When Nick walked into the staffroom on his first day back, I could instantly tell there was something different about him. He seemed happier, more...I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. He looked around for a moment, his eyes lighting up a little when he spotted me.
"Hey." I grinned at him when he sat down beside me.
"Hi. I missed you." He said, and I felt a little tightness in my chest.
"Hey, Nick. Good to see you back in one piece." We both looked up as one of our co-workers walked by.
"Hi, Talia. It's good to be back to normality," Nick replied, sending her a smile before turning back to me. "I have so many stories to tell you. It was the best trip."
"You'll have to save those stories for later," I told him, hearing the bell ringing. "Time for class now."
"Ugh, I didn't miss this." He groaned, standing up and heading to his locker.
"You'll get used to it again pretty quick. You only really missed two days, anyway." We both laughed as we headed out the door, waving to students when we parted ways.
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After school was over, I said goodbye to Nick and made the quick trip to pick up Alexis from her school where she was waiting for me at the front gate.
"Daddy, can we have pizza tonight?" She asked, tossing her bag across the back seat of the car as she climbed in.
"Not tonight, it's Monday. Thursday is takeaway night."
"Aw, please?"
"If you can give me a good reason, I'll think about it." I decided, looking at her in the rear-view mirror.
"I passed my test with 99%."
"Well, that's very good. But I don't think it quite warrants a pizza dinner."
"Pretty please? I'll wash the dishes from yesterday." She begged but I shook my head.
"Sorry, Alexis. Remember, we can't afford to have pizza all the time. We've only got the money I earn now." It killed me that I couldn't give my kids everything they wanted anymore now that I didn't have the combined income of Ben and me. I still got some money from Ben in the form of child-support but it wasn't the Olivere. Maybe one day I'd find someone who'd be willing to take on the responsibilities of having two kids with me.
"Okay." She slumped down a little in her seat. "Where's Nate?"
"He's going to his friend's house today. So it's just you and me for now."
"Can I watch a movie? Nate always takes the TV."
"Sure you can. Just keep it a little bit quiet, I've got some work to do before dinner." She nodded and fell silent for the rest of the trip home, watching out the window as we drove. I turned on the radio for some background noise after a bit.
Finally, we turned into our driveway, only to find another car already parked there.
"Daddy, do we have a visitor?" Alexis asked me, leaning forward.
"I don't know, honey. I don't recognise the car." Climbing out, I looked towards the front door for the owner of the car but there was nobody. "Stay close to me, okay?"
"Okay." Alexis scrambled out of the car and hurried to my side; her bag clutched in her hands.
I started walking towards the house, keeping an eye out for the owner of the car. We were just about at the car when movement by the side of the house caught my eye. I turned towards where a gate led to the back of the house and spotted Ben coming through the gate.
"Why are you here? What are you doing back there?" I asked him accusingly. He held his hands up in surrender as he crossed the lawn towards Alexis and me.
"I came to see you. I need to talk to you. I thought the spare key might still be back there because I really wanted a glass of water."
"You thought you could go into my house and get some water and I'd be okay with that?" I scoffed. "The locks were changed anyway and the spare key is in a new place."
"I'm sorry." I handed my keys to Alexis and pointed to the front door.
"Go inside, sweetie. I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay, daddy." She hurried towards the door, barely acknowledging Ben on her way.
"She hates me, doesn't she?" Ben asked when Alexis had disappeared inside.
"No. She's still wrapping her head around what happened. She's only nine. It's a lot for her to take in."
"She's ten now."
"You know what I mean. She was nine when it all happened." Back at my car, I reached in for my bag and the stack of music I had to look through. "So who's car is that?"
"Mine. Or mine and Daniel's."
"It's nice."
"Thanks. It's safe too. For a family, I mean."
"Okay..." I frowned. It was a weird thing to point out."
"That's why I came over. So you didn't hear this from someone else." He stepped closer, his hands resting gently on my shoulders. I resisted the urge to shrug him off. "Daniel and I, we're having a baby."
"What?"
"A baby. We've got a surrogate lined up and everything."
"You turned me down when I suggested using a surrogate so we could have a kid of our own."
"I know."
"Did you know?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Did I know what?"
"That we wouldn't stay together. Even back then, were you looking for someone else to have a baby with?"
"No. God, no. Charlie, I-" He sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes, freeing me to step back a bit. My heart was racing almost as much as it had been when he told me about his affair. "I wasn't interested in anyone else then. I just didn't think surrogacy was the right thing for us. I mean, we got Nathaniel and Alexis. We wouldn't have them if we'd gone down that route, would we?"
"Go home, Ben." I didn't want to hear his attempts to justify his decisions. "Thank-you for telling me but go home now."
"Okay. I just wanted to tell you. I know it would have hurt you more if you'd heard it from someone else."
"Not like it didn't hurt anyway," I mumbled, walking away from him towards the house. Just as I closed the door, I heard his car start up and drive away so I let the tears fall.
