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Trish pulled back and kissed his face. "I'm so sorry I haven't been around. There is so much going on and I would love to tell you all about it... if you want to hear it," she said hesitantly.
EJ found his voice. "Um... yea okay," he mumbled.
She took his hand and he let her, then she sat at the table with the other kids. JC, protective of her big brother, went to sit at the table next to him and stared suspiciously at his mother the whole time she was talking. Susie, as expected, followed her sister's lead. Jack came over to stand next to Ethan at the island and watched them talk about Trish's new job and new home and all the excuses of why she had not been around.
Jamel came into the house from the basement steps, leaving the dogs down there. He looked at the blond woman at the table and asked, "What did I miss?"
"My ex-wife is here," Ethan said, trying not to sound bitter.
"Oh shit," he exclaimed quietly. "You okay?"
"I don't know yet," Ethan said back just as quietly.
Trish looked up and noticed Jamel. Her eyes went wide with lust at the tall, dark skinned, handsome African American man, and she came over to stand in front of him. "Hi, I'm Patricia. And you look like the next tree I want to climb."
Ethan laughed at her abrasiveness and Jack rolled his eyes. Jamel smiled politely and introduced himself with a handshake. "I'm Jamel. It's nice to meet you, Patricia."
"Please tell me you're not gay too," she said seductively.
Connor said from the living room, "Very!" making Ethan laugh again.
Trish looked at Connor with a tight smile. She already didn't like him. Instead she turned around and went back to the table with the kids. It was fine until Trish said to her son, "You're getting so big, EJ. It's like you're growing up into a little man overnight."
"He's not, he's still a kid," Susie told her factually.
"Well, aren't you miss smarty pants," she said to her. "You must be the smartest person in the room, huh, with your China doll self?"
Jack scoffed and gave her a nasty look as Ethan said, "Hey Trish, try to be a little less racist, mmkay? She's Korean."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She threw her hands up sarcastically. "How was I supposed to know?"
"You would know if you'd been around," Connor said casually. All the adults turned to look at him but he continued to play with the toddlers.
She grimaced at him. "Why would I know about some random kid in your house?"
"She's our daughter, you-" Jack caught himself.
Trish's mouth opened and she looked at Ethan, then back at Susie, then at Ethan and Jack again. "For real?"
"Yea, for real," EJ spoke up, almost angrily. "She's my sister and her name is Suzanne like my grandma but we call her Susie. And Uncle Connor is right. If you were around you would know that."
Ethan and Jack exchanged looks but said nothing regarding EJ's outburst.
"I'm... I'm sorry EJ," Trish stammered out. "I can tell you love her very much. I know you're a fantastic big brother to your little sisters."
"And how would you know that?" Connor chimed in again.
"Could you shut up?" she said nastily to him.
"Nope, I can't. This is my house, lady. I get to say what the hell I want, especially since I know more about your son than you do, because again, you haven't been around." He finally looked at her.
"You don't know shit about me!" she yelled at him.
"I know you're a shitty mom," Connor said with a smile.
"Connor!" Ethan yelled at him, not amused, at the same time Trish yelled, "Shut the fuck up!" Freddie chuckled.
Connor looked at Ethan. "What? You two agreed to stay calm and mature, I didn't agree to shit."
He smiled at Trish who scowled at him. Jack found himself smiling at his friend. Jamel gave Connor a disapproving look and shook his head.
"Uncle Connor you're cursing so you have to put money in the cursing jar!" Susie yelled. Connor dug into his wallet and held out a dollar bill. Susie happily went over and took it from him.
Ethan rubbed his own head. "Alright already, Trish, do you want to go somewhere and talk?"
"Good idea," said Jack. "Stay here. I'm going to take the kids home."
"Okay," Ethan agreed.
They kissed, then Jack told the girls to get their shoes. Trish got up and Ethan motioned for her to follow him to the basement steps. When they got there EJ asked, "Do you want me to stay with you, Dad?" He was looking at his mother as he spoke.
Ethan looked to Trish, who turned back to their son. "Do you mind if I talk to your dad in private? I need to talk to him about something very important. We'll spend the day together tomorrow, promise."
"Yea. Yea okay," he said sadly. He started getting up to get his shoes too. Jack scowled at Trish for once again disappointing his son.
Ethan pulled her by her arm before Jack had his own words for her and led her to the game room on the bottom floor. Jamel and Connor's boxer dogs jumped all over Trish and Ethan as if they didn't just have exercise. After they settled down, Ethan turned to his ex-wife.
