We Ended Up Together (9 page)

"Before we head over to Vanessa's do you want to take Jake to the park for a bit?" Brad asked. Chloe gave Brad a nervous glance, but nodded.

"Sure. We still have time," Chloe said. She tried to sound cheerful but she was a little nervous to be around Jake, since she had no experience with babies.

They entered Central Park. It seemed like it was all families that filled the grassy fields and forest paths. They stopped in a patch of shade under a tree. Brad laid down a blanket for the three of them to sit on, before letting Jake out of his seat. As soon as Jake's feet were on the ground, he began running around nearby.

Brad and Chloe sat beside each other on the blanket. Both of them leaned back on their hands with their feet in front of them. They watched as Jake chased grasshoppers and played in the grass. Every so often they would steal a glance at each other.

After a while of running around, Jake ran back to his father. He jumped into Brad’s arms, laughing a sweet little laugh as Brad tickled him. Chloe observed them, smiling at the cute father and son moment.

When Brad stopped, Jake was out of breath, but he had a huge smile on his face. Jake climbed off of his father's lap and sat on the blanket, watching the trees blow in the gentle wind making the shadows dance across the grass.

Chloe watched as Jake's eyelids became heavy with exhaustion. Jake looked up at her and raised his little arms towards Chloe.

"Up?" Jake asked. Chloe gave Brad a panicked look.

"He just wants you to sit him on your lap," Brad said. "Don't be afraid. You can do it," Brad whispered encouragingly, realizing Chloe must not have experience with kids.

Chloe lifted Jake onto her lap. Jake curled up comfortably in her arms. Chloe slowly began to rock him, gently leaning her cheek against his blond hair.

Jake dozed off in her arms.

Brad and Chloe locked eyes and they both smiled a meaningful smile. It was a beautiful moment; Chloe was proud to begin overcoming her fear.

As she listened to Jake's slow, relaxed breaths something stirred inside her. She never thought of herself as having any maternal feelings, but holding Jake made her realize she did want to be a mother, just not to James’ kids.

Suddenly from out of nowhere an older woman passed by.

"You two have a beautiful son. What a lovely family," the lady commented stopping for a moment. Before Brad and Chloe could object, the lady was already walking away.

The two smiled to themselves. They really looked like a family to those on the outside.

"We should get going," Brad whispered to Chloe as he glanced at his watch. Chloe nodded.

As Chloe helped Brad carry the stroller up the unfamiliar staircase, her nerves began to hit her. She realized that in minutes she would be seeing Vanessa again, as well as meeting the rest of Brad’s friends.

Brad gave the door to his sister’s apartment, a quick knock and soon it swung open.

Vanessa opened the door and saw Brad was not alone. The woman standing next to him looked strangely familiar. She just couldn't put her finger on where she knew her from.

"Hi Brad, Jake…" Vanessa said trailing off, unsure how to respond to this stranger.

"Hey Nessie. This is Chloe Schwitzer. Don't you remember her?" Brad introduced Chloe, who stood next to him uncomfortably. It finally clicked in Vanessa's mind. How could she forget Chloe?

"Actually, I'm Chloe Etienne again. It's great to see you after so long," Chloe greeted. She held out her hand for Vanessa to shake.

"Chloe! Oh my goodness, it's been forever!" Vanessa exclaimed stepping through the doorway and giving her a hug. Chloe sighed with relief knowing Vanessa was happy to see her instead of angry that they drifted apart.

"I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner," Chloe apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Wow, I didn't recognize you at first. You look so great!" Vanessa disclosed.

"You look great too," Chloe replied. Brad just stood there with Jake in the stroller, happily observing the friends reconnect.

"Come on in you guys," Vanessa said, noticing they were still standing in the hall. Vanessa then led them inside. Brad gave Chloe a reassuring smile before they followed.

Chloe immediately noticed the company of two men and a woman sitting in Vanessa's living room watching the television. They all turned their heads to look at who was arriving. They were shocked to notice Brad had brought a woman with him.

"Hey guys," Brad greeted his two friends. "This is Chloe Etienne, she's my new roommate. Chloe this is Jason…" Brad gestured to Jason.

"Nice to meet you," Jason greeted with a friendly smile.

"You remember Charlene," Brad said, motioning to Charlene.

"I do! It's very nice to meet all of you," Chloe said.

Soon Jake had woken up and Brad let him out of his stroller to see the others. Vanessa invited Chloe to sit at the kitchen table with her. Chloe accepted her offer and they began to catch up on the time they had spent apart. Chloe filled Vanessa in about James and her terrible time being his wife, while Vanessa listened.

