by Marie Savage
I’m still a little hurt by the fact that several other people knew before I did, but I can thank my ex-wife for that and her incredible lie of us getting back together.
Renee can have the apartment and I will give her time to figure out how to pay for it, but our days of being roommates are over. She nearly cost me my love, and the sooner I’m away from her, the better. If only I can convince her to let me keep Dustin.
I pick up Dustin from my sister’s. I tell Mary about the babies and the fact that Julie and I are back together. She is thrilled for us but is also worried about how Renee will react when she finds out.
“Ben, she is vindictive. Be sure to watch your back and keep her away from Julie.”
“Sis, I got it under control. No one will hurt Julie.”
I take Dustin back to the apartment where Renee quickly opens the door and puts on the mother of the year act once more. “There’s my baby. Oh, sweetie, Mama missed you,” she says before grabbing him out of my arms. “Where the hell did you take my son?”
“He was at Mary’s and he was fine. If you want to know where your son is, I suggest you don’t stay out all night and step it up and be a parent.” I stomp past her as I grab my duffle bag out of the closet and start shoving my clothes in it.
“What are you doing?” she asks as she puts Dustin down so he can play.
“I’m moving,” I mumble as I continue gathering my things, trying to ignore her.
“Where?” she asks.
I stop and stare at her, trying to decide what exactly I should tell her. Legal advice or not, I decide to no longer play nice. “You may as well know that Julie and I are back together.”
“When? How?” she says, looking shocked.
“When is none of your business. How doesn’t matter, but we are, no thanks to you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Stop the innocent act. Julie told me what you said to her.”
“She’s a liar,” Renee snaps.
“Really? Dustin said some things too. Is he a liar?”
“Ben, don’t you see? She is trying to put a wedge between us!”
I stare at her in shock. I want to laugh at her delusion of us. Mary is right, this chick is crazy. “Renee, there is no us. When are you going to get that through your crazy head? There hasn’t been an us in years. The minute you let Darren stick his dick inside you, we were no longer an us.” I raise my voice to her.
That shuts her up, but only for a second. “You can’t do this. Where will we go?”
“You can stay here until the rent is due. You have a few weeks so you actually better start looking for a job. But I want you to let me take Dustin home with me. You rarely spend time with him, anyway, and pawn him off on everyone whenever you get the chance.”
“You’re not taking my son,” she declares.
“Our son,” I remind her.
“Not legally,” she bites back.
“Not yet,” I inform her.
I calm down for a minute, reminding myself that Dustin is in the house, otherwise the shouting would probably bring the cops over here. The precious weeks with Julie that this bitch has already cost me, angers me. I take a deep breath and continue—calmly.
“Renee, he needs stability. You won’t look for a job. You are constantly dumping him off at our neighbors so you can go party and whore it up. I don’t want to fight you in court, but you are leaving me no choice.”
“What are you saying?” she snidely says.
“Let him stay with me and Julie until you can get your shit together. I will still bring him to you to visit you.”
“No. No way will she raise my son. He stays with me. If ya’ll try and take him, I will have you both thrown in jail.”
I don’t even entertain her threat with a remark as I finish getting my things together. I quickly give Dustin a kiss goodbye for now. “I’ll see you in a few days, buddy. Daddy will be back to get you.”
I give my ex one more comment before I leave. “I will see you in court.”
Julie
I’m in the hospital and the nurse is bringing my babies to me but when the bassinet appears, it’s empty.
“Where are my babies?”
“You mean our babies.” The nurse is now Renee in scrubs and Ben is with her, hugging her beside him as they admire the babies. He leans in and kisses her.
The doorbell rings, startling me awake from the nightmare. I look over and Ben is no longer in bed with me. I quickly jump up and wrap a robe around me. I’m still shaking from the dream. Where did Ben go? Was that a dream too?
I look through the peephole and quickly unlock the door, throwing myself in his arms.
“Hey, easy there. What’s wrong?” he says as I hug him tighter against me.
“You didn’t tell me you were leaving. I was afraid I lost you again.”
“Aw, sweetie.” He quickly drops the bags in his hands and hugs me closely to him, before picking me up and stepping inside the house. He sits down on the couch, cradling me in his arms. “I’m sorry, baby, you were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you. I wasn’t planning on being gone too long.”
“Where did you go?”
“To my apartment.”
“To Renee?” I mumble into his chest, trying not to sound jealous, but failing miserably.
“Hey, look at me,” he says as the takes his finger and moves my chin to look at him, face-to-face. “Only to pick up Dustin from Mary’s, and to pack my things.”
“Pack your things?” I lean back, my arms still around his neck.
“I guess I should have asked you first, but can I move in?”
My heart is so happy it might just explode. “Of course, but what about Dustin?” I ask.
“She wouldn’t let me take him. I guess I will have to take her to court. File for joint custody. I have to do something. She is not taking good care of him.”
“I’m sorry. Do you need to go back? To make sure he’s all right?”
