Father Figure

I don't think Sidney could have handled Beau's question any better. He didn't show a hint of the panic I felt or the awkwardness. He simply took it on like he would take on reporters pressing for information. 

"No. Not all moms and dads are married. Some parents don't have those kind of feelings for each other," Sidney said. 

Beau looked to Kris and then to Gab. "Why not?"

Sidney shrugged. "Some moms and dads are like us and want to be friends instead," he continued. 

"But I thought mommies and daddies were in love when they made babies?" Kris asked. His wide and curious eyes added to the innocence of his question. 

Sidney shrugged. "Sometimes you like your best friends so much that it's almost like loving them."

"What?" all of them chorused in confusion. I laughed softly. Seeing Sid try to explain love and what had happened was honestly entertaining. Somehow, he handled everything with an ease only someone with media experience could poses. 

Sidney set down his fork. "See, your mom and I were the best of friends. We grew up together and knew each other really well. Because we liked each other so much as friends, things got confused for love. That's how you guys got here," Sidney tried. 

They all had blank looks on their faces. "What things?" Gab asked as he scrunched up his nose. 

This time, Sid was at a loss for words. His jaw slid side to side as he tried to think of something. Eventually, his eyes slid to mine, signaling me to take over. "Our brains did. Our bodies did," I quickly supplied. 

They each exchanged looks. "Your tummy thought you guys were in love so it made us?" Kris finally asked. 

I let out a sigh. "Yes. That's it," I agreed. 

--

After Sidney put the boys to sleep (they refused to let me do it), he walked back into the living room to join me by the fireplace. A chill had crept into the house as the night grew around us, so I'd started it while the boys were playing tag with Sidney in the freezing cold outside. 

"They're amazing," he stated with a happy sigh as he sat down on the floor next to me. 

I looked down at my tea with a smile on my face. "Yeah. They are," I agreed. "They're already pretty taken with you."

A smirk grew on his face. We sat quietly as we thought over the night. "We need to figure out financial things and all that," Sidney finally announced. 

I looked up at him. "Like what?" I questioned. 

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I don't want you to be the only one responsible for them. You're a single mother of three boys. It can't be easy," he pointed out. "I want to help."

I shook my head. "I'm fine, really. We're making it by," I pointed out. "We have a good place to stay, they're fed and clothed, and they've got toys and everything." I could feel my back stiffen in defense. I could took care of my boys just fine as I was. Sure we didn't have money to do extra stuff, but we were happy. 

"I'm not saying you can't. I just want to add to it," he insisted. "I know you've done well for them. I can see it all around them. And they're good kids. They actually have manners and are nice. They aren't mean to each other. You've raised them really well so far. I couldn't have done better."

I felt my cheeks heat up at his compliment. My eyes shifted to the crackling fireplace. "I was thinking that each month I could give you a check for my share of taking care of them. Seeing as they live with you, it'd make sense. You'd have more money to get exactly what you want and need for them and whatever else," he finally suggested. 

I chewed on my lip. I hated feeling like I was going to be mooching off Sidney. I didn't like feeling dependent on someone ever since I'd moved out of my mother's house. "Please? I need to help somehow... It doesn't matter how. Just... Let me help," he begged softly. 

I still felt hesitant in letting him give me money. It didn't feel right. It went against what I had always been working towards. "Nathalie, I wasn't there for the first five years of their life. I didn't change one diaper. I didn't clean up a single mess. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night once. Let me do something now to make up for it," he continued. 

"You had to do that all on your own. Let me make up for it."

I shook my head. "I feel like you're paying me to take care of them," I mumbled truthfully. 

"You've got to let me do something. Consider it you making up for not telling me," he finally told me. 

I buried my face in my hands. "Nothing outrageous," I warned. 

His grinned widely. "Okay. So... Numbers..." he began slowly. He looked to me for some input, but I simply shrugged. I took a sip of my tea as he debated it in his head. "A hundred thousand to start off with and then we'll figure something out for a month basis," he said confidently. 

I choked on my tea, drops falling down my chin onto my jeans. "A hundred thousand?" I demanded. "Are you insane?" I questioned. "That's way too much!" I quickly wiped at the tea on my face. 

He shrugged like it was nothing. "Three kids and five years. It sounds good to me. It will cover medical, toys, and whatever else you had to buy. And if you've got any debt, it can go towards that, too," he explained. 

I gaped at him. "Sidney, that is still too much! I got scholarships to cover college, I had jobs to pay for things, and-"

"But I need to make up for what I could have helped out with," he but in. "No matter what you say, I'm set on that amount." 

We stared at each other, challenging one another. But those brown eyes made me crack, just like they used to. I slouched and looked down at my tea. I didn't feel comfortable with taking so much. This was practically making me one of those women that used him for money. I didn't want that. I didn't want Sidney around for the money. I only wanted him there so the boys would have a father figure. 

"Look, I just feel bad. I wasn't around to help for years. Please just let me do this... It would make me feel better," he told me softly. 

I glanced over at him. He looked so much like his sons. Every time I looked between them, more and more similarities became noticeable. "Okay," I mumbled. 

He gave me a smile. "So, monthly... Will you let me do five thousand?" he questioned. 

I scoffed. "No!"

He sighed heavily. "Okay, well give me an idea on what I can pay for," he suggested. 

I took out my pony tail and shook my hair loose. "Well, they're starting to eat quite a bit. I go to the store every weekend and spend about seventy-five. We spend maybe a hundred a month for school. School lunches is close to a hundred fifty a month..." I continued to list off the expenses I had to cover monthly. 

Sidney listened closely, keeping an idea in his head of the total. Once I finished, he thought it over. "I still like five thousand," he decided. 

I groaned and rested my head on my knees. "Sidney..." I began slowly. 

"Five thousand a month it is," he confirmed. I looked up to find his happy smirk. 

I rolled my eyes. "How often can I see them?" he asked nervously. 

I gave him an odd look. "Whenever you want. I just want it to be consistent for the boys. No disappearing without a word or making promises and not showing up," I told him. 

He nodded his head understandingly. "Can I... Tomorrow I only have practice in the morning. Can I pick them up after school and take them out? Skating or something?" he asked. 

I tried to bite back my smile. "Absolutely." My stomach twisted. It wasn't in a bad way, though. I liked this. I liked the idea of them having their dad around. "They've for hockey practice tomorrow night at five. We can meet up there," I offered. "I can fill you in on more there."

Sidney grinned widely. "Yes! Of course!"