Chapter 25
Lisa
Even though I could, I didn't. After a rough week like that, I think I need some time-off from all of this. I am thinking about calling Dad to watch a game with him or you know, just stay home and enjoy peace and quiet. Besides, I had fun this week, Seolhyun and Krystal, both great girls.
Aidan and I are now waiting for Irene to come and get him. I love the kid a lot, but he's such a dork sometimes I have no patience for all the troubles even if they happen accidentally. We are sitting on a couch, watching some Tom & Jerry, the good quality cartoon which brings back lots of memories.
The doorbell suddenly rings and Aidan's eyes tear away from the TV with expectations. I nod and smile "It's probably your mum." And that's who she is. Irene gives me a wide smile and hugs me.
"Hey, Lisa." She kisses my cheek and for a moment I feel priceless and the next second heavy with guilt. "Aww, where's my little man!" she raises her voice and walks in to meet Aidan who runs into her arms.
"Mommy!" he cries of delight and hugs her.
"Hi, sweetie! Oh, I've missed you!" she says and kisses his forehead a few times. I close the door and lean against it, just watching them and eventually smirking "Just never mind me, I'll be right here."
Irene looks at me and rolls her eyes big time. She slowly rises to her feet because she's been crouching before and addresses me "Lisa Manoban, always looking for attention. How are you?" I chuckle at what she says and I look at Aidan "Hey, kid, go and pack, okay?" Aidan nods more than happily, running and jumping on his way to the room.
Irene observes him on his way and when he disappears behind the walls of the room, she looks at me with a serious expression "How was it? Was everything okay?" I nod reassuringly, holding back some details for the benefit of us all "Yeah, he was great. There were no bigger problems." Only the biggest ones. My reassurance doesn't seem to be enough for her. Her frown is still present and it's making me feel uneasy as if I've failed something. "What about his eating habits? Did he eat enough?"
"Jesus, Irene, I know how to feed a child." I groan and when I see her tired and exasperated look, I pull myself back and explain myself some more "We had some junk food, cereal and ice cream. The good stuff."
"Lisa..."
"I'm the cool one in the family okay! I feed him things that no one else wants to indulge him with." I protest and that brings a smile on her face. That's better. As we wait, I accidentally glance at her pregnant belly. Normally, I'd be happy for her and ask her how pregnancy is going or how she's feeling about it, but all I could think about saying to her now, was: At least this child will be Bambam's.
"Hey, Irene, uhm, can we talk?" I ask her and suddenly I don't feel so confident or sure about this thing. She looks at me with wide eyes, full of expectations "It's not like we have anything better to do." She's feeling playful, but no matter what she says to me, the uneasy feeling wouldn't go away. When she notices my mood hasn't brightened yet or the black bags under my eyes are slowly appearing, she shows some concern "Lisa, is everything okay?"
I look at her carefully and stutter before I actually start speaking warily and avoiding the main question. "Being with Aidan, err, it got me thinking..." I say and the moment those words are out of my mouth, I realise how they sounded. Looking at her face, she is almost scared like I'm asking her to reconsider giving me another chance. Honey, I would never! You're Bambam's wife! "... Because when we were together, a long long long time ago, you were mentioning family and marriage and all that pretty much most of the time."
I swallow hard at the thought of how wrong this conversation could go when she interrupts me, holding up her hands "Lisa... I hope you're not saying what I think you are..." I take a deep breath to pump courage in my body and I make a mental note to myself: Fuck it. and then I blurt it out like a typical asshole "Is Aidan mine?"
