A Million to One

A lot of my stories involve kids in one way or another. I think the addition of children in relationships adds an interesting level of complication. I couldn't resist including a set of twins as well.

Look out for a cameo appearance by a couple of my more liked characters from a certain trilogy that I wrote.

There is a lot of room with this story to build on if it is well received. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

A Million To One

I was sitting on my deck watching the sweat from my glass of iced tea drop onto the glass tabletop.

It was the first nasty hot day of summer. It was as if humidity woke up that morning and told dry heat to hold its beer.

I was watching my twin boys swim in our pool with my friend Billie's son. She always preferred Billie over her given name. Her parents were the only ones that ever dared call her by that name. More than one teacher got a snarky correction on the first day of school when attendance was taken.

Our boys were the same age born two months apart and were a wild 10 years old. Billie also had a 13-year-old daughter, named Markie.

When I heard that she named her daughter after me I was furious.

I was just a 20-year-old kid when my mom told me that Billie had her baby and what she named it. I immediately grabbed my phone and got her voicemail. I was in the middle of screaming a tirade when my mother slapped the phone out of my hand and said, "Mark James Burke! I raised you better than that." She picked up the phone and hung it up.

Then she dialed back Billie's number and she too got voicemail.

"Billie honey, I'm sorry about that. Mark meant to say that he's happy for you and hopes you're doing well. Please ignore that awful outburst."

Mom always was a pragmatic one and she loved Billie like a daughter.

I tried not to think too much about those days. It was hard because Billie and I have become friends since she moved back.

I took another puff of the cigar I was enjoying while watching the boys. As I was flicking some of the white/gray ash into the ashtray when I heard the voice from behind me.

"She hurt you badly, didn't she?"

I looked over and motioned Markie up to the deck with a wave of my hand.

"Mr. Mark, why don't you love Mom as much as she loves you? She cries sometimes after she sees you."

I looked over in shock as she sat down. I was still thinking about the original question. I knew Billie wanted more, but I didn't know that Billie cried over me. Marky noticed my disbelief.

"Yep. There are times after you pick up your boys or drop Jimmy off, that she excuses herself to her room and doesn't come out for a while. The last few times I listened by the door."

I looked away from her and looked at the boys, throwing each other around the cool, crystal clear water of the pool without a care in the world.

Finally, I spoke and asked her, "Why do you think she hurt me, Markie?"

"You and my mom have been spending a lot of time together since we moved back two years ago. I may only be thirteen, but I can see how you look at each other. I know my mom loves you, and I think that you love her."

"We grew up together, we're old friends."

"Yeah, I know the story. Well, I think I know the start of the story and the present, but I don't think I know the middle."

Markie was absolutely correct. Her mom and I told the kids all about our youth together. We just never told them about the rough ending.

"Well look, I..."

She cut me off and said, "Mr. Mark, what were my grades last year?"

"What? You had straight A's of course."

"That's right, so we can agree that I'm not stupid."

I smiled and nodded.

"What's your middle name?" She asked.

"James," I answered knowing where she was going with it.

"Markie and James? Wow! What a coincidence."

"Markie, you don't..."

"Argh! Mr. Mark, you haven't answered my questions."

"Markie, you're a very bright and perceptive young lady. I would love to tell you the answer to your questions, but it's not for me to tell you that story. I'm going to cop out and tell you to ask your mother."

Markie shook her head, took off her shorts, leaving her in her bathing suit, and dove into the water. She only got a lap in before she was doing chicken fights with the boys.

*********

I thought about the day they moved in down the block. I hadn't seen Billie in about eight years. They moved away while she was pregnant with Jimmy. Her husband got a job in Detroit and they never crossed my path when they came home for visits.

That day they came back, I was walking back from the ball field with my twins when we saw a boy and girl struggling with unloading boxes from a U-Haul truck.

The house had been up for sale for a while, and I'd been watching the price because it was the same model as mine. The inside wasn't as updated as my house was because I had done some remodeling over the years, and it didn't have a pool like mine, but it was nice. I had no intention of ever moving, but I liked knowing how much my house was worth.

The boy looked to be the same age as mine and my twin terrors wanted to say hello and make friends with him.