“No, that is exactly what she wants, and I’m tired of playing games with her. I have a few friends at the apartment complex who are going to keep their eyes and ears open and watch out for Dustin. He’ll be okay and I get him for a visitation in a few days, anyway.”
“Do you think she will let you have him? It’s Easter weekend you know?”
“I guess we have no choice, but to wait and see.”
The next morning, Ben and I walk hand in hand into the doctor’s office. I no longer feel alone as we sit among the other couples waiting to be seen. I snuggle close to him, so glad that we are finally back together. This morning, waking up in his arms again, was a dream come true.
“I’m so glad they let you take the morning off to come with me.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He kisses my head and hugs me tighter.
“I will make sure to schedule my appointments so you hopefully won’t miss much work.”
“Don’t worry about it. I will be looking for something better soon, anyway.”
“What about the Game Wardens?” I ask him.
“Julie, I told you, I can’t do that right now, but I will someday. I have you and the babies and Dustin to worry about now.”
I drop the discussion for now, not wanting to ruin our day. I know he will not pursue his dream, unless I find a way to make it okay for him to do so.
Our name is finally called, and we make our way into the ultrasound room, where Ben helps me up onto the table and stands beside me.
The technician starts the machine up and we get the first pictures of our babies on the screen in front of us.
“Wow, those are our babies,” Ben says as he squeezes my hand.
“Yep.”
“Are they okay?” he asks the technician.
“They look fine so far,” Sara says as she starts freezing pictures and printing them for the doctor.
“The babies are co-operating today and I’m getting a very clear image. Did you want to
know the sex?” she asks us.
“Yes, please,” we both answer at the same time.
“Congratulations, you are having twin girls.”
“Really? Baby girls?” I ask.
“Yep, definitely girls.”
I glance over at Ben. He is smiling, but a part of me wonders if he preferred to be having boys. “Are you happy?”
“Are you kidding? Of course, I am! We have baby girls coming.” He smiles as he kisses me.
Chapter 16
Julie
“You sure you don’t want to paint the room pink? It’s not too late, I can just paint over the white,” he says as we set off for home.
“No, I like the white and we can buy pink bedding for the cribs and pink curtains for the windows.” I start thinking of all the neat things I can do with the room, now that we know what we’re having.
“Twin girls, I can’t believe it,” he says.
I don’t think I have ever seen him so happy.
“Will you marry me?” he asks out of the blue while we drive through town.
“Huh?” I respond, wondering if I heard him correctly.
“Will you marry me?” he asks again, glancing over at me before pulling into a parking spot and stopping the truck.
I’m caught off guard by his question. At New Year’s, I was so anxious for him to ask me. On Valentine’s Day at Holly’s wedding, I was jealous and dreamed of my own wedding. Now, it’s almost Easter and he’s finally asking me, and I’m unsure of what to say. So much has happened and so much more is going to be happening soon. A spring flower catches my eye along the side of the road. It’s a sign that the cold days of winter are finally behind us, spring is here. A time for new beginnings. I turn to face him.
“Of course, I’ll marry you.” I reach for him as he pulls me closer and kisses me.
When he finally pulls away, a look of relief is written all over his face. “You scared me for a minute. When you hesitated and looked away, I was thinking you were trying to find a way to tell me no.”
“No, it’s not that. I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
“But … I feel a but in there somewhere.”
“Ben, we need to finalize some things first. This whole mess with Dustin—we need to get it resolved before the babies are here. I want you to hire a good attorney and get your son back.”
“Julie, I’ll take care of it in time.”
“No, now, dammit. You can’t have it both ways. You need to let me help you financially so we can get this done. If we’re getting married, we are a team. It’s not yours or mine, it’s ours.”
“Are you sure you can afford it? You took a job, Julie, so you must need the income.”
“We have enough to do this. I want us to do this so we can move forward.”
He remains silent for a few minutes.
“Just because I help you, it doesn’t make you less of a man, Ben.”
“You win. I want us to be a family. You’re right, we’re a team. Let’s do this,” he says.
Ben
It’s finally Friday and time for me to pick up Dustin. Renee refused to answer the phone to let me talk to him since the day I moved out. Julie and I met with my lawyer yesterday and it’s interesting how quickly he is moving on the custody case, now that I have him on retainer. Any minute now, Renee will get her papers served. Based on the fact that she has no income and her continuous neglect, we are filing for temporary full physical custody. When she gets her shit together, I will work with her for joint custody, but not until she proves to me that she can take care of our son.
I leave Julie to rest at home while I go pick up Dustin. I don’t want Renee stressing her and I never know how she will act when I see her.
When I arrive at the apartment, I am shocked by the condition of it. I knew she was messy, but this is beyond anything I’ve seen before. The place is literally a pigsty and I’m ashamed my son has to live in it. I quickly check his room, but he’s not there. I check the bedroom and Renee is nowhere in sight and neither is my son.
I start to panic. Where would she have taken him? I quickly head to Mrs. Wooten’s apartment, praying Dustin is there. I knock on Mrs. Wooten’s door and I’m relieved when she answers, a look of understanding written all over her face.
