Double Lines

“Let’s go!” Tyler cheers, running towards the stairs in his soccer uniform.

“No running!” Ethan yells, and I smile at him.

“And we’re not ready yet!” I add, grabbing our breakfast dishes and taking them to the dishwasher.

“Well, hurry up!” Tyler harrumphs.

“Man, where does he get that impatience from?” Ethan asks, wiping the table down.

“You,” I reply.

“Haha. I’m patient,” Etham claims.

“Liar,” I say under my breath. Ethan grabs me around the waist and pulls me towards him as I bend down and put the bowls in the lower drawer of the dishwasher.

“Except for one thing. I can’t help your so delicious,” Ethan says, pressing my butt against his middle. I laugh and stand up, giving him a kiss.

“Get a room!” Tyler yells, making us pull away and laugh.

“You stay there, buddy. Now you’re going to get it!” Ethan calls out. Tyler squeals and begins to run as Ethan approaches him.

“Come on, children, or we’ll be late,” I say.

Like good parents, Tyler and I stand by the room’s wall, watching Tyler participate in soccer drills.

“Okay, time to pack up. Can someone collect the cones and someone collect the balls?” the coach asks the kids. Most of the kids run for the balls and either kick them around or hold them and walk back to put them away, but Tyler runs around and collects all the cones off the floor.

When done, the coach gets the kids to stand in a line and gives them each a high-five before saying goodbye to them.

“Did you have fun today, buddy?” Ethan asks.

“Yup. Now we’re going to Daddy’s house!” Tyler says chirpily as Ethan buckles him into his car seat.

“We sure are,” Ethan smiles, getting into the driver’s side.

“I thought you said you lived in Midvale,” I say as we head toward David’s house.

“I do, but it’s more on the edge of Midvale, closer to Ridgewood,” Ethan admits as we drive.

“Aha,” I reply. Ridgewood, where David and Melina live, is where the who’s who of Brunswick resides. Only the richest of the rich live there.

Ethan turns down a street where large mansions on even larger sections of land sit. I stare out the car window, trying to keep my jaw from falling.

“Shoot, is this your house?” I ask when Ethan drives down a driveway where a stone and stucco house sits.

“Yup,” he says, parking the car in front of an arched porch entryway beside a three-car garage.

“Do you want to have a look inside?” Ethan asks, smiling.

“Yes!” Tyler cries, kicking his legs on the front of his seat. I nod and slowly unbuckle myself, letting the seatbelt slide back into the car.

I help Tyler out of his car seat, letting him onto the ground. Tyler runs up to the front door and turns around to look at his father. Ethan chuckles and grabs my hand, leading me towards the house. He opens the door, and Tyler runs inside.

“Wow!” Tyler yells from somewhere inside. I can’t help but laugh at his reaction.

“I was thinking this could be Tyler’s room unless you don’t mind him having a room upstairs,” Ethan says, pointing to a large room to the left, “and this is the formal dining room,” he continues, leading me into the room. I follow Ethan into each room, Tyler enthusiastically running in front of us as Ethan describes each room.

“And I was thinking you could use this as your office for all your school stuff,” Ethan says, walking me through the ‘recreation’ room upstairs to the bedroom sitting on the right.

“Do you like it?” Ethan asks. I nod. The house is sparse in furniture and doesn’t look lived in at all.

“Mummy, can I show you my room?” Tyler asks, running in.

“Sure,” I reply, letting Tyler grab my hand and pull me across the floor to the largest bedroom on the second floor.

“And look, I can make this room my shop!” Tyler yells, running into the walk-in closet and closing the door behind him.

Ethan’s hands wrap around my stomach as he hugs me from behind.

“So, what do you think, beautiful? Ready to move into our home?” Ethan whispers into my ear. I turn my head and look into his twinkling eyes.

“I think Tyler’s already decided for the both of us,” I smile, kissing him.

On the drive back to the apartment, Ethan kept asking Tyler questions about what he wanted his room to look like. We had shown Tyler the room next to the master suite, and after some thinking, Tyler agreed that he would rather be downstairs with us than upstairs on his own. Secretly, I was happy. He wasn’t four yet, and I still wanted my little boy closer to me.

The walls of our new home were a creamy white colour, but Ethan had said I could make any changes I wanted to make it more homely. I nodded at that, lost in thought about how this added job would already do to my increasing load of stress.

“Are you okay?” Ethan asks as we walk up the stairs to the living floor. Ethan was holding Tyler in his arms as he had fallen asleep in the car, and I was slapping the mail against my hand as I followed him.

“Yeah. Just thinking,” I muse.

“Hold that thought,” Ethan tells me, kissing my cheek as he heads to the next level to put Tyler to bed.

“What’s on your mind?” Ethan asks as he comes back down. I shrug.

“It’s just a stressful time of the year for me. I have reports, the school concert, Melina and David’s wedding, our wedding, and now moving…” I say, sitting down at the table. And I’m pregnant.

“We don’t have to move straight away…” Ethan begins.

“No. I want to. Your house is better than here, by far. Tyler will have his own room and a big backyard… I want that for him. It’s just been a lot of changes all at once,” I admit.

“I know, but we’ll be fine,” Ethan says, kissing my head before sitting beside me.

“You don’t regret…” Ethan begins, but I shut him down.

“God, no! I love you so much. I’ve never felt this way with anyone but you. I must be a little hormonal,” I admit.

