Double Lines

“Have you ever thought of getting a nanny?” Ethan asks as we walk away from the daycare centre. I roll my eyes.

“David suggested it, but I said no,” I reply.

“Why? I grew up with a nanny. That is, until my parents passed away. David said I didn’t need one after that.”

“I bet you did, but I don’t want Tyler to have a nanny.”

“Why not?”

“Well, because A, they’re expensive, B, I can’t afford it and refused to take handouts from David, and C, I want Tyler to learn some social skills. Which he will get from coming here.”

“All right then.”

“All right, as in you agree, or all right, as in you have no say in the matter?”

“All right, as in I agree with your conditions. But I have no say?” Ethan asks. I turn and raise my eyebrows at him.

“I’m not arguing with you, Mikaela. But I would like a say in his school when he starts…”

“Oh, that’s easy. Public,” I reply.

“Public?” Ethan asks, unlocking his car.

“Yup,” I reply after he gets into the driver’s side, “Public education is the best.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Oh, public school teacher here. I don’t think that I know that. My colleague Eric tutors after school three times a week, and most of his students are from the private sector. He said those kids are low; they’re lower than grade level. Also, statistically, most kids in the private sector drop out of high school before they finish year twelve. My son is going to university,” I state. Ethan nods and gets into the car.

When we arrive at Pinnacle Building, Ethan grabs my hand leading me towards the elevators. It’s morning, and people are walking into the building, all dressed in their office wear different shades of black. When the elevator opens, Ethan and I walk inside, still holding hands.

“Mick! You’re here! Did you enjoy the game?” Daniel asks when he walks in.

“It was good, Dan. Tyler loved it.”

“I know, right? See you next week?”

I nod in response, and Daniel grins before dropping his smile. I look in the direction Daniel is looking at and see that Ethan has a scowl on his face.

“Good morning, Mr. Rosebank,” Daniel says meekly. Ethan nods, making me nudge him.

“Be nice,” I state when Daniel gets off on his floor.

“How do you know him?” Ethan asks.

“I met him here. Daniel got Tyler into Little Kickers, and we watch the soccer games he coaches,” I explain. Ethan nods.

“Is that all right?” I ask.

“I guess.”

“Don’t worry. Tyler calls him Uncle Dan. And I’m not interested. Daniel’s a rake,” I say.

“Rake?”

“Manwhore. Player. Rake.”

“Hello, Mikaela! Did you have a good weekend?” Willow greets us as we walk past. I smile as I walk over to her.

“Yeah, it was good,” I agree.

“I see that,” Willow replies, looking over my shoulder at Ethan, who is waiting for me.

“Yeah, he insisted I come to the office today,” I add, turning towards Ethan.

“Well, we’ll have to catch up,” she says. I nod.

“I’m here all day,” I reply. Willow gives me a look, and I just roll my eyes. Ethan grabs my hand and entwines our fingers when I return to him.

“This is my secretary, Yolanda,” Ethan says, introducing me to the buxom blonde sitting at a desk outside his office.

“Hi,” I greet, with a smile on my face.

“Hello,” Yolanda replies flatly, “Sir, you have a meeting at one, and the Bridgeton Group emailed you details of their accounts as requested. I’ve sent it on. I plan on having the information printed and on your desk in the next thirty minutes,” Yolanda tells Ethan, her tone a little more friendly.

“I don’t like her,” I say after we walk into Ethan’s office, and the door is closed behind me.

“Yeah. We’ll see how she goes,” Ethan replies non-committedly.

“Oh… I’m sure she’s good,” I try to add, hoping he wouldn’t fire her just because I think she was unfriendly.

“No. I tend to go through secretaries. Yolanda is highly experienced but is a bit… much,” Ethan agrees. I nod as I watch Ethan take his suit jacket off, revealing his crisp powder blue dress shirt, which hugged his body well.

“So… why am I here again?” I ask. Ethan’s office is typical of what I’d expect. It has clean white walls, and his desk, with a glass top, sits in front of a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf made of glass and grey-toned metal. To the right of the room is a window outside, where a large white unit sits. I assume by its look (because I’m a teacher, and let’s face it, I’ve looked) that it’s one of those horizontal filing cabinets. On the wall behind me, to the right, is a two-seater couch, one of those old-fashioned leather ones with the bumps. Only instead of brown leather, it’s white. It looks very impractical.

