Expected ("Unexpected" Book #2)- ON HOLD

Chapter Two: Jake

Marissa dropped me off at work before taking the twins to daycare. Marissa usually parks the car and brings the kids in to see their great-uncle Tim. That was the same for today. Tim always looks forward to seeing the kids. Tim got remarried a couple years earlier and he and his wife are expecting their first child together. He has a daughter who lives with his ex-wife.
"Morning, Tim," I greeted as I held onto Benjamin's hand. Marissa stood right behind me with Alissa.
He looked up from the papers he was looking at on the front desk and walked over to us. "Morning, Jake," he said and walked over to Marissa, giving her a hug. "Nice to see you, Marissa."
"Nice to see you too, Tim."
He leaned down to look at the kids who instantly engulfed him in a hug. "Did you have a good morning?"
"Totally!" both Benjamin and Alissa said at the same time.
"Hey, John," I said as I watched my high school friend John O'Brien walk towards us with a dirty rag in his hand. I reached over and gave him a handshake and a pat on the back. "What are we working on today?"
"An old SUV," John said pointing behind him. "It's in pretty bad shape."
I nodded. "I'll get right to it." John got the job at the auto body shop right after we graduated high school. We've been friends since senior year where he took my side against his friends who tormented me on the daily.
"Uncle John!" the kids cheered and ran into John's arms, engulfing him in a hug.
"Hey, munchkins," John said, wrapping his arms around them. "You're getting so big." He looked at them carefully from afar. "You're going to be as big as your dad soon."
Benjamin jumped up and down excitedly. "Maybe by then, I can join the NBA!"
"With hard work and determination, you can do whatever you want," John said placing a hand on Benjamin's shoulder. Ever since the twins were born, we always told them if they put their mind to something they can achieve it. Benjamin loves playing basketball with me. He's really good for his age.
"I'm going to be just like Michael Jordan!" Benjamin cheered. "I'm planning to one day be as good as him."
John laughed and ruffled Benjamin's hair. "I bet you can already take him one on one."
I walked over with a smile and wrapped my arms around the twins causing them to laugh. "You better get going. You don't want to be late."
They frowned but went over to hug John caringly. "Bye, Uncle John," they both said.
I bent down to their height and outstretched my arms. "Don't forget me."
They smiled widely and ran into my arms. "I love you, Daddy," they both said a couple times.
"And, I love you," I said and placed a kiss on both of their heads.
Marissa smiled and walked over, taking both their hands. "We better go. Don't forget to say bye to Uncle Tim." As the kids went over and said goodbye to Tim, Marissa walked over to me and kissed me softly. "I love you."
"I love you too. Have a nice day."
She smiled and gave me a hug. "I will and I hope you do too." We kissed one more time before Marissa went over and grabbed the kids hands again. "Say bye-bye."
"Bye-bye," Benjamin and Alissa said, waving goodbye to us as Marissa led them to the car.
"God, I love those kids," Tim said while walking over to us. "They sure have great parents."
I chuckled and crossed my arms. "We try."
"Hey, everyone," Tom said as he entered the shop. He's been hanging around here for almost four years during his work breaks.
"Hey, brother Tom," Tim greeted him. I'm glad that they're finally getting along. As kids, they never saw eye to eye. They say it was because of me that they were able to rekindle a broken brotherhood.
"Hey, big brother."
"Hey, Tom," I said and gave him a hug and a pat on the back. Ever since he proved that he wanted to try being a father to me our relationship grew stronger. I've only known him for four years but I felt like I knew him longer. "You just missed Marissa and the kids."
"Aww," he said. "I'll stop by some time to see them." Tom loved my kids. And they loved him. They never experienced the awkward tension that had been between us. We would still have awkward tension if someone brings up the past when he left my mom to raise a kid herself at eighteen. "So, what's up with this banger today?" Tom asked as he made his way over to the banged-up car we were currently working on. The one that we towed early that morning.
