A Twist in My Story

Four weeks. An entire month. That’s how long it has been since Danielle left him after dropping such a life-altering bomb on him. Kevin had never known time to slip by so slowly. He didn’t know what to do with himself. When he first woke up to find her note, he thought she was just bluffing and that she would be back in his arms within a week—tops—and that things would go back to the way they used to be. But Danielle had not been bluffing. He had not heard a single peep from her in four weeks. All his calls, texts, and messages went ignored. He had no way of knowing if she even listened to them, but as the month crept on, he grew more despaired.

That’s why he had decided to take Brittany Nicole on her promotional tour. Work had been extremely stressful on him with having to temporarily take over all the financial paperwork of the label, but ever since his father was put on the job, he had been able to return to what he had enjoyed doing and that was producing great talent. Going away was exactly what he needed at a time like this. He would be able to leave all his problems behind him and focus on his artist and her music—he was thinking of it as a mini vacation of sorts. It was the first thing he had looked forward to in what seemed like a really long time. But before he could pack up and head across the country with his 17-year-old prodigy girl, he had loose ends to tie up with the label. His dad was on his way over at the moment to discuss some of the work Kevin had done before he took over, just so he could be completely acclimated with what was expected of him. Kevin had all the paperwork they needed ready in the formal living room that was rarely ever used.

He looked around the room, just then realizing that he hadn’t stepped into the room much at all since they bought the house. It was the very first room on the left when you entered the house through the main entrance, but it was really just for show—the den where the TV was housed farther in the house—that’s where he really spent most of his time when he wasn’t in his office. Kevin took in all his surroundings, really looking everything over: from the beige color of the walls that was sprinkled with framed pieces of artwork, to the mahogany wooden tables that sat at the ends of the large tan, suede couch with burgundy accents, to the billowy curtains that matched the earthy tone of the room. He was blown away by how perfectly detailed everything was…and how perfectly it all matched. Danielle must have put a lot of work into decorating the room.

His train of thought was broken before he could allow himself the opportunity to get upset about Danielle when his phone started blaring from the table in the center of the room. Expecting it to be his father telling him he was on his way, he reached for it and answered without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Hi, Kevin.”

Kevin’s heart stuttered in his chest. It was Danielle. He hadn’t heard at all from her in weeks. He was shocked into silence by the delicate, feminine sound of her voice. Something clenched in his chest when he realized how much he had missed her voice. He didn’t know what to say to her! So he said the first thing that popped into his head, “The living room looks really amazing, Dani. How did you manage to decorate it all by yourself?”

He mentally slapped himself in the forehead when he noticed the hesitation in her reply. Of all the things that needed to be said between them and that was what he opened with? “Never mind, it’s not important,” he muttered before clearing his throat. “Uhm, how are you? I’ve tried calling.”

Danielle was silent for a few more seconds before he received her response. “Yea, I know. I’ve, uh, been okay,” she responded in a small voice—a bruised voice.

“Good,” he breathed out before a silence fell between them, the air charged with all the things that should be said, but weren’t.

On the other line, Danielle was biting hard on her lower lip, trying to keep herself in check. She had tried hard not to cave in to him. And she had been doing a good job of it too until she sent him the picture message of their baby’s first sonogram. She had not-so-subconsciously been waiting to get some sort of reply from him, so when she hadn’t, there was nothing she could do to stop herself from reaching out. She was about to ask him whether he even received the message when through the line she heard the loud chime of their door-bell resounding in the background.

“Oh,” Kevin said, breaking the silence with his startled tone. “That’s uh, that’s probably Dad. We sort of have a meeting, so I uh, I have to go,” he mumbled. “I’ll call you later?”

Dani bit the inside of her cheek this time. She should have known nothing had changed with him. He was still the workaholic he had been when she decided to leave him and now his dad was probably more eager to drive him into complete devotion of his job, just like him. “Bye, Kevin,” she whispered without answering his question before hanging up without giving him the chance to get another word in.

