Serenity (Inevitable Book 5)

by Janet Nissenson

“Look, why don’t you go take a nice long shower or bath, and then I’ll cook breakfast for all of us,” urged Tessa. “After that, I suggest you take a nap. Maybe Sasha and I can take the boys out in their stroller for awhile while you’re sleeping.”

  Julia gave each of her friends a fierce hug. “Thank you both so much,” she replied, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. “At this point, I’m not sure what sounds the most appealing - the shower, a real meal, or a nap. Or in what order.”

  Sasha eyed the tangled mass of golden brown curls that Julia had piled messily on the top of her head. “I vote shower. Especially since I’m pretty sure those are crumbs in your hair.”

  Julia looked mortified at this revelation, and dashed off without another word to clean herself up.

  Tessa’s blue eyes were twinkling mischievously as she grinned at Sasha. “I didn’t want to be the one to tell her that she had food in her hair,” she admitted. “You know how Julia is about always having to look like she just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Though I’m guessing her priorities have changed in a big way lately.”

  “Yes.” Sasha continued to gently rock her twin, humming a soft tune beneath her breath as she did so. She smiled to notice that the baby’s eyes had drifted shut and he appeared to be asleep.

  Both twins slept peacefully for over an hour, more than enough time for their harried mother to shower and dress and do her makeup, and for Tessa and Sasha to prepare a hearty breakfast. The three women sat around Julia’s breakfast nook sipping coffee or tea, and enjoying a vegetable frittata, home fries, and fresh fruit.

  “Mmm, I think I’m actually beginning to feel human again,” sighed Julia. “Please, God, just let them sleep a tiny bit longer so I can finish my coffee.”

  Tessa smiled. “I think Sasha is like the baby whisperer or something. All she did was hum a tune or two and Justin was out like a little light.”

  “Maybe I should get you to record whatever it was you were singing,” joked Julia.

  Sasha shook her head. “That’s only part of it. It was also the physical contact. But more importantly, the baby could sense that I was calm. And in my experience, calm begets calm. In other words, Julia, when you’re calm the boys should be, too.”

  “You’d like to think so, huh?” asked Julia wearily. “Maybe I’ll feel calmer after that nap. Are you sure you guys are okay with looking after the twins for awhile?”

  “Absolutely,” insisted Tessa. “Get some sleep and we’ll take it from here. Between the two of us we’ll manage the diapering, and you showed us where you left the breast milk in the fridge. Now get along with you, hmm?”

  Barely able to keep her eyes open, Julia stumbled out of the kitchen sleepily in the direction of the master bedroom.

  “I’ll do the dishes since you did most of the cooking,” offered Sasha.

  Tessa shrugged. “No rush. Let’s enjoy our tea before the boys wake up. I’m hoping we have a few more minutes. Plenty of time to catch up with what’s been going on in your life.”

  Sasha took a sip of her tea. “The usual, I suppose - work, seeing Matthew as often as I can, calling my mother every Sunday.”

  “Ian and I really need to have the two of you over for dinner again soon,” lamented Tessa. “It’s just been a really busy spring, what with Ian’s birthday last month and our travel schedule and my college classes. I know what would be fantastic! You and Matthew should spend Memorial Day weekend up at the beach house with us. You’d love it there, Sasha.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” mused Sasha. “But I’ll need to check with Matthew about his schedule, see if he’s supposed to have his children that weekend. I’ll ask him tonight when we have dinner.”

  Tessa had a thoughtful expression on her face. “How’s that working out these days - the situation with his kids, that is. The last time we spoke you said that the daughter was being a royal pain in the ass.”

  Sasha smiled. “Actually, I think that was your assessment of the situation when I told you about Hayley. But to answer your question, things have actually gotten worse.”

  She told Tessa about Hayley’s all-too-frequent outbursts lately, the frantic phone calls from Matthew’s ex, all the times he’d gone rushing down to the house to deal with the newest crisis.

