Chapter 64 Perfect getaway


    MAUREEN’S HOME, LOS ANGELES.


    Darby had a sort of panic attack seeing Leo at the mall two hours ago, that night came rushing back all of a sudden. Seeing him with Chloe made her feel jealous all of a sudden and she hated the feeling. Thankfully Sinir requested candy and the apaniment of both parents. It gave her just about enough time to tell Leo to leave with his wife. She had sensed Chloe’s difort with their presence, she must have had the intention of spending a nice time with her husband, only to have it hijacked by his son. Darby was more d that Leo didn’t argue and saw reason with her. She had to ask Zac to take them back home to drop Sinir, while she took her car and drove down to her aunt’s home.


    Ever since her open minded discussion with her mother, Darby found herself driving down to the ce whenever she has a stressed day at work with an overtly demanding clients or on days she feels the urge to talk to someone with more experience on life challenges and her aunt and mother are definitely two entertaining duos. Despite the fact that they taunt her with their words, Darby feelsforted by it.


    “You came just in time. We were about to eat popcorns and watch some rom.” Maureen grinned winking.


    “Why do I feel like you are enjoying your freedom a bit too much.” Darby teasedughing.


    Emma chuckled lightly, her rtionship was still a bit strained with Darby, but they are getting there with time. “Maureen loves to act like a teenager and I am here for it.”


    “What do you n to watch?” Darby asked as she scrolled through the long list of movies on the Netflix page.


    Maureen giggled before she responded. “Never have I ever.”


    Darby gasped. “Stop ying.”


    “I am not.” She insisted.


    After a long persuasion they had to give in to Maureen’s request. It didn’t take long for the others to get engrossed in the movie. It came as a surprise to Darby who hardly has anytime to watch movies. It was more fun to watch with her aunt and mom.


    “You keep exhaling every passing second, there is obviously a lot on your mind.” Maureen said to Darby after they were done seeing a part of the movie.


    Darby exhaled again. “So I bumped into Sinir’s father and his wife while I was with Zac and Sinir. It felt really awkward. And Sinir wouldn’t let his father go.”


    Her auntughed, “I can imagine how hard it must have been. Your son is just being a child, he would not understand how hard it is to be an adult.”


    “Their innocence is everything to love.” Emma chipped in. “Zac must have been the most affected, he loves you too much Darby.”


    Swallowing hard, Darby huffed as she leaned into the couch chewing on the left over popcorn unenthusiastically. She is obviously well aware of Zac’s feelings for her which makes it hard for her to rte with him on some levels to avoid sending in the wrong signal.


    “I don’t know, I can’t seem to feel that way towards him.” Darby replied. “Don’t get me wrong, guys. Zac has been a great support for me and I never would have made it this far without him. We havee a long way, but I can’t see myself feeling that romantic connection towards him.”


    “You are obviously still hung up on Sinir’s father.” Maureen stated holding her gaze.


    “No!” Darby blurted startling the olderdies.


    “How can you deny something so obvious like that. Jesus, she scared me.” Her aunt muttered. “There is no need for you to be ashamed, Darby. And if you think of it long enough, you will eventually have your baby daddy to yourself.”


    Darby stared at her mouth agape. “What are you saying, aunt? He is married for goodness sake and there is nothing between us. Nothing will ever happen between us, we have chosen different paths now. Stop trying to fill my head with unreal things.”


    “Perhaps did something happen between you and Leo recently?” Emma asked.


    She gasped. “Geez! Emma no! That didn’t happen!”


    Maureen exchanged a knowing nce with Emma. “Something did happen.”


    She muttered. “It wasn’t intentional.” Darby broke down. “I pretended to have forgotten about it with the excuse of me being drunk. We had met at a club few days to his wedding and ended up making out in his car. I would never have allowed that to happen if it was in my control. I feel so bad for taking part in cheating on Chloe.”


    “How about we leave Chloe aside and talk about how you felt in that situation.” Maureen urged.


    “Does that even matter? I’m still a cheat no matter how you try to pull it.” Darby insisted.


    “You want to get rid of the nagging thoughts don’t you? So let’s hear your side of the story before you judge yourself.” Emma urged.


    Darby inhaled sharply while shutting her eyes tightly. “I want it all. I want to wake up to see Leo and Sinir every day and make every meal they eat. I want to kiss both of them goodbye by morning and a good night kiss after dinner. I wish things were different, I wished that kiss would havested with no guilty feeling. I couldn’t get over him even after the pain and hurt I had been feeling for a long time. I should be angry at him and never want to see his face. I tried to y that part every time Ie across him. But deep within me, I am in a turmoil wondering what would have be of us if we didn’t have any kind of misunderstanding. Now, he has slipped out of my hands for life and there is no chance of me ever getting him back. I feel so awful. What sort of role model do I n on bing for Sinir?” She sobbed, covering her face with both palms.


