. I didn’t head for the hills when you told me you took care of five girls.”
“I know. But it happens.”
Rohan gripped her chin. “Not with me. I’m not some little ass boy who couldn’t deal with someone who has responsibilities. Don’t handle me as if I am.”
He watched her bite her bottom lip, and he knew she was trying to formulate some sort of protest in her mind. Some past experience to quote. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.
“If you give me another past experience, I’m going to think you’re trying to push me away.” He paused, searching her eyes. “If you want me to go, Jalen. Just say that.”
Rohan was calling her out. He felt she was so used to people running away when they found out or distancing themselves that she didn’t know how to handle it when that wasn’t the response she received, so, in turn, she began to push.
She opened her mouth and closed it, glancing toward the table. He watched her swallow, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she would tell him to leave. It wasn’t what he wanted, but if she said the words, he didn’t know if he’d be able to accept it and respect her wishes.
When the silence hung longer than he would have liked, he released her chin and took a step back. Would silence be his answer?
Jalen brought her hands up and gripped the sides of the lab coat he was wearing. “I...I don’t want you to.”
“You don’t want me to what? To stay? To leave?”
“To go. I don’t want you to go,” she replied.
Rohan released a breath that he hadn’t known he was holding. While they’d only been dating a couple of months, there was something about the woman who stood in front of him.
“I owe you an apology, though. I lied to you, and I shouldn’t have.”
“I never explicitly asked you who they were, so you didn’t lie to me.”
Jalen smiled at him, and he reached up and ran his knuckle along her cheek. They moved up in line. Only one person was left in front of them, and he double-checked that Kodi had said five fries.
“Yeah, the twins will share one, and still not eat it all, and the other two should be enough for the girls.”
“And what about you?”
“I’ll eat some of theirs, but I’m honestly not that hungry.”
When it was their turn to order, Rohan ordered three large fries and two medium fries.
He knew the mediums were already enough to feed two people, but he wanted to make sure there was enough, along with drinks.
The total was given, and Jalen reached for the crossbody she was wearing, but he paid before she could.
“Here, let me pay you for the girls,” she said, taking out some cash.
He rolled his eyes playfully at her, pushing her hand away. “Did I ask you to pay me for them?” She glared at him, and he smirked at her. “Tell you what. I’ll let you pay me by going out with me this week.”
“I’m free on Tuesday and Sunday, but I’m taking the girls to the park for a picnic if the weather is nice.”
“I can deal with Tuesday.”
They got their food and drinks a minute later and headed over to the table. They sat across from one another, placing the fries in the middle as they handed out drinks.
“Jae?” Rohan listened to Kodi call in a questioning tone.
“Yes,” Jalen told her simply with a nod.
“Good,” Kodi responded. “Since that’s all good now. We’re going to the park on Sunday, so you should come. Mikal sort of invited Alynn.”
“Can we go, Uncle Rohan? They’re going to have a picnic,” his niece told him excitedly.
“We can’t just invite ourselves,” he responded. In no way did he want Jalen to think he was trying to impose on her time with her siblings.
“You didn’t invite yourselves. Mikal did, and so did I,” Kodi informed him before placing a string of curly fries in her mouth.
“She has a point,” Jalen pointed out.
Rohan nodded, though he would call her later that night to ensure she didn’t feel obligated just because his niece was excited about it.
He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about the dynamic between the five, and he was damn curious to find out how it ended up that way.
He was content to wait until she was ready to tell him.
Rohan listened to the girls strike up a conversation, looking forward to Tuesday and Sunday.