2. Guys & Dolls #2
I got so close to her and bellowed so loudly that she shut up instantly.
Rose wasn’t used to anyone standing up to her.
She stood frozen in shock and I ushered Preston and Poppy out of the house.
I could feel my face getting red and that vein popping out of my forehead.
I’d promised not to let her rile me up, but she’d really taken it too far.
I barely said good morning to the kids. I ushered them and their soccer bags into the backseat of my car and then we drove off.
“Good morning kids,” I said with a sigh after we’d driven away from Rose’s.
“Morning dad,” They said in unison.
Twins were something else when they did stuff like that — said stuff in unison, spoke in their secret language or read each other’s mind.
“So, mommy was tough this morning huh?”
“You could say so,” Poppy mumbled.
“She was a bitch!” Preston chimed.
“Preston!” I chastised, “Don’t talk about your mother that way.”
But secretly? I agreed with him. And I knew he’d learned that language from her. I had to do something to get my kids out of that situation. I just had no clue what I should do. Rose had me scared to go to the courts, but this couldn’t last forever. I couldn’t allow her to ruin my kids.
That was part of the reason I had no time to focus on relationships. Casual was best when you had as many problems as I had. Not to mention, Rose had fucked me up real bad. How could you trust anyone again when the love of your life ended up being… that.
I took the kids to practice. I spoke with some of the mom’s. One of the bigger gossips tried probing about Rose and I got the impression that she’d made a name for herself amongst the soccer moms. I could hear them now, wondering how a successful doctor like me got saddled with a nut like Rose.
Well, it’s how the story always goes. People always show you just how nutty they are when it’s too late for you to back out.
After practice, I took the kids to the park.
Preston still had plenty of energy to bound around.
Poppy joined in with him, though she was noticeably more tired after practice.
I sat on a bench and watched them run around, enjoying each other’s company and making friends with some of the other kids who were out to play.
I couldn’t believe that I was really a father sometimes.
Just watching Poppy, with her dirty blonde hair just like mine and then Preston, with my mischievous attitude, it was something else.
I didn’t think I’d have any other kids either.
It was a pity that the price I had to pay for my children was dealing with Rose.
Well, you learn your lesson, don’t you?
The sun started to filter gorgeous golden light across the emerald grass, and I thought about calling my assistant to cancel all my appointments and schedule a meeting with a lawyer.
But I got too swept up in the moment to really do it.
Hearing the kids screams of laughter as they ran free from worry or responsibility lightened my spirit.
I could sit here forever, appreciating their youth in a way they never could. They were just so light. Man, I loved my kids. More than anything. More than anyone. When I saw Preston and Poppy bounding over to me at top speed, my face lit up with a broad smile.
“What’s up?”
Poppy gasped dramatically for breath, her chubby cheeks red with exhaustion.
“There’s someone watching us daddy,” She said.
Preston nodded, “It’s a lady.”
“Maybe she thinks you guys are cute,” I replied.
“Where?”
Poppy pointed across the grass — directly at Lola Hopkins.
What are the odds. Once she saw Poppy’s “subtle” pointing, she waved at us.
I waved back and gestured her over. Lola knew about my kids, but she’d never met them.
I tried to keep my personal life as far away from them as possible.
And I wished Rose would do the same which of course, she didn’t.
Lola walked over to us from across the field.
As she came toward us, my mouth felt dry and I could feel my heart racing.
She was hot. I could tell she’d just come from some kind of business thing because she was wearing a tight pencil skirt that hugged her curves and a pink shirt that stood out against her deep umber colored skin.
Her grey eyes glistened even across the field as she approached.
Each one of her features was so magnetic that it was hard for me not to feel… nervous.
Hold it together Mark. I tried to tell myself.
“Hey, good afternoon,” She said.
She seemed jittery, but I expected that was just what happened when you worked in finance for too long. You just seemed a bit frazzled by the stress of it all. It surely happened in medicine, especially to those who didn’t get wise to private practice.
“I’d like you to meet my kids — this is Preston, and this is Poppy. Kids, this is a friend of mine, Lola.”
Lola crouched down and shook both the kids hands, bringing a huge smile to their faces.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” She said.
“Okay kids, go play,” I encouraged them.
