The Best Mistake

Chapter Twenty-Two

The warm glow from the sunlight streamed through my room window, slightly warming my face. As I slowly opened my eyes, I realized that the right side of my face was covered completely. I groaned pulling Lily's lower half off my face gently. I opened my eyes fully, allowing them to adjust to the light in the room. Peppa was laying between my legs comfortably and I smiled, shaking my head. I slowly eased out of the bed, careful not to disturb them and tipped to the bathroom. I sighed looking at myself in the mirror, my hair was a complete haystack and I winced as I combed my fingers through it roughly. I quickly emptied my bladder and went back into the room only to find Peppa sitting up in the bed sleepily. She smiled when she noticed me and extended her little arms. I moved to pick her up and snuggled her to my chest. As I sat on the bed, Lily had already started tossing and I knew she'd wake up shortly. Early mornings are my favorite, the house was quiet, the sun was warm, animals are a little louder and the curiosity of what the new day will bring is the best. I ran my fingers through Peppa's hair, welcoming the soft familiar texture.
 
"Mommy loves you." I whispered, kissing her head.
 
"Wuv you momma." She said, warming my heart.
 
There was a low buzz coming from the nightstand and I quickly grabbed my cell phone. My heart jumped noticing Mason was requesting a video call. Suddenly I was way too aware of the way I looked, and I didn't like it. My hair and face were a total mess and my eyes had enough bags to pack my entire wardrobe. I ran my hand through my hair again and gave my face several taps to help me look more awake. I shook off the self-conscious feeling and answered the phone quickly.
 
"Morning." He smiled.
 
Ugh, why does he look so perfect at seven in the morning? Shouldn't there be some kind of law against that? It isn't fair that he gets to look like Adonis while I'm a plain old Jane.
 
"Hey." I said with as much casualness as I could muster.
 
"Did I wake you?" Mason asked worried.
 
"No, I was already up." I said.
 
"Oh great, I was a little anxious."
 
"About what?"
 
"About Lilian and Penelope." He smiled shyly.
 
"Oh, well Peppa is right here and Lily is about to wake up any second now." I said glancing at Lily behind me. I angle the camera so he can see Peppa sitting on my lap quietly playing with my hair.
 
"Oh, morning Peppa." He grinned.
 
Peppa stared at the phone confused for a moment before a shy smile touched her lips.
 
"Momma, see? " She said pointing at Mason's image.
 
"Yes baby that's Mason." I said.
 
"Mathon." She smiled.
 
"Hi beautiful, how are you?" He asked.
 
"Fine." She mumbled.
 
"I like your pajamas, who is that?" He asked.
 
I pointed to her pajamas to give her a clue on what Mason was saying.
 
"Eltha!" She said happily.
 
"Oh wow that's Elsa?" Mason smiled brightly.
 
From hearing the conversation, Lily slowly sat up behind me. She rubbed her eyes gently with her fists and her mouth formed a small ‘o’ as she yawned.
"Good morning Lily." I said.
 
"Morning mommy." She sighed. Lily crawled over to me sluggishly and tugged on my pajama top to pull herself to her feet. She leaned across my shoulder staring into my phone curiously.
 
"Lily, you remember Mason?" I asked.
 
"Hi, Maston." She waved.
 
"Hello beautiful Lily. You're awake."
 
Lily nodded her head happily and started rubbing her eyes again.
 
"They always wake up a few minutes apart." I said.
 
"Every time?" He asked.
 
"Since they were born."
 
"That's interesting." He noted.
 
There was shuffling on Mason's end of the camera, I heard light bickering and suddenly Caleb was holding the phone.
 
"Heyy girlllllsss." He dragged.
 
"Cabub!" They said excitedly.
 
"Are you good? Are you two behaving?" He smiled.
 
"Yea!" They said nodding their heads.
 
"Good, cause I need momma to work on time today."
 
I rolled my eyes, "Yea yea yea."
 
"Great, breakfast on me, lunch on you." He said.
 
"Wow, breakfast on you? I should order big."
 
"Aht aht, lunch is right after."
I rolled my eyes.
 
