Dad's Club

Cruel World

We all needed to get out of the house for a while. The air was too tense, even the girls could sense that something was wrong, and they weren't even a year old.

I sent a text to Chris, asking if he was free to distract me, but he said he had Coraline's piano recital today.

"Well..." I looked down at the two identical girls laying on a blanket in my living room floor.

Nadia was chewing on a teething ring, staring up at me through her thick black eyelashes with innocent brown eyes. Her sister, Jasmine, wasn't paying me any attention. She was too focused on her own toes.

I sent another text, this time to Rick, hoping he and Jaime didn't have romantic plans for their evening.

With Jaime's parents living so close, and being so chill, it wasn't uncommon for them to schedule a date night randomly during the week. It was part of the reason they had so many damn kids.

Come on over :)

I let out a relieved sigh, crouching down to pick up Nadia and Jasmine in my arms before the queen bitch could come home.

Jasmine whined a bit when I buckled her into her carseat, probably pissed that the harness kept her toes out of her mouth, but for the most part my girls were just perfect.

I hadn't bothered to bring a diaper bag to Ricky's. He and Jamie had a little girl the same age the twins, and plenty of baby supplies for me to forget my own at home.

The drive over wasn't too bad, other than the usual traffic, and I pulled into Ricky's driveway at half past four. I was parked in between Jaime's escalade and an old black camry with a carseat in its back seat. I frowned, but didn't take too much time to question who the Olson's had over. I just hoped I wasn't interrupting one of Jaime's business meetings. Again.

With both girls snug in my arms, I locked my car and started up the sidewalk. The sounds of children screeching and loud rock music drifted from the open front door.

Ricky waved me in from his spot on the couch, a Pepsi in his left hand and a sleeping toddler sprawled over his bare chest.

"What's up, man?" I smiled, relaxing as soon as I stepped foot into my friend's living room. "Too much, Rick. What's cooking?"

Ricky chuckled and kissed the top of his son's head before moving him off to the side so he could stand.

"Jaime had some clients over earlier, so there's leftover chili in the crock pot. The kids already devoured the chicken noodle soup." I nodded. "Is one of them still hanging around?"

My friend smirked and held out his arms for my girls so I could eat. "His name is Mike." I raised an eyebrow, silently pleading for more information while I scarfed down Jaime's homemade chili.

"The dude looks like he could be Chris's younger brother, but from the messages he sent me earlier I'm thinking Chris sees him a little differently."

I froze. "Is that man seriously looking for another mistress?" Ricky sighed and turned his gaze down towards my girls.

"I hope not." He snorted. "I can't afford to put in more hours to pay for another family on child support."

We both shook our heads.

Chris already had two ex-wives he was paying for. The first had truly been a piece of work. Carly and Chris had gotten married when they were eighteen. It was pretty much a shot gun wedding, before his career had taken off. Carly had gotten pregnant and talked our poor Chris into giving her a ring, but their marriage was doomed from the start.