"Okay, talk."
"It's really good to see you," she started.
Ethan was not in the mood. "Trish, c'mon."
"Okay, I just wanted to say that first. You're like, all grown up with a family. I like it on you. We were so different back then, drinking and popping pills. I feel like you got your shit together and I'm still treading water. So I just wanted to say I'm proud of you, Ethan."
He sighed. "What happened, Trish?"
She sighed too and sat on the arm of the couch. "I was engaged to someone and I thought we were going to stay together. But after I got pregnant I think the pressure got to him that he was going to be a father and he started using again and I didn't want to be around that anymore. So I left him."
He nodded. "You did a good thing. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks. But the thing is, my parents don't know I'm pregnant. We had planned to tell them about the baby and the engagement together but then we broke up two months ago. They would absolutely kill me for getting pregnant again and not being married so I can't go to them for support. And I don't want to do this alone." Her eyes began to well up with tears.
Ethan put his arm around her. "You're asking me to, what, just be there while you give labor? And then what? Be a father figure to your child?"
"All I know is that I can't do any of this alone. Can we just take it one step at a time? Right now I just need a labor partner. And we've done it before so you know how I can get. They can't give me pain meds so it's going to be brutal."
"Okay," he agreed. "When is your due date?"
She hesitated, then said, "I'm getting induced on Monday at St. Vincent's."
His eyes went wide. "That's five days from now."
She nodded. "Time is of the essence."
Ethan sighed again. "Let me square it away with Jack and give you a definite answer by tomorrow. Where are you staying?"
"Queens."
He looked at her. "And I assume you need a place to sleep for the next couple of days?"
She smiled. "It's good having an ex-husband that owns hotels."
"It's a Bed and Breakfast. And yea, I'll set you up with a room there."
"Thanks, E. And I really am sorry I haven't been around. This year has been crazy for me, as you can tell." She motioned to her belly.
"Patricia, are you planning on spending any time with EJ at all?" Ethan asked. "Because I'm telling you, he is getting older and not as forgiving with your antics. You broke his heart and pissed Jack off tremendously when you didn't show up for his 10th birthday. Then you just show up here out of the blue with a baby on the way? You can't do that to my son. We talked about this. Either you're in his life or you're out, for good."
"I know and I really am sorry," she said sincerely. "We have all weekend to get connected again. And to answer your earlier question, since I'm having a boy, it would be nice if he could have you in his life as a male role model, and have a relationship with his brother. But I'm not going to push it, because I know Jack hates me."
She looked to him for him to dispute her claim and he did not. Instead he held his hand out. "Give me your keys, I'll drive."
When they arrived at the Inn, Jack was at the front desk talking with Stacy. They both frowned upon seeing Trish returned. Ethan walked to the front desk and asked, "Is room seven still available?"
"Yes," she said respectfully, trying not to be annoyed at the woman behind him.
"Please compliment the room for the next five nights," he told her without looking at Jack. He already knew Jack's face would show annoyance.
"Sure thing, Ethan." Stacy went to the computer and booked the room.
Jack said, "If you're staying here, Trish, you need to start by apologizing to Mrs. Sokalski for the way you treated her earlier." Stacy glanced up then looked back down and smirked, thankful for her friend.
Trish squinted one eye at Jack, but then said to her, "I'm sorry for yelling and cursing at you earlier. And I appreciate you finding Ethan for me."
Stacy smiled a tight smile and handed her a key. "No problem. Room seven, east wing. Breakfast is served from 6am to 12pm every day. Have a great stay at Inn Love at the B&B."
"Thanks chicky!" she said happily and took the key. She turned to Ethan and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you too."
"You're welcome," he said back.
She turned to Jack who was still frowning at her. "I want to take EJ for the day tomorrow."
Jack looked at her like she had two heads. "It's a Thursday, EJ has school."
"So? He can't skip school this one time?" she asked.
Jack said, "No," at the same time Ethan said, "It's fine." They stared at each other having a silent argument.
It was quiet as everyone waited. Jack relented first. "Sure. He can skip school this one time. But he's going to school on Friday."
She smiled at him. "Thank you, Mrs. Starling!" Before Jack could respond she grabbed her bag and started going up the stairs.
When she was out of earshot, Ethan started with, "Jack-"
But Jack cut him off. "I'm taking a shower and going to bed." He turned to Stacy. "Thanks." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and went downstairs without looking at Ethan.