As we walked over to welcome the new family into the neighborhood, a beautiful red-head stepped down off of the truck's ramp.

The moment we made eye contact, she dropped the box that she was carrying and put her hand to her mouth.

"What happened, Wilma?" Came a man's voice from inside the truck.

He walked down, saw me, and practically shouted, "Mark! Holy Hell Son, how've you been?"

"Good, Sir. We were just coming up to welcome the new owners to the block. I didn't know it was you all. How've you been, Wilma?"

She frowned when I didn't call her Billie, and it took a moment for her shock from seeing me to wear off.

"Good, Mark. Are these your boys?"

"Yeah, sorry. The one in the hat is Mark Jr. and the other one is Miles."

"That's my boy Jimmy, and my little Markie all grown up now," she said completing the introductions.

"How's your mom doing? Is she here? I haven't seen her in forever."

"Yeah, Mark. She's inside. Come on in and say hi. She's gonna freak seeing you here."

We walked in making general small talk and then found her mom in the kitchen.

"Hey mom, look who lives in the neighborhood."

She turned and when she saw me, she bolted over and grabbed me.

"Mark! Oh my God! How are you?"

"Good, Mrs. Steele. It's good to see you and your husband again."

Whether it was intentional or not, I'm not sure, but I didn't include Billie when I said that. Billie noticed and frowned.

We caught up on the last few years and the introductions of the children were made to everyone.

Billie told me about her husband leaving her for another woman. That caused her to move back home to her support network. I told her about my wife leaving because she couldn't handle being a mother. She up and left when the boys were one and I hadn't seen her since.

They got cards and a phone call on their birthday, but they don't seem to care much. She's a high powered lawyer in California. Her child support gets deposited every month and that's all I care about from her.

After catching up a bit, we helped them finish moving in the rest of her stuff. Of course, all of the heavy stuff was left, so I called my neighbor Manny, and asked him to come over to help. With only two older folks and two younger kids, Billie and her folks were thankful that we were there to help.

After enjoying a couple of beers, Manny had to head home to his family for dinner. With her new kitchen a mess of unpacked boxes and an empty fridge, I invited Billie and her family over for dinner. Her father smiled brightly and declined for himself and his wife.

Billie enthusiastically accepted. I wasn't sure if she would. She'd been avoiding me most of the afternoon as we moved her in. It took me by surprise that she'd avoid me, but there was still an old wound that never really got closed and we'd have a long way to go to close it.

We walked the block over to my house and I ordered a couple of pizzas and a six-pack of Pepsi.

While we were waiting the kids fired up their PlayStation and I gave Billie a tour of the house. She was suitably impressed with the work I did inside and in my backyard.

I lived at the end of a cul de sac and backed up against a small forest preserve. I had a large deck and pool with a long expanse of grass leading up to the trees of the forest.

As we ate our Pizza the kids drove the conversation and it was kept light, thankfully. Billie and I would have to sort out our past, but it wouldn't be that night.

*********

My boys, and Markie and Jimmy, turning into prunes, jumped out of the pool and asked for drinks and snacks.

I said, "It's getting to be about dinner time. Markie, what's your mom doing? Why didn't she come over with you?"

"I don't know, Mr. Mark. She was vacuuming when I left."

"Okay. How about you guys dry off and head in. Grab some Pepsi's and some chips, and I'll call your mom. Maybe we can go out to dinner tonight."

Markie smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Mark. You're the best."

I stayed out back to finish my cigar and called Billie.

"Hey, how about Chinese tonight?" I asked.

"Um, okay. I'll call my mom to come and babysit."

"Huh? No, I meant all of us."

I guess she thought that I was asking her out for just us. Whoops.

"Oh," she said sadly. "Alright. Send them home then, so they can get ready."

"Okay. See you soon."

I walked into the house to find an entire family-sized bag of Doritos split into four bowls and almost gone.

"Did you guys save room for dinner? Holy cow, you're like piranhas."

"Of course. Where are we going," Markie asked.

"Chinese. C'mon, let's get you home so you can get ready. Wash your cheesy hands first."

On the short walk over to Billie's, Markie asked me, "Why do you walk us home? Mom doesn't walk us over to your house."

"I want to make sure you're safe."