"Can I have my phone back now?" Mason asked dryly.
 
Caleb smiled, "See you later girls!"
 
"Bye!"
 
"Bye bye."
 
Mason grabbed the phone and his green eyes lit up seeing the girls again.
 
"I wish they greeted me as enthusiastically." He pouted playfully.
 
"They knew him longer and he gives them candy." I laughed.
 
"Noted. I guess you have to go, huh?" He asked.
 
"Yea, I have to get us dressed and carry the girls to my mother."
 
"Hmm, sounds simple enough."
 
I threw my head back and laughed, at the same time I heard Caleb hysterics in the background.
 
"What?" Mason asked confused.
 
"You obviously don't know what it's like having two year olds." I smirked.
 
"I will soon enough." His eyes softened staring at the girls. "See you later girls."
 
"Byeee." They waved their hands together.
 
After the call ended, I quickly got to work getting the girls and I ready for the day. I wore my usual attire, a pencil skirt and a nice blouse. It was my usual hassle with the girls, but I was able to leave home shortly after eight. As I was driving towards my mother's house, I found myself more enthusiastic than usual. I was trying to contain it, but I couldn't help the smile on my face as I sang along songs by Little Treehouse. My mom was in her front yard when I pulled up, like I expected, watching Joey pull out the weeds in her garden. The girl’s eyes lit up noticing their Nana waving at them.
 
"Mommy, see Nana! Hi Nana!" Lily yelled happily.
 
"Nana!!" Peppa squealed.
 
I quickly released them from their car seats and grabbed their bags as they went running towards my mom.
 
"Oh, my girls! Nana's sweet girls!" Mom showered them with kisses and hugged them close. I smiled watching the sweet reunion, Lily and Peppa are crazy about their Nana.
 
"Hi ma, hi Joey." I waved politely.
 
Joey paused his work to wipe away the sweat from him forehead and waved happily towards me.
 
"Hey Ava, how are ya?" He asked.
 
"I'm good Joe, mom has you working hard I see."
 
"Always." He chuckled.
 
"Better you than me." I smiled.
 
"Oh hush, I couldn't get you to work in my garden even if I paid you." Mom said.
 
"Precisely." I grinned.
 
"Don't worry, Joey is my handy dandy guy." She winked.
 
"Well, on that note, I've gotta go. Caleb wants me to work on time." I said.
 
"Okay sweetie, we'll talk when you come back." Mom said.
 
"Okay mom. See ya later babies." I said leaning over to kiss their cheeks. Mom set them on their feet as I headed for my car.
 
"Bye momma."
 
"See ya later." I winked.
 
I quickly made it to work with a couple minutes to spare, thankfully. I decided to seek Julia out since it's been a while since we talked. I was surprised to notice that she wasn't at her desk. I spotted Jerry walking towards me while reading over a folder in his hands. He wore his usual white long sleeved shirt and black slim fit pants.
 
"Morning Jerry." I grabbed his arm before he could walk past me.
 
"Morning Ava, are you alright?" He asked.
 
"Yea I'm great, I was wondering if you saw Julia this morning?" I asked.
 
"Oh, I heard Julia called in."
 
"What, why?"
 
Jerry shrugged, "I don't know. She called in on Monday too." He said before leaving.
 
That's strange. For as long as I've been here Julia has never called in, she is always here. Hell, she even got awarded perfect attendance last year. It was slightly unsettling, and I made a mental note to check on her later today.
 
"Wow, look at you, coming in early." Caleb teased When u walked in.
 
I rolled my eyes and took a quick bow at my desk.
"Thank you, thank you very much." I said in my Elvis voice.
 
"I bought you a breakfast wrap, it was too hectic to get anything else." Caleb said pointing to the food on my desk.
 
"That's fine, thanks." I said.
 
I started to unpack my work bag, taking out my folders, notepads and snacks. Caleb stood near my desk smirking silently with his arms crossed, as he watched me set my desk up for today. I stopped and lifted my brow curiously.
 
"What?" I asked.
 
"So, how did yesterday go?"
 
"Isn't Mason staying with you?" I exasperatedly asked.
 
