Double Lines

Almost four years later…

“Mama! Mama!” Tyler yells, running over to my bed and climbing up. Luckily, I’m already awake.

“Hey, baby boy!” I grin, wrapping my arms around my son and rolling him over me.

“Did you have a good sleep?” I ask. Tyler’s eyes sparkle as he smiles back at me. I love my little boy.

“Yes, Mama! Now get up. I’m hungy!” he grins.

“But I’m so tired!” I say, faking a yawn.

“Mama!” Tyler cries, making me laugh.

“All right, all right, I’ll get up,” I reply.

“Yay!” Tyler cries, sliding off my bed and running out of the room.

“No running down the stairs!” I call out, shaking my head.

I smile as I walk down the stairs. So much has changed since I’ve had Tyler. My parent’s relationship with my aunt has improved, and they’ve come over to spend Christmas in Brunswick with me rather than me going there. After Tyler turned one, Melina finally gave in and moved in with David. Tyler loves visiting their house, as it has a pool in the backyard. David even bought Tyler play equipment and a trampoline for when he visits. I graduated from university with a high distinction and picked up work quickly, thanks to the current teacher shortage. I now work three days a week on class in special education.

“What do you want for breakfast?” I ask, pulling out two bowls from the cupboard.

“Weetbix?” I smile, looking up at my boy. He makes a face, which I laugh at.

“Hmm… Fruity Bites?”

“Yuk!” Tyler cries, making a face.

“I could see if we have some more coco pops…” I say, pretending to think.

“Co-pops! Co-pops!” Tyler cries.

“Weetbix it is…” I smile, placing two bricks into a bowl. I look up at Tyler and give him a cheeky grin. I’ve tried giving Tyler Weetbix for breakfast in the past, but he hates it. I’ve tried heating it up, using sugar, honey, and even fresh fruit… but he won’t have it.

“No!” Tyler cries, making another face. I giggle and pour him a bowl of coco pops.

After heating our bowls in the microwave, we eat breakfast.

“Thanks, mama! That was yummy!” Tyler says, rubbing his stomach.

“You’re welcome. Now go get dressed and put your shoes and socks on so I can take you to daycare,” I tell him. Tyler nods, gets off his chair, and runs back upstairs to follow my instructions.

“No running!” I yell out after him.

“Mama work?” Tyler asks, walking into my room. Today I decided to wear jeans and a light pink blouse.

“Not today, baby, but you still have daycare,” I tell him, pulling him into a hug.

“Okay,” he smiles, hugging me back.

We walk down the stairs to the car park, and I strap Tyler into his car seat before getting into the car.

“Bah-bye, mamma!” Tyler says, waving his hand and running off into the playground at the day centre to play with the other children.

“Bye, baby! I love you!” I call out, but Tyler is too engrossed in climbing up the tower to meet one of his friends standing up at the top.

“He’s so friendly. The other kids like him,” Chrissy, one of the workers, tells me as I sign him in.

“Thank you,” I reply. I turn one more time to look at my son, who is taking turns playing on the slide.

“If he gets too hot, can you tell him to take his jumper off?” I ask.

“I will,” Chrissy tells me.

“Okay. See you later,” I tell her. We’ve been going to this daycare for just over two years. At the first daycare we went to, I had an exam, and David was asked to pick Tyler up (he is one of my emergency contacts) as Tyler was running a fever. It turns out Tyler didn’t have a fever; he was only running hot because of the rabbit costume he was wearing for the daycare’s book parade. Let’s just say David was not very impressed.

After dropping Tyler off at daycare, I drive back home and walk into the office slash family room. When Melina moved out, I turned her bedroom into my office. Because it had a ranch slider to the upstairs balcony, it was also perfect as a family room, which is where I keep most of Tyler’s toys and books. There’s a television and a sofa bed in here, but Tyler and I tend to watch TV downstairs.

I get to work, continuing my lesson plans for maths and English. I like to present my lessons using PowerPoint, linking interactive games from websites and videos to my PowerPoint to help introduce each topic. It’s a lot of effort because I’m a perfectionist, but it’s worth it. I like being prepared and having everything there and ready to go. Plus, the students I work with learn better using the smartboard than traditional pen-and-paper tasks.

I work for a steady two hours before I stop working and call it a day. I probably would keep working if I didn’t have to leave and meet with Willow for lunch. There’s so much to do as a teacher and little time to do it.