“Yolanda, where’s that chair I asked for?” Ethan says into a speaker. I raise my eyebrows. Ethan asked me to work from here today, and I brought my laptop and the laminated game sheets I wanted to cut.

Yolanda comes into the office, wheeling a chair with her.

“Sorry, sir,” she replies, not attempting to look at me.

“Yolanda, call Stephan here. And I get me two muffins, a latte and, Mikaela, what drink would you like?”

“Uh, mocha?”

“And a mocha, please. Thank you.”

“Yes, sir. Any muffin flavours?” Yolanda asks.

“Apple-cinnamon,” I answer quickly. Ethan looks at me with a smile.

“Me too,” he says. Yolanda nods and turns around, leaving the office.

“I didn’t know you could ask her to do that?” I say once she leaves.

“She is my secretary. She’ll do whatever I ask. It’s her job,” Ethan explains. I nod.

“Where can I sit?” I ask Ethan. Ethan points to the end of his desk, where there is plenty of room, and I nod.

I open my laptop bag and bring it out, looking through Twinkl for math games I can play with my kids. I may only have seven students in my class, but I have seven different learning plans for each. I could compromise like one would if I were teaching a mainstream class, but it defeats the purpose of a special needs class. Students are in there because they need the smaller class (well, mainstream kids do as well), and we cater for their skills more specifically. I don’t notice when Stephan comes in and approaches me.

“Can I set your computer up and link it to the printer?” Stephan asks. I look over to Ethan, who nods.

“Sure,” I say, sliding the laptop towards him. Stephan spends about ten minutes doing his thing before sliding my computer back.

“The printer is called Lincoln’s office,” Stephan explains.

“Cool. Thank you,” I reply with a smile.

“You’re welcome,” Stephan replies.

“Anything else you need me for?” Stephan asks Ethan.

“No, you can go. Thank you, Stephan.”

Stephan nods and leaves the room while I sit giddy with my newly acquired access.

“What?” I ask Ethan with a smile.

“You’re like a kid in a candy store,” he smiles.

“I work for the government. Access to colour photocopying? That’s a treat,” I smile. Ethan shakes his head and smiles.

“Can I print whatever I want?” I ask.

“Yup. And then give them to Yolanda. I’ll get her to laminate them for you,” Ethan offers.

“Are you sure?” I ask. I have a teacher’s aide (another perk of working in special education) who usually manages my photocopying. But to be able to do it myself is sort of empowering.

“Yup,” Ethan nods.

This time, I do hear a knock on the door, and Yolanda comes in with two coffees, and a bag of what I can tell is freshly heated muffins.

“Mr. Rosebank would like to see you both,” Yolanda tells Ethan, again ignoring me.

“We’ll be right there,” Ethan acknowledges. Yolanda nods and leaves.

“Let’s go,” Ethan says, offering me his hand, which I take.

When we walk in, David is sitting behind his desk, reading through some papers. He smiles when he sees our hands together.

“Please sit,” David gestures. We watch as he puts his papers down and pulls a small box from his drawer.

“Two things. Firstly, you’ve told Lincoln about Tyler?” David asks me.

“I have.”

“Everything?” David asks. I nod.

“Good. I would like a DNA test done, no offence.”

“None taken.”

“We’ve already spoken about this,” Ethan acknowledges, squeezing my hand. David nods.

“If Tyler is Lincoln’s, which I’m sure he is, he looks just like Lincoln. I would like his surname changed to Rosebank,” David states. This is something I hadn’t thought about.

“I guess…” I begin.

“Mikaela, Lincoln is my heir; therefore, Tyler is my heir. He deserves this, it’s his inheritance,” David explains. I nod.

“Okay,” I reply. I’m not opposed to the idea of changing Tyler’s last name. I just always assumed his last name would be the same as mine.

“Secondly. On Saturday, I am hosting a family dinner. Myself, Melina, you Mikaela and Tyler. I want you there.”

