The triplets grow up right away. Mei, the oldest, wants to become a hair dresser. Once outgoing and rambunctious, she has now taken a calmer look on life.
Sindy, on the other hand, wants to grow up to be a stylish and hip DJ as well as a well-known bartender. During her teenage years, she came to love everything that has to do with bars and she wishes to pursue it professionally. She come a long way from the shy little toddler.
Alex, surprisingly enough, got into an elite college and is on full scholarship for having good grades and wants to go around teaching people about teen pregnancies, due to his experiences with his girlfriend, Gwen (oops, I just realize I gave him horrible initials by making his middle name start with an "s").
Seeing Harrison grow up is extremely emotional for me. Every time I look at him I see Luke (except he has my eyes). Anyway... Harrison is extremely interested in cars and already has a girlfriend, or so he says.
Lacie grows out her thick black hair and has the most photogenic smile. Her deep purple eyes are extremely round and according to her sister, she's very popular around school. Another good quality is that she is very intelligent which makes me proud.
Alice doesn't let her hair get passed her shoulders and has Mei cut it in a short stylish cut. Alice is also very smart but what she lacks in social graces, she makes up for with her creativity. She's also learning to play the guitar and the piano.
Baby Fergus ages up to look nothing like his lying, cheating, psychologist of a father. Which I suppose is a good thing.
I'm online looking at available and unique looking fathers for the next batch of babies. I soon find a man named Sandy Marsh. He has multicolored hair and intense yellow eyes.
As I'm browsing on the computer, I inform myself on the latest news about my friends, chat with a few people, and check my overflowing inbox.
After a few minutes, I'm checking my online calender when I realize I was supposed to meet Luke at his house an hour ago. Swearing, I quickly contact a babysitter, shower, and change into fresh underwear and change into some decent clothes. Luke is always looking nice so I know I should at least try to look good.
I cruise along the street he is supposedly living on until I find an empty lot with a huge trailer on it.
Boy, Luke's company takes such good care of him, I think, noticing the company's logo on the side of the trailer as I walk up the glass steps and onto the
real stone flooring.
"Talk about temporary..." I mutter.
Just as I ring the doorbell, I already see that Luke has been anxiously waiting for me. He's nearly at the door by the time my finger hits the bell. And he looks terrible.
He leads me into his sitting room/kitchen/dining room. It's gorgeous and the company's logo is proudly illuminated on the side of the main wall. Glancing around I notice the stainless steel appliances, the real leather chairs, the polished wood painted a deep blue (my exact shade of blue, I notice), and even recessed lighting.
We sit down and he offers me a drink but I decline. I just want to talk and then get back to my family.
"So, tell me your plan again," I start off bluntly.
"Er, yes, I was thinking about you and me. I still want to- to stay together. I'm unhappy Calista. Even with all of this grandeur, I was much happier with you and your kids. Gah, I know I'm a mess and I don't blame you for forgetting about our meeting," he's rambling, it's obvious he's nervous.
"And your plan?" I ask, before asking all of the questions tumbling around in my head.
"Yes, the plan. Right, so I was think that instead of jumping back into the relationship so soon, we could take it slow. I thought it would be great if we just start dating each other again. So yes, that's the plan."
I nod. "Okay, so it's like we've never met each other?"
"Down to its simplest form, yes."
"And we'll just date for a while, and refrain from anything intimate until we're sure of things?"
"...Yeah...," he says, unsure.
I bite my lip. How do I ask the question I want to ask without sounding rude?
"Well, what if I'm not ready to start a relationship? I mean, have you thought about what I want?" I say, slowly.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. It never occured to me. I'm such a dickhead. Sorry Cal, I just, I was so caught up in myself, I assumed.... Jesus, how terrible." He glances at me, his blue eyes red and puffy. Has he been crying?
"Look, I guess if you don't want to date me, we should at least stay friends. Like that Simon guy, right?"
Suddenly, a wave of compassion washes over me. "Oh Luke, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. I just meant that I sort of want to stay single a bit. At least until the challenge is over. Perhaps explore my options as a young single woman. I still want to be with you, trust me, the break up hurt me as much as it hurt you. Probably more," I add.
"Aww, Calista. I'm sorry I never considered how you felt. So we'll carry out our alternative plan after the challenge?"
I smiles. "Yes."
He leans back on the couch, his hand over his heart, "Phew, gosh, you don't know how relieved I am. My business is bombarding me about my current status and I've been feeling so annoyed but with you here I feel so much better," he smiles.
There's a bit of an awkward pause and I glance around the room a bit more to take in the new surroundings. Out of the corner of my eyes, I notice his gaze dart in my direction and I look over at him. He has this goofy grin on his face.
"What?!?" I ask.
"You, you're just so... amazing. You don't know how much I want to hold you right now. Do you ever wonder what you mean to me? Oh Calista, it's sad how much I think about you. You're almost always the first thing on my mind. No matter what you do to me, I don't think you could ever be less than perfect in my mind."
I take notice at Luke's effort to flirt with me and just to make him happy, I go along with it. Because truthfully, I'm craving a little bit of attention, since my last night out with a man was with a very feminine one.