"Well yes, but I want the details from your point of view." He shrugged.
 
"Caleb, my life isn't some story you can read on wattpad." I said dryly.
 
"I wish it was cause I'd read the whole thing." He laughed.
 
"Haha."
 
"Come on fill me in."
 
"As soon as you fill me in on your coffee date." I said.
 
Caleb's smile instantly wiped off his face and his eyes widened. I folded my arms mimicking his stance and waited patiently.
 
"Well?" I asked.
 
"She told you?" He said.
 
"Yes, after I forced it out of her."
 
Caleb cleared his throat nervously, "I didn't, I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how you were going to react."
 
"React in what way?"
 
He shrugged, "Mixing business with pleasure again, she is your best friend."
 
"We just found out that my children are your nieces, your twin brother's children and you're worried about mixing business with pleasure now?"
 
Caleb chuckled, "Yea, I guess that ship sailed."
 
"Sunk."
 
"It was only coffee, nothing serious."
 
"And how many times have you taken a woman out for coffee in the last three years?" I asked sarcastically.
 
"Alright alright, so it was a little serious." He sighed.
"I like her." A shy smile touched his lips.
 
"I know you do, and I know she does too."
 
"You think so?"
 
"I know so." I smiled.
 
"Good cause I wanted to ask her out again."
 
"I thought you might," I laughed. "Go for it." I said.
 
"Ok, ok I will." Caleb's smile was bright and enthusiastic. It warmed my heart to see that he seems to genuinely care for Cat. My best friend deserves nothing but happiness after all the low lives she has put up with.
 
"Caleb." I called before he could go into his office.
 
Caleb turned quickly towards me, "Yea?"
 
"If you hurt her.." I warned shaking my head.
 
He nodded once serious, "I know."
 
The rest of the morning was spent doing my usual work. Caleb was busy for the past few days, so he has a lot of meetings to catch up on and we also have to prepare for the arrival of our new upcoming author next week. The author whose book I will be the leading editor of, Beverly Hollis. I still couldn't believe that Caleb was giving me the opportunity to do this. If I pull this off, I’ll have the chance to be promoted to an editor, my dream job that I've been working hard to achieve. A part of me wondered what people will think once everything comes out about the girls. Will people think that's the reason Caleb would allow me to be the editor for Beverly Hollis? Is that the reason? Before I could dive too deep into my troubling thoughts, my cell phone pinged with a message.
 
'What are their favorite foods?' Mason wrote.
 
I smiled, 'Sandwiches. They love tuna, peanut butter and jelly, and cheese sandwiches. They love nuggets, ice cream and mash potatoes with gravy. These are the things they enjoy together but separately Lily loves pickles and Peppa adores mac n cheese. Lily prefers yogurt while Peppa likes jello. It's a lot and even I am still learning.' I wrote.
 
'Wow....Ok, noted. What about allergies?'
 
'No, at least none has been brought to light yet.' I responded.
 
The rest of my day was spent in the same fashion. In between work, Mason would ask multiple questions about the girls, the activities they enjoy, what are they afraid of, their favorite toys, their habits, it was so endearing. Even though he asked tons of questions for hours, I loved that he was so ready and willing to be in their lives and learn everything about them.
After work, I decided to pay Julia a surprise visit. I went to a gas station to pick up some ice cream and chips and quickly headed to her house. Julia's house wasn't your modern day house, it belonged to her great grand aunt. It was a white medium sized wooden house with brown trimmings. A big wide porch wrapped around the house making the house look smaller than it is. At the far end of the porch, there was an old rickety swing that Julia loved sitting in when she read, I'm not as trusting. I climbed the few short steps to the porch, glancing over to her bed of lilies that was on either side of the steps, in memory of her grand aunt Lily. I rang the doorbell three times and just as I was about to give up, the door was tugged open gently. A round brown eye peaked through the crack of the door cautiously.
 
"Jules?" I asked.
 
"Oh hey, Ava." She said, her voice rough.
 
"What's going on? Are you okay?"I asked worriedly.
 
"Yea yea." She cleared her throat.
 
"Why won't you open the door?"
 