Vanessa fully began to understand why they lost touch. She was a little angry with Chloe when Brad told her he gave Chloe her phone number, and she didn't ever call. But listening to the story Chloe told and seeing the look in her eyes made her rethink things.

Vanessa couldn't stay mad at Chloe. She was happy to have her best friend come back and that outweighed any anger she felt.

Eventually Charlene joined their conversation. The three women got along well. At a few points in the conversation Chloe would lose herself thinking how wonderful these people were. They completely accepted her and welcomed her. These were the friends she'd been looking for.

Then Vanessa began cooking for the five of them, and Jake of course, leaving Charlene and Chloe to get to know each other. The two of them really hit it off, and before they knew time flew by and dinner was served.

"Brad you sit there and Jason there," Vanessa directed, as she pointed to the seats for the guys to sit in. Jason just snickered at Vanessa's take-charge attitude.

Vanessa put bowls and plates of food on the table as Brad helped Jake into his booster chair. Chloe sat there smiling she had a feeling she would have many good times with these people.

After a conversation filled dinner, Brad and Chloe had to take Jake home for bed. As the two left, Vanessa and Chloe agreed to have lunch together sometime soon.

By the time they reached the door of their apartment, Jake was fast asleep in his stroller. He was very tired from his busy day. Brad lifted his sleeping son from his stroller and carried him to his crib, which was set up in the spare bedroom.

When Brad returned from tucking Jake in for the night, he walked back into the living room. Chloe was picking up a few of her bags to clean up Brad’s living room.

"Do you want some help?" Brad asked. Chloe's head snapped up to look at him. His voice had come out of nowhere.

"Oh, um, that'd be great," Chloe replied. The two of them moved Chloe's bags off to the side of the room under Brad’s window. Chloe figured she would unpack when they got her bedroom set up.

When they were finished they both flopped on the couch in exhaustion.

"I was thinking I should get a job," Chloe said, out of the blue.

"That's great Chloe. What do you think you want to do?" Brad asked.

"I've always wanted to work in advertising," Chloe admitted. "I just don't know where to begin."

"Well, the paper is always a good place. If not you can search for an opening on the Internet. And if all else fails you can always go drop off your resume places and see if they're hiring," Brad explained.

"Thanks Brad," Chloe said.

"Don't mention it," Brad responded. Then a question crossed her mind from when he mentioned the Internet.

"Brad, could I check my email on your computer?" Chloe asked. She had noticed the computer in Brad’s bedroom the previous night. Talking to Vanessa about her past had reminded her of her friend, which of whom she needed to respond to.

"Yeah go ahead," Brad responded. "I'm going to sleep now, so goodnight," Brad added.

"Okay. Thank you. I'll see you in the morning," Chloe said.

Chloe got up and quietly walked to Brad’s bedroom. She tried not to wake Jake as she passed his bedroom door. She sat down at Brad’s desk and turned on the computer. After waiting for it to turn on, she opened her email. As she suspected, there was a message from her friend.

Hi,

I hope everything's okay. I'm just worried that you haven't contacted me yet, as usually you reply within hours.

Please let me know what's going on. We can talk about your decision to leave your husband. Plus I have a new roommate that I want to tell you about. She's that girl I met that I liked back in high school. Anyways, email me back.

Chloe found it odd that her friend is divorced, and now has a new roommate just like Brad. Chloe found it strange that she was talking to these two people who were going through the same events. It was a big coincidence.

Chloe answered her friend back.

I'm really sorry I didn't email you sooner!

I've been busy figuring out this divorce with James. My father is really mad at my decision to leave him but I don't care about what he thinks. I'm so much happier already and it's only been a couple of days since I left James.

Don't worry about me I'm doing fine. I found a high school friend and he has let me live with him. Looks like we both have new roommates. So, what's this girl like that you're living with?

Chloe logged off after sending the email. She stood up from the chair, deciding she needed to talk to Brad. This coincidence between her friend and Brad was really bothering her. But then she stopped to think, how would she do this?

Should she come right out and say it? Should she just try and get more information from Brad and see if the two had more things in common?

Chloe changed into her pajamas. Then she sauntered softly in the direction of Brad’s living room.

She was in the hallway between the two bedrooms when she heard a soft voice.

"Mommy?" Jake's sweet little voice called when he noticed Chloe in the hall. Jake began to whimper.

Chloe didn't know what to do, but she walked into his room. It was dark and the only light came from the streetlights that shone through the curtained window. Jake stood in his crib, watching her come closer. As soon as Chloe was within a few feet of his crib he held out his hands to her.

