Kinky Boots

Raise You Up

I left London a few months ago and enrolled into Manchester University for the fall semester. School was fine. I swore to myself that I wouldn't sleep with any more people while I was here and for a while I was doing pretty well.

Then came my last year in uni.

I was at some random party and had a few too many. I started giving a girl a drunken lap dance and before I knew it, I was in bed the next morning with a naked girl and a raging hangover. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but then she gave me a call a few months later. She said she was pregnant—I took it as a practical joke.

Holy shit was a I wrong.

She gave me a scan of her first appointment and I could barely make out the blob. I tagged along with her for the rest of the appointments and it turns out that we're fucking having twins.

I was so shocked and scared and confused and just... holy shit...

I still haven't told my parents and I just don't know what I'm going to do. The girl I knocked up, Alyssa, said that we should coparent and find a way to work it out. So, we started renting an apartment just off of the main campus and made sure it had three bedrooms.

Alyssa's maternal nesting instincts must've kicked in because near the end, she started stocking up he flat with baby crap. At the eight month mark, she started complaining about contractions. The doctor said they were Braxton-Hicks, but then water ended up breaking a few days later.

Poor thing was in labor for just about two days before she gave birth to the most beautiful babies I had ever laid eyes on. The boy came out first and the girl came out just about fifteen minutes later. It took forever, but we finally decided on Aiden Grant for the boy and Scarlett Leigh for the girl.

Life was good for a few years. Alyssa and I got along just fine with the bills and such. Trying to pay for daycare, the flat, and nappies could be a bit overwhelming at times, but we managed. The kids were as good as kids could be. Of course they fought—what siblings didn't?

One morning, I woke up in bed alone.

I had just assumed that Alyssa went to the bathroom or something to shower, but no one was in there when I walked in. I tried calling her, but it went straight to voicemail. I shrugged it off and just assumed she had to go into work early that day.

I got the kids ready, like I normally did, and took them to daycare for the day. Alyssa and I had a system: I'd wake them up, get them ready, drop them off at daycare and have her pick them up. It worked for two years and had yet to fail, until that evening.

"Hi, Mr. Howell?"
"Speaking," I replied.
"Your girlfriend hasn't picked your kids up yet, a-and we've been closed for nearly an hour."
"What?"
"We, um, we need you to pick them up soon or we'll have to charge you extra for us staying late..."
"Oh, wow, I'm on my way."
"Okay... we'll be here..."

I rushed to my car, without even telling my boss that I was leaving, and sped to the daycare center. I walked in and immediately apologized to the poor secondary student who was stuck staying late.

I gathered Aiden and Scarlett's belongings and headed to the car. When we got back home, Alyssa was still nowhere in sight. I tried calling her again, and of course, it went straight to voicemail. A few more days passed before I accepted the fact that she just up and left us.

No warning. No note. No apology.

I was a twenty-three year old stuck taking care of two kids. I have to give her some credit for leaving before they could really remember anything—saved me from answering some tough questions.

Another few years passed and I hadn't even bothered with dating. It just got me into trouble. I was walking through Tesco with the kids, trying to keep an eye on them as we shopped.

"Daddy, can I get this?" Scarlett asked as she pointed to a random toy.
"Oh, dad, if she's getting that, can I get this?" Aiden pointed to something too.
"No, guys, we're here for stuff for the flat. Maybe you guys can get those things for Christmas, okay?"
"Okay," they pouted.
"Dan?" I heard a random voice call.

I turned my head to find Alex.

Holy shit, he hadn't aged a day.

He walked over to me and gave me a smile.

"It's been forever, how have you been?" he asked.
"I've been..." I looked to my kids and sighed, "busy..."
"I can see that," he teased. "Have you been doing... y'know lately?"
"No, I haven't done it in nearly ten years..."
"Really? It's been that long?"
"Well, yeah," I shrugged.
"Can I ask you something?"
"I– Aiden! Knock it off!"
"I wasn't doing anything!" he protested.
"You we're pulling Scarlett's hair! Knock it off and behave." He mimicked my facial expressions and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry... you know how five year olds are. What were you saying?"
"I was wondering if you were interested in starting things up again. Y'know... with us..."
"Oh... Alex... you were very sweet, but I just don't think I can be dating right now..."
"Why not? There's nothing standing in our way his time. No thee who shall not be named."
"Yeah, well I've got two," I looked to the kids poking each other, "little rays of sunshine I have to keep alive until they're ready to move out, so I don't exactly have time... maybe in a few years, but I just can't right now. I hope you understand."
"Yeah, no, I get it... good luck with them, alright?"
"Thank you," I smiled. "Hope you have a good life..."

***

"Happy birthday, guys," I chuckled. "Eat up, okay?"
"Thanks, dad!" They cheered.

We were all out at Zizzi's for the kids birthday. I let them order whatever they wanted and after dinner, they brought out a cake I had bought for them. They blew out their candles as I have them their small gifts.

"Whoa, a locket! Thanks dad!" Scarlett cheered.
"My pleasure, sweetie." I kissed the top of her head.
"A sketchbook? How lame, dad."
"Hey, you should be more thankful of your father," a voice called. I turned my head to find Phil. He flashed me a smile as he hovered above our table. "He does a lot for you. You should really thank him."
"Who are you?" Aiden asked.
"An old friend..." I whispered. "Phil, how are you?"
"I'm good. What about you?"
"Busy, but good," I chuckled. "Here guys, have some cake." I cut them each a slice and they dug right in.
"So where's the wife?" Phil teased.
"Funny," I smirked.
"No, seriously."
"No idea," I shrugged. "Where's the husband?"
"We broke up a few weeks ago."
"Wait, what? You were married?"
"Oh, no, just was dating a guy for a while. That's all."
"I was gonna say, how dare you not invite me to the wedding," I winked.
"Still have your charm, Howell."
"How could I ever lose it?"
"Dad, are you gonna eat any?" Scarlett asked.
"No, I'm alright. Thank you though, honey."
"What about your friend?"
"I'm okay too, thank you," he smiled.
"We should catch up some time, Howell."
"Yeah, Lester, we should."