Chapter 4-6: Don't Think I Don't Think About It

                “C’mon, let’s eat lunch and then head out. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

                “I don’t wanna eat,” Brielyn whined.

                “And why not,” Yalena asked, exasperated.

                “Why isn’t daddy here? He always toasts the bread first. You don’t know how to make it right.”

                After finally convincing her daughter to eat and cleaning up the kitchen, mother and daughter headed to the nearby gym for use of the swimming facilities. Being as pregnant as she was, Yalena wasn’t in the mood to actually get in the water but she sitting and reading and listening to her daughter was a pretty good alternative.

 

                “Mommy, watch me jump,” Brielyn shouted.

                “Did you see, did you see,” she hollered after coming up for her. The girl should have been born a fish, as much as she loved swimming.

                “Of course baby.”

                “No, you weren’t paying attention. Watch this time,” she commanded as she hoisted herself from the pool, just to turn and jump back in.

                 “Thanks for meeting us here,” Yalena greeted Glen outside. She had finally decided to share weekends with him and this was the first that he would have Brielyn the whole time.

                ‘She’s got her bag with her and she is ready to go,” she said, nodding to the pink bag at her daughter’s feet.

                “Daddy, let’s go! What are we doing tomorrow,” she excitedly asked.

                ‘I don’t know yet but we’ll have a great time. We’ll see you Sunday Lena.” Brielyn barely managed a wave over her shoulder as she ran ahead to the taxi waiting to whisk her away to her weekend with her beloved father.           

                 The weekend came and went so fast that both Yalena and Brielyn could scarce believe it when Sunday night rolled around. Though she had been wary and unsure of how to spend her time without her daughter, Yalena had spent most of her weekend curled up on the couch, catching up on reading or playing her guitar.

                “Daddy, can we go to the park one more time before we go back to mommy’s?”

                ‘Sure thing baby.”

                Even though the sun was setting as they arrived, Glen was sure that Yalena wouldn’t mind the pit stop. She had been understanding and good about trying to get along and make things easy for the sake of their daughter and he was appreciate of that.

                She giggled and squealed and laughed the higher he pushed her on the swings. Thinking back to when he had subtly suggested to Yalena that she not keep their baby was a painful reminder of immature he had been back then. He couldn’t imagine not having this precious girl in his life and knowing that he missed out on the first few years of his life hurt him. He was grateful that Yalena had allowed him to become a part of their lives and was thankful that he had not missed many of the bigger moments of Brielyn’s childhood.

                 “Daddy, can you come live with us,” Brielyn interrupted his introspection.

                “Honey, you know that I have my own house. Why do you want me to come live with you?”

                “I don’t want a new daddy,” she yelled, leaping off the swing and stomping her little feet.

                He knelt down beside her, taking her hands in his. “Brielyn, you’re not getting a new daddy. I will always be your daddy and I’m not going anywhere. Your mommy is just marrying the man that she loves and she deserves to be happy. Doesn’t she?”

                “Yeah, I guess,” she said, staring down as she shuffled her feet.

                He wrapped her in a huge hug and hoped that he was right. After the hug, they headed back to the apartment so he could drop her off and wait until he could have another weekend.

                “Brielyn, c’mon, let’s head inside,” Yalena called to her daughter as they stood outside city hall.

                “No,” she stated defiantly, crossing her arms.

                “Brielyn Avendale. We’re invited to celebrate and have dinner with Ace when he gets his award for civic service. You will come inside, this instant.”

                “I don’t want to have dinner with him. He’s stupid!”

                “Brielyn! Be nice.”

                 Her daughter’s reluctance to her marriage was getting more out of control each day. Yalena couldn’t understand why Brielyn was so opposed to the idea. She had always liked him in the beginning. She was going to have to have a talk with Glen soon to see about finding a solution to this. It was hard enough being a single parent. Being a parent with a new husband and baby on the way with a sullen child would be even harder.

                “Thank you for meeting me Glen,” she greeted him as he brought his coffee to her table.

                “What did you want to talk about?”

                “Brielyn. She’s been pretty hostile towards Ace lately. You don’t know about that, do you?”

                 “When she stayed with me she told me she didn’t want a new daddy. I think she’s afraid that he’s going to replace me.” He felt no shame saying the words, because they were true, even though he was also testing the waters a bit to see if Yalena did indeed plan to replace him with her hot shot fiancé.

                “That’s just silly. Ace will only be her step-father. She’ll still come and stay with you! Maybe I should talk to her, try and explain.”

                “Lena, we can talk to her together. If she sees that we’re getting along and that I’m on board with this too, maybe she’ll start to feel comfortable with the idea.”

