Chapter 26//Whoa didn't expect that

Turning down the street, I reached the house as I pull into the driveway and park besides James’s sports car.

“We are home Eddie,” I say as I turn off the car.

I hear the back door opening as I get out of the car to see Eddie running to the back gate.

“Edward James, walk please,” I say as I close my door and walk behind Lauren to the back gate.

“Have a good time?” Mom asks.

“Other then seeing a girl, it was good,” I say as I walk passed her inside the house to prepare lunch for Eddie.

“What do you mean?” mom asks as I open the fridge up and pull out some chicken nuggets.

“We saw a girl, who we don’t like. She is James’s ex and she ruined Lauren’s relationship when she was in Pittsburgh,”

I place the chicken nuggets on a plate then into the microwave.

“Oh damn, I’m sorry I asked,”

“Eh it’s ok. I don’t really care for her but Lauren hates that woman. The worst part about it is that she has a child and she wasn’t pregnant last month,”

“She could have adopted,”

“True but anyways, it was a good little day. Eddie and me on Monday have to go to the school up the street to meet the principal and then hopefully he will start Tuesday,”

“Good, I see Eddie got toys,”

“Yep, he wanted wrestlers so, I gave in,”

She laughs at that comment.

“I can’t believe you got my grandson to like wrestling,”

“That wasn’t me mom, it was Lauren. She watches that stuff. I got your grandson into hockey and into his daddy,”

“No you got him into the Penguins, now he has to get into the Blue Jackets,”

“Not gonna happen grandma,” Eddie says as he walks inside the door.

I laugh, he is for sure James’s son.

I take the plate out of the microwave and place it onto the table as I see Eddie get into the chair.

“Why not?” Mom asks.

“I’m a Penguins fan and I’m a fan of daddy,”

I smile as I walk over and into the refridgeor to get a capri sun.

“Here sweetie,” I say as I hand it to him as he puts the straw in.

“How is Aunt Lauren?” I ask Eddie.

“She’s just sitting outside,” Eddie says.

“I’ll be right back,” 

I walk over to the screen door as she had her phone on her ear as I walk back into the kitchen.

“She is on the phone with someone, know it isn’t Ryan,” I say as the door opens and she walks in.

“Well I got another call from Dustin,” Lauren says.

“Finish eating Eddie, lets go into the living room. Mom stay here with him,”

We walk into the living room as we sit down on different couches.

“Why did he call again?” 

“He wanted to talk to me and tell me that he’s never gotten over me. He told me he was fixing to propose to me and he cheated on me. He just met her three nights before you saw him with her. He wants to visit me during the off season,”

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him that would be a bad idea and that I already have a boyfriend. Told him that my boyfriend wouldn’t be too happy with that. He said can I atleast see you? I told him no. I told him to move on and don’t to call me again,”

“Wow, I wouldn’t have let that call go that far,”

“He was crying as he was talking,”

“Aww, poor guy but he had to learn,”

“Yea, true. I can’t wait for that call when the boys have landed,”

“Oh me too, so we will ride together in my car or we could take James’s car,”

We both laughed

“We would be riding in style then,”

“Yep but he probably won’t like me doing that,”

“Mommy, I’m done,” Eddie says as I turn and see him with a mess on his shirt.

“Let’s go get you a new shirt and wash up for nap time in grandma’s house,”

I grab his hand as we walk through the kitchen and out the back door to the guest house.

Taking my keys out of my pocket, I use the only blue key on my ring to open the door.

“Go in you room and get a shirt,” I say as Eddie walks into the house.

Looking inside, my parents haven’t changed the walls and still has the green flower wallpaper on the walls. 

“I changed mommy,” Eddie says as he walks back with a shirt of his daddy’s on.

“Good choice, now let’s go back to grandma’s house, pee and wash up,” I say as we walk out and head back to the house.

He walks in as I follow him walking into the living room.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Eddie says as I watch him go down the hall and into the bathroom.

“So any plans this afternoon?” Mom asks.

“Yes, we have to go to the airport and get James and Ryan,” I say.

“When?” Mom asks.

“Sometime this afternoon,” I say.

“Ok, I’ll watch Eddie for you,”

“I’m all done,”

I turn around as I look at his hands and felt his pants to make sure he didn’t wet himself.

“Alright, give me a hug and kiss,” I say as I wrap his arms around him as he did the same.

“I love you buddy,” I say as I kiss his cheek then he gave me one on my cheek.

“I love you mommy,”

“Get your little butt into bed,”

He smiles as he walks and goes into the room that is his in this house.

“He’s too cute,” Lauren says.

“He can make anything bad in your life go away,” I say.

“Ain’t that the truth,”

“I’ll let you girls be alone, I’m gonna go outside and do some yard work,” mom says.

