It Stays As It Was Left

2009.2012.2013

February 2009

Stevie adjusted the flowy shirt she wore over her large bump, steeling herself as she stared at her birth father. "Hello, Isaac," She said curtly and the man sent her a smile, brushing a strand of grey speckled hair behind his ear.

"Stevie-Bird," He said excitedly. "It's so great to see you." Stevie ignored the smile he sent her and kind words, getting directly to business. She had learned her lesson lesson ten years ago, and she sure as hell wouldn't be repeating that mistake.

"My grandmother told me you were a twin," She said. "Is that something that runs in your family?"
Isaac's smile faltered and his brows furrowed for a second before he gained composure, nodding his head. "Yeah," He said cheerfully. "I'm a twin. So was my uncle. It runs in my side."
He looked down at her belly and his eyes widened. "Are you having twins?" He asked before clapping his hands once. "That's great! I'm so happy for you, Stevie-Bird!"
"I'm not having twins," She said quickly, growing tense. "I lost one of them." Isaac went silent on shock, reaching forward to grab Stevie's hand. She brushed him off and Isaac frowned.
"Well," he said awkwardly. "I'm very sorry to hear that."
"Yeah," Stevie said dryly. "I'm sorry about it too."
The father and daughter sat in silence, Isaac sipping at the diet coke he had ordered before taking a nibble from his chicken salad sandwich. "Anyway," Stevie said as he chewed. "I tracked you down and asked to meet with you because I want to know if there are any health problems that runs in your side of the family."

"Uh..." Isaac said, growing uncomfortable at Stevie's reasoning for the meeting. "Yes."
"Well," Stevie prodded. "What is it?"
"Tay-Sachs," He said. "It's fatal, but it doesn't present very often. We're mostly just carriers."
Stevie nodded her head, ignoring her lurching heart at the word 'fatal,' and filed away the information for her to furiously research once she got home. "Is that it?" She asked. "Just wanna make sure."
"That I know of," He said. "I only know about it because it killed my great-great uncle."
Stevie nodded again and sipped a spoonful of her soup, swirling the translucent broth. She looked around the restaurant, wondering where her waitress was when Isaac cleared his throat, a downcast look on his face.
"Well," He said. "I have to say, I was really glad when you called me. I've been wanting to talk to you for a while."
Stevie stayed silent, eyeing the man as he pulled on the collar of his polo and brushed his hands along his jeans. "What did you want to say?" She asked, looking at the clock behind him.

"I, uh, I want to be a part of your life," He said and Stevie felt herself suddenly transported ten years to the past, sitting in a coffee shop as she held back a panic attack. Stevie opened her mouth to immediately turn him down, but he held up a hand, having more to say.
"I know I've lost my chance to be a father to you," He said. "And I've probably lost my chance to be a grandfather to your little girl, but, maybe I could be a grandfather to this new baby."
Stevie blinked a couple of times before she watched Isaac's face. He was right about loosing his opportunity to be her father, as Marvin had taken that place and Stevie had no interest in replacing him. He was also right about loosing the chance to be Zoë's grandfather, Marvin had done a great job at that too. But he was wrong about one thing, there was no way he was going to be a grandfather to the little girl that was still growing inside her.

"No thanks," She said flatly. "My girls already have a grandfather, they don't need you and I don't either."
Isaac's mouth dropped and a stormy look appeared on his face. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He said, letting out a curse as he banged his fist on the table, making Stevie jump. "Janine told me you wanted a father in your life. Are you really telling me that's changed?"
"You still talk to her?" Stevie asked with a scoff. "Wow. I never would've thought."
"Yeah," Isaac muttered, waving for the waitress to come. "Obviously it was a mistake."
The waitress approached the table with a fake smile and Isaac called for the check, pulling a few torn bills from his pocket.