8. Wyla

Chapter 8

After peeling myself away from Jett, I got Stevie situated, but her nap was officially over. I kept my distance for the rest of the afternoon, letting Stevie have Jett's full attention for the last hour he's here today.

"But I don't want you to leave. Why can't you stay?" Stevie whines.

Jett squats in front of her. "Don't worry, Little Bee. I'll see you tomorrow, I promise."

She wiggles on her knees, staring down at one of her Barbies in her hands while she thinks. "Promise, promise?" she mumbles.

Jett chuckles. "Promise, promise. Be good for your mom, okay?"

Stevie smiles and nods eagerly, satisfied in their plan, and starts playing with her Barbies again. Jett stands up and looks at me, the smile he had with Stevie slowly fading .

Our conversation feels raw and unfinished, but both of us know we can't continue it with Stevie in the living room. I walk him to the door, and Poppy follows. I let her out and step out onto the porch.

"She has a gymnastics class tomorrow at six, if you want to come. I can text you the address."

He nods. "Yeah, that sounds good." I half expect him to be angry with me, or at least short, but his voice is calm and soft. "I know it seems unfair to ask, but I'd like to spend as much time as I can over these next two weeks with you both."

You both, not Stevie, you both .

My heart lurches in my chest. "It's not unfair. I still have to work during the day, but we can work stuff out for the afternoons during the week."

"Okay." He looks at me so sincerely, and I want to melt into him. He leans in and plants a small kiss on my forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Wy."

"Goodnight, Jett," I choke out because of the lump that's back in my throat, and I can't seem to get it to go away until his car pulls out of my driveway.

Once I finally get back inside, I immediately grab my phone to text my sisters. What I wouldn't give to have our Sunday brunches back, but after Stevie was born, they became a little more sporadic, every other week for the most part. Then Winry had Georgia, and it was a miracle if we made it once a month for a while.

Now, we always make time to see each other. Our meetups just happen when one of us is completely overwhelmed and in desperate need of some wine and a good cry.

I remember one time when I felt like I was drowning. Stevie had been on day three of sleep regression, and I was fucking exhausted. I was at my wits end and on the verge of tears when there was a knock on my door. I swung the door open looking like a complete mess to find my sisters and their husbands on the other side.

While Wav packed me a bag, Win wrote out my instructions for Stevie on a piece of paper. After a quick kiss to my baby, they forced me over to Winry's house, leaving the guys to take care of Stevie for the night. I'm pretty sure I slept till noon the next day.

Being in another desperate state now, I text our sister group chat with cries for help.

SOS.

911.

Give me an hour to get Stevie fed and in bed, then an emergency sister meeting is needed .

Winry

I'll be there. Want me to bring anything?

Waverley

Got it covered, I'll bring the wine.

I make mine and Stevie's comfort food of grilled cheeses and pop some frozen fries in the air fryer. After we eat, I get her butt to bed. It's about seven-thirty, a hair earlier than I would normally put her to bed, but to my advantage, our very eventful weekend has tuckered her out.

As I shut her door, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I don't even have to look at it to know who it's from, and as I walk into the living room, the front door opens with both of my sisters in tow.

"Hey there, Mama," Waverley greets me with a hug. "You okay?"

Those two words are enough to make me lose all control and my tears spill out. I sit back on the couch, and my sisters come to my side.

"So, I take it that things with Jett aren't going too well?" Winry asks, rubbing my back like I do Stevie. Winry has always been the mother of our group, even before Georgia.

Ugh, if only. That'd make things a hell of a lot easier. "No, he's great. Just like I remember him to be. It's like five years only made him more attractive, and I swear his dick is bigger."

"Ope, sounds like a day with dad went a little better than expected," Wav jokes, but I shoot her the evil eye. "Sorry, tell us what happened?"

"Wait, let me get you a glass of wine." Winry takes the bottle Waverley brought to the kitchen then returns shortly with one glass, with a graciously heavy pour. "Okay. Now tell us what happened."

I take a big gulp as memories of earlier race to the front of my brain. Something about him makes me want to blush like a school girl but also climb him like a tree. Is it possible to just melt into this floor, because I'd love to do that right now. I tell my sisters everything from how kind and patient he was with Stevie, to us dry humping on the couch, and the talk we had after.

Winry hands me the box of tissues on the side table. "Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's been a few years since you've slept with anybody. I can't see the harm in getting a good orgasm from hunky baby daddy. Clearly, you two have chemistry, why don't you explore it?"

So many reasons—mainly my guilt, but others too. "The harm is Stevie, Win. I can't just jump into a relationship with Jett. What if it doesn't work out?"

"Why wouldn't it work out?" Waverley asks .

"Are y'all crazy? How could it? He lives forty-two hours away. Forty. Two. I'm not moving, I doubt he wants to move. I-I don't know how we're going to make co-parenting work, let alone a relationship."

"Alright, that's a fair point. But, Wyla, I mean, what if it did work out? What if he does want to move here? I know you said he's only in town for two weeks, but a lot can happen in that time, especially with Stevie involved… the idea of leaving you both could change his mind." Waverley shrugs.

I stand, unable to sit in between them anymore. "And have him give up his life for me? No, he needs to worry about being a father and forming a relationship with Stevie more than with me."

Winry leans back on the couch with her arms crossed. She has her logic face on, and I know I'm not going to want to hear what she has to say. "I just don't understand why you're leaving yourself out. Wyla, you've found Jett. He's here and clearly still interested in you. So what's the real problem?"

"Because I don't want Jett to settle." I throw my hands up in the air. "I love Stevie, and I would never want to change what has happened. But I don't want to constantly be wondering if Jett is actually with me for me or out of obligation. I don't want him, years down the road, to resent me for leaving his career for me. I don't want to show Stevie a chance of her parents being together and a family, and then if it doesn't work out, that life is ripped from her."

My sisters are silent now. I crash back in between them. "I could tell today that Jett wanted to be a father to Stevie. I want him to be in her life. I don't want to fall for him just to get heartbroken and have to sneak off to cry in the bathroom when he brings his new gorgeous wife to one of Stevie's birthdays."

Win and Wav rest their heads on my shoulders. "I'm sorry, Wyla," Winry says softly.

"If it helps, you're a kickass mom." Waverley snuggles closer.

I cry out a laugh. "I don't feel like it."

Winry hugs me tight. "That just means you're doing it right."