"Meh, I guess we could cuddle," and to my surprise, Luke's strong arm grasps around my shoulder and before I know it his face is very close to mine.
"You don't know how much I've missed this Cal. Oh God," he says, scrunching up his face. I look into his eyes and at the stubble on his face.
All of a sudden, the stubble on his face is coming quite close to my face and I feel it graze my lower lip. It tickles and my first reflex is to shove Luke's face away.
"Calista!" Luke jumps away.
"Sorry, Luke, I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting that." I cover my face in horror but quickly realize that he's not hurt and that never in my lifetime would I be able to make a dent in this man. We both end up laughing about it.
"Now that we got that settled out, I think I'd better go," I say as I get up to leave.
"Okay, but how about a hug instead?" Luke suggests earnestly.
I sigh, "Okay," and his strong arms envelope around me. I'd forgotten how nice it was to have a strong man around you and it feels nice. The hugs lasts a big longer than I prefer and I'm the first to break away.
"Bye Luke, I'll see you around."
"Bye Cal, thanks for forgiving me and all. I really appreciate it. And uh, since we're going to start our relationship up again once you're done with the challenge, call me every so often so we can stay in touch."
I nod and walk off to my car. I buckle myself in and start up the ignition when I realize that I never actually said I forgave him.
A few weekends later I'm inside with the girls. Alice is helping Lacie refine her painting skills and I'm practicing the piano. As I'm playing, I hear Harrison grunting and yelling.
"Girls, I'm going to go check out what's wrong with your brother. You stay here," I manage to add as I run out the door.
I find Harrison hitting at a big wooden dummy.
"Harrison, what's this?" I ask him. His face shiny with perspiration.
"I'm teaching myself Sim Fu. I bet it'd be useful, plus it'll keep me fit."
I think for a moment before saying, "Want me to sign you up for some private lessons? That way you can learn more technique and refine your skills."
He stops whacking at the dummy and turns around, his face lit up in the same way Luke's always did.
"Of course! That'd be awesome, mom!"
Harrison continues to kick the dummy while I'm inside watching Fergus and looking up a local martial arts teacher. After a few calls I finally find the right teacher. His name is Adam Cohen and he's been involved in martial arts for nearly twenty-five years and has been teaching for about five years. I agree to schedule an all-day session for Harrison, because I know how much he will enjoy that.
The next week Mr. Cohen comes out to our house at nine am. He has wavy dark brown hair and purple eyes. He immediately tells me to call him Adam.
"Harrison is out back. We only have one two pieces of equipment and they're both kicking dummies. Do you suggest any other types of equipment?"
"It's fine. That should work for today. In the long run he'll need a board breaker and a uniform. I'll get you a list of some good shops for some of that equipment. There's a really nice on down in Bridgeport."
Harrison clearly enjoys the time with Master Cohen and so I sign him up for eight more consecutive all day sessions. The sessions progress and Harrison has earned his orange belt. He's getting really good and will soon be able to start sparring his teacher with light contact.
On the fourth session, I walk out to the tree house in the backyard to find Harrison working at breaking boards.
Adam is watching as Harrison works at breaking the light boards but when I walk over, he starts to make small talk.
"Your son is a prodigy at this. Never have I seen such a hard worker even with my adult students. You must be very proud."
"Oh I am. I believe he really enjoys what he's doing."
"He sure does."
There's a short pause and Adam adds, "You know, you could try Sim Fu. It would surely be beneficial to your health and you look like you'd be very good at it."
"Me?" I gawk. "Oh, I don't know... perhaps I'll try it when I'm not pregnant."
A surprise face briefly shows but he turns away. "Oh, how far along are you?"
"Almost three months," I blush. I feel my cheeks warm up and I know I'm blushing quite noticably so I make an excuse to leave and walk out there as best I can without appearing rude.
Later that afternoon, I find the boys outside meditating, I assume.
"I came out to let you guys know that it's five after six."
"Harrison, next week we'll work on getting your blue belt, sound good?" Adam asks my son.
Excitedly, Harrison exclaims, "Sounds great, Master Cohen!" and walks back to the house to get changed for dinner.
Adam stays behind for his monthly fee and to chat a bit. We start off talking about Harrison and then go into me taking Sim Fu again. I finally agree, knowing that I'll just end up doing it anyway. Plus, it could be good because knowing Sim Fu would probably help if I ever found myself in an abusive relationship or a dark alley.
As Adam walks away, I can help but notice the bands of thick muscle that flex beneath the fabric of his uniform. I start to go off in a daze but shake my head and clear my thoughts.
No. I was not
just thinking what I was just thinking. I can't. He's my son's martial arts teacher. Oh, what is wrong with my emotions these days?
Cursing at myself for thinking such thoughts about a man I hardly know, I walk back to the house.
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NOTE
Summer vacation is about to start and so I might be pretty busy for these first few weeks starting Sunday or so. Especially from what I know now, I won't be able to post for a couple weeks or so after Sunday, so enjoy this post and have a fantastic day!
