"Of course. Can you drive? I can come get you. Where are you?"
"No. I can get there. It will be about fifteen minutes."
"I'll be here."
"Thank you." I hung up and tossed the phone into my purse. The drive over to
Vivie’s was a blur.
When I arrived, she tugged me in, giving me a hug. "What's going on?"
"I don't even know where to start."
She threaded her arm through mine and led me to the living room. "I know you can't drink wine or anything. Can I make you some tea?"
I shook my head.
She sat me on the couch and then sat next to me. "So, what’s going on? Did James kick you out?"
"I left before he could."
Her expression turned indignant. “He doesn’t want one baby, and definitely not two?”
I needed to start at the beginning. "When I got back this afternoon, my ex was there on the doorstep. He told me he was there to win me back. Told me he'd made a mistake."
"Does he know you're married?"
"He decided that I couldn't love James as much as I loved him since I'd only known James for a short time. Apparently, my mother told him I'd done it as a rebound to get back at him."
"Your mother?"
"My parents and his parents are very invested in Dean and I being together. The thing is, while I had some moments of wondering if maybe I should go back to Dean as he stood in the kitchen begging me to come back, I realized that wasn't an option, and that was before he showed his true colors by threatening me."
She rubbed my arm. "Because you do love James more."
I nodded and sniffled.
Vivie rose from the couch, reaching over on her coffee table for a box of tissues. "I was watching a sappy sad movie last night and needed these."
I took one and wiped my nose. "Anyway, my purse had spilled out on the table when I put it there, and Dean saw the paper from the obstetrician. He decided that he was the father of the baby. I told him that wasn't true, but he insisted that based on my size, I had to be further along than twelve weeks."
"But you are having twins. It would make sense that you'd be bigger, right?"
I nodded. "The thing is, I didn't tell Dean that I was having twins. I didn't want him to know anything about my life. And it seemed like something I should tell James first, even though it would probably make his head explode. As it was, he overheard us, and now he believes that the baby is Dean's."
Vivie's eyes narrowed. "You set him straight, though, didn't you?"
"I started to, but it was clear that he wasn't going to hear it. To be honest, I don't know why he was so angry except for that he thinks I was going to try and pass off Dean's babies as his. Considering his response to the pregnancy, I would've thought he would be happy about it. He doesn’t want the baby. If it was somebody else's, the problem is solved."
She thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "So, what caused you to leave?"
"I couldn't stay if he wasn’t going to accept the babies as his. I just can’t bear it.”
“Oh, honey.” She gave me a hug. “There's something seriously wrong with him that he can't see you love him and that he’s the father."
I pulled away, blowing my nose. "I just couldn't continue to pretend anymore, you know? In fact, he used it against me. He said that I was so good at acting like a doting wife that he hadn't realized I was good at pretending the baby was his."
"Jerk."