“Justin’s their dad…”

“Legally, yes.  Biologically, they’re yours. That’s what the voicemail was.  Telling you you were gonna be a dad.  I thought you just walked away from us, knowing they were yours.”

“So that night at the VMAs…”

“Yeah. Asshole comment given you had the chance to know they were yours. Literally everyone else there knew but you, so yeah… You deserved it.”

“But when?”

“The weekend in the Hamptons… At the funeral, after you left, I passed out. Justin drove me to the hospital, and I found out I was pregnant.  I didn’t sleep with Justin that night when my grandma died. Close to it, but no. I didn’t sleep with him until we got married.”

“You waited that long? The twins were born by then…”

“We had a super secret quiet wedding at his place in Tennessee about a month after the funeral. 2 weeks after the funeral he took me to his house in the Bahamas, offered himself to raise the kids with. He told me he loved me, and that even if I didn’t love him back, he’d step up as their dad, give them a family. 2 weeks later we got married.”

“So I have… WE have two 4 year olds?!”

“Pretty great ones too, I gotta say.”

“I want to see them,” JC said firmly. 

“Ok,” Mikayla said, blinking.  “Not a problem. We were actually going to have you over tomorrow night. Not necessarily to talk about this situation, but, yeah. I guess I should be completely honest with you…” she continued, biting her lip. “I’m pregnant.”

“Already?”

“Not from yesterday, with Justin. 16 weeks in.  We’re telling family on Sunday.”

“Oh. Ummm, so how does that…?”

“I’m not leaving Justin. I can’t, not with the baby coming. We miscarried last year, filing for divorce while pregnant with his baby to be with you… even the media wouldn’t know what to do with it.  Assuming they catch wind of anything.  So while I haven’t fully decided on where this is going, I love you, want to be with you in some form, but I’m staying married to Justin.”

JC’s head was swimming.  “Ummm, wow, that’s a lot to take in in a short time frame.”

“It’s a lot to take in at any time.  Imagine living it…”

“Kay, I’m so sorry I deleted that voicemail, didn't give you the chance to tell me the greatest news ever,” JC smiled.  “I’m really a dad?”

“You can do a paternity test if you doubt me, but there was no way they were Justin’s, you’re the only man I was with at that point.  Those kids are 100 percent yours and mine.”

“We wanted that for so long, Kay.  For me to just walk away like that, for you to even talk to me, let alone sleep with me yesterday, consider anything more… I don’t deserve it.”

“Justin said the same thing, him not deserving me.  Yet here we are.  I’m married to Justin, having his baby, but still in love with you, the father of my children.”

“I never should have…”

“Enough of that.  It’s done. We’re moving forward.  Now you know, and we’ll figure things out as we go.  You’ll come to dinner tomorrow night?  You and Justin can drink, maybe we can hash everything out after the twins go to sleep…”

“I’m not having a threesome with you and Justin…” JC laughed.

“You say that now,” she smiled.  “I know one thing I want right now though.”

“What’s that?”

“The door is closed, locked.  Kiss me.  Nothing too much, but god, I’ve missed kissing you.”

He pulled her body against his as they sat next to each other, his lips caressing hers, his hand gently cupping her cheek.

“You only get so long for your lunch, you’re back on your teacher schedule, you can’t just take a long lunch.”

“There you go, being Mr. Responsible…”

“I wasn’t very responsible the last 4 plus years…”

“No, but you’ll make up for it now, I’m sure.”

He gave her one more kiss before he opened the bag with their lunch.  “Hopefully your order hasn’t changed in the last 5 years.”

She opened the sandwich wrapper and opened the lid of the small container.  “I guess some things never change, including my order from Panera…  I really don’t go there much anymore, so this was a nice trip down memory lane.”

“Hopefully that’s not all it was,” JC sighed.

“No, definitely not.  I mean, you’re their dad, you know this now, so you’ll be around…”

“I meant with things between us, but yeah.”

“I know.  We’ll figure all of that out tomorrow night.”

“Well, tell me about my kids.  Things I should know before I meet them, ways to get them to like me…”

“Well, they know and love you already, so I don’t think that will be a problem once you meet them.”

“Really?  They love me even though I pretty much abandoned them?”

“They just know you and Justin were friends for a very long time.  I’ve shown them MMC, old *NSYNC videos…”

“Those are all old by now, Kay…” JC laughed.

“Not to them.  I mean, they look at Justin and recognize him even though he looks completely different.  We told them stories about you and the rest of the guys, so they know quite a bit about you.  It’s hard to explain as they get older why you aren’t around as much as the rest of their ‘uncles’, so this will actually help that a lot.  You’re their favorite besides Justin, cuz you were his best friend for a very long time.”

“Then tell me about them.  Favorite colors, things like that…”

Mikayla went off on a long string of topics of things the twins liked; Paw patrol, favorite colors, foods, toys; things important in the world of 4 year olds.  They talked about how they’re doing at the school, giving JC a lot of information but still not making up for his absence in their lives for the last 4 years.  

“I could literally talk about them for hours,” Mikayla chuckled.  “Unfortunately, my lunch break is almost over.  I’m glad you stopped by, Josh,” she said, taking his hand, looking into his eyes.