    “Oh, my dear,e here baby.” Maureen said pulling her into a hug. “You shouldn’t be thinking about Sinir right now. A parent is allowed some level of selfishness. You are young, Darby and your heart obviously yearns for a true affection. That shouldn’t be a crime, you should embrace whatever you might be feeling. It’s okay to feel that way.”


    “And how are you so sure Leo doesn’t feel the same for you?” Her mother asked.


    Darby raised her head, shaking it in disapproval. “Whatever he feels doesn’t matter, he has a wife now.”


    “It’s hard to say this, but someone has to feel the burn of two fierce lovers and in this case it might be Chloe.” She said.


    Maureen hummed, wiping the tears off Darby’s face. “Your mother is very correct. If your heart still yearns for Leo this much, he might also be calling out for you. The heart wants what it wants and there is nothing one can do about it. You just have to let fate y it’s part.”


    “No, I don’t want to go down in history as the home wrecker. I would prefer if we just coparent without any fuss.” Darby said.


    “Is that what you want?” Her mother questioned.


    Tearsced Darby’s eyes as she held her aunt and mother’s gaze. There is no way putting her mind to it won’t breed such thoughts, she can’t let them get into her head like that. Wiping at her tears she sniffed.


    ” I think it’s time I return home.” She said.


    “Sure, darling. You-” Maureen got cut short by Darby’s raise of hand.


    Isabe was calling, “So sorry please.” Darby mouthed picking the call.’What’s up, Be?’


    Her breathed hitched on the other end like she was finding it hard to talk. ‘It’s S… Sinir.’


    Darby’s eyes perked at the mention of her son. ‘What happened to my baby?’


    ‘H… he passed out!’


    ‘What!’ She eximed. ‘I aming right this minute.’


    Hanging the call in a hurry, Darby grabbed her bag and ran out towards her car. She was too impatient to tell the worried older women what went wrong. They watched helplessly as she drove off on the road with an extreme speed.


    *************************


    SAINT HOSPITAL, LOS ANGLES.


    “I am going to sue them.” Leo raked angrily as he stared at his sleeping son on the bed.


    Darby sighed in exhaustion as she reached for his hand. “That’s enough, Leo. He is better now. I don’t think the candy shop is to be med. Sinir is a growing child and would have a lot of reactions to things. That’s the only way we can get to know his allergies and other important things. Please.” She groaned feeling a sharp pain in her belly. “Moreover, he will be discharged now.”


    Leo kissed his teeth. “Fine. But I am only letting this go because of you.”


    She chuckled lightly, caressing Sinir’s forehead. “Well, thank you.”


    The call Darby got from Isabe had shocked her to the bone that she drove wildly to the hospital and narrowly escaping the police over the speed at which her car was running. It turned out the cotton candy Sinir had at the mall few hours ago didn’t settle well with him. He is allergic to the corn syrup in it.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    “You know it’s quite funny that the little man has an allergy same as me. It didn’te to mind that he might give off an odd reaction to it.” Leo said, sitting on the edge of the bed.


    “Really? You are allergic to corn syrup too. Wow, that’s something.” Darby mused.


    “Has he not had a cotton candy before?”


    “Not any that I can remember. Like I said he is hyperactive when he indulges in sugary foods and junks. It just never crossed my mind to let him have it and back in San Francisco we didn’t get to go out much, I was always too preupied with work. And when we eventually go out, I already have a list of things for him to eat. But I realized I might be getting in his way too much and made a decision to let him be a child. Him pointing out the candy must have fascinated him.”


    “You are an amazing mother.” Heplimented.


    Their phones rang at the same time. Leo checked is and ignored, while Darby answered hers.


    ‘Hey, aunt. I’m so sorry I got you worried.’ Darby said into the phone, pausing at interval. ‘I was just so tensed that I didn’t realize what happened. It’s Sinir, he got an odd reaction from something he ate. Sure, he is fine now. Thanks for checking. I will call you back when we return home. Alright, bye. Say me hi to Emma.’


    “That’s your aunt?” Leo inquired.


    “Yes, I was with her when I received the call.”


    “Oh, I thought you would be with Zac considering the fact that you were together just few hours ago.” He said.


