Night Shift 2(14)
“You know…” she started, but stopped speaking and let out a heavy sigh. “I feel bad for them. They didn’t ask to be brought into this world. And you aren’t the only one who made mistakes.” She turned her gaze away from him until she reached a hand up, picking at something on the back of the sofa.
This other part of Teri—her open, honest nature—had always attracted Dylan to her. She was the first to admit fault and apologize if she’d played any part in the situation. It was a rare trait, one he hoped his children inherited from her.
“What do you plan on doing after hearing what I had to say?” he finally asked.
“I’ve been thinking about that too. I liked what you said about Texas Instruments and law school. I think if we got our shit together and worked as a team, we could give the kids a firm foundation and good start without too many scars,” she explained, casting an assessing gaze his direction when she finished speaking. Now, she watched him closely, waiting for a response.
“I absolutely agree,” he said. Wherever this conversation was leading, Teri’s willingness to talk had already lifted the somber mood that had weighed on him all night since his confession. He maneuvered Cate in his arms, relaxing back into the corner of the sofa.
“I’ve thought this over…” Teri took a deep breath before she continued. “If we stay married, we could accomplish so much more. We could work together as a team to achieve our goals so we can give the kids a better life. It’ll take some time to get on our feet, but we’re stronger together. So, I vote to get ourselves established and get our kids raised before we go out on our own and find ourselves.”
He thought about every word she said, running all the sentences together in his mind as Teri gave a genuine smile. His heart suddenly but completely eased at her idea.
“That’s exactly what I want. I’m not comfortable with anyone else knowing what I told you. I just thought you deserved to know what was going on with me. I’m not ready to fully talk about me yet, but someday I will be.”
“I trust you’ll open up to me when the time comes,” Teri replied. He looked down to see the formula in the bottle almost gone. Dylan carefully pulled the bottle from Cate’s mouth and gently lifted her to his shoulder to pat a burp out of her. Teri scooted closer this time and raised her hand again to caress the baby’s head.
“I will. But until then, our family will be the only thing that matters. No more alcohol, no partying, and definitely no more lies between us—not ever again,” Dylan outlined.
“No more lies. Agreed. My thought was if we stayed married, didn’t tell anyone what we were doing, we would still be kind of young when they graduated high school. So maybe that’s our goal. We’ll get them graduated and then do a healthy, no-fighting, planned divorce. Are you good with that whole idea?”
“Absolutely. I really don’t want to be anywhere else. I love you guys. I don’t think I’m ready to explore that side of me.”
“We love you, Dylan, and that makes me sad for you, but since this is new territory for both of us, I guess we’ll have to figure this out as we go, right?” she asked, smiling when Cate gave a loud, healthy burp, then nestled her little head on Dylan’s shoulder.
“Yes. Everything we do from this point forward is for the betterment of our family.”
Teri reached out, clasping Dylan’s hand in hers. He eagerly entwined their fingers. Her simple gesture felt very much like the life preserver she had always been to him. Thank God she had taken this so well and been right in line with his ideas. It took a lot to ruffle her feathers—not that she didn’t like to fight, because she did—but she always had this calmness about her that comforted him. He could honestly say he couldn’t have chosen a better mother for his kids. This whole situation could have turned out badly; he was relieved it hadn’t, and he owed that to Teri.
“Agreed. And no more fighting. We’re better as friends than enemies.”
“Right.” A deep sigh escaped him as he held Cate against his shoulder. He bent to nuzzle her hair, loving her new baby smell. Cate was the one everyone said looked the most like him. He had no idea what her future held, but he did know now, more so than ever before, that he could give her the stability of a loving home. He swore to himself he would.
His fingers tightened around Teri’s as a wave of emotion built inside him. He fought the tears. Teri edged even closer to him on the sofa. Her head came to rest on his arm.
No way would any of this be easy, but, out of the cards they’d been dealt, this was the best hand he could have imagined playing.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Dylan said quietly.
“Law school was a good carrot to dangle in front of me. That’ll ensure we can always take care of the kids,” she answered. A second passed before she continued. “You can sleep in the bed tonight.”
“It would be much better than the sofa,” Dylan replied with a smile.
“I was also thinking about church. Your parents always invite us to church. We should go this morning.”
“Okay. I have a long way to go to make this up to my parents, and that’s before they ever find out about the other thing. We should try to get some sleep until Chloe and Chad wake up. You have to be exhausted.”
Teri rose, then carefully reached for Cate, taking her from his arms so he could stand. He followed her down the hall to the bedroom.
“You cleaned the house. I was surprised you even washed the sheets,” Teri whispered.
“I was shocked the kitchen floor was so white,” he said offhandedly. She stopped at their bedroom door, casting an affronted gaze his direction, and he immediately amended his statement, “I know you clean up after everyone all the time, but I hadn’t paid too much attention to my surroundings. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Good save,” she chuckled, continuing into the room. “We can divide up the chores. I’d love that.”
“Baby steps,” he teased as Teri laid Cate in her crib. She was an expert at not waking a baby while laying them down. He covered their daughter with a blanket, thankful she remained asleep as he glanced toward the king-size bed watching Teri slip under the covers. The plush pillow-top called to him invitingly. He didn’t even bother to crawl under the covers. Instead, he stretched out on the mattress, feeling lighter than he had in a while. With Teri on his team and a plan set, he had hope for the future.
He had no idea how long he’d slept before whimpering sounds woke him. He looked over to see Chloe on his side of the bed, tears forming in her big eyes.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said as he rolled out of bed toward her. Chloe lifted her arms as he scooped her up. Her pajamas were wet; her diaper had leaked through. That was all right. Everything seemed good at this point. He kissed her cheek and took her to the bathroom to get her cleaned up and, hopefully, back to bed.
Ten minutes later, he was rubbing her back, her thumb stuck in her mouth as she lay between him and a softly snoring Teri. Chloe’s eyes closed. A peacefulness settled over him while watching his little girl sleep. Dylan took it into his heart, letting the contentment resolve any doubt that may have lingered. He could do this—they could do this. His family deserved this.
The End… and the Beginning
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Trademark Acknowledgements:
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
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Chevy: General Motors, LLC
Texas Instruments: Texas Instruments Incorporated
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