I crossed my arms and examined it. "Hit and run accident last night. Some drunk kid was driving and hit this car and drove off as if nothing happened. No note. Nothing. They didn't realize their car was hit until early this morning."
"Wow, teens are just getting more stupid by the day."
I chuckled and leaned against the car, crossing my arms. "Since it was an illegal crime, we are paying for the parts and giving them a discount."
"Have they caught the guy yet?"
"The police already checked the street cameras. They have a license plate number. Now, we wait and see if we can charge the guy with the car."
"He knows he can get arrested for this, right?"
I shrugged. "If not, he will soon find out." I leaned up from the car and went over to grab a few tools from the workbench. "You want to help out?" I asked Tom and handed him a few tools.
He quickly checked his watch and nodded. "I have some time to kill."
"Cool. Help me remove the bumper?" He walked over and we positioned ourselves on either end of the bumper of the car. "For fun, Tim lets me hit it with a hammer until it falls off." I held a jackhammer out to him. "You want to do the honors?"
"Absolutely," Tom said and took the jackhammer from me. "Any certain way I should do this?"
"Just make sure you don't damage the actual car. Just bang the hammer against the bumper."
Lifting up our hammers, we pounded away at the bumper until it fell to the floor with a loud clank. "Just be careful," I informed. "Metal spikes could have formed on it. Trust me, those things hurt."
Tom chuckled and walked around the bumper. "I'll keep that in mind."
I bent down to pick it up. "Now, while picking it up, you have to be very careful. Usually, you should wear gloves but I'm a pro at this."
"You're no pro," Tim called out to me. "You just like to rebel at work."
I shook him off. "One. Two. Three." I lifted it up only to have the metal slice a cut onto the side of my wrist. I quickly yelled and grabbed a rag, wrapping it around my wrist.
"Jake, are you okay?" Tom asked taking a step closer to me.
I nodded. I could feel the blood seeping through the rag. "Just a scratch."
Tim sighed. "Not again." He walked over to the chalkboard where it said DAYS WITHOUT ANY WORKPLACE INJURIES and wrote a zero. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?" Tim said as he walked over and picked up the bumper with no problem. "I'll take care of this. Go fix yourself up."
I walked off to the office where we store the first aid kit. John followed me in. He didn't see what happened. "What happened?"
I went straight to the cabinet the first aid kit was always in and pulled it out, placing it on Tim's desk. I was really the only one who ever had to use the first aid kit. Everyone else was better at taking precautions than me. "Cut myself while picking up a bumper." I grabbed the anti-bacterial wipes and rubbed them across the cut, cleaning it up well before wrapping the bandage wrap around it.
He sighed. "Again?"
I put everything back in the box and put it back in the cabinet. "Yes, again."
He chuckled at something he was thinking about. "Shit, Marissa is going to kill you."
"She won't find out."
He chuckled some more. "It's going to be pretty hard hiding that bandage from her." Before I could say anything he cut in, "And don't you dare lie to her."
I chuckled and eyed the bandage around my wrist. "I'll just let her figure it out herself."
John nodded. "Okay, man. But, are you sure you can still work with that?" he asked pointing at my wrist.
I nodded. "I'll be fine."
He nodded knowing he wasn't going to talk me out of anything. "Okay. Just be careful." He reached over to a shelf against the wall and pulled out a pair of gloves, handing them to me. "I beg you to wear these."
I took them from him with a laugh and slipped them over my hands, guiding them slowly across the bandage.
The others were waiting by the car, watching me when I exited the office. "I think I'm going to take an early lunch," I said as I walked over to them, slipping the gloves from my hands and tossing them to Tim. I turned my eyes to Tom. "You want to go get a bite to eat, Dad?" I call him that sometimes just because of the way it feels on my tongue.
Tom nodded. "Yeah, sure."
I pat his shoulder as I led him out of the garage and towards his car.