    “Zac just wanted to hang out with us. It’s the weekend I don’t need to spend my entire day with him.”


    Leo had a smirk on his face, for all the good and selfish reasons he felt d that Darby isn’t in such a close knitted rtionship with Zac. “Oh, I get it.”


    “Why didn’t you pick your call?” She asked, wincing lightly at the pain that struck her lower belly.


    “It’s nothing serious.” He replied holding up a thin smile.


    The door to the room opened letting in Isabe and the doctor in charge of Sinir.


    “Wee, doctor. Did you find anything unusual again? Are we to stay longer?” Darby asked the doctor.


    The young doctor smiled. “You don’t have to worry, ma’am. It’s nothing serious. I would just advice you be more cautious with whatever you would feed him with. There is no need to worry about his health, he is a strong boy. You can take him with you now and get his vitamin prescription from the front desk.”


    “We would do that, doctor. Thank you.” Leo said. “How about you and Isabe head downstairs with Sinir while I get the vitamins. I will meet you at the house.” He offered after the doctor left.


    Darby nodded inpliance. “That’s a perfect arrangement. Thank you so much.”


    “You don’t have to thank me. He is my son and responsibility. I should thank you for calling me and not leaving me out of it.” He grinned.


    “Isabe is who you should thank. I practically had my head in the cloud and never would have thought it necessary to call you.” She said.


    Leo turned to Isabe reaching for her hands, “Thanks so much, Be. Thanks for always looking out for our dear Sinir.”


    Isabe smiled shyly, tucking her loose hair behind her ear. “You are most wee, sir. I was only doing my job.”


    Darby snorted rolling her eyes. “That’s enough meet up for today. Let’s make a move for it, please.” She said jokingly.


    They made their way out of the hospital as nned, Leo stayed behind to check the pharmacy for the vitamins. His phone rang and he ignored it yet again. Satisfied of his mission in the pharmacy, he got into the car and began his journey towards Darby’s home. His phone buzzed again, smacking his lips he answered it.


    ‘Chloe.’ He stated with less enthusiasm.


    Chloe scoffed from the other end in distaste. ‘Are you for real right now? I have been calling you, Leo. Where the fuck did you put your phone?!’


    Leo huffed. ‘I didn’t realize that you are keeping tabs on me now.’


    ‘I’m your wife. I have every right to know where you would be or where you at.’


    ‘I told you clearly in the message I patiently typed to you that, my son was rushed to the hospital. You didn’t think it was necessary to ask. Instead you are more concerned with the Switzend vacation I promised this weekend.’


    ‘What! Don’t you dare tell me how to feel, Leo. We should have been on our way if you hadn’t insisted on entering that mall to get whatever shit you remembered to buy. You couldn’t even refuse the offer to sit with him. And just when I thought it was all over, you came up with another excuse. Why does everything have to be about that kid? You haven’t been in his life for the past four years why are you outdoing yourself all of a sudden? What-‘


    He didn’t let her finish before hanging up and putting his phone on do not disturb. Leo didn’t want to start feeling bad foring through to his son. Even though he had been praying for an escape. In his moment of feeling sorryst week, he had promised Chloe a weekend get away to Switzend. However, he hasn’t been in the best mood for thest few days and Chloe seem to be causing him headache with her series of demand.


    To satisfy her, he had put seeing Sinir on hold as Aaron had advised . He had gone into the mall to get some toys for Sinir and didn’t expect to see the little boy and his mother there. Leo felt it was the sign he needed to avoid spending an enclosed few days with Chloe without anywhere to escape to. It’s not like she did anything wrong to him, he just can’t seem to findfort in her presence. And for today, he doesn’t want to feel bad for whatever goes wrong between them.


    Stepping out of the car, Leo walked into the building and headed for the elevator. He got rid of any thought in rtion to Chloe. When he returns home tonight their disagreement would be sorted.


    Darby was by the kitchen sipping on what looked like a cup of tea when he got in. “You are back. Thanks for the help.”


    Leo looked around the space. “Where is he?”


    “In his room, resting. He had woken up few minutes ago and whined calling for you, but I assured him you would be here soon so he went back to sleep.” Darby mused, shutting her eyes tightly as the pain she had been feeling struck again.


    “Are you okay?” Leo asked.


    “Sure, I am fine. Would you like some tea?” She asked him and he nodded in response. Just as she got off the stool the cup dropped from Darby’s hand and it shattered onto the floor with her copsing next to it.


    “Darby!” Leo yelled out fearfully as he ran towards her.