Kevin squeezed his eyes tightly, the phone still up to his ear. The doorbell ringing once more brought him to his feet and he went to answer it. “Hey Dad,” he said with a heavy sigh.

“Hey, Kev. Let’s get down to business, shall we?” Kevin gave him one curt nod and moved aside to let him into the house. He immediately walked into the living room and set his things down on the mahogany table in the center of the room, sitting down on the couch across from where Kevin had previously been situated. They talked numbers, they talked artists, and they talked promotions, but Kevin’s mind wasn’t focused at all. His mind was clouded with tumultuous feelings, thoughts, and emotions that all led back to his wife. “Kevin!” his father’s loud voice jarred him back to reality.

“Hmm?”

“Where’s your head at boy?” his father asked, looking a bit peeved that Kevin’s mind wasn’t on the business they had to settle.

Kevin released a long sigh. “Sorry Dad. Dani called before you got here,” he started, trailing off when he saw his dad huff in frustration and sit back in his seat.

“Son, I thought you had put thoughts of her aside. I’ve told you to leave her alone and just focus on your work.”

“Yea, I know, but,”

“Look, she’ll come around when she's ready, okay. You have your work to focus on. Is everything all set for your trip with Brittany Nicole?” he asked, switching topics. Kevin didn’t want to switch though.

“What if she doesn’t come around?” Kevin asked, voicing his fear. “Mom already said she was getting close to that Spencer guy—he went with her to get the first sonogram of our baby for heaven’s sake!” His insecurity quickly turned into anger at the thought of his wife sharing something that special with another man. He didn’t even know that until his mother let it slip and then he grilled her to find out what she knew—only then did he find out just how close Dani was getting to the other man and that she had invited him to go with her to the appointment. She hadn’t even called to tell him she was going…

“Well in that case, I already told you what to do—pay child support and move on like she has. Now about the tour,” Kevin Sr. tried changing the topic again. But their previous conversation had soured Kevin’s mood and the last thing he wanted to do was talk about the tour.

“Dad, I think we’re done here. Tell Mom and Frankie I say hello.” Without waiting for his reply or even gathering any of his things, Kevin stood up and went into his office, slamming the door behind him before locking it. He heard the front door open and close and then heard his father's car peel out of his drive way. Releasing a heavy breath, he ran his hands through his curls before slouching in his chair, staring mindlessly at the ceiling. He pulled out his phone and opened the picture message Danielle had sent him days ago and just stared at the picture, the same slew of emotions coursing through him that did every time he looked at the picture…which had been a lot since he received it three days ago. He just didn’t know what to make of all those emotions…or what to do about them.

*~*
“Hey Dani, I was heading down to the beach with Macey; do you want to come with us?” Danielle looked up from the photo she had been staring at ever since she hung up on Kevin and into her baby sister's face—she was holding a squirming Macey in her hands and with a huff let her go so she could run to Danielle. Dani’s lips twitched with a smile as she rubbed the puppy between the ears. She should have brought Riley with her—she really missed her puppy.

“Yea, I think that’s a good idea,” she said, setting the sonogram aside and getting off her bed. “What?” she asked when she saw Katie smiling at her with a funny look in her eyes.

Katie shook her head, waving her sister off. She chuckled when Danielle set her hands on her hips and stared her down. “God, you look like such a mom when you do that,” she teased. All teasing aside, she stated, “You’re going to make a great mom Dani. I know things between you and Kev aren’t that great right now, but I just know he’ll come around and together you guys are going to be the best parents to my little niece or nephew. And I for one can’t wait to meet her…or him.”

Her younger sister’s words had Danielle tearing up for so many reasons. She couldn’t wait to have her baby in her arms either. And she really hoped that things between her and Kevin were fixed when their baby came into the world.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Katie said, wrapping her up in a hug. “But I do mean everything I said.” Dani was still too choked up with emotion to say anything, so she just nodded her head, looking down at her feet, which she knew in just a few months she wouldn’t be able to see over her stomach. “Come on, how about we make that trip to the beach now?” Dani merely nodded once more, allowing her younger sister to lead her away.