Ethan sighed and put his head on the front desk. He knew Jack's "shower" was just so he could get as far away from him as possible.
He heard Stacy say, "A happy ex-wife and an angry husband under the same roof? Sheesh. Rick and I have room at the house if you want to disappear for the night."
He chuckled. "Don't tempt me, Stace."
~~~
After Ethan took his shower, he wrapped a towel around himself and came into his bedroom, locking the door behind him. Jack was lying in bed reading and ignored him. Ethan sat next to him.
"So, do you want to know what's going on?" he asked.
"Not really," Jack said nonchalantly as he flipped a page. "You don't want my opinion anyway."
"I actually do, Jack."
Jack looked up as Ethan spoke. Ethan told Jack what he and Trish talked about. "She's going to spend the next couple of days here with us and then on Monday I'm going to take her to St. Vincent's in Hartford and be her person." Jack was quiet. "Tell me what you're thinking."
He sighed. "I'm thinking... She's going to break my son's heart again. She's going to spend time with him, get him all excited and then disappear on him with this new baby. And I can't let that happen."
Ethan understood. "We talked about that in the car. She said she has no intention of doing that. Her plan was to be in EJ's life but then her life went topsy turvy and she didn't want him to be a part of her mess."
"And you believe her."
Ethan nodded. "I do."
"That's because you're too trusting of people you love."
Ethan's face scrunched up. "What?"
"All blinders," Jack reminded him. "Trish is toxic. She brings nothing but drama and chaos to your life. You don't want to cut her off for EJ but keeping her around doesn't help him either."
"It doesn't help when she isn't stable," Ethan said, trying to convince Jack. "But that last year, EJ loved having his mother in his life, even if it was just for the moment. Maybe this new situation will help her grow up a little. She'll be a mom again and she'll want EJ in her life full time."
"Or maybe she's just using it as an excuse to use you and then she'll drop you both. Did she ask for money yet?"
"She didn't."
Jack scoffed. "Don't be surprised if she does. Because she knows you'll do anything for her. She just doesn't want to do this alone because she knows you'll always be there for her to help her out of a jam."
"And why is that a bad thing that she knows I'll always be there for her?" Ethan asked. Jack didn't respond. "So what are you saying? I should just let Trish go at this alone?"
"I'm saying you wear your heart on your sleeve." He leaned into Ethan. "Look, I know you want to help her. But she's a big girl, she could do this on her own if she really wanted to." Jack touched his leg. "Trish knows that and takes advantage. Just be careful."
Ethan shrugged. "What's the worst that can happen?"
"She breaks my son's heart again," Jack said. "And yours."
Ethan laid down on the bed fully and stared at the ceiling. He knew that Jack was not completely wrong in how he felt about the situation. But he felt a responsibility to her after all he had put her through in their short marriage. And he knew that Trish didn't have a lot of stable people in her life, so it was no surprise that she turned to him.
Jack continued talking. "I don't know, Ethan. I'm not telling you not to do this. If you want to be there for her, I will support that. I just know it's not going to be so simple as, be my labor partner. She's going to want more from you than that. Which means more from us."
Ethan decided to tell him the other part. "She wants to raise this baby. But she asked me to be a father figure to her child too. It's a boy."
Jack sighed and moved to lay next to Ethan. His right hand found Ethan's left. "And of course you'll do that for her."
Ethan turned his head. "Only if it's with you."
"Which means she'll probably move up here, probably right in Rockville. Probably at the Residence, right?" said Jack, mentioning the apartment building they own together. Ethan did not respond. "You have this whole thing planned in your head." Jack rolled his eyes.
"I'm just saying, if she was here, EJ could see her as much as he wanted. And we could help her be the mom she doesn't think she could be."
"Why does this conversation feel like Deja vu?" Jack asked with a smile. Ethan smiled back. "Okay. I'm down with this plan until she shows us that she can't be trusted. For your sake and EJ's. But we need to talk to EJ about it too."
"Definitely. But not until we know for sure that that's what she wants to do."
"Right," Jack agreed. "Because she could flip at any moment and disappear with the baby. Or without the baby and leave you holding the bag. The diaper bag."
"Nah, I don't think she would do that," Ethan said. "Not this time around."
Jack shook his head. "I love you E. But you never see how toxic the people you love are."
Ethan laughed. "So what does that make you?"