“Alright,”

I watch as she walks out of the room.

“I can’t believe James is coming in with Ryan,” I say.

“I can’t believe that either. I think he is coming back with Ryan because Ryan is like me. He’s scared for me since he isn’t. James is being a friend to Ryan and to me by flying back here,”

I never thought of it like that.

“That makes since, I just can’t believe he is placing hockey on the backburner for Ryan, you and me. I never could see James doing that,”

“He wants to be here for his family, that’s why,”

“So true,”

We just sit on the couch talking about Ryan, James and us as my phone rang the same time as Lauren’s does.

“Hello,” I say.

“Hey we are here at the airport in beautiful, sunny Columbus Ohio,” James says.

“Ok, how was the flight?” I ask.

“It wasn’t packed but it was pretty good. Sunny all the way in,”

“Good, we will be there in about 10 minutes, we are at the house still,”

“Alright, how is my boy?”

“He is sleeping, he ate, got cleaned up and went down for a nap,”

“Aww, I can’t wait to see him. What car are you bringing up?”

“I was thinking about yours,”

“That’s fine, I don’t mind you driving it,”

“Really cause that as a joke,”

I heard him laughing.

“If you wanna take it, you can babe. I’m not stopping you but let me know,”

“We will take your car,”

“Alright, we will be waiting for you in the baggage claim,”

“Ok,”

“I love you,”

“I love you too, see you in a few,”

I hang up the phone and get up to head outside but before I get to the door, I grab James’s keys from off the hook and place them with my keys.

Walking out the back door, I see mom tending to her garden.

“Hey mom, me and Lauren are fixing to head out to Port Columbus,” I say as I walk of the deck as I hear the back door opening.

She lifts up her head.

“Alright, drive safely,” mom says as she walks over to me, giving me and Lauren a hug.

“We will mom, I’m taking James’s car so when you talked to dad, tell him he is by the road,”

“I will do, have fun,”

I open the gate and walk out.

“We are actually taking his car?” Lauren asks as I take his keys out of my pocket and hit the unlock button.

“Yep, he said we could,” I say as I open the door and get into the car.

“I like this car,” Lauren says as I start up the car.

“Me too, I’ll drive it more,” I say laughing as I place it into gear and back out of the driveway.

Turning the wheel, I drive down the street.

“So does James have a booster seat in here?” Lauren asks.

“Not yet, that’s in my car. We will need to get him one for his car and for your car as well,” I say.

“That’s the truth. Well Ryan is excited to see me,”

“He made the right choice,”

I turn right then a left at the end of that street.

“What do you mean?”

“He made the right choice about coming back to you. Like I’ve said before you’re the only girl who Ryan actually loves. His ex in Anaheim was a rebound that he was with for awhile but he never loved her. He’s always loved you,”

“How do you know this?” She asks as I knew she was crying.

“Because it’s the truth Lauren. He loves you like he never has before,”

“Well I have something to tell you,”

I turn left then right then left again to get on the interstate.

“What would that be?”

“James is totally in love with you. He said you are his first and only love of his life,”

“Was this when we were in Edmonton?”

“Yes, he told me this before you and Ryan walked into the diner. He has true feelings for you and he loves Eddie to death. He said that he wants many more with you,”

I hear tears in my eyes as I rub one eye so I could see the road.

“I’m speechless,”

“I’m glad that he has came into your life. Sid wouldn’t have done what James did,”

“Where did Sid come from? I wasn’t dating him,”

“In the past you dated him, out of him and James, James is the keeper out of the bunch. He loves you for you and not for sex,”

“I know he does just like Ryan loves you for you,”

We just talked about the boys as we pull into the garage and park the car.

I grabbed the keys as I get out as we both head into the airport and looked for baggage claim.

I know Lauren couldn’t wait to see Ryan but James knew I couldn’t wait to see him.

We follow the signs as we walk into the room.

“Ryan!!!” Lauren yells as I watch her run over to Ryan as he grabs her into his arms.

I see James standing there, with a smile on his face before he came running after me.

He picks me up as I wrap my legs around his waist as he kisses me so hard.

“I missed you,” James says.

“I missed you too but I know a little boy who probably misses you more then me,” I say.

“I can’t wait to go home to see him,”

“Yes, yes I’ll marry you,”

We both turn around as Lauren is smiling so happily and Ryan is as well.

“Guess we will be attending a wedding,” James says.

“Yes,”

Ryan and Lauren walk over to them.

“We are getting married and we are getting married tonight,” Ryan says as he kisses Lauren.

“Tonight?” I ask.

“Yes, we are all going to Wheeling,”

I look at James and him back at me.

“Should we go home and get clothes?” I ask.

“No, we are going dress shopping when we get there,” Lauren says.

This is a big surprise that I didn’t expect.