Father Figure

My flu went away shortly after I was told to stay home from work one more day. And after that, with the school year winding down and the team getting kicked out of the playoffs early on, things seemed to speed by. Before I knew it, Sidney and the boys were packed and standing at the airport gate, ready to fly to Nova Scotia. 

"Be good," I warned them. "I'll see you guys when you get back," I told them. I kissed each of their foreheads. "I love you."

"Love you, too, mama," Beau told me. He was ready to go. He could barely focus on my goodbye. 

"I love you, too," Kris told me as he gave me one more hug. 

Gab clung to my neck as he sniffed. "Why can't you come with us?" he asked weakly. 

I rubbed his back. "It's time for you guys to go meet your other family and see where Dad's from. I have to stay here and work," I explained. 

He whimpered. "I'm gonna miss you, though..."

I frowned and hugged him tighter. "You'll talk to me on the phone. I'm sure we can even video chat. You'll be back before you know it," I told him. 

He pulled back to look at me with his teary eyes. "You'll have fun. You and your brothers get to go see Nova Scotia. You can see where Daddy and I used to go to school and live. Won't that be fun?" I asked. 

He slowly nodded his head. "Smile. You'll be okay. You'll have lots of fun," I told him. 

He gave me a smile then and nodded. "Go hang out with your brothers. You guys can plan all the things you want to do." 

He gave me one more hug before running over to the chairs Kris and Beau were seated on. I stood up straight and looked to Sidney. He offered a smile as he pulled me into a hug. "You sure about this?" he asked. 

I nodded my head. "It'll be good for them. Plus it will give me some time to actually clean the house and what not," I joked. 

He laughed. "I'll miss you," he mumbled. 

"I'll miss you, too. But remember..." I looked up at him and gave him the same face I did Gab. "We'll get to see each other soon and you'll have lots of fun," I teased. 

He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Shut up. We better get going," he decided. His eyes fell back down to me. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine for a slow kiss. It would be the last one we shared for almost a month. We pulled away until our lips were just barely separated. "Call me when you guys get there," I mumbled. 

"Will do," he promised. 

I gave him a peck on the lips before stepping back. "I'll see you guys when you get back then..."

He gave me a small smile. "Guess so. Have fun on your vacation without us."

I laughed softly and started to head back out of the airport while he went to get the boys on the plane. It was bitter sweet to see them leave. I had never been away from them this long before. Not to mention Sid. That would take awhile to get used to. I was alone here again. But this time, I was completely alone. No sons. 

My phone buzzed in my pocket. "Hello?" I answered. 

"Hey, how did it go?" Vero asked. 

"Gab didn't really want me to stay, but eventually Sid got them on the plane. It's gonna be really quiet and lonely without them," I commented. 

"It'll be okay. You want to come over? I'm putting together furniture for the nursery," she offered. 

I smiled. "Sounds like fun. I'll be there in half an hour."

---

Marc and Vero had gone all out for their expected child, a boy they'd found out. The room had been painted from yellow to green. The crib, dresser, changing table, and bookshelf were all white painted wood. The trims of the door and windows were all white, as well. When I walked into the room, Vero was sitting in the middle of the floor trying to put the mattress cover on the mattress. She frowned at me. "This thing is crap," she stated in French. 

I laughed and sat beside her. "Let me see." She gladly handed it over to me to look at. I flipped it over to look at it before tugging on the cover. It hesitantly slid into place. 

"How the hell did you do that?" she exclaimed. She huffed. "Never mind. I don't care enough."

I laughed and reached up to drop the mattress down into the crib. "How are you feeling about it all?" I asked as I motioned to her growing stomach. 

She looked down, resting her hands on it. "I'm excited. It's scary at times, but I think it'll be okay," she rationalized. "Marc acts all cool about it, but I think he's silently freaking out. He dragged Sid over here a few days ago and I think your boyfriend wanted to smack him since he had no idea about it all, you know?"

I laughed. "That explains why he came over in a huff," I mumbled. "He'll be okay. It's scarier at first, but after a few weeks it gets easier. You figure things out. It's a learning process for both the parents and the kid," I told her. 

She smiled down at her stomach. "I can't wait."

"Do you know when your due date is?" I asked curiously. 

She grinned up at me. "November 12th," she answered. 

