The nausea started again, perhaps a little early this morning under all the stress, and she reached over to the nightstand to pull out a packet of crackers while gently rubbing her belly. She tried to soothe herself. To find comfort in the barely there bulge of the baby growing inside her. Her new little one was a surprise, and proof birth control wasn’t a hundred percent effective. This was Mark’s baby, and no one knew, not even him.
On instinct rather than steadfast certainty, she abandoned the crackers and called Dylan first. The phone rang four times before he answered in a groggy, exhausted voice. She cringed for him. He’d had a huge day, and he deserved to have that day without this coming down on top of him.
“Dylan, I need you to come home. Chloe knows. I’m getting the kids up now. We need to talk,” she said, quickly and efficiently.
“What?” His voice was still gravelly with sleep, but clearing. “She knows?”
“Yes,” she said, still keeping her resolve.
“I’m on my way.” She could hear Tristan in the background questioning him until the phone disconnected. She sat there a minute more, staring at her cell before she called Mark. Based on the time, she had about twenty minutes to dress and get Chad and Cate downstairs before Dylan or Chloe could make it home. Mark answered on the first ring. It was just like him to do that.
“Hi, baby.” He’d been asleep too, but always okay with whatever she had in mind.
“I’m sorry to wake you.” Her voice cracked a little under the weight of this moment. Where Dylan was her best friend, Mark had become her rock. She wasn’t certain she knew that until this very moment.
“What’s happened?” he asked, sounding a bit cautious.
“I just want to really make sure I’m what you want. Chloe found out about Dylan tonight, and I’m not going to hide us anymore, but I want you to be certain before I say your name to them.” Teri held her breath. At this point there would really be no turning back.
“I’m coming over.” The sleepiness had dissipated from his voice. She could hear his movements from the other end of the phone.
“Mark, we need to tell them alone. I wanted you to be certain. It’s one thing to talk about the future, but altogether different to have that future facing you.”
“Baby, I want us. I can’t wait until that day comes,” Mark said firmly.
“Well, it looks like that day’s here,” Teri replied, her smile growing. She’d needed to hear those words. They made her strong. Helped her see a little bit more clearly.
“I’m coming over. I’ll be out front. Don’t stop me,” Mark said.
“I don’t know if I’ll even be able to see you tonight. You’re making a wasted trip. I’ll call you when I’m done. I promise.”
“Baby, it’s not wasted. Dammit, Teri, I can’t wait for the day that I don’t have to sit back anymore. That I can be there beside you for the tough parts of life.”
“I need to dress and wake up Chad and Cate. I’m glad they’re home tonight. I love you, Mark,” Teri said, rising from the bed. She rubbed at her belly again, the nausea completely gone.
“I’ll be right out front if you need me,” Mark stated, not backing down at all.
“Thank you.” She smiled into her phone.
“I love you, don’t thank me. I need to be beside you.” Mark hung up first as she stepped inside her closet to change.
“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked, holding Dylan tightly in his arms as he tried to pull away.
“I gotta go. Let me go.” Dylan tugged free of Tristan’s hold and rolled from bed. He stumbled around in the darkened hotel room, looking for his clothes, trying to remember where he’d been when they came off. A slow trickle of panic filled his gut. What did Chloe know?
“Dylan, what happened?” The room lit up. The bright light forced his eyes closed, needing to adjust, and that pissed him off as precious time slipped away from him. He turned his head, remembering they had been in the living room when they undressed. Enough light filtered from the bedroom to see they’d left the clothes in a pile by the sofa.
“I don’t know. Teri just said she knows,” he finally answered, tugging on his slacks, barely getting the zipper up before he reached down to grab his white undershirt. He didn’t worry about the buttons on his pants or bother with putting on his socks.
“Teri knows what?” Tristan asked, valiantly trying to understand. He wasn’t physically holding Dylan back, but all he wanted from Tristan at this moment was help out the door. He patted down his slacks to feel the weight of his wallet and keys inside the pockets.
“Chloe knows something and I have to go home right now,” Dylan answered on the edge of frustration as he slid his loafers on his feet.
“Let me get dressed. I can drive you.” Tristan had already been trailing along after him, following a few steps behind Dylan. He fished his clothes out of the pile, not hesitating to put them on.
“No, you can’t go!” What was Tristan thinking? Of course he couldn’t go to his house. This had to do with his family, his children. They were barely a month into whatever they were doing and Tristan was already trying to cross the boundaries Dylan had set.
“I should be there for you. You shouldn’t have to do this alone,” Tristan replied, searching for something in the back pocket of his slacks, not paying him any attention.
“Why? I handle my life—you don’t. Besides, I don’t even know what’s going on.” Dylan started walking straight toward the door and never looked back as the door slammed shut behind him. His entire focus rested on his children and what the hell was going on at his house. What did Chloe think she knew and how had she found out?
“Wait!” Tristan came running up behind him. “Dylan, please stop!”