She laughed and said, "Yeah right. You don't fool me, Mr. Mark."

Kind of annoyed by her comment, I asked, "What do you mean?"

She didn't respond with anything but a nod towards her house. Billie was standing on the steps waiting for us with a smile. Markie laughed and ran into the house.

I said, "Gimme 30 minutes and I'll pick you guys up."

"That's fine. See you soon," she answered with a wave as we turned and walked back home.

As we walked a few houses, I turned around and saw Billie watching us from her steps. Seeing me catch her, she waved again and hustled inside.

"Smart kid," I thought. I knew the time had come to fill in the holes in our story. Markie wasn't going to let it go. She was definitely going to try to push us together.

That night had a nice dinner. It's never quiet with the three amigos and their instigator, but we enjoy the kids' banter so it's never a bother to us.

At a break in the kids' chattering, Markie said, "Mr. Mark, I bet I can guess your favorite color." She had a smirk on her face as if she was daring me to tell her she didn't.

"Really?"

I looked at Billie, and she said, "I didn't tell her."

"Okay. How about a bet," Markie said. "If I'm wrong, I'll clean your pool for the rest of the Summer."

"And if you're right?" I asked.

"You take my mom on a date."

"Markie!" Billie said, in shock.

I didn't think I could rekindle the old romantic feelings for Billie, but I was intrigued by Markie's interest in doing so.

"C'mon, Mom. You know you want to."

"Okay, let's get on home," I said grabbing the leftovers and saving Billie from lying and denying it. I guess it was clear to Markie that Billie wanted us to be a couple, I wasn't sure I could handle it though.

I wasn't angry with Markie. As I said, she's a smart kid. She knew her mom and I were attracted to each other, but I needed to get us home to have THE conversation since it would get emotional and the restaurant wasn't the place for it.

We drove to my house in silence. Well me, Billie and Markie were, then I sent the boys to their PlayStation and invited Billie and Markie to the deck for some iced tea.

Billie said, "Markie, that was very inappropriate, what you did in the restaurant."

"Mom, wait. I have a feeling that Mr. Mark is going to tell us a story. I'd like for him to accept my bet first," Markie said, with a wide smile looking at me.

"Okay, I accept your bet."

Billie's head snapped over to look at me and I smiled and nodded. She looked as if her eyes were watering, and I figured it would get worse.

"Mr. Mark, your favorite color is blue. Not dark blue, more like sky blue."

Billie's mouth opened in shock, so I reached over and pressed her chin up with my finger to close her mouth.

Then she said, "How could you know that? I swear, I never told her that, Mark."

"Am I right?" Markie asked.

"Yes, sweetie," I said. "That's absolutely correct. May I ask how you know that?"

"Mom, promise you won't get mad?"

"Huh? I'm not promising that."

"Alright. If I'm going to get grounded, at least it was worth it to get you two on a date."

I laughed, but Billie was still not amused.

"Mom, I've been doing laundry for a couple of years now, right?"

Billie nodded in agreement. Then her eyes almost bugged out of her head and she said, "Markie, don't."

"Sorry, Mom. I'll accept whatever punishment you give me, but I have to do this. It hurts to see you so sad all of the time. He needs to know how you feel."

Billie had a tear streak down her cheek. "Please don't. You'll embarrass me."

I would've been more forceful about it with her, but maybe deep down Billie was on board with whatever she was afraid of Markie saying.

"Mr. Mark," she said ignoring Billie. She opened her cell phone up to a picture. "This is my mom's underwear drawer."

I pushed the phone back and said, "Markie, no. That's over the line."

"Markie, stop right now!" Billie shouted.

"Fine, I'll show you myself. Look!"

She showed us a drawer full of neatly folded light blue underwear and what looked like some light blue lingerie.

"What color is all of that?" Markie asked with a smirk.

Billie got up and ran into the house. Markie saw how upset she was and got up to chase her.

"No, young lady," I said putting my hand on her shoulder to sit her back down. "I know what you're doing, but you've pushed it too far. Wait here and let me talk to your mom. When I come back, I'll answer your questions from this afternoon."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I thought I was helping."

"That's the only reason I'm not angry with you right now. You played a dangerous game with people's feelings here. You embarrassed your mom, and if you would have known our whole story, you may not have done it. I'll be right back."