The smell of salt water in the air and the feel of the hot sand squishing between her toes instantly put Dani in a better mood. She and Katie just strolled along the beach, keeping an eye on Macey as she ran towards the water, back to their feet, and then towards the water again. There were a lot of families out enjoying the afternoon—one of them all too familiar.

Dani froze when she saw Spencer and his son building a sand castle just a few feet away from where she and Katie were standing. As if sensing her presence, Spencer looked up and locked eyes with her, even through their sunglasses. It had been two days since she last saw him; since she found out he had a son. She wasn’t sure why she had been so shocked, but after he had introduced her son to him, she felt uncomfortable around him. She had barely greeted his mother and turned down her invitation for lunch (even though that had been her pretense to go see Spencer in the first place) before high-tailing it out of there. She had avoided the construction site in those two days but it’s not like Spencer had come looking for her either.

“Hey Spence,” Katie said, waving at him when she saw him as well. His lips twitched in a barely-there smile as he lifted his hand to wave at them. “Hi Ian,” Katie gushed at the toddler, making him look up at her. Recognition settled on his face before he got up and ran over to her, lifting his arms when he was at her feet. Katie giggled and bent down to pick him up. Dani was sure the shock she was feeling was clearly present in her features—Katie knew about Ian and hadn’t told her anything? They exchanged a sisterly look before Katie turned to face Spencer. “Is it cool if I take him into the water?” she asked the toddler’s father.

“Yea. He’s due for some sun lotion though,” he stated.

“Ok, I’ll do that and then take him out,” she said, carrying the boy over a few feet away to where Spencer had pointed out their stuff.

Dani bit her lower lip as irrational nerves exploded in her stomach. She knew Katie had done that on purpose so they could talk. “Hey Elle,” Spencer greeted her with a timid smile.

“Hi,” she returned, not daring to look up at him. Silence settled between them.

“Uhm, I guess this awkwardness means you’re still freaked out about Ian,” he stated cautiously. Danielle looked up and saw him scratching the back of his neck—something Kevin also did when he was nervous or in an uncomfortable situation.

“It’s not my place,” she started to say.

“It’s not like I was purposely keeping him from you,” Spencer started to explain. “It’s just that we just came back into each other’s lives and a kid is a really big life-altering thing, you know? Most girls freak when they find out I have a son,” he elaborated.

“Spencer, really, you don’t owe me any explanations. Besides, I’m pregnant, remember?” she added. “And besides, it’s not like, like there’s anything romantic going on between us—it makes no difference to me whether you have a son or not,” she mumbled the last part.

“Oh, yea, right,” he stuttered, continuing to scratch his neck.

“I was just surprised is all? But I’m over it,” she stated firmly, looking up at him. She wasn’t sure if the red staining his cheeks was due to the sun or embarrassment. “He’s a really cute kid,” she added to alleviate the awkwardness. “Looks just like his daddy.” She smiled.

He sent her a smile in return. “Yea, my mom says he’s a clone copy of me as a baby. Which I guess is a good thing because if he looked like his mom,” he trailed off and stared away from her and at Katie and Ian out in the water with Macey barking at them from the edge of the water.

“What happened to his mom?” Danielle asked without thinking. She quickly blushed, realizing what she had said. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business. You don’t have to answer that.” She thought back to the first lunch they had gone on when they first ran into each other and how somber Spencer had become when she asked about his love life…making her nosy question even worse.

Spencer looked down at her, a playful smile on his face. “A story for another time,” he suggested just like he had that afternoon. Danielle nodded once without meeting his gaze, grateful he didn’t take offense to her intrusive question. “Listen, tonight’s my night off and my parents are watching Ian. Do you want to grab dinner? I can tell you all about Ian’s mom and you can tell me about the real reason you’re in town without your husband when you’re expecting.”

