Double Lines

The next day Tyler and I had playgroup. Playgroup is where young mothers get together in a community hall or school building where toys are provided that your child can play with. The playgroup I go to is located on a local school’s grounds, which is cordoned off from the school by a chain wire fence. There is a large grass area in front of the building for the kids to play on, but there is also a large room with tables and toys. Next to the room is a small kitchen and bathroom.

I’ve been going to this playgroup since Tyler was one, and he really enjoys it. He’s made good friends here, like Jayden, Phillip, and Axle. Once a week, each parent is expected to bring biscuits for the adults to eat while Tara, one of the mums, makes tea and coffee for everyone.

The one slight about the playgroup, unfortunately, is Sofia. Yup, the one and the same Sofia from my antenatal classes. Sofia started playgroup after I did and quickly took over organising activities for the kids. She prints off craft activities and colouring in for the kids to complete and is getting better at choosing more appropriate age-able tasks. Sofia’s daughter Emily is a little princess. She cries at the drop of a hat and always snatches the Barbie dolls off the other girls when they are playing with them.

But she brings good biscuits, so we put up with her.

“Thank you for the biscuits, Sofia! I love it when it’s your turn to bring food!” Hala, one of the mums, gushes when Sofia offers her a biscuit.

“I know they’re popular, which is why I keep buying them!” Sofia replies, giving me a smug look. I internally roll my eyes at Sofia. Since I met her, she’s always trying to one-up me. When she realised I also came to playgroup with Tyler, she made a big thing about the food she brought, knowing that I bought food from Sweet Temptations. Apparently, I never brought enough. Then she started bringing Italian biscuits, traditional lemon biscuits, traditional crostoli and pistachio biscotti. They are yummy but cost almost ten dollars a pack each.

Tara walks around and takes our drink orders on her phone (because apparently there is an app for that), and we sit there and watch our kids play.

“Mummy! Mummy! Emlee pulled my hair!” Raneem runs towards her mother, crying.

“Who pulled your hair, baby?” Hala asks her daughter.

“Emlee!” Raneem cries again.

“I did not!” Emily says, walking out of the playroom with a Barbie in her hand, her arms folded and her expression grumpy.

“Did too!” Raneem shouts, burying her head in her mother’s chest and crying.

“She wouldn’t give me the Barbie doll!” Emily replies.

“Do you have the doll now?” Sofia asks her daughter, who nods.

“Well, that’s all right then. Go back inside and play,” Sofia says, shooing her daughter. I watch with Angie as Hala speaks rapidly to her daughter in Arabic. Sofia rolls her eyes in disgust, and I can imagine her thinking.

Whatever Hala has said to her daughter settles her down, and Raneem turns to play with the boys outside instead.

“So, what are your plans for the weekend?” Angie asks after Tara returns with our drinks, and the drama has died.

“Well… I have a date tomorrow night,” I admit.

“A date? Really?” Tara asks, interested. I blush. The mums in the playgroup know that I’m a single mother; I’m no longer pretending I’m not. It’s just one of those things that makes Sofia look down on me, but I don’t care anymore.

“How do you know this man?” Georgia, another mum asks. I open my mouth to respond when Sofia speaks up.

“She needs a good role model for Tyler; I’m proud of her. Let’s hope this one is a keeper,” Sofia says, looking at my son. I sigh. Typical of her to say something with a double-edged meaning.

“I met him through a friend. He’s really nice,” I answer, ignoring Sofia’s comment. And he’s Tyler’s father, I say in my head.

//\\///\\\//\\

I’m nervous. Like, gone to the toilet three times already nervous. I picked my outfit earlier during the day, a short ruffle-trimmed mini-dress I bought from Shein before I was pregnant (yes, you can hate me, I now fit back into my pre-pregnancy wardrobe) and even ironed it. That’s right, I ironed. I’m not trying to say I want to make an impression, and gosh forbid have Ethan like me, but I do; I really want both to make an impression and Ethan to like me!