"Oh, yea, right."
 
She closed the door softly before I heard a latch unhinged, and she reopened the door wider. She was wearing a pale pink robe with a pair of white fluffy slippers. The bags underneath her eyes showed her lack of sleep and her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun.
 
"What's going on with you? Why weren't you at work?" I asked.
 
"Am I not allowed to be sick?" She asked coldly.
 
I was momentarily thrown off by her tone of voice.
"No of course, I only came to check up on you."
 
"Oh, now that you're back from your exciting trip of finding your daughters millionaire daddy you want to be concerned about me?"
 
I stumbled back in shock as if she punched me, she might as well have.
"Really?" I asked, shaking my head, "Fine, forget it."
 
I turned to walk off the porch when Julia grabbed my arm quickly. "Wait, no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry Ava, that was stupid and very heartless." She pleaded.
 
I turned to face her slowly, "What's wrong with you?" I asked, apprehensive.
 
"I, ugh, can you sit?" She asked, gesturing to the porch swing.
 
She walked over to the swing and sat down slowly making room for me. I eyed the wooden death trap cautiously before moving to sit down next to her. I sat on the edge trying to avoid sitting back and putting more weight on it before resting the bag of snacks on the floor.
 
Julia rolled her eyes at my antics, "It's stronger than it looks you know?" She said.
 
"Yea, let's not test that theory. So, what's going on?" I asked.
 
Julia took a deep breath before staring at me. She began rubbing her palms against her thighs slowly and shaking her leg. I stared, waiting for her to respond, she swallowed.
 
"Julia, you're scaring me." I said.
 
"I'm pregnant." Julia voiced cracked.
 
My brows lifted in shock, "You're pregnant? Are you sure?"
 
"I went to the doctor thinking I had food poisoning and they confirmed it." She whispered.
 
"Congratulations." I said genuinely.
 
Julia scoffed, shaking her head. "Who's the father?" I asked cautiously.
 
Julia glared at the floor, "Steven." She mumbled.
 
"What?" I knew she was fooling around with Steven on and off, but I thought they were being careful.
 
"I know I know, I'm a silly girl who got pregnant from a guy I didn't even like. All I wanted was some good sex and a good time, now I'm trapped." She cried.
 
"You probably had too good of a time." I said.
 
"This isn't the time for jokes Ava." She glared at me.
 
"I'm sorry, but kids are a blessing Julia, they really are."
 
"Really, and how much of a blessing did you think they were when you found that you were pregnant?" She asked.
 
The question threw me off a bit, but I instantly understood. Although I love my children, I will never forget the feeling I had the moment I found out I was pregnant. I wanted to go back in time and take away all of my wrongdoings.
 
"You have a point, but I wasn't upset about being pregnant, only who I was pregnant for."
 
"Well I'm upset at both. What am I going to do with a kid Ava? Steven's kid?!"
 
I placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "You're going to first inform the father of the child, about what is going on and you guys can decide what is the best decision." I said.
 
"What if the best decision is to abort it?"
 
I shrugged, "I'll support you."
 
"What if I want to keep it?" She stared at me hesitantly.
 
"Then I will still support you Jules. No one is going to love you like your baby. Having my children was the best decision I've ever made, and I wouldn't change a thing." I vowed.
 
Julia nodded silently, "I really am sorry about what I said Ava. I didn't mean it the way it sounded, only that you've got such a great support system for your girls, financially, mentally, emotionally and physically. I'm afraid my kid won't have the same."
 
"Julia you will have to believe that no matter what, you will always try to give your kids those things whether on your own or from a whole family. Either way you have to believe that you're making the right choices and that they'll turn out okay. Remember you're not alone in this." I said.
 
"I'm not?"
 
"Never." I said.
 
"Boy, you really know how to give encouraging speeches." She smiled.
 
"I've heard a whole lot of them." I laughed.
 
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close and she laid her head on my shoulder with a sigh. The movement caused the swing to crack loudly and I instantly stood up. Julia laughed loudly, shaking her head at my movements.
 
"Yea, you sure can cheer a girl up." She grinned and I rolled my eyes with a chuckle.