Maddie
"Come on, you've got it," I tell her. "Come on, just a few more steps!"
Isabelle wavers in front of me, her stubby little hand holding onto the coffee table for dear life. She's reluctant to trust me, but I know she can do it. She's smarter than she thinks.
"Come to mama," I say again, my phone recording in one hand, my other reaching out for her. She looks at my hand again, and finally, finally, she lets go of the coffee table.
"That's it!" I squeal and sit up on my knees. "Come on, big girl! You've got it."
Oh my god, is she actually going to?
I thought I'd be at work for this. I thought I'd miss the opportunity to catch this on camera, but I am in complete and utter awe when she takes two steps all on her own. She stumbles once she reaches me, but she did it. She took her first steps.
"Oh my goodness!" I wipe away tears that have stupidly fallen onto my cheeks and bring her close to my chest to kiss her repeatedly. "You did it, Izzy! What a big girl! Mama is so proud of you!"
Suddenly there are knocks on the door to my apartment, interrupting our little celebration. I set Izzy up on her play mat and place some toys around her before I check to see who it is.
"Uh-oh, Izzy." I grin as I open the door. "Look who it is! It's uncle Ethan."
He has a huge smile on his face and pushes past me to rush over to her. It's a normal thing by now for her to get all of the attention. I've gotten used to it.
"There's my favorite niece!" He picks her up and brings her close to give her a kiss on the cheek. Izzy gets a smile on her face, little dimples coming out on her cheeks. She loves her uncle Ethan.
"Look!" I shriek and race over to him so that I can replay the video I took only seconds ago. "She took her first steps, Ethan."
"Izzy!" He says in disbelief as he watches, unable to wipe the smile off of his face. "That's incredible. Wow. She's getting so big."
I nod and take the opportunity to do some dishes while he's holding her. It's not easy to handle raising a baby and keeping up with the housework by myself. Sometimes my mom will come over and take her for a day, or Ethan and Maya will watch her, but for the most part, it's just me.
"Any reason you stopped by?" I ask.
"Um, yeah, actually. There is. It's about time for Izzy to go down for her nap though, right?"
I nod.
"Well, then how about..." Ethan lifts her up into the air and Izzy giggles. "Uncle Ethan puts you down today, huh? Let's let mommy have a little break."
Whatever he has to talk to me about must be serious if Izzy can't be around for it. Maybe he got a new job, or maybe Maya decided to end the engagement. Judging from how happy he is though, I find that doubtful.
I finish the rest of the dishes as I listen to Ethan sing Izzy a lullaby of some sort. It's honestly adorable, and whenever he and Maya decide to have kids I know he's going to make such an incredible dad. He's an amazing uncle.
He closes the door gently behind him once Izzy finally seems to be settled down and finds me again in the kitchen.
"Do you want something to drink?" I ask.
"No, I'm fine, thanks," he replies, slipping into one of the barstools by the island before he clears his throat.
I'm parched, unlike him, so I open up the fridge and grab some orange juice to pour myself a glass.
"Look, Maddie..." He sighs, folding his elbows on top of the island. "I've been trying to figure out the right time to bring this up, but...I think it's time."
"Time to what?"
"You know what I'm talking about, Maddie. Don't play dumb."
I gulp loudly after I take a sip of my orange juice, biting at the inside of my cheek. I know exactly what he's referring to, but I'm not ready. Not in the least bit.
"As your brother, and as Izzy's uncle, I'm telling you that you need to tell Cameron. It's not fair to her, Maddie. She could have her dad in her life. She's almost a year and a half now, and you keep telling me that you'll tell him and it never happens."
"What am I supposed to tell him?" I say. "Hey, I know you're engaged to someone else but you got me pregnant before you broke my heart? You have a daughter? Surprise?"
"Well, not like that..." He trails off. "But, yes. You can't keep hiding this, Maddie. I can't keep hiding this from him either. He's one of my best friends, and do you know how hard it is to keep this from him? I can't post about Izzy, I have to think about everything twice as much before I pick up a phone call from him, and if he wants to face time I have to go around and remove all the pictures of her that I have."
"Ethan, I know." I bite hard onto my lip, but it's no use. I wind up crying, wiping away the tears as they pour down my cheeks. "It's not like I wanted it to be like this, alright? I didn't. He broke my fucking heart, and what was I supposed to say? I couldn't tell him when I found out. It would have trapped him when he clearly wanted Katie."
He nods as he listens, twiddling with his thumbs in front of him.
"I just don't know how to talk to him without breaking down. He played me. He acted as if he wanted me, and I believed him. He asked me to marry-" I pause, realizing that Ethan didn't exactly know about that part. Nobody in my family did.
"He asked you to marry him?" He asks in disbelief, and when I slowly nod my head he lets out a deep breath.
"Only for him to go and ask Katie not even a week later."
"Okay, I'm not saying that what he did wasn't fucked up," he replies, "but he deserves to know that he has a daughter."
I stare down into my cup of orange juice, slowly swirling it around in my glass. He's not wrong, I know he's not, but selfishly I'm not prepared to see him. I got so hurt that night. I've never experienced pain like that before.
But he's right. It's not fair to Izzy. She deserves to know her dad. Once Cameron finds out about her I know he'll want to be a part of her life. There's no way he wouldn't be. I just don't know if I'm ready to have him be a part of her life. His being a part of her life also means that he'll have to be a part of mine too.
"You're right," I mutter. "You're right. He deserves to know. I promise I will tell him this week. I just have to unblock his number first."
He shrugs, and when he brings his eyes to mine I can already see a plan forming in his head. "Or you could tell him tonight."
"Ethan..." I warn.
Raking a hand through his blonde shaggy hair, he rises from the barstool and sends me a devilish grin. "Cam is playing at the State Farm arena tonight. He invited the family. Box seats."
"He's here?" I ask in disbelief. The last I heard was that he signed with the Los Angeles Bears a few months after we split. Katie must have been thrilled.
"They're playing against the Clovers tonight, so yeah, they're here. And he invited us."
"He invited you, Mom and Dad," I clarify, "not me. Speaking of which, how is that going to work with Mom and Dad being in the same room? Is Dad bringing his new girlfriend?"
"He invited all of us," Ethan reassures and walks over to me to pull me into a warm embrace. It's just what I needed, and I clutch onto his t-shirt to nuzzle my head into his shoulder. "I know this is going to be tough, Maddie, but I'm going to be right there beside you, okay? You aren't going to do this alone."
"Thank you, I cry. "I'm so scared, Ethan. I'm fucking terrified."
"I know," he soothes and gently strokes my back. "It's going to be okay. It's time though, Maddie. You know that it's time."
I'm so nervous to tell him about Isabelle. One look at her and he's going to know she's his. Her bright green eyes give her away completely. The only thing she got from me was my blonde curls, and the combination of the two made her just the cutest baby I'd ever seen. Maybe I'm just being biased because she's mine, but I can't help but think I'm right. He's going to absolutely melt when he sees her.
My brother is right. It's time for Cameron to meet her, and tonight is a great opportunity.
It's perfect timing.