During the day, I even had some fun painting my nails black and drawing daisies, which I sucked at and then had to wipe off with nail polish remover. But Tyler let me paint his nails as well, which I enjoyed.

I check the time on Alexa before pacing by the kitchen table. Do I need to go to the toilet again? I think I need to wee. No, I’m fine. Okay, check my handbag. Keys, phone, yup.

Tyler’s at Willow’s tonight, and I don’t have to pick him up till tomorrow, so I’m good. I’m free all night—one less thing to worry about.

The doorbell rings, and I sigh with relief. Checking Alexa, he’s early, but that’s good. That’s okay. I can deal with that. I walk over to the doorbell intercom, where I can see Ethan waiting for me through the camera. My vagina throbs at the sight of him

“I’ll be right down,” I tell Ethan, pressing the button.

I double-check the living area, grab my handbag and descend the stairs.

“Hi!” I smile as I open the door. Ethan smiles back, and I take the time to check him out. He’s slicked his hair back, making him look really sexy, and he’s kept his five o’clock shadow, which I love on him. Like me, he’s dressed casually but not overdressed. He’s wearing tan chinos and a light blue dress shirt with the top two buttons undone.

“Hello. You look beautiful,” Ethan compliments. I smile and nod.

“You do, too. I mean, you look good, too,” I say, feeling my cheeks heat up. Ethan just smiles at me and offers me his hand, which I take.

Leading me to the car, Ethan opens the door for me like a gentleman and closes it once I’m in.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask as Ethan drives out of the carpark. He had told me to dress casually, which is why I’m wearing the dress, heeled sandals and denim jacket, but he never told me where we were going.

“I thought we’d go somewhere a little less formal than lunch on Wednesday,” Ethan tells me.

“Okay,” I nod. As we drive, Ethan tells me how he grew up in Brunswick, pointing out familiar places along the way.

“Have you lived here long?” Ethan asks.

“No. I moved in with my aunt shortly after, you know. I’ve been here since,” I tell Ethan as I watch him pull into Tony’s. Tony’s is a restaurant chain you can find all around the country. The meals are home-styled and delicious.

“Oh, I love Tony’s,” I smile. I go to open the door, but Ethan stops me.

“Wait,” he orders, and I smile as he runs around the car to open the door for me.

We walk into the restaurant, where Ethan tells the maître d he has a reservation for two under ‘Banks’.

The table the maître d leads us to is a small circular booth for two.

“That looks good,” Ethan comments when my meal of lamb shanks arrives at the table. I’m practically salivating as the meat falls from the bone.

“It does, doesn’t it,” I smile. Ethan nods. He ordered a pork roast and was given a generous slice of crackling to go with it. I love pork, but I had a craving for lamb tonight.

“Have you gone back to your hometown much since moving here?” Ethan asks. I look up at him. We both know we are in sensitive territory here.

“No. My parents are best friends with Noah’s parents. I don’t think I could face them or him again,” I admit.

“Is that why you left university? The last time I saw you was at the Administration building, and then I never saw you again,” Ethan says. He remembered that? I couldn’t forget. I knew I was pregnant and felt like I needed to get away. I was a coward.

“Yeah. One of the reasons. I couldn’t stand seeing Noah with Andrea. They’d walk around campus arm and arm, and it reminded me….” I say, tears springing from my eyes. But I’m not going to cry.

“Of you and him,” Ethan completes for me. I nod.

“I’m sorry about that. I only agreed to that because Andrea suggested it. She said you were okay with it, which I learnt you weren’t,” Ethan adds quickly, taking my hand, “and we broke up a few days after,” he finishes.

“No. I wasn’t okay with it. But truthfully, things were not great for months beforehand. I thought I could do it, you know? But after that time… they continued seeing each other. I couldn’t stomach it anymore, so I moved out of the apartment. Then, when I saw them together…”

Ethan nods in understanding.

“I’m sorry.”

“You said that,” I smile.