"Oh I'm absolutely toxic to you," Jack said seriously. "But I give you something back for your moral ambiguity."
"Yea? What's that?" Ethan said with a smile, knowing where this conversation was going.
Jack moved closer to him and started rubbing his cock through his towel. "Mind blowing, toes curling, multiple orgasms, multiple times a day kinda sex, sprinkled with love."
"Yea?" Ethan said seductively as he pulled Jack on top of him. "Show me." He started taking off Jack's t-shirt and boxer briefs.
They kissed as Ethan pulled the lube from the shelf over the bed. Jack took it from him, turned around and sat on his chest. He put Ethan in his mouth first as Ethan licked Jack's hairy hole, both moaning quietly. After a few sucks, he took the lube from Ethan and slicked up his cock, then passed it back as Ethan moistened Jack's anus. Jack turned back around and Ethan held himself steady. Jack slid down onto his cock, moaning as Ethan's thick penis filled him up.
Jack held onto Ethan's shoulders as he lifted his bottom up, then back down, moaning "hhhooooooo" all the way down. Ethan touched Jack's thighs lightly as Jack did all the work, bouncing on him. When he started getting louder Ethan put two fingers in Jack's mouth and Jack clamped down on them, sucking hard and moaning, moving against him.
Jack's body began jerking and Ethan knew he was close. He slapped his cheeks hard, squeezed them and said encouragingly, "Yea, that's it. Fuck...you're almost there."
"Fuck, I'm so close," Jack whimpered. Ethan began to rock with him, thrusting gently. "Right there..." Jack moaned out. "Don't stop...right there..."
Ethan thought he was going to hold out but his orgasm came fast and furious and he began to pump faster as he ejaculated. Jack felt Ethan's warm cum on the inside and instantly began to cum onto Ethan's chest, letting out one loud, "hhhhooooo!"
Ethan instantly clamped his palm down on Jack's mouth, making them both laugh. They paused and waited but they did not hear any footsteps from their children waking up so they breathed a sigh of relief. Together they cleaned themselves up and fell asleep in each other's arms.
~~~~~~
EJ was thrilled to know he was not going to school the next day and the reason why. He had a million questions, "What we gonna do, Where we gonna go, How long is she staying..."
Jack sent EJ to her room at 7am to knock on her door and asked all the questions he wanted, knowing it would annoy her to be woken up so early, which he happily did. JC said, "Can I stay home too? EJ needs me."
"And me!" Susie piped up.
"Nice try girls," Ethan said. "I'll walk you to the bus stop in ten minutes so finish your breakfast."
"Awwww," they both cried and pouted.
After they left, Jack was cleaning up the kitchen when EJ came into their home with Trish. He glanced at her then went back to cleaning. EJ said excitedly, "We're going to the zoo so I have to get my giraffe hat." He ran into his room to look for it.
She sat down at the nearest chair and put her feet up. "I'm glad I put on my sneakers today. I should probably stop wearing heels."
He said without looking at her, "You probably should have stopped wearing heels months ago."
She rolled her eyes. They said nothing to each other for a few minutes but she tried again to connect with him. "EJ has always loved the zoo."
He nodded. "It's his favorite place. No matter how old he gets, he loves going there, seeing the animals. We take him in every state we go to."
"Wow. How many zoos has he been to?" she asked.
Jack stopped moving and was thoughtful. "Franklin Park in Boston, Beardsley Zoo in-"
"Bridgeport!" she said happily. "I took him there with Ethan."
Jack smiled. "Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Brooklyn Zoo, San Francisco Zoo, Oakland Zoo and he's been to Roger William Park where you're taking him, a lot of times."
"Wow," Trish said again. "You just take him whenever he wants?"
Jack shrugged. "He's a good kid, why not? And he likes animals. Maybe he'll be a vet when he grows up." He went back to loading the dishwasher.
Trish nodded. "Jack?"
"Hmm?"
"I want to thank you for taking care of EJ all these years," she said sincerely.
He stopped loading and looked at her. "You don't have to thank me, Trish. He's my son. I love him and I'll always take care of him."
"Yea, I know that, Jack. I'm just saying..." She sighed. "I'm just saying that I appreciate how you have taken care of him, even when he wasn't your son. I know I give you a hard time, I know I take digs at you and talk a lot of shit and you have every right to hate me. But you've been a really great dad to him. If EJ's a good kid, it's not just because of Ethan. It's because of you too."