I gave her a small nudge. "It's coming fast," I commented. She nodded her head in agreement. 

"How was your pregnancy with the boys?" she asked curiously. 

I shrugged my shoulders and leaned back against the bookshelf. "It was a lot more stressful. I mean, it's three babies instead of one. I got the worst cravings and my temper was through the roof. I would get irritated with the smallest things. Then a second later I'd want to sob over stupid things." I paused as I looked down at my hands. "I cried over Sidney not being there. I mean, he was more than just the dad, you know? He was my best friend and then suddenly I wasn't talking to him at all. It was hard to accept that. I just wanted that shoulder to lean on for a long time."

I cleared my throat and shifted positions. "I was sick as a dog at the beginning, too. I had been a vegetarian for awhile already, but at that point, the smell of any cooked meat made me hurl. For awhile my mom would eat with our neighbors." Vero laughed at that. "I got bad back pains towards the end. Just because of all the weight. Then I started getting severe pains and went into the hospital. I had to have a cesarean because the amniotic fluid was too low for the doctor's liking. So they delivered the babies a month early. It was terrifying and happy all at the same time. When you see them for the first time it's just..." I shook my head as I thought about it. No words could describe that feeling. 

Vero grinned at me. "I can't wait," she mumbled. 

"Have you guys thought of names yet?" I asked curiously. 

That question caused her to roll her eyes. "Marc has tossed out names from Mario to Wayne to any other great hockey player you can imagine. I really like the name Pascal, though," she admitted. "I just have to convince him it has nothing to do with Dupers."

We both laughed at that. It was definitely an argument he would bring up. As we were laughing, the door swung open to reveal the man we were talking about. 

"What's so funny?" he asked. He handed a glass of iced water to Vero. 

"The unfortunate genes your child will have," I responded. 

He frowned down at me. "No wonder you and Sid are together. You have the same sense of humor."

Vero laughed at that. "I never thought of that. It's true!" she exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. 

He took a seat on the rocking chair and glanced around. "So what about you and Sid?" he asked suddenly. "You two decided on anything?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I asked slowly. I folded the blankets that had been strewn around at the bottom of the closet 

"Like... Moving in together or anything like that?" Vero supplied. 

I shrugged my shoulders. "We've never really talked about it. It's almost like we both nervously avoid it," I said. I offered a small laugh to lighten the mood, but neither of them bought it. 

"You two should talk about it. Maybe it'd be good for you guys," Vero suggested. "Especially for the boys."

I nibbled on my lip as I focused my attention on the blankets. "Maybe. I think the boys would like it... I think they hate being torn between staying with me or staying with him. Especially between Gab and Beau. Beau is such a daddy's boy and Gab is the biggest mama's boy I know," I commented. 

"And Kris still has it out for my woman," Marc added on. 

Vero and I laughed at that. "A kid means nothing. He'll still fight you for her," I warned. 

He scoffed. "he doesn't have a ring on her finger. I do," he countered. 

Vero cleared her throat. "You know, he did make me that ring out of Playdough..."

Marc frowned down at her as she smiled up at him. "I love you," she cooed. His frowned melted into his normal easy smile. 

"Yeah yeah. I'm going to go work out. I'll see you later. Bye, Nathalie," he told me as he left the room. 

Vero waited only a few seconds before looking back at me. "I think you two should talk about it. I mean, you've been together for how long now and you're both serious about each other, that much is obvious."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe the next time we talk on the phone. I don't want to seem like I'm mooching off of him, though... I mean, he easily pays for everything for the boys. I make nothing close to him. I can barely afford an apartment and he had his house custom built for him. It just feels..." I let my sentence fall. 

"You've got to think about it, though. Couples share everything. I mean, look at Marc and me. I'm not working right now. I went to school, though. He pays for us. All of us wives, fiancées, and girlfriends are like that. The serious ones, at least. You just have to let them do it. There's a line between taking advantage of them and simply taking it as a normal serious relationship," she explained. "Your relationship with Joseph. Did he pay for a lot?"

I looked down at my hands. "Well, yeah. He bought the house and all," I mumbled. 

"It's just like that. Just talk to Sidney. I bet he'd be more than enthusiastic about sharing his home with you," she offered with a smile. "And besides. It's not mooching. It's taking a step forward with your relationship," she added with a wink.