Page 52 of Don't Lie to Me

He scrunched up his nose. “I’m not a baby,” And then looked at his…dad. “Two weeks. Will you come to my birthday party? Mommy’s taking me to a place with lots of things to jump on. I forget what they’re called.”

“Trampolines?” Marcus supplied with a smile that practically mirrored his son’s. They were practically mirror images of each other and something in that moment, felt like they had always known each other.

Logan nodded enthusiastically and hopped off my lap. “Yeah, those things. Can you come?”

Marcus nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Do you want to play with me?” Logan asked and then looked at the sand pile to our right filled with empty buckets.

I looked at Marcus, still dressed in his fancy and well-tailored black suit. He had come to meet us directly from work. The idea of him sitting in the sand made me laugh.

Marcus shot me a look full of mischief and amazement. Before I knew it, he had thrown his suit jacket over the back of the bench, and was removing his socks and shoes.

He held out his hand for Logan who, this time, took it without any hesitation. “I love to play in the sand.”

I watched the two of them walk away to the sand pit, content to sit back and watch Logan playing with his dad for the very first time ever. It was absolutely perfect. I pushed back the sadness and the guilt, and for the first time in almost five years, watched with my own eyes – a scene I had envisioned from the moment I found out I was pregnant.

Hours later, after ice cream and Marcus asking Logan a gazillion questions about himself – to which Logan enthusiastically responded to - Marcus walked us back to our apartment. I was starting to worry since I hadn’t yet heard from Jack, even though I had sent him a text at the park letting him know we were still there. He never responded which was odd. No matter what he was doing, Jack had always responded to my texts since the very first date we had. He even sent me dirty messages in the middle of board meetings. To not get a reply from him at all worried me.

“Do you want to see my Legos?” Logan asked Marcus when we reached our building. Marcus smiled, but looked to me.

This was more than I had planned on. I figured after a few hours of playing at the park, and walking and having ice cream, Marcus would be eager to get home. Logan may be his son, but kids were exhausting when you weren’t used to them.

I looked at Logan, who was eagerly awaiting my answer. I couldn’t say no. Not when his hand had been firmly clasped in Marcus’s for the last two hours. He wasn’t ready to say good-bye to his dad yet and I didn’t blame him.

“Sure,” I said with a smile and looked at Marcus – relief flooding every feature on his face. “I’ll cook dinner while you guys play. You can stay if you want.”

“I want. Thank you.”

I led us into the apartment and shooed Logan in the direction of his room after instructing him for the five thousandth time to put away his shoes and hang up his jacket. Marcus watched him skip down the hall before turning to me.

“I’m not sure how to thank you enough for today.”

I brushed him off, although I was in awe how easy the day had gone. After the first few uncomfortable moments between the two of them, they had found their rhythm and by the time we left the park to get lunch, Logan and Marcus smiled and talked as if they’d known each other their entire lives. It was surreal and comfortable at the same time.

“It was the least I could do.”

He took a few steps towards me and I flinched when his hand came out and cupped my cheeks. I turned my eyes away from him, afraid of what I would see if I looked at him. Marcus sighed, but didn’t remove his hand.

“You didn’t have to do anything. And I don’t think I could blame you one bit if you never told me about him. But you did, and you have no idea how thankful I am right now.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and took a few steps back.

“I feel like we were the family today that I always wanted.”

I inhaled a quick breath and turned from him. For years, I kept hoping Marcus would someday walk back into our lives and all would be forgotten. A stupid naïve dream from a heartbroken young girl, but I wasn’t that young girl anymore, and it was happening before my own eyes. Except now I loved Jack, and I didn’t fully trust Marcus.

“Dad!” Logan yelled from down the hallway, growing impatient with Marcus’s delay in getting to the bedroom.

I smiled faintly. “You better go – your son wants you.”

“God that sounds so awesome.” He shook his head as he walked down the hallway. He turned back to me when he reached Logan’s room. “I meant what I said. This is what I’ve always wanted.”

I turned away without a word and stared lamely at my freezer, trying to find something I could defrost or cook for dinner. Except my mind wasn’t working properly. Instead it was flooded by memories of the day, the comments from Marcus about this being what he wanted, and my concerns for Jack.

I slammed the door shut, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and called for pizza.

After I ordered the pizzas, I sent another text to Jack letting him know I was back home with Logan and everything went well.

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