“I am too.  Wasn’t expecting to find out I’m a dad, but honestly it’s better now than tomorrow along with everything else.”

“Justin was wrong, you didn't need a lot of alcohol before that topic came up.”

“I might need some before figuring out what we’re doing as far as relationship type stuff…”

“I have time for one more kiss before you go, and I go back to classes…”

“I better make it a good one, then,” he smirked.

“Always did…”

He slowly closed the gap between them, his lips gentle against hers, Mikayla upping the intensity.  JC pressed his tongue against her lips, her mouth allowing him in.  It felt like their first kiss all over again, the beginning of something new.  

…

MIkayla walked into the house after the kids, putting her keys down on the table beside the door.  She walked into the family room, Justin sitting on the couch as Joshy and Barb began to battle over what to watch on TV.

“So, interesting day today…” Mikayla sighed, plopping down next to Justin on the couch, curling her body against his.

“Based on your text, I’m sure.”

“Even before that.  Maybe I’m being too dramatic, but I could have died today.  I was at a light, dropped my container of gum, and missed being slammed into by a truck running the red light.  Maybe the timing would’ve worked out, but I dunno, I feel like someone was watching out for me today…”

“Well, I’m glad that didn't happen.  I honestly don’t know what my life would be like without you.  I’d be beside myself.”  He wrapped his arm around her, nuzzling her neck.

“Do you HAVE to do that?” Joshy whined.

“YES,” Justin laughed loudly.  “Because I LOVE your Mommy, so much.  Someday you’ll understand, but hopefully not for a VERY long time…”

“Amen to that,” Mikayla laughed.  “Let me get started on dinner.  Oh, speaking of which, he confirmed he’s coming over tomorrow for dinner.”

“Who’s coming for dinner?” Barb asked excitedly.

“I want you on your best behavior, cuz you’ve never met him before.  JC is coming over to have dinner, meet you two.”

“Really?” Barb asked again.

“I’m named after him, right?” Joshy asked.

“Yes, buddy.  He’s one of my best friends, so we wanted to name you after him.”

“How can he be your best friend if we’ve never met him?  We’ve seen Uncle Trace and the rest of the *NSYNC uncles, but never JC…” Barb pointed out.

“You are wise beyond your years, little girl,” Mikayla hummed.  “It happens when you become an adult.  For a while he was living in Florida, though not since you two were born.  Sometimes you stay friends with people even when you don’t see them all the time.  It’s been a long time since we’ve seen him, talked to him, but things changed that now we can again, and he wants to get to know you. I saw him today and he asked all about you.”

“He did?” Joshy asked.

“He sure did. We had lunch at the school I was at today and we talked.”

“How did that go, being back in teacher mode?” Justin wondered.

“It was so fun, even just for a day. I miss teaching so much, but what I do now gives me so much more flexibility to do stuff with your schedule.  Being a teacher again, I’d have to ask for time off and it’d be harder to do things spur of the moment.  Right now, I can just pick up and literally work from anywhere. I need to play more, just because. I miss that a lot, it turns out.”

“Mommy, you play the piano?” Barb wondered.

“Mommy is VERY good at the piano, or so I hear.  JC used to talk about it when they first met,” Justin said.

“Play for us, Mommy!! We wanna hear you!” Joshy shouted. 

Mikayla sighed. “If I HAVE to,” she chuckled. They walked to the piano, Mikayla sitting down to it. “I don’t play stuff like Daddy. I play things more like this…” She began to play Moonlight Sonata; soft, slow, and gentle.  Joshy watched her in amazement as she closed her eyes to play by heart.

“I think you’re better than Daddy, Mommy,” Joshy was quick to say when she stopped playing.

“Mommy is better than Daddy at a lot of things.  Playing the piano like THAT is definitely one of them. I play to get songs down and things, but nothing I do comes close to that, you’re right,” Justin smiled.

“You should play more often, Mommy…” Barb sighed. 

“I miss it, so I think I will, yeah.  Alright, I’m going to start on dinner,  ok?”

The twins smiled as they headed back to the couch to watch TV.  Mikayla opened the fridge, getting things out.

She felt Justin’s hand on her hip, his lips hovering above the hollow of her neck.  “I love you,” he breathed into her ear.

“I know. Tomorrow will be easier, he knows everything.”

“About them, us?” Justin gasped. 

“He asked about them, and I slipped right into saying Joshy…”

“How’d he take it?”

“Surprisingly well. He wants to see them, be active in their lives. He was worried they wouldn’t like him…”

“You told him they already love him, from the stories we’ve told,” Justin sighed. 

“I told him I can’t leave you, the reason why.  He wasn’t sure if I’d want him with that being the case.”

“And here we are…”

She lowered her voice. “He said he’s not having a threesome with us…”

“At least we both agree on that,” Justin chuckled quietly. “I want you all to myself.”

“I know, but Josh and I have so much history. He’s the father of my children…”

“Not this one,” Justin smiled, placing his hand on her stomach.