I patted her shoulder, giving her a bit of reassurance and I walked in to find Billie.

I knocked on the bathroom door and said, "Billie, come to my bedroom. We have to talk."

"No, please leave me alone."

"Billie, we've known each other for too long to play games. Come to my room, now."

I went in and sat on my bed. A moment later, Billie walked in and sat next to me.

"It's time to tell her the whole story about us. She's a smart kid and can see how we feel about each other. She doesn't understand why we aren't a couple and she thinks she's helping by trying to push us together."

"I know, I'm so embarrassed," she said.

"You're probably going to be mad when you find out what brought this on, but remember, she just playing matchmaker."

"Showing you my underwear drawer was not necessary."

"It did win her the bet," I said with a smile.

She didn't smile at first but then it must've clicked that we are going on a date as a result of it because her face lit up.

I stood up and gave her my hand. She took it and as she rose, I said, "I always did like your choice in sexy panties though."

She punched my arm and laughed as I led her out. It was so good to hear her laugh. I didn't want her to be too upset with her daughter.

We made it back outside with a fresh round of iced teas and Billie hugged Markie, telling her that she loved her. Markie cried and told her she was sorry.

They were going to be just fine.

"Okay Markie, you asked me two questions earlier today and I'm going to answer them for you," I said, as we all sat down.

"First, you asked if your mom had hurt me. The answer to that is simply, yes she did. Very much so."

Billie's tears started falling again.

"Second, you asked me why I don't love your mom as much as she loves me."

Billie gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"The answer to that is more complicated. The fact is, that I do love your mom. I have loved her since we were kids, and I've never stopped."

"Then why are you just friends? Why can't we be a real family?" Markie asked.

"That's where the complications come in. Your mom broke my heart. While I was in college and away from her, she became pregnant with you."

Billie started crying harder, and I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug.

Markie said, "What? Mom? You cheated on him?."

Billie didn't answer. I nodded my head.

Markie said, "I feel like I'm in a murder mystery, and all of the loose ends are getting tied up."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Mom, when you were splitting up from Dad, did you know that he took me to a doctor?"

Billie looked up and said, "No. Why did he do that?"

"They did a DNA test."

"I should've figured," Billie snorted.

"He didn't do it with Jimmy though. It didn't make sense to me until right now. Is Mr. Mark my real dad?"

I frowned and looked at Billie. I already knew the answer.

"Oh, baby girl, I really wish he was, but no. Your dad is paying me child support for you. I'm sure they did that test to make sure he was really your dad, or he wouldn't want to pay the support for you. That and the timing doesn't work for you to be Mark's."

"Mom, why did you name me and Jimmy after Mr. Mark?"

"Because he is the only man that I've ever loved."

I looked over at Billie in surprise, and she smiled.

"Markie, I married your dad because I was pregnant and loved Mark too much to lie to him about you being his baby.

You already know that Mark and I grew up living on the same block. We were friends since we were toddlers. When we were old enough to know that boys and girls like each other, we liked each other. In middle school, we began going out with each other as a couple. We dated all through high school and never considered being with anyone else.

When he went away to college, we were supposed to go together. I hit a snag with that because my family couldn't afford to send me to an out of state school and Mark got some scholarship money.

He wanted to stay local with me, but I told him to not waste his opportunity. I knew we would be okay long distance. We were so in love, it was inconceivable that one of us would cheat. It was my fault that we blew up. In our senior year, I met your dad. He was a pompous ass."

Markie smiled.

"I turned him down constantly for dates, but he kept pushing. I went to a Halloween party with some friends and he was there. I never drank, so when they gave me some of the punch they had, I didn't realize there was alcohol in it. Yes, I was that naive, and I drank a lot of it.

I don't remember anything except waking up in the morning, in a bed with your father. I knew that I had unprotected sex, we won't get into how I knew, but I knew. I ran out in tears. I cried for days. I didn't go to class, I didn't talk to anyone, I barely ate.

It took a couple of weeks to get my head on straight, and then Mark came home for Thanksgiving. When I saw him again, I cried. It wasn't from happiness, it was from sadness. I felt like I had betrayed him."