I saw a friend of mine. He said, "I was worried about you I heard she had another man, I wondered how you felt about it?" I'm so happy that I can't stop crying I'm so happy I'm laughing through my tears Saw my lawyer, Mr. Good News He got me joint custody and legal separation I'm so happy that I can't stop crying I'm laughing through my tears. I'm laughing through my tears...
...The park is full of Sunday fathers and melted ice cream We try to do the best within the given time A kid should be with his mother, Everybody knows that What can a father do but baby-sit sometimes?...
...I'm so happy that I can't stop crying I'm laughing through my tears I'm laughing through my tears I'm so happy that I can't stop crying I'm laughing through my tears I'm laughing through my tears
-I'm So Happy, I Can't Stop Crying; by Sting (CD: Mercury Rising)
Nick glanced around his very bare looking house. It was huge, and though it held the same furniture that it had while Faith had been there, it was different. Because there were no toys laying scattered haphazardly in every room (the maid had unfortunately taken care of that), there were no pacifiers, no sippy cups, no bibs ... all those things were stored properly in their own individual drawers, waiting to be taken out and used when Gem and Jewel would come for visitation every weekend. But what was really missing were Faith's Vogue and Cosmopolitan magazines, her nail polish bottles, her clothes, the bras she'd once hung to dry in the bathroom ... her. She was gone and all of her belongings were too. He missed her so much and seeing her when she dropped the kids off just wasn't enough. Nick missed his wife, and knowing that she had another man to fulfill her every wish made him sick to his stomach. He'd heard from Brian, through Leigh Anne, who still talked to Faith regularly, that the man's name was Alex, but preferred to be called Alexander. He sounded like a complete stiff and Nick wondered if Faith had just picked a guy that was everything that Nick hadn't been; everything Nick wasn't. It made his heart ache terribly at the thought, but he'd come to realize that he'd long since pushed Faith away and he'd finally decided that their split was for the better ... even if deep down he knew he didn't believe it. He hadn't believed it when Faith had said it, and he didn't believe it when he said it.
Nick sighed as he heard the phone ring down the hall in his bedroom. He had a private line for his bedroom and there were no other phones connected to it except for the cordless he kept by his bed. He sprinted down the hallway, stubbing his toe in the process. With a yelp he ended up flying towards his bed, his legs instantly tangled in the mess of sheets. He groaned and breathlessly grabbed the phone, "Hello?" He suddenly felt very wary of whoever the caller was. They'd put him through such trauma just getting to the phone.
"Um ... Nick?"
Nick's heart stopped and then restarted, but began to beat a little faster than a human heart was supposed to beat. "Hi, Faith. Sorry, I was running for the phone ..."
"I still don't understand why you insist on having a separate line for the bedroom, but hey -- none of my business," Faith's voice carried a light tone, one that was rarely there anymore. "I had a favor to ask of you."
Nick noticed there was no hesitance in her voice and it made him slightly annoyed. She'd left him, and taken their children, and now she had a favor? "What's that?" He sounded less than enthused.
"I was supposed to go to dinner tonight ... but my baby-sitter canceled."
Nick's eyebrows rose, "Oh, I'm surprised you didn't just drop our kids with Alex."
"It's Alexander, Nick ... and you know full well that I'm going to dinner WITH Alexander."
Nick desperately wanted to say no, just so Faith would understand that he wanted nothing to do with her and "Alexander's" relationship ... that he didn't agree with it whatsoever. But these were his children -- and he wanted to see them anyway. But still ... she was asking him to baby-sit ... their own children ... while she went out with another man. He heaved a sigh of defeat, "Bring them over whenever. I'd love to see them."
"Thanks." With that Faith hung up and a chill ran down Nick's spine.