Danielle’s breath hitched in her throat. She looked up at him and saw genuine curiosity and concern swirling in his entrancing hazel eyes. For a second she considered turning down his offer—she really didn’t want to talk about Kevin, especially after their phone call from earlier in the day. But she couldn’t seem to open her mouth and refuse the invitation. She had been keeping all her feelings and emotions bottled up for a month now and knew that she needed to vent all her frustrations before she exploded with emotion. Spencer was her friend and seemed to genuinely care about her marital issues. Besides, she was curious about the back story between him and his son’s mother.

“Okay,” she responded in a small voice, entranced by those eyes that had been what she loved about him when they were dating.

“I’ll pick you up at 6:30,” he said with a smile before walking towards the water where an adorable little boy was beckoning him with splashes. Danielle hadn’t brought a suit, so she settled for nestling herself in the sand and watching Spencer with Ian. She didn’t even notice when Katie come out of the water and approached her until she was sitting next to her.

“So I take it you didn’t know about Ian, huh?” she questioned, wringing out her dark hair. Danielle shook her head. “I used to babysit him when he was a few months old when Spencer really needed someone,” she explained her relation to the little boy that had gotten so excited to see her. “His mom’s not in the picture,” she added after a while.

“I know,” Dani stated. “Spencer said he’d explain the whole story to me tonight over dinner,” she added.

Katie didn’t say anything about how close she thought Danielle and Spencer were getting. On the one hand, she really liked her brother-in-law and prayed every night that things between him and her sister got resolved. But on the other hand, she knew that something big must have happened between them to drive Danielle down here, even though she still hadn’t shared the details with anyone in their family. She needed a friend that wouldn’t be biased like the members of their family and Spencer was a pretty decent guy to have as a friend.

“He’s really great with Ian. Who knows, you might even get some parenting tips from him,” she teased, playfully nudging Dani with her shoulder as they continued to watch the father-son pair.

*~*
Danielle wasn’t sure why she felt so nervous climbing out of Spencer’s truck. She knew it was just two friends going out for dinner, so she couldn’t explain the butterflies in her stomach that were typical of a first date. Perhaps it was because she was also going to vent all her issues about Kevin to Spencer, whom she had so much history with. Suddenly this night felt like a bad idea. It wasn’t until the waiter had taken their orders that they even made an attempt at a conversation.

“So, how thrilled was your mom to see that sonogram of her first grandchild?” he asked.

Danielle’s lips lifted in a smirk. Her mom had been waiting for her in the driveway, anxious to hear all about her appointment. She had instantly snatched the sonogram from her hands and gazed at it for a long time before attaching it to the refrigerator. “Are you kidding me? She was ecstatic!” she replied with a small giggle.

“Yea I bet. She must have been like my mom when Ian was being born—always proud to brag about the fact she was going to be a grandmother.” Spencer looked up to see Danielle with her eyebrows raised. “You like how I snuck that in there?” he teased, referring to the topic they had been discussing earlier at the beach.

Danielle merely shrugged as she played with her drink. “How old is he?” she asked, rather than prying for the details that had partially contributed to her agreeing to join him tonight.

“He just turned three two months ago,” Spencer replied.

“So you’re out of the terrible twos,” she teased. “Did you…were you…I mean, have you been raising him by yourself since he was born?” she asked, struggling through the question. She was scared to look at him but she didn’t have to, because he didn’t hesitate in answering.

“No, his mom stuck around for the first few months until she decided she didn’t want to raise a baby,” he replied, the bitterness still evident in his tone.

“That’s awful,” Danielle replied sympathetically.

“Yea,” Spencer stated with a sigh. “She and I met at the community college. It was like love at first sight for me. Anyways, we were together within two months. We dated the four years of college and at the beginning of our senior year, we found out she was pregnant. She refused to bring a baby into the world unless we were married, so we eloped, not that I minded. But Mom…well let’s just say she wasn’t pleased. There was nothing she could do about it though.” He took a deep breath, looking away from her and staring deep into his glass—Danielle could see the pain in his features. “We lost that baby,” he stated, his voice thick with emotion. “Emma, she asked for a divorce after that. I didn’t want to get divorced and I knew that she was just going through a lot with losing the baby, but she was relentless. We were fighting all the time, so I finally conceded. Then we found out that she was pregnant again. This time we were careful not to get our hopes up, but I still did everything to protect her and make sure she was healthy throughout the pregnancy. The day Ian was born was one of the best days of my life. I thought things were fine, ya know? We had our son and talks of divorce had stopped. But then I found out that Emma didn’t think things were so fine. Like I said, she stuck around for the first few months and then asked for a divorce from out of nowhere. It wasn’t until then that I found out she was getting around,” he seethed.