They ran off in the opposite direction. Lola sat down next to me on the bench but she didn’t get close enough to touch me.
“Your kids are beautiful. They look just like you,” She said.
I smiled at her, “That’s what I hear. I just wish I got to see them more.”
“So you like it?”
“Like what?”
“Like having kids.”
“Sure. I’d like it a lot better if they lived with me.”
“It’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated?” I asked her.
Lola shrugged, “It’s complicated because you’re not with their mother.”
I scoffed, “And I don’t want to be.”
“Right.”
She was silent. And she refused to make eye contact.
“Think you’ll ever have more kids?” She asked me.
I chuckled, “God no. I’m getting old.”
Lola smiled, but I could tell she wasn’t actually happy. She stood up and sighed.
“Sorry to interrupt your day at the park, Mark. I know it’s not our day.”
I grinned up at her, “Shoot me if I ever complain about a beautiful woman interrupting my day.”
This time, her smile was real.
“I’ll see you ‘round,” She mumbled.
She walked off. Strange. This was the first time Lola had ever spoken to me as if we were strangers and not friends who had shared an intense sexual relationship for years.
I wondered if everything was alright with her.
Despite the fact that we weren’t in a real relationship by any means, I still cared about Lola.
Hell, my problem with all the women in my life was that I cared too much.
I let the kids play until I could see Poppy getting cranky. I stopped her from walloping her brother with a stick she’d found and herded them into the backseat of the car. For now, there would be no sibling fighting, just a night of peace with their father.
My time with the kids flew by too quickly like it always did.
Before I knew it, I was shipping them off to Rose’s.
Of course, she was totally different when we came back.
The house was spotless, she was dressed in a crisp white shift dress and her blonde hair was flat-ironed clean.
It was like I was dealing with two different people.
She made no mention of the argument we’d had or the threats she’d lobbied against me.
So I let her have the kids. And I said nothing. Winning the war against Rose meant learning when to pick my battles. If I wanted to end up with my kids, I’d have to stop myself from doing anything rash. We’d almost been divorced for two years. Rose shouldn’t have had this effect on me… but she did.
A couple days after my kids were gone, I realized that my week which was usually filled with beautiful women, was quiet.
Candy, Jenny and Rachel were all phasing me out and I knew it.
They were hot but they were running out of time.
They wanted to settle down. I could feel it.
This week, they’d all cancelled on me and I found myself alone.
The only person I could think of to call was Lola. I wanted someone to spend time with for the night and hearing the silence of my house without the kids was driving me mad. I should be with my kids… That’s what a good father does.
Maybe I wasn’t as good of a father as I thought.
I balked at the thought and picked up the phone to call Lola.
When she answered, she sounded stressed.
But she agreed to come over without hesitation.
Perfect. At the rate all the other women in my life were going, I half expected Lola to ignore my call.
I got lucky. And I planned to get luckier as the night went on.
Lola was always late. I couldn’t say the same for Rachel or Candy.
Lola arrived dressed in a sweet dress that hugged all her curves.
When I met her at the door, I couldn’t help but bite down on my lower lip to stop myself from whistling.
Damn! She looked good. And there was something about her skin that was especially luminous. I wondered if Lola knew how hot she made me. When she greeted me, I was barely thinking about politeness. I was thinking about getting her sexy ass into bed.
“What’s the occasion?” She asked, “This isn’t my night.”
“It’s your night now.”
“If you’re changing the terms of this arrangement on me, I need to know,” She said.
I didn’t know how to answer her. I wasn’t trying to change the terms of our arrangement. I just felt like spending time with her. It wasn’t any more simple or complicated than that.
“We’ll discuss if it’s necessary.”
“But it isn’t?”
“Dunno,” I mumbled, “How about a drink?”
“No thanks,” She replied hastily.
“No drink? Don’t you want to wind down.”
“I said no drink.”
“Okay. Any reason you’re so testy?”
I walked to my kitchen and Lola followed. She let out a long, exasperated sigh.
“I’m not testy. Well, I don’t think I am.”
I grinned, “Want some OJ?”
“Sure. But no liquor. I’m serious.”
I poured out the OJ for her and poured myself a big boy glass of white wine. She drank a few sips and then sat down at the barstool in my kitchen.
“So. Why’d you call me?” She asked.