Beautiful Mistake

She felt her body lightly collapse on the soft mattress, her body feeling perfectly at ease as she snuggled closer to her cool, fluffy pillow. A smile broke out on her face as she closed her eyes in relaxation. All the stresses, everything that was stacking up on her was left forgotten, buried down for later, as she simply enjoyed the comfortableness washing over her.

These last five months had left her feeling more empty and alone then ever before. She so desperately missed her two best friends and had not talked to either of them in at least three weeks, both of their schedule’s getting undoubtedly busy.

Her hand reached down, resting on the every growing baby bump. Gently she rubbed her stomach, her mind drifting about her the baby she would be holding in her arms in four long months.

Only a few days before she found out she was going to have a little baby boy. She had questioned herself, wondering if she really wanted to know the sex now or if she wished to be surprised later, but she just couldn’t help herself; her curiosity got the best of her.

Ever since she had gotten over the initial shock of the pregnancy she had being attempting to pick out the perfect baby names. All around her her family and friends were giving her suggestions of names. Annabelle, Bethany, Charlotte, and Olivia had been her top picks for girls, while Nathan, Chase, Cayden, and Xavier had been her favorites for boys. Yet, even with the knowledge it was definitely going to be a boy, she still could not further narrow it down from her top four choices.

She wondered what the name options would be if Brent and Kris were here with her. Would they suggest completely different names or would they agree with her favorites?

“Baby Nathan,” she spoke aloud, her hand still rubbing over her stomach. She shook her head, not sure if that was quite the right name for her little boy.

“Xavier,” she tried, mulling the name over and over again in her head. She liked that it wasn’t a very common name, but she wasn’t sure how much she liked it.

“Cayden,” Isabelle cooed.

She could have sworn her heart stopped. She could feel deep inside of her belly a gentle fluttering motion and then a few seconds it happened again. Her face lit up as she realized it was her little boy kicking inside of her.

“Cayden,” she repeated, smiling at the new sensation over taking her. “Cayden.”

She only wished her baby’s father was here to feel his first kick.

--

She wasn’t sure why she was doing it; something about it just told her it was the right thing to do. After two days of deliberation about the subject she finally figured out this was what was best for Cayden. And wasn’t that all the mattered—what was best for Cayden?

She, however, would feel much more confident about what she was about to do if she had the slightest clue where she was going.

Glancing down at her phone again, Isabelle could not help but frown when she saw she had no missed calls. She had called both Kris and Brent earlier that day, but neither had picked up their phones, so she had headed to the one place she figured they might be.

“Mommy,” Cayden called, “What we doing?” His voice lightly echoed across the empty hallway.

His arms were wrapped tightly around her neck, his legs around her waist as she carried him throughout the seemingly deserted building. She had assumed Kris and Brent had had practice today, but by the looks of it, perhaps they did not.

Maybe it was for the best that they weren’t here now. Maybe she should explain to them the situation before she had them meet Cayden. He did not need to be caught up in any more drama then absolutely necessary.

“We’re just looking for some people, Cayden,” Isabelle explained. “But I don’t think they are here.”

“Who are you looking for?” a new voice called out from a few yards behind them.

Isabelle turned around to face the newcomer, readjusting Cayden on her hips. She recognized the man, though it took her a few minutes to figure out where she had seen him.

“You were the guy in the ridiculous blue suit,” she pointed out after the realization hit her. “You were mad at Brent for not dressing up for Halloween.”

He nodded his head with a slight chuckle. “Yeah, you’re a friend of Brent, huh? He got your number, right?” His eyes fell on the little boy in her arms, but he said nothing further.

Isabelle’s eyes followed his gaze to Cayden. “Yeah, we were friends back when he played on Lethbridge,” she informed him with a small, shy smile. “He isn’t around is he?”

The man’s hand went up to rub the back of his neck. “No, he and the rest of the guys are in Phoenix. They have a game on Thursday against the Coyotes.”

Isabelle’s foot gently tapped the hard floor before, her face falling into a frown as she realized she would have to wait a few more days before she could talk to Kris and Brent about the situation.

“There isn’t anything I can help you with, is here?” he offered. “Oh, wait, I’m Adam by the way, Adam Burish. I’m on the team with Brent,” he added as an afterthought.

She looked at him curiously. “How come you aren’t if Phoenix with the rest of the guys?” Isabelle questioned.

Adam gestured down to his knee. “Torn ACL. I’m here for physical therapy.”

“Mommy,” the little boy spoke up, unable to remain silent anymore.

Isabelle turned her head to look at him. “What is it, Honey?” she asked, her voice soothing and motherly.

He laid his head on her shoulder, pulling closer to her. “I’m hungry,” he spoke, simply.

“Okay, Cayden, Honey we’ll go get something to eat,” she promised.

Her eyes shifted back to Adam’s who she was surprised to find staring at the two, his mouth gapping.

She sent him a confused look, not knowing what he was thinking. “You okay?” she inquired.

He shook his head. “I’m fine… I just… You said his name was Cayden?”

She nodded, unsure of where this was going. What did her son’s name have to do with anything?

“It’s just,” he began, “Brent has been going on about trying to figure out who Cayden was. He thought Cayden was your husband or boyfriend or whatever,” Adam explained.

Her lips fell into an ‘oh’.

“I’m guessing Brent doesn’t know you have a son?”

She shook her head. “No, he doesn’t.”

Adam turned his attention to Cayden. “You said you’re hungry little man?” Cayden nodded. “Why don’t we all go get something to eat? They have some food downstairs we can have and no one will bother us?”

Isabelle hesitated for a moment, but gave in, knowing she could trust a friend of Brent’s and Kris’.

A few minutes later she found herself sitting at a table with Adam, Cayden on her lap, and some pizza sitting in front of her.

“You said you knew Brent from Lethbridge?” Adam verified.

Isabelle nodded her head, taken a bit from the cheesy goodness.

“Then you knew Kris as well?” Adam checked, biting into his own pizza.

“Yes. They were both my best friends. We were all really close for the few years they were on the team,” she told him.

She wasn’t sure where all of this was going. She wondered if Adam was trying to figure out if one of them was Cayden’s father; was he that smart to figure it out? Or was it that easy to put together?

“Is Cayden’s father in the picture?” Adam probed.

Isabelle glanced down at her son as he gulped down some apple juice. She brushed some stray hair out of his eyes then kissed the top of his head. She didn’t take her eyes off of Cayden, as she shook her head ‘no’.

Adam put his piece down on his paper plate. “Is it because he’s a jerk or is it because he doesn’t know about his son?” he inquired.

Her eyes met his and she wondered why she was even talking to him about this. “He doesn’t know.”

“Which one?”

She sent him a slightly unsure face and he elaborated.

“Which one is the father?” he continued.

She looked away from him, her gaze hitting the wooden floor. “I don’t know.”

Isabelle knew what he was thinking. She knew he was thinking she was ‘easy’ or a ‘slut’ or whatever other derogatory name he could come up with. She couldn’t meet his eyes as he silently watched her, she didn’t want to be able to read what he was thinking.

After he had said nothing for nearly a minute she continued. “They both left before I even knew I was pregnant. I lost contact with them shortly after that. I didn’t know they were here when I moved to Chicago.”

He gently tapped his fingers on the table. “And after you found out?”

Her eyes shifted up and met his, surprise running through her as she saw his judgment free face. “I was going to tell them today, but they weren’t here.”

Isabelle felt her phone vibrate and she reached in her purse to pull it out. Glancing down at it, she read off the familiar name.

Brent