Chloe hesitantly lifted Jake over the side of his crib and held him in her arms. Jake snuggled against her shoulder as he hugged her neck with his small arms. Chloe rocked him gently trying to get him to fall back asleep.

She tried to stay confident as she rocked Jake, unsure of herself around babies. Jake began to go limp in her arms and his breathing became slower as he nodded off.

Brad had heard Jake crying on the baby monitor he had in the living room. He got up from the couch and headed towards the bedrooms. The sight he saw when he walked into the hallway and looked through the door amazed him.

Chloe stood, with her back to him, in the middle of the room slowly swaying side to side with Jake in her arms. Brad just stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, and watched the sweet moment unfold.

Chloe inhaled quickly when she slowly turned in a circle and saw Brad standing behind her. She wondered how long he'd been observing her. Chloe gave him a nervous look when Jake completely fell asleep in her arms. She didn't exactly know how to put him back in his crib.

Brad held his hands out; Chloe knew he was asking if she wanted him to take Jake. Chloe nodded and Brad stepped towards her.

Chloe carefully handed Jake to Brad. Jake stirred a little but he didn't wake up. Brad kissed him on the top of his head and then walked to the side of the crib. He gently placed him in his bed and covered him with his blanket. Chloe smiled as she watched Brad lean over the side of the crib and kiss Jake's forehead.

As soon as he stood up straight, Brad motioned for Chloe to follow him. The two exited Jake's room into the hallway. Brad turned to her with a smile across his face.

"Thank you for doing that. He must miss his mom. Kathy is the one that looks after him most," Brad explained in a whisper.

"It wasn't a problem," Chloe whispered.

"We should get to bed," Brad suggested.

"Okay. Goodnight Brad," Chloe replied, as she lost the nerve to talk to him.

"See you tomorrow," Brad responded. Chloe crept back to her bedroom. She immediately climbed under the blankets.

There was a thought she just couldn't stop from repeating. Brad had mentioned that his ex-wife was named Kathy. Chloe remembered back to the first text message she had received from her friend.

I don't know what's going on. Kathy
has been spending a lot of time at the gym and she's really distant at home. I just don't understand.

Chloe's heart began to pound against her ribs as her breathing sped up. Was it possible that Brad could be the friend she was emailing?

Chloe tried to get her facts straight. They were both divorced from an affair. Both their ex-wife's names were Kathy, and now both Brad and her friend had new roommates. Not just any roommates, both of them had roommates they used to know back in high school.

Chloe was almost certain Brad was her mystery friend. Everything added up. It would be too much of a coincidence if they weren't the same person.

Immediately Chloe decided to go talk to Brad. She knew she needed to confront him right away about this. Chloe quickly tiptoed into the living room. The room was lit only by the glow of the moonlight. Everything was so calm and quiet. The only sounds came from her bare feet on the hardwood floor and Brad’s steady breathing.

Chloe crept around the couch and stood opposite Brad on the other side of the coffee table. She gazed at him as he lay on his back sprawled over the couch. One of his feet was on the floor, while the other rested on the arm of the couch. He had an arm behind his head. Chloe felt bad for making him sleep on the couch.

The moonlight hit his face and Chloe could see the calm expression he wore. His lips were slightly parted and his hair was disheveled. He looked so peaceful.

Chloe decided to leave him be, as he looked too comfortable. Plus she had no idea how to even begin to tell him what she had discovered.

She returned to her room and just lay down with her hands behind her head. She couldn't help but think about how much she enjoyed being here.

Chloe had never expected to like spending time with a baby like Jake as much as she did. She was having a great time getting to know him. The truth was she really loved Jake; he was such a sweet little boy.

Her thoughts made her proud of herself. Never could she have imagined liking the feeling of being a mother figure. She supposed she had never admitted to herself she wanted kids because of the life they would be raised in. But Jake had definitely made her rethink things.

Chloe glanced at the table beside her and noticed a picture of Jake and Brad. Brad held Jake in his arms; he was so small and wrapped in a blanket. The look on Brad’s face was so touching as he gazed down at his son with love clearly written in his eyes.

Chloe realized that she really did like Brad. He was so kind and so considerate of her, especially when he had stopped their kiss in order to protect her. He respected all those around him. She loved that even though he was sad about his divorce, he made good light of it by helping her through her own divorce. He was a caring father, brother and friend.

Chloe's mind jumped to a part of her friend's email.

Plus I have a new roommate that I want to tell you about. She's that girl I met that I liked back in high school.

If the guy she was talking to was Brad, then that meant that Brad liked her back in high school. If he liked her back then, could that mean he still liked her now?