  “Hmm.” Tessa tapped her index finger against her chin. “You know, forgive me for saying this, but something smells really fishy about everything you just told me.”

  Sasha nodded. “I’ve thought the exact same thing, Tessa. But I don’t dare share my concerns with Matthew. He feels so guilty as it is about his kids, even though I assure him all the time he’s a great father. I can’t even imagine his reaction if I suggested that Hayley might be making all of this up just to get his attention.”

  “You’re right. Unfortunately,” commiserated Tessa. “He might or might not believe you, but I fear he’s going to have to come to that conclusion on his own. Just don’t let that little witch drive a wedge between the two of you, okay? Matthew needs you more than ever right now.”

  “I know. In fact,” admitted Sasha, “I’ve been giving his offer a lot of serious thought lately - the one about moving in with him. And I never thought I’d say this, Tessa, but I think I’m going to take him up on it.”

  Tessa gave a little squeal of delight, and reached over to hug her. “That’s fantastic news!” she exclaimed. “And I know Matthew will be insanely happy at your decision. In fact, maybe it will be the motivation he needs to get tough with his daughter. If you’re right in your suspicion that she’s acting out in order to break the two of you up, then moving in with Matthew would put a real damper on her little schemes.”

  “I thought about that, too. But it’s not the reason why I’m inclined to take him up on his offer. It just feels like the right time is all.”

  Tessa nodded. “I agree. So when are you going to tell him?”

  “Tomorrow night, I think. We’ve got tickets to the final ballet program of the season, and are going out to an early dinner first. I thought about telling him over dinner.”

  Tessa clapped her hands in glee. “Perfect timing! Oh, he’s going to be so happy, Sasha. And I’m thrilled for both of you.”

  Before Sasha could reply, one of the twins began to fuss and then let out a low wail, quickly followed by his brother.

  Sasha laughed softly. “What was that you were just saying about perfect timing? Guess the dishes are going to have to wait until later.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Matthew was whistling cheerily as he chose a suit, shirt, and tie from his closet, his mood about the best it had been in several weeks. For the first time in nearly a month, he hadn’t felt the need to go into the office today - a Saturday - and had not only slept in but spent a good two hours at his health club working out. He had run into Ian there, and accepted his invitation to brunch after their workouts. Coincidentally, Tessa was attending Sasha’s yoga class at the same time, and having tea with her afterwards.

  He had spent the afternoon answering some emails, calling his parents, and Facetiming with Casey, who was away for the weekend at a school trip to Disneyland. And tonight he and Sasha had a special evening planned - dinner at a chic French Vietnamese restaurant, followed by a performance of the San Francisco Ballet. Sasha, with her dance background, was especially excited to be attending the performance, and had been looking forward to this evening for the past few weeks.

  And he had every intention of making this a night to remember for her, especially since he felt like a heel for cancelling out of several dates lately. The frequent phone calls from Lindsey begging him to come and deal with Hayley’s latest tantrum or episode of bad behavior had forced him to back out of dinner dates or quiet evenings at home with Sasha, and he was determined to make all of that up to her tonight. Of course, she had assured him multiple times that she understood his dilemma, that she wasn’t the least bit angry or upset, and that she applauded his efforts to be a good father to his daugh
ter. But none of her reassurances had done much to assuage his guilt, and he vowed that the next time Lindsey called he would be firm in his resolve not to go rushing down to Hillsborough.

  Tonight during dinner he planned to ask Sasha again to move in with him. He hadn’t brought the subject up since their trip to Hawaii, sensing that she still needed more time to think it all over. But he was becoming increasingly impatient to have her with him all the time, to wake up beside her every morning, and know that she would be here each night. And that included the weekends he had the kids.

  Lindsey would have a royal fit about that part, of course, but he was more than ready to do battle with her if it came to that. Casey certainly wouldn’t have any problem at all if Sasha moved in, since the two of them got along famously. He was even practicing yoga with her here at the condo, and had been over the moon recently when he’d been able to kick up into a handstand on his own. Casey also enjoyed visiting Linda at her cottage in Marin, and always looked forward to playing with her dogs and cats and the rest of her menagerie. He’d even started to hint about wanting a dog or cat of his own, something Lindsey had always been adamantly opposed to, and he’d asked if this supposed pet could possibly live here at the condo.

