Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Chapter 101 – Humans After All (Anj‘s POV) “Negative! Negative! Negative!” Anya chimed in as she kissed the girls on the head. Dylan glanced at her as he stood up and gave her a glass of milk.
Anya raised her eyebrows and looked at him. “You know I‘m a coffee person, Dylan.” She looked at the glass of milk as if Dylan had given him something weird. The girls giggled. “You look funny, Aunt Anya,” Selene said. I smiled, missing this kind of morning where I could hear my girls giggling because their Aunt Anya made them happy or did something funny. “You‘re not drinking coffee from now on,” he said as he sat back in his seat and checked on Leyanne‘s plate. “Eat your fruits, Leyanne.” “But I don‘t like cantaloupe,” She pouted, and before Dylan could encourage her, Lyra Helene picked up the slice from her plate.
“I like cantaloupe,” she put it in her mouth and smiled at me.
“And I don‘t like milk,” Anya said. “You know I‘m lactose intolerant, right?” She snarled at him.
“It‘s lactose–free,” he answered. “End of discussion.” I pursed my lips and thanked the divine agency above for making my cellphone ring. I left them in the dining room to pick up my phone. My eyebrows knitted, seeing an unknown number.
“Hello,” I greeted, glancing at my kids just in case the caller was Sky. “Umm... Anj Perry?” It was a teenager‘s voice. “I‘m sorry for calling you early this morning, but this is kind of urgent.” I raised my eyebrows. What could be urgent early this morning? “How can I help you?”
“This is Olivia Mars, and I‘m calling because of my dad.” When I didn‘t answer, she continued. “He‘s really sick right now, and he‘s hoping to see the triplets. Could you swing by, even just for an hour, so he could see them?” Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Ah...” I breathed out, but my heartbeat raced. I didn‘t want to bring bad news to the kids. It took a while, but I answered, “Sure!”
“Umm... One more thing, Dad said, if you don‘t mind, could you please bring the quilt and book? I really have no idea what he‘s talking about. Maybe he‘s delirious or something,” She whimpered. “Do you need someone to pick you up?” “No need. I know how to get there,” I said. Yet, I doubted, thinking they might be in living in a different mansion. They were wealthy, after all. “But just in case, would you mind texting me the address,” I hoped it was the same address.
“Sure. What time are we expecting you?” She asked again.
I looked at my wristwatch, calculating the time. One hour in bathing the kids, including Nitro, another hour for me, and maybe two hours on the road since I would be delivering some orders.
“I’ll be delivering orders today, but I think we‘d be able to reach your place by lunch,” I told her.
“Okay. See you later, Anj. Bye.” She didn‘t even wait for me to answer. She hung up before I could say goodbye.
“Who‘s that?” Dylan asked when I returned to the dining room.
“Olivia,” I answered, sitting again. He walked in my direction, refilling my cup. “What happened to my coffee?” I raised my eyebrows, and when I turned my face to Anya, her mouth was full of milk, like she was forcing herself to drink it. She shook her head and eyed my children.
My girls giggled, shaking their heads and turning to Anya.
Dylan sighed. “If I could marry two women at the same time, I won‘t be marrying you two,” he uttered, returning to his seat and filling his cup with coffee. “You‘re making me crazy.” Anya swallowed her milk and pouted at him. “I thought you‘ll marry me.”
“I thought he‘ll marry me,” I pick up my cup, sipping my coffee. When Anya met my eyes, we laughed. “I guess I wasn‘t meant to get married,” I uttered in a hushed tone as I looked at the girls finishing their milk. “I guess I wasn‘t meant to get married, too,” Anya sighed, pushing her empty glass. Before anyone of us could ask, she had already explained her side. “I‘d probably die of a stomachache.”
“I guess I‘m stuck with you two,” he said, standing up. “Let‘s go!” He placed his plate on the sink. “Hurry up, Anya. We‘ll be late for work.”
She gestured her hand. “Go ahead. I‘ll be going to the nursing home this morning and promised Mrs. Antonetta to bring her some cookies.”
“What happened to the saving of gas and time?” He asked, causing her to choke on the toast she was eating I smiled, wanting to tell them this was what I missed during breakfast. “Will you be picking up the kids later, or will they stay in school?” he asked me as he tapped Anya to stand up. She was forced to stand up.
“About that, I‘ll be bringing the kids to Steve. I‘ll just deliver some orders, and we‘ll go there,” I told him, standing up and helping my kids place their plates on the sink.
Anya heaved a sigh, rubbing her belly. “God, my stomach is aching now. Come on, kids. It‘s Mommy‘s turn to do the dishes and my turn to bathe you.” As they were leaving the kitchen, Dylan called her. She turned around.
“Nothing. You have an hour,” he reminded her.
She frowned at him. “Two hours, future husband,” she said, sneering at him. I laughed and shook my head. When I glanced at Dylan, I caught him staring at me. I raised my eyebrows, but he surprised me when he pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around my body. “Thank you, Anj,” he uttered, not in a relief voice but something else. I moved slightly away from him. “Thank you for what?” “I was
scared of losing you and Anya. You two are my best friends,” He turned to the sink but changed his mind and faced me. My lips twitched. “We‘re humans, after all.” He shrugged. “I‘m not sure about that, Anj. I‘m still not giving up on you. I made a mistake and failed to fulfill my promise to you.” “Dylan, you said it yourself; it was a beautiful mistake,” I smiled sadly at him. “I love you, but you know its limit, right?” His eyes brimmed with tears as he nodded. “Anya loves you,” I whispered. “Can‘t you see it? She may not be pregnant now, but she was hoping you‘ll notice her someday,” I said, raising my hand to wipe the tears that rolled his eyes.
He closed his eyes and held me, kissing the back of my hand. “Tell me how to stop this pain, Angela. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be that one to take care of you.” I chuckled sadly. “Dylan, you’ve been taking care of me for a long time.” He smiled, pulling me to him again, kissing my forehead. “Let‘s rest this case for a while, shall we?” I teased him. “The dishes won‘t get washed by themselves.”
He nodded, wiping the tears that rolled down his cheeks again, turning to the sink and washing the dishes quietly. I heaved a deep sigh, wishing I knew the answer to all the hows, but I couldn‘t even understand Sky; I couldn‘t stop the pain he caused me.