ROWDY
My head was spinning as I forced my feet to move me out of the hospital room. Katarina Darville! Man, I had a huge crush on her back in high school. She liked me, too, but the girl was so damn shy that I couldn’t get her to agree to a date. Then, Katarina and Mariana moved away.
At the Fire Hooch, I had known Katie looked familiar. Even more so, she felt familiar like we’d shared space before. But I had no reason to doubt Katie when she said we’d never met.
Standing in the labor and delivery hallway, I caught a few nurses giving me the once-over. Were they worried I’d rob the place or did they hope I’d pay them attention?
Ignoring their gazes on me, I looked over the messages from my mom, dad, and sisters. When I called up Bebe, she put me on speakerphone.
Pax quickly announced, “We’re on the 40 now.”
“Bummer,” I replied. “I need you to turn around and come back in a week.”
“No dice, bucko,” Pax said immediately. “We’re planning to throw an intervention like we had for Elle when she was horny for that biker.”
“Aww, you care,” I cooed. “But seriously, take the next exit, turn around, and go home. I’ll let you know what’s happening once you’re safely back in Little Memphis.”
Sabrina hollered from somewhere away from the phone, “Tell us now!”
“Stop yelling in the car,” Bebe said in an exasperated voice.
Sabrina hollered at our mom, “Someone needs to be outraged, and you’re too chill!”
“Roy, baby,” Bebe said in her mom tone that always turned me to mush. “Just tell us what’s happening.”
I gave my family the quick details before finishing with, “So buzz off while I seduce my very pregnant baby mama into loving me forever.”
“This bitch is a lying whore!”
“Sabrina, stop yelling right next to my ear,” Vanessa whined. “Why am I in the back seat?”
“It was that or tying you to the roof,” Pax answered.
“I should have brought my own car.”
“Let’s stay focused,” Sabrina snarled, and I imagined her teeth showing like a pissed ferret. “This chick can’t be trusted.”
“It’s Katarina Darville from high school,” I said as if that ought to answer everything. “The situation is complicated, but I think she might be the one for me. She’s also super pregnant.”
“Are you sure the baby is yours?” Pax asked.
“Yes, and they’re twin boys.”
Pax didn’t miss a beat before announcing, “You’re being scammed. I read about this on the internet.”
“I felt her belly,” I said, ignoring their concerns. “My sons kicked my hands. They can’t wait to meet me.”
“Wait, is this real?” Bebe asked, sounding excited. “I can’t tell if I should get my hopes up.”
“Kat is so beautiful,” I told my mom. “Our babies will be gorgeous.”
Giving in to her grandmotherly enthusiasm, Bebe insisted, “We should meet her.”
“Sure, but I need to get things settled first. So, turn around and head back.”
“No,” Pax insisted. “I didn’t drive this far for nothing. I need to see at least one baby before I return home. It doesn’t need to be your kid, but I need to see an actual child.”
“Then, book a hotel and visit the zoo tomorrow. I bet you’ll see plenty of kids that way.”
“Ooh, I want to get a new magnet from the zoo,” Vanessa said.
Sabrina grumbled, “Can you please focus?”
“Why are you in this car and not in the one with your women?” Vanessa asked our older sister. “I feel like this trip would be more fun if you weren’t yelling so much.”
“I’m trying to protect our baby brother.”
“Kat is about to be discharged,” I interrupted. “I plan to follow her to her place. We’ll talk there. I’ll know more in the morning.”
“Well,” Pax muttered, and I imagined him rubbing his jaw in thought, “I guess we’ll find a place to stay overnight. But don’t even consider icing us out. If we don’t hear from you by ten tomorrow, we’re tracking you down.”
“Understood, and enjoy the zoo.”
I hung up as Sabrina was complaining about the zoo part. Standing in the hallway, I heard women yelling in pain. I also heard a baby crying. The reality of my sons entering the world hit me like a fucking truck.
I couldn’t breathe. My old life was over! I’d never be the footloose and carefree Rowdy Reed again. I was now a father of two!
My condo felt like a death trap. What if my little beast of a dog wasn’t good with the kids? Would I need to get rid of Goblin?
I considered heading outside and getting fresh air. Before I acted like an anxious dipshit, the hospital room opened, and Maria appeared. She gave me a dirty look. I smiled since the woman looked just like my hot baby mama.
The nurse pushed Kat’s wheelchair out of the room and down the hall toward me. My smile faded when I saw how tired Kat looked.
“I’m going to follow you home. We can talk in a quiet place.”
Kat looked at me like I was a threat. She seemed so beat down by life. My rowdy boys were likely wearing her out.
My fingers danced across her forehead and brushed aside her bangs. Kat offered me a tiny smile, and I felt her waking up from her funk.
Maria walked ahead of us and hit the elevator button. Kat’s twin was in full “protective sister” mode. I would no doubt witness the same behavior from Lula, Vanessa, and Sabrina tomorrow.
Soon, Kat was in the passenger seat of a dark green minivan while my motorcycle idled next to them. I smiled at my baby mama, who gave me a sad grin in response.
In Kat’s mind, eight months had passed. She’d likely obsessed over every little lie she had told. Seeing me again no doubt felt enormous in her mind.
For me, we were still Rowdy and Katie from the back seat of her SUV. The babies felt like an idea rather than reality.