The Moment She Knew

Chapter 7

"What was that phone call about?" Lexie asked as they were entering their house.

"Nothing," Mariska stated calmly as she closed the front door and locked it behind her.

"It was something."

"It was Chris," Mariska sighed. "He just wanted to know if I wanted to meet up for dinner in a bit."

"You should go! He may need to talk to you about something important."

"Yeah, maybe. I don't want to leave you here alone," Mariska sat on the couch and turned on the television.

"I'll be fine," Lexie smiled. "Or...you could have him come over here."

Mariska knew what Lexie was getting at. She wanted to meet Chris and has wanted to meet Chris for years now.

"Okay," Mariska laughed as a shocked expression covered Lexie's face.

"Seriously?! You mean it?"

"Yes, of course. I don't see why not."

"I'm so nervous. What if he hates me?"

"He won't," Mariska pulled the teen close to her. "He can't."

"Can't? What do you mean?" Lexie's facial expression was now confused as she looked the older woman in the eyes.

"He can't hate my daughter," Mariska laughed, covering up what the truth really was.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Mariska smiled at the girl, who just snuggled up closer to her. They continued to watch whatever was on their television when the doorbell rang.

Mariska got up and headed for the door. She opened it to reveal Chris standing there holding a pizza.

"Chris!" her voice cracked at the sight of him. She wasn't expecting him until later.

"I hope pizza's okay."

"Perfect," Mariska smiled as she stepped back to let him in and closed the door behind him.

How am I going to explain this to him? There's a girl on my couch and I don't know what to tell him. Just tell him the truth, what could go wrong? What am I saying? Everything could go wrong.

Mariska's thoughts were running throughout her mind, but she still didn't know of a way to tell Chris about his daughter.

"So, who's this beautiful young lady?" Chris asked, putting the box of pizza on the long coffee table in the living room.

"That's Lexie," Mariska said, hoping he wouldn't ask for a further explanation.

"Well, nice to meet you Lexie. I'm sure you know who I am," Chris reached out to shake Lexie's hand.

"Nice to meet you, too. And yes, I do," Lexie shook his hand as the two laughed a little.

"Hope you two are hungry," Chris smiled at the two women in the room with him.

"Actually, I'm not feeling so well. I'm going to go upstairs, but you two have fun," Lexie smiled and walked upstairs to her room.

"I should go check on her. I'll be right back," Mariska said to Chris before she walked upstairs and into her daughter's room.

"Yeah?" Lexie placed the book that she was reading down on the night stand beside her bed and looked up at Mariska.

"You okay? Do you have a fever or something?" Mariska asked, placing a hand on the girl's forehead.

"No, I'm fine. I just thought I would give you two some time to talk," Lexie smiled. Then, the two girls began laughing.

"What if he asks more questions about you? Then what?"

"Just tell him the truth. I know you're still learning stuff about me."

"Yeah," Mariska looked down at her hands. She thought about telling Lexie. She has a right to know who her father is. "Lex?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Uh, never mind," Mariska forced a smile to her face and kissed the top of
Lexie's head before going back downstairs to join Chris.

"How's she doing?" Chris asked, placing two glasses of water down on the coffee table along with two plates.

"She's fine. She just has a bad headache."

"And how are you?"

"I'm good," Mariska took out two slices of pizza from the box and placed them on her plate. "How about you?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he smiled as he took out two slices from the box as well.

"What's the movie of choice?"

"Hm, how about The Conjuring 2?"

"Sure, I don't really care as long as I'm wi-" she stopped as she realized what she was saying.

"Finish that sentence for me?" he laughed a little. She smiled back - blushing.

"Nothing," she looked down as he scooted closer to her on the couch.

Chris leaned in to kiss her. Their lips were a few centimeters away - she pulled back. She couldn't do this. Not when he didn't know the truth.

"Chris," her words were soft as she placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him away from her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just," she paused, "I need to tell you something."

"Rish, whatever it is, I'm listening. I'm always here for you. No matter what."

"I know this is going to sound crazy, and I don't mean to make things weird between us," she looked down at her fidgeting hands.

"You can tell me anything. It's not going to make our relationship any different. I've been your friend for almost 20 years, you really think I'm going to just throw that down the drain?" he placed his hand on her cheek, but she pulled back.

"I'm sorry, I just," tears welled up in her eyes, "I love you."

It wasn't what she wanted to say,
but it was still true. Chris smiled at her and took her hand in his - she allowed this action.

"I love you, too," he ran his thumb along her knuckles.

Chris leaned in to kiss her, and she leaned in too - at first. She leaned back because she felt so guilty kissing him and him not even knowing that their daughter was in the house with them.

"Chris," she whispered, almost too soft for him to hear. "What if we're doing the wrong thing here?"

"We can wait. I'm fine with that. I'm going to head home, but just so you know, I've loved you for years and I'm not giving you up," he smiled and let go of her hand as he got up and walked out of her house.

As she was lying in bed, she thought about how crazy she was for not telling him. He needs to know. She wanted him to hear it from her and not anyone else - it's not like anyone else knew, but still.

Her thoughts were running through her mind and she felt obligated to tell him. She was obligated to tell him. She just didn't want it to be like it was all those years ago...

A one time thing.