Page 57 of Classroom Confessions

We might all need a stiff drink by the end of the night. I closed my eyes and tried to get a grip on my emotions.

David shuffled around in the kitchen. Cabinet doors opened, closed. Opened again. The sharp bite of whiskey sliced the air. “You want one?” His voice came from far away.

I kept my eyes closed and shook my head. “Already had two. Better not go any further.” I wasn’t meant to be a father, I reminded myself as David knocked back a whiskey and slammed the glass on the counter. My father was a bastard, a cheat, and a liar. I had nothing to offer a kid. I had a better chance of ruining them than I did raising them right. Once Rebecca found out about my history, she’d agree and I’d be out of this relationship.

My lip peeled back in a snarl. My father had ruined enough of my life. Was I going to let him ruin this for me too?

“What the fuck is that for?” David stomped closer.

I dropped into a chair and tried to settle with my spine cushioned in the backing and my ankle over my knee. My foot jiggled up and down so fast my laces slapped my heel.

“They’re here.” David’s voice fell. He tugged at his collar, then unbuttoned the top button and removed his tie. “Why am I nervous? Are you nervous?”

“I’m not going to be a father.” I bit out the words in sharp notes that raised David’s eyebrows.

“Don’t be an ass. We’re all part of this. Is biology really going to matter?” He had a point and he knew it.

We both sat forward, then stood when the knob turned and Rebecca peeked in. She caught us staring at her and a tremulous smile emerged. “Hi.” She pushed the door the rest of the way open. “Cole said for me to come on in. Is that okay?”

She met my eyes, her own so full of fear and uncertainty that my insides writhed with the need to comfort her. “It’s fine.”

Her smile grew and she stepped in, holding the door open for Cole. “I tried to stop him.”

We didn’t get any further than that before Cole stumbled in. Balloons fanned out over his head, the letters so twisted and knotted up that the balloons themselves hung in a tangled knot. He hefted a cake toward his chest. “We have news.”

“Is everything okay?” David took Rebecca into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Are you all right? How was the appointment? When do you go back?”

Questions continued to spill out of him until Rebecca put a hand in the center of his chest, her smile luminous. Where she’d been pale and shaking a few days ago, today she glowed with health and vigor. I’d never understood that whole saying about pregnant women having a glow, but I got it now.

Rebecca cupped David’s cheeks in her hands and kissed him on the mouth. “Everything is fine.”

“Damned balloons.” Cole set the gold weight on the table and slid the cake next to it. He grabbed a T balloon and pulled it to the side, followed by a S that had tangled up with the W until they were stuck together too tightly to separate. He spun the balloon strings around, turned, and tried to line up more of the letters.

“What’s this all about?” I waved at the balloons, then the cake.

Cole handed me an "I” balloon. “Hold this. I swear they were in order when I got them out of the car. I should have kept a better eye on them.”

I eyed the array of letters. T. S. W. N. I. My brow furrowed. “Is this some kind of game you’re playing to tell us who the father is?”

“We won’t know that for a while.” Rebecca hugged David, then dropped her arms and stepped back. She wore comfortable clothes, which for her was a skirt that brushed her knees and a loose shirt that showed the column of her throat. A necklace sat in the hollow of her throat, the heart pendant winking when she crossed to stand in front of me. “That’s something we need to discuss.”

Cole handed David a balloon, then threw his hands up in the air. “Forget it. Here.” He swatted the balloon away from David and picked up the cake.

“I’m so confused.” David pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

“That’s what I’m trying to do. Look.” Cole shoved the cake toward us both. His eyes shone brightly.

I pulled my gaze to the cake in slow motion, not trusting what it might reveal.

“Twins for the win.” I read the words in a low monotone, my heart taking up residence in my throat.

David’s jaw unhinged. He did that thing where his body locked into place and stared. “Explain.”

Cole rolled his eyes, acting almost as giddy as the puppies he fostered. “We’re having twins.” He tried to include me, but the look between him, David, and Rebecca tore my heart out and stomped it into the ground.

“Seriously?” David moved to Rebecca and splayed his hands across her stomach. “Are you sure?”

“The doctor was pretty adamant.” The tightness in her body eased under David’s attention.

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