“Period?” Ethan asks. I nod, struggling to lie to him.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” Ethan asks, getting up from the chair.

“Yes, please,” I ask. Ethan walks into the kitchen, and I begin opening up the mail.

“I do like this apartment, though. I’ll miss it,” Ethan comments as he shuffles about in the kitchen.

“Shit!” I yell when I open the final letter in my hand.

“What is it?” Ethan asks, running over to me. He takes the letter out of my hand as I don’t reply, tears streaming down my face.

“That idiot,” Ethan comments, to which I nod. The letter is from Noah’s lawyer. Noah is suing me.

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

The woman in my family stands in the dressing room, admiring Melina, who looks beautifully elegant in her wedding dress. Mum walks around Melina, fussing over the dress, smoothing down unseen wrinkles and straightening the hem on the floor.

“Are you ready?” Mum asks Melina. Melina turns to Mum with tears pooling in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, you’ll spoil your makeup,” Mum says softly.

“That’s so sweet,” Natasha, the photographer, gushes, coming closer to take pictures. Melina’s Wedding planner organised Natasha to work the whole event, from getting ready to the end.

“Let’s do this,” Mum says, opening the door and leading us into the ballroom foyer. Kerry, our wedding planner, sees us and nods as she speaks into the microphone attached to her ear. With help from Mum, Kerryzsa opened the double doors to where the ceremony would take place.

When the music starts, Nichola walks into the room and down the aisle first. It is my turn once she’s a third of the way in. I’m amazed as I walk down the aisle, my bouquet of white and dark blue flowers clasped before me. The small ballroom has white wooden pews on either side of the room, with waterfall bouquets of dark blue and white flowers against dark greenery adorn the sides near the aisle. The runway is also plush ivory, and at the end of the aisle, four white wooden pillars with a canopy of blue and white flowers against dark greenery stand. I scan the front, where I see Ethan standing next to Joseph Loxwood, David’s best friend and man. Ethan watches me walk down the aisle, and I can’t help but stare back. He’s looking very dapper in his dark grey three-piece suit.

Everyone gasps and looks behind me, and I know Melina has walked into the room. As practised, I take my place next to Nichola and watch as Melina walks the remaining steps down the aisle.

The marriage celebrant begins the vows, and when she asks for the rings, we all stop and look for Tyler.

“You’re up, Ty,” I hear Dad say. Tyler wriggles off my father’s lap and walks up to Melina and David, holding the ring pillow above his head so they can reach. When he realises he’s still too short, he attempts to stand on his tip-toes, which makes everyone laugh.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!” the marriage celebrant announces. Everyone claps as David and Melina kiss, and I can’t help but chuckle when Tyler buries his head into my Dad’s lap in embarrassment.

We had photos with the wedding guests afterwards, and then we were driven off to Brunswick Botanical Gardens, where the rest of the pictures would be taken. I got a few with Ethan, but most of the time was spent with us sitting on a bench and chatting while Natasha took Melina and David off to get some more pictures.

Two hours later, we were back in the car and heading for yet another place where the reception was being held.

“Wow, this place is amazing!” Nichola gasps when we walk inside. I laugh but nod in agreement. We had given Kerry all our ideas about what the reception should look like, using images from Pinterest, and we had implemented everything smoothly. Each table was small and round, catering to six people each. Each table was decorated with light blue plates, and the centre pieces were small trees with dark blue and white flowers on white painted branches. Crystal icicles hung down from each tree, giving the tables a more romantic look.

“Mummy! Daddy!” Tyler yells, running up to me and Ethan when he sees us.

“Hey, buddy. Have you been a good boy for Grandma and Grandpa?” Ethan asks, picking Tyler up and placing him on his hip.

“Yes! I got to have McDonalds for lunch!” Tylers says happily.

“We made him change clothes for that. He didn’t want to change back until we told him he’d look like his Dad,” Mum admits with a chuckle.

“Thanks, Mum,” I say, rubbing Tyler’s back.

We find our seats at the only rectangular table in the room, where I leave my bouquet before joining Ethan in mingling with the guests. Melina invited Amelia, Tamsin, Miguel and Gabriella, including their plus ones, and we stood with them and chatted for a bit.

“Hey Tyler, do you want me to take you to the lolly table?” Tamsin asks Tyler, who is still being held by Ethan. Tyler looks at me for permission, and I smile.

“Yes, you can go,” I tell him, making him cheer. Ethan lets him down, and Tamsin holds his hand to take him away.

Ethan introduced me to some of their business associates, and I also chatted with Willow for a little while.

“Who’s that chick with Tyler?” Daniel asks, walking up to us.

“Long brown hair, brown eyes?” I ask. Daniel nods.

“Tamsin. She works for Melina. Why?” I ask.

“She’s hot. Can you introduce us?”

I look at Willow to see if I should, and she shrugs.

“Fine. Let’s go find her,” I suggest.

After dinner was served, a five-course meal, there were speeches and then dancing.

“How is he?” Ethan asks, coming up to me and sweeping his knuckles gently down Tyler’s face.

“Tired,” I admit. I’ve been holding Tyler in my arms as we’ve been dancing together, but for the last five minutes, Tyler rested his head against my chest.

“Should we go home? Put him to bed?”

“Hmm. I’d like to take you home and put you to bed,” I whisper into Ethan’s ear.

“That’s it, we’re leaving!” Ethan calls out, making me laugh.

- edited