“Daddy!” Aaron whined. “Can we go eat soon?” Nick sighed and glanced at his watch. She was late. She promised that she would be on time. “Soon honey. We just need to wait a few more minutes. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Who?” Aaron questioned, his blue eyes widening.

“Just a friend of dad’s,” Nick responded. He was about to pick up the phone and call her when he heard a knock on the door. “She’s here. Go into the living room with your brother and sister and we’ll be there in a second.” He watched as Aaron ran into the other room of Nick’s newly purchased condo. Nick took a deep breath and went to answer the door. He really hoped that this went well. If anything bad were to happen and Katelin got wind of it, she would certainly flip out. Opening the door, he grinned when he saw Beth standing on the otherside. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Beth stepped into the condo and gave Nick a light kiss on the lips. “So what was the big emergency? I thought we were going out to dinner.”

“We are,” Nick replied, nervously. “We’re just not going alone.”

“Oh?” Beth’s eyes widened. She never thought that Nick would’ve taken her out with any of the other guys and girls. She knew that they were all so firmly in little miss Katelin’s corner by the way that they treated her. They looked at her like she wasn’t good enough for Nick. Well, she was about to get her chance and she was going to prove to everyone that she was anything Katelin could be and more. There was a good reason that Nick left his wife and Beth was going to make the most of it. “What are we doing then?”

“Don’t freak out,” Nick warned. “But there are some people here I want you to meet.”

Beth narrowed her eyes. “Who?” Something about the way Nick was acting was making her think that she was not going to like what was about to happen.

“My kids are here,” Nick replied. “I thought it would be nice if we all went out to dinner together.” Inside, Beth was fuming. These were not the ‘people’ that she was hoping for. She wanted the chance to make a good impression on Nick’s friends. Not on the little twerps that permanently connected him to that little bitch. But, instead, she plastered a fake smile on her face and followed him into the other room. “I’d love to.”

“Guys?” Nick called, walking into the living room. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” He waited until he had his three children’s attention before he introduced Beth. “This is daddy’s new friend, Beth. Beth, this is Aaron, Brian, and Kayleigh.”

“Hi,” Brian and Kayleigh quietly answered.

Beth bent down to their level and shook there tiny hands. “Nice to meet you.” She turned towards Aaron who, she couldn’t help but notice, was glaring at her. “You too, Aaron.”

“Hi,” Aaron replied, dropping his eyes to the ground, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Nick.

“Beth is going to come to dinner with us,” Nick explained. “Should we get going?” The children and Beth all followed Nick outside to the car before driving off to the restaurant.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Katelin walked into Aaron’s room after she had tucked the twins in for the night. “Hey honey. You’ve been awful quiet since you got home. Didn’t you have fun with your dad this weekend?”

“Yeah,” Aaron responded, quietly, without taking his eyes off of the book he was looking at.

“Well, that’s good.” Katelin was skeptical as she sat down next to him on the bed. “You sure there’s nothing else going on?” She watched him carefully and was surprised when his lower lip started trembling. She quickly pulled him into his arms. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Nothing,” Aaron whimpered into her shoulder.

“I don’t believe that it’s nothing, Air.” Katelin soothingly rubbed her hand on his back. “Tell me what’s wrong?”

“Am I getting a new mommy?” Aaron finally asked, his big blue eyes bright with unshed tears as he looked at her.

Katelin’s eyes widened. “Of course you’re not, baby. Why would you think that?”

“Because there was a lady at daddy’s house today,” Aaron said. “He kissed her like he used to kiss you. I just thought that she was going to be my new mommy.”

“You’re not getting a new mom,” Katelin responded, hugging him tightly. “I’ll always be here for you, Aaron. That was just a new friend of daddy’s.”

“Why did he kiss her?” Aaron questioned, wiping his eyes.

“I don’t know, baby,” Katelin whispered, ignoring the sharp pain in her heart as she told him. She really didn’t know. She didn’t know what she did that was so wrong. How she pushed her husband into the arms of another woman. “Listen, we’ll talk about this again tomorrow. It’s bed time now.” She helped him slide under the covers. “I love you, Aaron. And I love your brother and sister too. Nothing will ever change that.”

“I love you, too, mommy,” Aaron replied, sleepily. She watched him as he drifted off to sleep, before anger took over her body and she marched into her bedroom. She picked up the phone and started dialing the new number.

“Hello?” Nick answered, tiredly. He had been dozing on the couch after he had dropped the kids off. Beth had wanted to stay the night but he told her that tonight wasn’t the best night. She had been less than thrilled and he thought that this was going to be her, giving him a piece of his mind.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Katelin growled.

Nick sighed. “What is it, Kate?”

“How dare you bring your little tramp over while my children are there!” she exclaimed. Okay, so maybe she was being a little mean but she was so far beyond upset right now that she couldn’t control herself.

“Katelin…” Nick began.

“No,” Katelin cut him off. “You know, do whatever the hell you want with her when they’re not around. I don’t give a shit if you fuck her in every room of your new house. But don’t you dare bring her near my children.”

“Why are you so angry?” Nick yelled, exasperated. “And how the hell did you know she was here anyway?”

“Five year olds talk, Nick,” she explained. “They talk. And they cry. And you wanna know why they cry? They cry because they think that daddy’s little mistress is their new mother.”

“Shit,” Nick mumbled.

“Yeah,” Katelin responded, angrily. “’Shit’ is right. Why in the hell did you think that was a good idea?”

“I didn’t…” Nick began again.

“That’s right,” Katelin once again interrupted. “You didn’t think. You never do, do you?”

“What I was going to say,” Nick jumped in. “Was that I didn’t think that it was a bad idea for them to meet each other. It’s not like they’re never going to be around each other.”

“Not if I can help it,” Katelin murmured. “I’m not having this conversation with you anymore. It was too soon for them to meet. They’re still trying to get used to the fact that we’re not together. So, until they do, so help me god, if I hear that they are anywhere near her, I’ll make sure you never see them.” Before Nick got a chance to respond, Katelin slammed the phone on the cradle. She looked over at a picture of she and Nick on the table next to the bed. Picking it up, she started to cry as she realized how in love they had been when it had been taken. It was on their honeymoon. Right after they had finally found their way back to each other. What the hell had gone wrong? She had no answers. All she knew was that she came home one day to find her marriage in shambles and instead of trying to fix it, her husband just bailed. Frustrated and alone, she hurled the picture across the room, crying harder as she heard the frame smash into the far wall and land on the ground.

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