VALENTINO
I’d gotten so wrapped up in the excitement of that morning that I’d forgotten all about family dinner. Being the kind of guy I was, I wanted to do both. So, I’d told Veronica I’d be in early for drinks, then back home to have dinner with my new neighbor.
“What kind of new neighbor?” Veronica asked, the two of us in her kitchen sipping our beers as the rest of the family played by the pool. Summer and Margaret, Veronica’s five and seven year old girls, let out excited shrieks as they ran around and jumped into the water. Mom and Dad were out there with them, Greta and her partner Fran on their way over.
A smile played on her face as she asked the question. “Not that kind,” I answered. “Just a nice woman who’s got a cute kid, a cute kid who snuck into my backyard today to play with Mick.”
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Are you serious? What happened?”
“Nothing crazy. I was inside still trying to wake up when I heard some kid laughing in the backyard. Then there’s thisbang-bang-bangat the front door. I opened it to see her mom standing there in nothing but a towel and slippers, her eyes like this—” I made my eyes big and wide, doing my best impersonation of Piper’s expression that morning.
Veronica laughed. “I mean, I’d like to say that’s crazy, but it’s really not. I’ve had the girls run off right out under my nose and all you can think of when it hits you that they’re gone is trying to get them back. Can’t say I’ve ever run out wearing nothing but a towel, but I can’t say I blame her.” She reached over and gave me a shove. “Seriously, you’ve got women showing up on your doorstep in various states of undress and youstillcan’t settle down.”
There was more to Piper’s and my relationship, of course, but I had no idea how to get into all of that, not to mention the little matter of how I was almost one-hundred percent certain that Maddie was mine. I set all of that aside for the time being.
“Just got too much going on for anything like that.”
“You’ve been saying that for the last fifteen years, V.”
“And it’s been true for all of them. Where am I supposed to find time to be a husband, let alone a dad?”
“You make it work. I know I’ve told you this a million times, but Margaret wasn’t planned. Shane and I had spent all this time talking about how we were going to start our family, how everything needed to be just so, and we needed to be making a certain amount of money and live in a certain kind of house before we could have our first kid. Then, bam, life throws a curveball at you. But you make it work. Shane went into business for himself so he could work at home, and I finished my masters while I was pregnant. And now look at us.” She swept her arm toward the back. “Granted, this place could fit in the corner of your first floor, but I think we’re doing alright.” She followed up her words with a smile, letting me know she was only joking around about her house fitting inside of mine.
“You’re married,” I said. “It’s different.”
“Maybe it is a little. But married or not, you need two people to have a kid.” She laughed, then took a sip of her beer. “I swear, V, you’d think you’re the only person with a good career who wasn’t sure how he’d fit kids into his life.” After she spoke, she cocked her head to the side, looking at me with skepticism.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just that…this is areallylong time we’ve been talking about you having kids.”
“No kidding; we’ve probably had this conversation twenty times since you had Margaret.”
“That’s not what I mean. It’sthisconversation. Normally, you shut me down before I can even get a word out about the subject.”
More commotion from the girls sounded out, followed by Mom yelling something, then one of the girls jumping into the pool. Veronica was right. Normally, the subject of kids was something I wasn’t interested in discussing at all. In those moments, however, it was enough to give me pause.
“Alright, something’s up.” Veronica leaned against the counter behind her, a friendly, but skeptical, look on her face. “What’s going on, Val? Don’t tell me you knocked some woman up and now you’ve got an illegitimate kid running around.” She laughed at the notion, shaking her head then lifting her beer to take a sip.
I didn’t laugh at all, however, and Veronica’s eyes went wide, her mouth going slack.The beer stayed in mid-air just beyond her lips.
“No. Nofreaking way.”
I shook my head, scolding myself internally for being so careless with my secret. While I’d always been the sort of guy to keep things close to the chest, I’d never been big on lying—especially to my family.
“What’s going on?” she asked, hurrying over, her voice hushed.
“I’ll tell you. But youhaveto promise to not tell the rest of the family. If I’m right, it’s my secret to tell.”
“You have my word.”
“Come on—let’s go somewhere private.”
She nodded, then hurried over to the doors that led out to the backyard, yelling to Shane that she’d be in the girls’ room if he needed her. Together we made our way through the house and into the girls’ playroom, which was the nearest private room to the kitchen. It was painted all pink, littered with dolls and other toys one would expect from a space where two little girls lived. The big picture window looked out onto the backyard, and I watched the girls running here and there while the rest of the family called out to get them to slow down.
I loved my nieces like mad. Margaret had her dad’s fair skin and blonde hair, while Summer was all Victoria, sporting the same dark hair and eyes as our side of the family. I couldn’t get over how much Summer looked like Maddie, my heart skipping a beat from excitement at the idea of being able to tell the two girls that they had a cousin.
“Alright, spill,” Veronica demanded as she shut the door. Her expression was an equal mix of interest and worry.