I haven’t been able to have lunch with Willow as often since I started working. It was easier when studying, as my classes were online, and I could maneuver around them. But now I can only have lunch with Willow during the week when it is the school holidays. We still catch up on the weekends, but I usually have Tyler with me (whom I love, I’m not saying I don’t), but I’m looking forward to some one-on-one adult time with my friend. Yes, Melina and David babysit, but I always feel guilty asking them. So, school holidays are now one of the rare few times I have adult time without the guilt.

I drive into the city and park underneath the Pinnacle building in their car park. I take the elevator to the foyer, where I change elevators to get to the floor Willow works on. The bell dings, and I walk out to a busy floor.

“Good morning!” I greet Willow as I walk over to her. She smiles at me but looks a bit flustered.

“He’s here,” she whispers-yells at me.

“Who’s here?” I ask.

“Lincoln Rosebank!” Willow whisper-yells again. I nod in understanding. Lincoln is David’s nephew. I’ve never met him, but Melina has, and she told me he’s quite handsome and single—emphasis on the single part. David and Melina tried to set us up, but I refused. Tyler is enough for me.

“Why are you whispering?” I ask, leaning over her desk.

“Because he’s here, and I don’t want him to hear me,” Willow says, blushing. I can’t help but laugh. As I said, I’ve never met the man. Apparently, he’s a few years older than me and David’s only living descendent.

“Is that why all the girls in the office are preening themselves?” I ask, scanning the almost open-planned room. I see eyes peering above their cubicle walls every now and then, some even standing up and walking out of their cubicles to better look at David’s office, which is situated on one side of the floor.

“Yes. He’s hot, like…” Willow whispers, sticking her finger in her mouth and taking it out while making a sizzling noise. I just smile and shake my head. The door to David’s office opens, and I grin when I see the women suddenly move quickly back to their desks, trying not to make themselves obvious.

I look over at Willow, who also turns back to her computer and taps on the keyboard to make herself look busy. Chuckling, I turn and watch a tall man talking to David as they walk out of his office. He has dark hair and is wearing an expensive-looking suit. He is also fairly buff, you can tell that he works out. I watch as he tucks his hands in his trouser pockets, turning and looking down the hall towards me with a massive smile.

Ethan.

My heart drops into my stomach, and I’m stunned when I recognise him. He doesn’t notice me at first, but his whole face changes when he does.

“Mikaela,” I hear him say.

I’m stuck for words. I can’t move. I can’t think.

“You’re here. Come with me,” Ethan says, grabbing my hand. I blink several times before I realise he’s walking away with my hand in his.

I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding in and followed him down a hallway towards the meeting rooms. I try to pull my hand out of Ethan’s grasp as we walk, only for him to hold on tighter. He finally relents and lets go of my hand when he opens the door to an empty boardroom, gesturing me to walk in.

I feel stunned as I walk into the room, turning around to look at the man I never thought I’d see again. In three strides, Ethan is next to me, wrapping his big arms around my waist. I don’t respond, unsure of what is going on. I cannot believe what is happening right now. His scent fills my nose, giving me a sense of calmness, and it is with that that I finally accept Ethan’s embrace, allowing myself to collapse into the warmth of his chest and wrap my arms around his middle.

Ethan holds me tight, but I hold him equally tight, his scent calming me and making me feel safe. Tears spring in my eyes, and I turn my head lest I not wet his shirt.

I don’t know how long we stand there, holding each other. Holding the man I haven’t seen for almost four years feels strange but also fitting, making this whole situation feel odd.

“Mikaela,” Ethan says, pulling away from me just enough to cup my face and make me look at him. He looks pained.

“I looked for you afterwards, but I couldn’t find you. But you’re here…” he says. I can’t think of anything to say, so I just nod.

“I even asked Noah after you, but he didn’t know. Is this where you’ve been… in Brunswick?”

“Yes,” I reply softly.

“I found you again. What are you doing here?”

“I’m going to have lunch with my friend Willow,” I reply, still stunned. Ethan smiles at my answer.

“You are friends with Willow?” he asks, to which I nod.

“Come on, you can have lunch with me and my uncle,” he says.

“Okay…”

Ethan smiles and leans down to kiss my forehead.

“Come on, I left him by his office,” Ethan says, offering me his hand. Hesitantly, I put my hand in his and let him lead me back to Willow. It feels weird having my hand held by Ethan’s. We were together just that one time, and the closer I walked towards Willow and David, the more I wanted to pull my hand away from Ethan’s. I succeed when we step back into the main hallway.

David is standing there talking to his personal assistant, and Willow is sitting at her desk, still trying to look busy.