                She agreed and they sat and talked some more, both about their daughter and what was going on with their lives in general. His job was going well though it wasn’t something he wanted to do forever. The hours weren’t great and he had to work most weekends which didn’t make thing easy in trying to see Brielyn. Yalena was happy that he didn’t regret his decision to become a part of their lives. She saw how happy her daughter was having a daddy and she couldn’t imagine taking that from her, even after the wedding.

                “Thanks again for meeting me for coffee.”

                “No problem Lena. I’ll be over late this week and we can sit down with Brielyn and talk to her together,” Glen said, hugging her.

                Katherine watched on from the window, not liking what she was seeing.

                “Ace, you’ve got to believe me, I saw them together. They’re not just friends,” she explained to her brother the moment that she got home.

                “Kat, you’re being ridiculous. He’s just Brielyn’s father.”

                “Just her father? That means that he is always going to be a part of your life together. Always coming over, always there to share the big moments.”

                “Yeah, but,” he trailed off uncertainly.

                “Fine, don’t believe me,” she said, seeing her opening, “but I know what I saw. And he’s not just her father.”

                 Glen and Yalena sat Brielyn down together the next time that he came to visit. It was time that they presented a united front and let her know that there was nothing to worry about, even with Ace and a new baby joining the family. Brielyn nodded and smiled and agreed to be nicer. Underneath though, she wasn’t quite convinced.

                 “Daddy, we’re a family,” she said once she got him alone in her room.

                “Of course we are.”

                “Aren’t families supposed to live together?”

                “They don’t have to. There are all kinds of different families.”

                “But don’t you love mommy?”

                She had him there. If he said yes, she wouldn’t be able to understand why they couldn’t live together and be a ‘normal’ family like her friends at school. If he said no though, then how would he explain having Brielyn? She was too smart for her own good.

                 As he went about his week, his daughter’s words kept popping into his head. “But don’t you love mommy” it asked, over and over. He found himself answering it, trying to find a good response. He never really found one that seemed to fit.

                “Glen, that’s the third shot you’ve stuck into the wall. You never miss the board,” Melisa queried as they played darts together.

                “Sorry, I’m just trying to work something out in my head.”

                “Maybe you want to work it out outloud?”

                He sighed. “Brielyn. She asked me the other day if I loved Yalena and I wasn’t sure how to respond.”

                “Well, do you?”

                “I don’t know. I did, a long time ago. So much has happened since then. She’s not the sweet, vulnerable girl that she was that needed protecting. She’s strong, independent, stubborn as hell. And I admire all that about her. But do I love her?” He sighed again, this time in resignation. “Not that it matters. She’s getting married anyway.”

                “Don’t you owe it to yourself, and her, and your daughter to figure it out though?”

                “There’s no time.”

                “She’s not married yet. There’s still time.”

                “That’s just evil, brilliant, but evil.”

                He went home thinking about Melisa’s advice. He didn’t know if he still loved Yalena but he wanted to see if the spark was still there. How could either of them move on with so many questions left between them?

                Glen arrived a little earlier than normal on Friday afternoon to pick Brielyn up for the weekend at his house.

                “Sorry Glen, she doesn’t get out of school for another 30 minutes,” Yalena said as she invited him inside.

                “I know, I wanted to talk to you first,” suddenly he felt really nervous but it was too late to back out now. “Here, this are for you.” Neither of them noticed that Ace had also just arrived and, having a key, let himself in.

                 “Glen, they’re lovely. Thank you,” she said.

                Before he lost his nerve, Glen pulled her into an embrace. She came easily but, in his mind, no questions had been answered. Maybe she was just surprised, or it was the familiarity that they had once shared. Or maybe, she really did still have feelings left for him. Before he could ask her though, they heard an exclamation and slamming door.

                 “Ace,” Yalena said, pulling away guiltily. He ignored her and headed straight for Glen.

                 “Who the hell do you think you are? You have no right to touch her,” he screamed.

                “Listen here asshole, I can touch her if she wants and she certainly didn’t object.”

                 Suddenly and without warning, Ace punched him directly in the jaw. Having been caught off guard, Glen staggered and tripped on the edge of the couch. As he tried to stand, Ace’s kicked him in the ribs.

                “Ace, stop, stop,” Yalena screamed getting between them. “Glen, leave now. I’ll bring Brielyn by later.” He walked out without another word.

                 “What the hell Ace? Did you really have to kick him while he was down?”

                 “You’re taking his side,” he scowled incredulously.

                “No, I’m not taking sides but damn it, can’t you be the bigger person?”

                “You were clearly into it. I saw the way you hugged him.”

                “He surprised me; I wasn’t sure how to react.” She tried to calm him down. “Ace, we’ve got to be the adults here, we’re about to get married and have a baby together.”

                “Piss off. For all I know, that baby is his.”

                 “I want a paternity test,” and then, he was gone.

Chapter 4.5                                                                                                                                                   Chapter 4.7