“Do you regret it? What happened between us?” he asks, looking at me.

“No,” I reply honestly. It was one of the best nights of my life, and I got Tyler from it. I don’t regret that happening at all.

“You?” I ask.

“No,” he says with a smile.

“How do you know Willow and David?” Ethan then asks.

“My aunt owns a bakery café. David regularly orders food from there for his meetings,” I reply. Ethan looks at me knowingly.

“You’re Melina’s niece?”

I nod. Yup. I wonder what he knows of Melina and if they’ve ever talked about me and Tyler. Panic slowly sets in when I think about that. What if he already knows I have Tyler? David did ask if Ethan is Tyler’s father. What if Ethan knows about that, too?

“Are you okay?”

“Yup,” I gulp.

“Melina seems to make David happy. He’s been alone for so long since Fiona died. He’s only had me. It’s why I’m here, actually.” Ethan grins.

“Really?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“Yeah. Like you, I haven’t been back to my hometown, Brunswick, for years. I’ve been working in one of Pinnacle’s buildings in Lewisham. But I’ve decided to move back. My best friend lives here, and I need to be around my family,” Ethan says.

Ethan's comment left me thinking. If he’s moving back here to be near family, then I’ve got no choice but to tell him about Tyler. Especially as his uncle and my aunt are together, he’ll be moving closer to family, all right. I guess tonight I have to rip the Band-Aid off, get it over with, and tell him.

“Are you okay?” Ethan asks.

“Yeah, fine,” I say, nodding.

We continue to talk, and after dinner, we order a chocolate fudge cake to share. It is delicious, with a large rectangular chocolate cake in the middle of the plate, the top icing dripping in chocolate from being heated, and vanilla ice cream positioned on either side. I don’t think I could have finished it alone if we hadn’t shared.

“Thank you for dinner,” I say to Ethan as he parks his car outside my building.

“You’re welcome,” Ethan smiles back. Like before, Ethan rushes around the car to open the door for me.

“Thanks,” I say again as Ethan helps me out of the car.

“No problem,” Ethan smirks, closing the door behind me. He steps forward and encloses me in a hug.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” Ethan says huskily, looking down at me. Before I’m aware, he presses his lips against my own, and I melt. I follow him, kissing him back, allowing him to enter my mouth with his tongue. I smile as I taste the chocolate fudge cake in his mouth.

I feel him push himself closer to my body, and I love the warmth that radiates from him. Ethan’s hands move down my back, and I feel him cup my buttocks and lift me up, pressing my back against his car.

“Ethan,” I whisper, wrapping my legs around his waist. Ethan attacks my neck with his mouth, eliciting shudders of ecstasy to go through my body. As he presses his hips between my legs, I feel his growing erection against me.

“Ethan,” I murmur again. Ethan stops kissing me and lets me put my feet back on the ground. I feel jittery with euphoria.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes,” I nod, trying to catch my breath.

“Mikaela, I want to keep seeing you. I’m so glad I found you… do you want to keep seeing me?” Ethan asks, uncertainty in his voice. I nod, which makes him smile.

“But one thing. I need to tell you… I have a son…” I begin. Ethan looks at me, his expression not changing.

“You have a son?”

I nod as I look up at him, his grey eyes locking on to me.

“He’s yours,” I stutter. Ethan pulls away slightly, and I whimper at the loss of the heat from his body.

“He’s mine?” Ethan asks, taking another step back. I nod in acknowledgement.

I watch as Ethan takes this information in. He looks confused, sad, and unsure.

“I, I need to think,” Ethan says, stepping back from me. I watch as he walks back around the car and gets in. I step back and watch Ethan drive away.

Tears flood my eyes and down my face. Well, at least I told him.

“The ball’s now in your court,” I mumble under my breath as I watch Ethan’s car disappear into the night.

After what seems like I’ve been standing there for hours, I slowly turn to my apartment door and let myself in. Now, it’s time to wait and see.

- edited