I'll Look If I Want

User Friendly

Chapter 10 – User Friendly
I sighed as I watched Aden and Elsie play with their train set on the floor, a makeshift town made of coloured blocks surrounding the toy train station; smiling and kneeling down when they asked me to play with them.

“Mummy?” Elsie asked in her little voice, not looking up from moving a little figure with a wheelbarrow around the block town.

“Yes sweetheart?” I smiled, moving a character from next to a toy car to the train station.

“Is Marilyn our daddy?” she asked, finally looking up at me with a tiny frown.

I froze for a moment, feeling someone watching. “What makes you ask that, precious?”

“Well… he kissed you.” Elsie shrugged. “And he hugs you like you hug us when we’re sad…”

“And daddy’s do that.” Aden nodded, pushing his train along its track.

“Well…” I sighed, looking at them both squarely. “Would you be terribly upset with me if I told you he was your daddy?”

“No.” Elsie said as she looked down and began to play again. “I like Marilyn… but, next time mummy… tell us the things we should know…okay?”

I smiled at her trying to talk like an adult. “Okay my darlings, I promise.”

“So, Marilyn is our daddy?” Aden asked again as he went back to his trains.

“Yes, Aden,” Marilyn said from behind me and I blushed as I turned to look at him, smiling sheepishly up at him. “I am… is that okay?”

“Yeah…I guess.” Aden smiled, but frowned again as Elsie whispered something in his ear. “Do we call you daddy?”

I smiled as he opened his mouth and no sound came out as he looked at me. “I don’t see why not.” I smirked. “Hello, daddy.”

Marilyn chuckled as I stood and walked over to him, standing with him and watching the twins play as I rested my head on his shoulder. “See?” Marilyn smiled knowingly at me. “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

***

I slumped back against the wall as I closed the twins bedroom door. Marilyn and I had taken them out to the park this afternoon and then to dinner after, doing somehitng as a family; but the days events had exhausted me as well as the twins… and I was about three blinks away from falling asleep on my feet.

“Well…I had a really lovely day with you all,” Marilyn smiled warmly as I looked over to him. “But I think I’d better go-”

“No, please…” I interrupted him, the hopeful look in his eyes making my heart flutter slightly. “Stay with me?”

“Okay…” Marilyn smiled warmly, looking me over as I sighed and leant back against my bedroom door. “You look ready to drop…”

“Just about…” I conceded.

“What you need, is a nice, hot shower.”

“What I need… is my bed…”

“Nope, a nice, long, hot shower is definitely the ticket here…” Marilyn smiled at me knowingly, taking my hand and leading me into the bathroom. I watched him close and lock the door, then shrug out of his shirt as he turned the hot water on. I rubbed my eyes tiredly as he turned back to me and held out a hand to me. “Come on… come here.”

My eyes widened a little. “You’re… joining me?”

“It’s not as if I haven’t seen you naked before…” he smiled gently as he came to stand in front of me when I stood.