Danielle gasped at certain parts of his tale but absolutely paled at the end of the story. “Oh my goodness, she was cheating on you?!” Spencer merely nodded. “Is…are you sure Ian is yours?” she asked.

“Definitely. The first thing I did after finding out how deceptive she was, was get a paternity test done and he’s definitely mine. But after that I gave her what she wanted and got to keep Ian. She didn’t even fight for custody…she didn’t want anything to do with him or me.”

“So you haven’t heard from her at all since Ian was…”

“Five months old. And no…not a peep. She left town after the divorce was finalized and I have no idea where she is.”

“That’s horrible,” Danielle sympathized.

Spencer shrugged. “I realize now that she wasn’t really the woman for me; she was much too selfish. I’m just mad she decided to skip out on being a mother. Ian is the most precious thing; I don’t know what my life would be like without him. She’s missing out on getting to see him grow up.”

“Think of it this way, she skipped out on him, so this amazing little boy that you have is that way all because of you,” Danielle stated, resting her hand on his to enforce the point that he was a great dad for sticking around.

“I guess you have a point there,” he said, taking her comment with a grain of salt.

Danielle sent him a genuine smile. “And you say girls freak out when they find out you have a kid? I would assume they eat up the whole hot-single-dad bit,” she teased.

“Hot single dad, huh?” he teased, sending a playful smirk her way. Danielle smiled, accepting the relief of tension in the atmosphere. “So, what’s your story?” he asked after they had their meals in front of them and had talked about other light topics.

Danielle’s breath hitched in her throat much like it did earlier on in the day when Spencer suggested she vent about Kevin. “What do you want to know?” she asked, not looking up from her meal.

“Tell me about your husband,” he stated, also focused on his meal.

“What do you want to know?” she repeated. Spencer looked up at her and sent her a pointed look. “Fine, fine,” she conceded. “His name is Kevin and we met in high school. We’re high school sweet hearts actually,” she started.

“So it’s been two years now?”

“In December it will be,” she clarified.

“What does he do?” Spencer asked, slowly leading her to the juicier stuff.

“He’s a producer at Rich Records. He’s actually starting to make a name for himself and a lot of artists are starting to request to work with him. We actually just moved to the suburbs of New Jersey just outside of the city where the label is,” Danielle started. There was no stopping her once she started. “I had just found out I was pregnant and didn’t want to raise a baby in the city, even though we lived in a nice apartment in the Trump Towers. I convinced him to move, but he’s a workaholic and puts his everything into that label. I thought that with the move I could get him to start thinking about starting a family, but when I told him that we were expecting, he didn’t even react. And I couldn’t take it anymore—I couldn’t take being second best to his job; not when I was going to need him around during the pregnancy. So I packed a bag and left. I left him a note telling him it was up to him to decide what was more important; his job or his growing family. It’s been a month and he’s still the same workaholic he was when I gave him the ultimatum.”

“Unbelievable,” Spencer muttered under his breath.

“Yea,” Danielle agreed with a sigh. She was surprised she didn’t shed a tear during the explanation that was her shamble of a marriage, though she did tear up. “I know he loves me he just doesn’t show it the way I would like him to. Actually, I would love for him to just show it at all.”

“What are you looking for him to do?” Spencer asked.

Danielle sighed and shrugged. “It would be enough for him to show up here and tell me that he chooses us instead of his job,” she replied, her hand resting on her slightly protruding belly, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Spencer. She knew it was a lot to ask but after their conversation today, she wasn’t holding her breath.