“He’s here,” she says, stepping aside to let me in. I quickly find him playing on the floor with some toys.
“Hey, buddy.” I pick him up.
“Daddy,” he says, welcoming me. I hug him close, thankful that he is okay.
“How long have you been watching him?” I look over at Mrs. Wooten.
“Two days,” she replies sadly.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. She asked me to watch him the other night, while she went out. She hasn’t been by, since.”
“You should have called me.”
“She told me that I wasn’t to call you anymore. That you’re not Dustin’s father.”
“That’s a lie.”
“I’m not sure what to believe.” She shakes her head.
“You should have called the police, then.”
“I was going to give her until tonight and then I was going to call.”
“Well, you’re more patient than I am. I’m taking my son with me.”
“I don’t want to get in the middle of this,” she says, looking unsure if I should take him.
“You won’t be. He’s not coming back here.”
“I don’t know if I should let you.”
“Listen, I’m taking my son. If you think you need to call the police, go ahead. I have the court order that grants me visitation. You can choose to believe me or not.”
“I believe you. What do I tell Renee when she comes by?”
“Tell her I took my son, and I will see her in court.”
Julie
I get the house ready while waiting for Ben and Dustin to arrive. I have the whole evening planned out. We’ll have a nice dinner and then color Easter eggs together, just like a happy family. A growing family, I remind myself, touching my stomach.
I don’t hesitate to call Holly and Carl to tell them the news of our baby girls, and of course, the fact that Ben finally proposed. Holly seems more excited about the babies but she does congratulate me. Carl is relieved that Ben and I finally stopped being stubborn and boasts that he always knew we belonged with each other.
Bo barks as Ben comes in with Dustin in his arms. He doesn’t look happy, making me wonder if he had a fight with Renee. “Is everything okay?” I ask him.
“No, it’s not,” he says, placing Dustin down to play with Bo.
“What happened?”
“Renee took off and left my son with the neighbor for over two days.”
“What?” I say to him, as again, I touch my stomach. How could a mother just leave her child? I wonder.
“I have to stop this. I can’t let him go back. He’s going to get hurt.”
“Did you call the lawyer? See if we can speed things up.”
“I left a message, but it’s Easter weekend and he’s out of town. I wanted to get back here so badly that I left all of his things. He only has the few things Mrs. Wooten had for him.”
“Go back to the apartment and get his things. See if you can find anything that lets you know where she may have gone. I’ll watch Dustin.”
“I don’t know, are you sure you’re okay to watch him?”
“Ben, I used to babysit all the Winston grandchildren. I think I got this. Besides, it will be good practice,” I say, pointing at my stomach.
Ben smiles at me and comes over, hugging me from behind, his hands rubbing my stomach as he kisses my neck. “It’s not that, and you know it. You should be resting and not stressing right now. It’s not good for you and the babies.”
“We’ll be okay. Go now and get what he needs. Hurry back, dinner will be waiting,” I say as I remove his hands to shoo him off.
“Yes, dear.” He smiles before kissing me on the cheek.
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Ben
I take the truck and decide that all of Dustin’s stuff is coming with me. My lawyer calls me back while I’m driving to the apartment and tells me he will be at the judge’s office first thing Monday to file an emergency custody order.
I call Julie to tell her that I’m going to be late as I finish packing up and cleaning the apartment. It’s when I start cleaning that I finally notice that Renee took all her clothes, jewelry, and makeup. She took everything of hers and left my son behind. No note. No call. She is gone.
I quickly call her parents, just to see if they have heard from her. They confirm that she did come by a few days ago, without Dustin. She wouldn’t say where she was going but was asking them for money. They gave her a little and she split, and they haven’t heard from her since. They assume she took Dustin and set off to find Darren. I agree with them, leaving out the fact that she left Dustin behind.
Julie, Dustin, and I enjoy a quiet and cozy Easter weekend together. My beautiful Julie, the lover of holidays, went all out to make Dustin’s Easter extra special. Dustin has settled in comfortably at our house. We temporarily set him up in the babies’ room, while we work on clearing out the boxes in one of the extra bedrooms.
Dustin hasn’t asked about his mom and I have mixed feelings about that. For one, I’m glad he isn’t crying and missing her, and for another, I’m sad that he doesn’t cry and miss her. No child should ever have to face a parent not wanting or caring for them. Still no word from Renee and I’m betting I won’t be hearing from her. My guess is that she’s off trying to worm her way into some other poor guy’s life somewhere.
The evening is quiet now. Dustin is safely snuggled in his bed, fast asleep finally after I read Good Night Moon to him several times. Julie is soaking in a warm bath, having what she calls her Julie time. I sit here in the living room with Bo lying beside me as I strum my beautiful guitar. When Julie asked me about my guitar the other day and I confessed what I had done, she immediately made me drive to the pawn shop to retrieve it. I didn’t argue with her. She also made me promise to never do it again.