  As for Hayley - well, she would have to get over her issues in a big hurry and simply accept the fact that Sasha was moving in. Matthew was getting damned tired of his daughter’s antics and the negative impact they were having on his personal life. Boarding school was beginning to sound more and more appealing, he thought dourly.

  As if on cue, his cell phone buzzed with an incoming call, and he scowled fiercely to see it was from Lindsey. He hesitated for a couple of seconds before turning the volume control to vibrate as he continued to get ready. When he checked his phone ten minutes later, he was annoyed beyond belief to find a total of ten missed calls from Lindsey - literally one per minute - and sighed in frustration as he listened to the first voice mail.

  “Matt, where the hell are you? Jesus, we’ve got a huge problem on our hands here. You are not going to believe what kind of a mess Hayley has gotten herself into this time. Call me right away, there is no way I can deal with this one by myself.”

  The second message was equally as dramatic, as was the third where Lindsey really started to lose it, weeping and becoming increasingly hysterical. But by the fourth message his annoyance with his ex quickly turned to concern as she revealed more specifics about the problem with Hayley.

  “Would you please fucking pick up your phone, Matt? Look, I didn’t want to tell you this over the phone, but since you aren’t answering my calls, I guess I don’t have a choice. Apparently Hayley is pregnant - yes, you heard me right - pregnant! I went into her bathroom while she was still asleep looking for some tampons since I was out, and I found a used pregnancy test in her wastebasket - a positive test. I freaked out when I saw it and woke her up, and we had the screaming match from hell. So you have got to get down here and help me deal with this. This - oh, Christ - this is a fucking disaster!”

  Matthew stared at his phone in horror, unwilling to believe what he had just heard. Surely this was just Lindsey being her usual over-the-top self, and there was some reasonable explanation for what she’d seen. Like maybe the test had belonged to one of Hayley’s friends. Or she had misread the results.

  But since he could hardly ignore a message like that, he returned Lindsey’s call in resignation, bracing himself for the angry barrage he was sure to face from her.

  “Well, it’s about fucking time you called,” bit out Lindsey, not bothering to even say hello. “Where the hell have you been anyway?”

  “Taking a shower,” he lied, already bristling at her confrontational tone. “I didn’t realize I needed your permission for that. And FYI, ten messages in ten minutes is overkill even for you. One would have been adequate. Now, what the hell is this about Hayley being pregnant? How in God’s name did that happen?”

  “The usual way, I expect,” spat Lindsey sarcastically. “And she’s being extremely closed-mouthed about the whole thing, won’t say a word to me. But I just walked by her room and heard her crying her eyes out. You’ve got to get down here, Matt. This is a huge, huge crisis!”

  He cursed beneath his breath, running a hand through his hair until it stood up in messy spikes. “I thought you told me she was on the pill,” he growled.

  “That’s what I assumed, too. But when I asked her about that, she said she stopped taking them because they were making her gain weight. Like having a baby isn’t going to do that and a whole lot more.”

  Matthew was horror stricken. “For Christ’s sake, she’s not actually thinking of having the baby, is she? She’s only a kid, just sixteen.”

  “Plenty old enough to get knocked up. As for the other, I have no idea what she wants to do since she refuses to talk to me. But she’ll probably talk to you. How soon can you be here?”

  He glanced at his dresser where the tickets to tonight’s ballet were waiting to be placed in his jacket pocket. He closed his eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths before telling Lindsey, “I actually have plans for tonight, Linz. Plans that would be very difficult to cancel. Maybe I could just talk to Hayley on the phone for now, and then come down in the morning.”

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” screamed Lindsey so loudly that he had to hold the phone away from his ear. “Our baby girl is pregnant, she’s crying and upset, and you can’t come down because you have a fucking date? Once again, your whore is more important to you than your own daughter.”