“Sure. What’s the occasion?” Ethan asks.

“This,” David smiles, opening the box and putting it in front of us.

“Oh wow,” I gasped, staring at the ring in front of me. It is a beautiful round-cut diamond ring with smaller diamonds encrusted on the band. I have to blink a couple of times as the light bounces off it into my eyes.

“So what do you think?” David asks.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper.

“I think she will love it,” Ethan adds. I nod, blinking again as the light flicks into my eyes.

“I hope so,” David replies.

“Are you sure you want to do this again?” Ethan asks. I look at him.

“Yes. I love her, Lincoln. Melina makes me happy. I’ve been with her for four years, and I plan on never letting her go,” David states. I smile, my heart melting at that statement. I wish I had someone that felt that way about me.

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

The week went surprisingly fast, considering the big event on Saturday. I’m very excited about the evening, which David obviously wants to keep as a surprise. It’s also the last week of the school holidays, so I felt I was back in the school term zone by the time it hit Wednesday.

On Thursday, Ethan took Tyler and me to his doctors to have a DNA test, which was a simple cheek swab test, and we’d get the results the following week. I know Ethan is Tyler’s father, so I was comfortable doing it because I knew the results.

“Soccer uniform!” I yelled as Tyler ran back up the stairs to get changed, “and no running!” I add. I shake my head and smile. Today, Ethan is coming with us to Little Kickers, and Tyler is very excited to show his Dad his ‘skills.’

My doorbell rings.

“One moment,” I say, wiping my hands on a tea towel. I have just cleared the breakfast dishes, and all I need to do is put my shoes and socks on, and then we can go.

“Good morning,” I greet Ethan when I open the door.

“Good morning,” he replies, pulling me into a hug and kissing my lips.

“Tyler is very excited you are coming to watch him play,” I say as I let him in.

“Is he?”

“Yup.”

“Daddy!” Tyler cries when we get back up the stairs. Ethan picks Tyler up mid-run and swings him around in a circle.

“Hello! Have you been a good boy?”

“Always!” Tyler states, making me laugh.

“Are you coming to Lidle Kickers?”

“I sure am.”

“Yay!”

Ethan and I stand with other parents on the side of the room as the children take turns leading their ball around the course on the ground.

“This is really good,” Ethan comments.

“I know. I’ve been taking notes,” I reply. Ethan looks at me, and I just smile. I’m a teacher; it’s my superpower.

The next activity the coaches got the kids to do was a group game, where four kids were put in a square, called a ‘safety zone’, and the rest were given a ball which they had to dribble (kick along with their feet) in the square marked by the students in the safety zone. Two children didn’t have a ball, and their job was to kick the other balls away from the dribblers outside the square as best they could. Tyler was a dribbler and was very good at manoeuvring the ball away from one of those students.

“Where to now?” Ethan asked at the end of the session.

“Daniel’s team has a bye today, so we’ll go to the park?” I ask Tyler.

“Yes! The park!” Tyler replies excitedly.

The park I got Ethan to take us to is a good one. It’s aimed at children with disabilities, so it has a range of equipment to meet their sensory needs. Tyler’s favourite is the swings, the flying fox, and the big net swing.

I laughed and took many photos of Ethan playing with Tyler on the swings and the flying fox. I was also very grateful that Ethan was the one who had to pull the flying fox the rest of the way up the hill so Tyler could have his zillionth turn. That’s usually a job left for me.

Tyler was exhausted after lunch, as usual, but I think Ethan was knackered, too.

“I can’t believe you do that every weekend!” Ethan complains as I walk over to him after putting Tyler to bed.

“You get used to it,” I explain.

“It’s such a busy morning! I want to sleep. When do you get time to yourself?”

“I’m lucky. I have friends and family who help. Like David and Melina, for example. You know they’re Tyler’s godparents, right?”

“Really? No, I didn’t know that.”

“They are. David asked when I was pregnant. He was really excited about it, actually,” I nod.

“Hmm, come here,” Ethan says, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me onto his lap.

“And what are you planning to do?”

“Sleep,” Ethan smiles, lying on the couch and pulling me with him.

- edited