“David, this is Mikaela. She and Willow will be having lunch with us,” Ethan says when David looks back up at us. David looks at me and nods his head, a slight smile on his face. Oh god, what now? What have I done? What will David think of me?

“Of course, Lincoln. Miss Spiteri, are you ready?” David asks Willow. Willow stands, looking between me and Ethan and then at David.

“Of course, sir. Let me just get my bag,” she says, leaning down and picking up her handbag.

I grasp my hands in front of me, playing with my fingers as I follow Ethan into the elevator. Willow gives me a look, and I shake my head, hoping to tell her, ‘Not now’ because I’m not quite sure what’s going on.

I look over at Ethan, who has a slight smile on his face.

“Lincoln?” I whisper, nudging him.

“I’ll explain later,” he replies.

“Hmm,” I nod.

The elevator ride is quiet after that, and I begin to feel anxious as it descends to the foyer. The elevator dings, and instead of taking the next level down to the carpark, Willow and I follow Ethan and David through the foyer doors of the building and outside.

“You have to explain everything to me,” Willow says as we follow. I nod, too scared to reply.

“After you, ladies,” David says, opening the door of an awaiting car for us.

“Thanks,” I reply, hopping in.

“Thank you, sir,” Willow says. David closes the door and hops into the passenger seat when she gets in. I’m pressed between Ethan and Willow, Ethan’s warmth touching me. As the car moves, Ethan grabs my hand, which I had unknowingly balled into a fist, and squeezes it. I look up at him, and he smiles. It reminds me of the morning after the night we spent together; he had done the same thing then to comfort me.

The drive to the restaurant was short. We filed out of the car and walked towards the entrance.

“I’ve never been here before,” Willow says quietly.

“You’ll be fine,” I smile back. I’ve been here with Melina and David before. It’s an upmarket restaurant with menu prices on the more expensive side.

“How do you know Mikaela?” David asks once our waitress has taken our orders.

“We met at university in my final year,” Ethan explains.

“We don’t really know each other well… he was friends with my ex,” I add. David nods at me, but his expression doesn’t reveal anything.

“Is he…” Willow begins, but I swiftly kick her to shut her up.

Our food comes, and we comfortably make conversation with each other. David asks Willow if she enjoys her job, and Ethan asks if she’d consider going for future promotions if there were any. David asked me about work, and I answered him, explaining to Ethan that I taught children on the Autism spectrum.

“If you excuse me, I just need to use the bathroom,” Ethan says at the end of our meal. I nod as Willow smiles, and we watch him walk away.

“Is Lincoln Tyler’s father?” David asks once Ethan leaves.

“I was going to ask that, but you both kicked me!” Willow complains. I can’t help but chuckle at her.

“Yes, he is. But he doesn’t know,” I reply to David, who smiles.

“I always thought Tyler looked like Lincoln, but I wasn’t sure. Will you tell him?” David asks. Well, that’s a loaded question. I never thought I’d see Ethan, or should I say Lincoln again, but I felt guilty that I never told him when I found out I was pregnant with his child.

“Yes, he deserves to know,” I answer. David nods and smiles.

“Anything I missed?” Ethan says, coming back. I shake my head as he smiles at me.

“Why do people call you Lincoln?” I ask.

“Lincoln is my first name, legally. Ethan is my middle name. But when I went to university, we decided to go by my middle name and shorten my surname so people wouldn’t know who I was,” Ethan explains.

“Is that a common thing people do?” Willow asks, curious. I’m interested in the answer too.

“I’m not sure. I just wanted to be treated like a normal person, not just for my name,” Ethan admits.

“Ethan is Lincoln’s father’s name. I do like the name Lincoln though; it’s a strong name,” David adds.

“It’s a little unusual,” I muse, gaining a smile from Ethan.

“I know. It’s interesting but old-fashioned. I like it when you call me Ethan,” Ethan says, smiling down at me. I feel Willow hit my arm, and I know she’s internally sighing right now (because that is what I’m currently doing).

“What are you doing Friday night?” Ethan then asks me.

“Uh… nothing…” I reply. I am just spending time with my son. Our son. The usual Friday night thing.

“Good, I’m going to take you out for dinner. Text me your address, and I’ll pick you up at six,” Ethan says, passing me his business card. I stare at his business card, which has his proper name on it: Lincoln E. Rosebank. It also lists his role as the Sales Division Manager for Pinnacle Industries. By looking at the card, I realise that Ethan is not only related to David but also has a vital role in the company. He’s not going anywhere soon.

“Okay,” I reply, slipping the card into my phone wallet.

- edited