  Matthew’s control snapped. “How dare you!” he hissed. “For you to call another woman a whore is the most hypocritical thing you’ve ever said, given that high priced call girls don’t spread their legs as often as you do. And for you to call Sasha - the finest, most decent person I’ve ever known - such a disgusting term is beyond belief. So shut the fuck up about her, Linz, because you aren’t even worthy of breathing the same air as she does. As far as Hayley is concerned, you know damned well that I’ve been there every single time you’ve called. I fail to see how waiting until the morning to deal with this is going to make any difference.”

  “Why don’t you tell her that yourself, Matt?” jeered Lindsey. “Here, Hayley. Your father wants to talk to you.”

  He was caught completely off guard, not having anticipated that Lindsey would wash her hands of the matter and hand the phone off to Hayley. And there was no way he could prevent the tug on his heart when he heard his daughter’s tearful, choked-up voice.

  “Daddy?” she whispered, sounding far more like the little girl of six who had once followed him everywhere than the sullen sixteen year old of late. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. And I’m so scared. Can you please come over? I really need you right now, Daddy.”

  Matthew scrubbed a hand over his face in abject frustration, quietly cursing his ex for intentionally placing him in such a despicable position. “All right,” he agreed reluctantly. “Give me a few minutes to make a phone call, and then I’ll be over. And be prepared, young lady, to give me some answers. I want to know how this happened, who the father of this baby is, and what your intentions are. Don’t think for a minute that you’re going to dodge my questions. I’ll see you soon.”

  Angrily, he tossed his phone on the bed after ending the call, wishing instead that he could throw it against the window. With jerky motions, he stripped off the suit and tie he’d taken such care in selecting, tossing the discarded garments carelessly on the bedroom floor. As he re-dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, the ballet tickets caught his eye again, and the reminder of what he had to do next made the gorge rise in his throat. Reluctantly, he picked up his phone and placed the call.

  “Hi,” greeted Sasha. “I’m almost ready. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this evening. ”

  Matthew wondered helplessly what rotten thing he had done in his life to warrant this much misery. “I know, sweetheart. Believe me, I was,
too. And you’re going to hate me forever, but I’m going to have to back out of our date tonight. I’m so sorry, Sasha.”

  There was silence for several seconds on the other end, before she replied. “Oh. That’s - well, kind of heartbreaking, for lack of a better word. Should I even bother to ask or just assume this has something to do with Hayley again?”

  He was taken aback by the terse, almost angry tone of her voice, given that he’d never once seen or heard her getting upset. But he figured that even someone as tolerant as Sasha had her limits, and cancelling their plans this evening - the ones she’d been so excited about - might have pushed her just a bit too far.

  “Yeah, it’s about Hayley,” he admitted tiredly. “It seems that she’s pregnant. Lindsey found out accidentally and all hell is breaking loose right now. I tried to put this off, honestly I did, but she’s sixteen years old and crying her eyes out, and I’d feel like the worst father ever if I didn’t go sort this whole mess out tonight.”

  “Pregnant?” asked Sasha in disbelief. “She’s just a little girl, Matthew. I mean, obviously she’s old enough biologically to get pregnant, but emotionally - wow. I can’t even imagine how upset you must be right now. What are you going to do?”

  “Hell if I know,” he acknowledged. “But I told Hayley that I expect answers - plenty of them - and I think she knows I mean business. Meanwhile, I feel like a heel - once again - for canceling on you tonight, Sasha. I know how much you were looking forward to this evening.”

  “I won’t lie and say I’m not disappointed, Matthew. There was something really important I wanted to talk to you about over dinner, too, but I suppose that will have to wait. You’d better go see what the situation is with Hayley.”

  Matthew was both startled and shaken to realize that Sasha was crying, given the way her voice had broken on her last sentence. She was always the strong one, always the sensible one, and he had no idea of how to deal with her sudden vulnerability.