“I feel like my baby belly is gonna pop out a lot sooner with Silas, especially after having twins. It’s funny…” she smiled. 

Justin hummed in curiosity. “What’s funny?”

“I was pregnant with his babies, and you wanted me. Now I’m pregnant with your baby, and he wants me.”

“He’s always wanted you, Kay.  You and I both know that.”

“He thought it was too late, once he heard we were engaged.”

“We were married by then, but it was never too late.  I would’ve walked away if he’d wanted you that badly.  You know the setup of our prenup…”

“It’s not really a prenup, it’s saying what to do in the event we split up, which we worded carefully to not even divulge too much to the lawyers.”

“That’s what a prenup is for, Kay.  To say who owns what, and what happens in the event the marriage is over. We can still use what’s written in there…”

She turned to face him. “I’m not leaving you, Justin. If the kids weren’t one glance away, I’d hop up onto the counter and let you claim me as yours over and over again.”  She pulled his hips to hers, feeling him start to twitch and harden at her words.

“They’re 4, they’re old enough for some major trauma to need therapy… I say you hop up and see what happens.”

“Plenty of time for that after their bedtime.  Dinner is almost ready.”

“Making good use of the air fryer…”

“It lets me cook healthier for them, you, all of us.”

“You still have your pre-baby body…”

“It’s cute you think so. Things are different, it took some work to get back to this, to keep it this way.”

“You know I’d still love you if you hadn’t.”

“I know. I think he would’ve felt the same way.”

“You’re the mother of his children, the mother of our child.  What’s not to love about that?”

“Get the kids washed up, dinner will be ready in 5 minutes.” 

Justin looked deeply into her eyes, smiling at her. He kissed her softly before turning off the TV and getting the twins to the kitchen sink to wash their hands.

They all sat down to the table, the twins having their plates ready with chicken strips, Mac n cheese, broccoli, and French fries.  Justin and Mikayla made their plates and they began to eat.

“Mommy, you said you want to teach again? What did you used to teach?  Like Ms. Maribel?”

“No, like your music teacher, the lady that plays piano while you guys sing and Ms. Maribel is helping lead you guys. Mommy did that a long time ago, when I first met JC and Daddy.”

“Would you be our teacher?” Joshy asked. “You’re pretty tough, Mommy.  You’d be a good teacher…”

Justin chuckled between bites.  “Sometimes we have to be. Mommies, daddies, teachers all have to sometimes.”

“How did you meet Daddy?” Barb asked. 

“Through JC.  Daddy had just made a CD and he had a party to celebrate. We met and became friends.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Barb asked dreamily. 

“For me it was,” Justin smiled, taking Mikayla’s hand under the table. 

“Daddy and I were both in love with other people when we met. Daddy met someone else, was in love with her for a while before we fell in love.”

“Who were YOU in love with, Mommy?”

Mikayla looked at Justin.  “I was in love with JC.  That’s part of why we didn’t talk for a while. JC and I still loved each other, but we were also mad at each other for a long time. While we were mad at each other, I fell in love with Daddy. He’d been in love with me but didn’t want to hurt JC.  Think of it like this.  Have you ever had a toy you were playing with, you put it down to play with something else, and Barb picks it up and plays with it?”

“Yeah,” Joshy said, glaring at his sister.

“Well, it’s KINDA like that. I didn’t love JC anymore, and Daddy told me he loved me.”

“How can you love more than one person?” Barb asked. 

“Sometimes people you love hurt you, and you have to stop loving them because it hurts too much,” Justin said. Mikayla looked at him, knowing Justin had had his share of that in his life.

“Being a grownup is hard sometimes. You’re getting so big, asking complicated questions.  I don’t want to lie to you about things, but sometimes it’s really hard. I was sad for a while, but Daddy helped me feel better. He was a very good friend when I needed one, and I fell in love with him because of it.”

“Then you had us?” Barb wondered. 

“Then I had you,” Mikayla smiled. “You two are the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m so glad to be your Mommy.”

“I’m glad you’re my Mommy,” Joshy said.

They finished dinner, the twins getting ready for their bath before bed.  They were soon in pajamas and ready for bed.  Justin sat in the chair between their beds.

“Can I sing a song from the movie for you? It’s a slow song, I think perfect for bedtime,” Justin wondered. 

“Sure, Daddy,” Barb smiled. 

“So my character sings this to one of the other trolls that’s really sad…”

He had thought about getting his guitar, but opted to just sing it by himself. 

You with the sad eyes, don’t be discouraged

Oh I realize it’s hard to take courage 

In a world full of people, you can lose sight of it all

The darkness inside you can make you feel so small

“Did you sing like this when Mommy was sad?” Barb asked. 

“Not really. I let her cry, hugged her close.  Like when you’re sad. It’s ok to be sad, let those feelings out, but let them out, don’t hold onto them.  Like being mad. It’s ok to be mad, but to hold onto it for so long isn’t good. It’s a big step that everything with JC is ok again, we aren’t mad at each other anymore.  Now with stalling bedtime. I’ll finish the song while you go to sleep.”

“After this, can you sing Mirrors?” Barb requested. 

“Why, baby girl?”

“You wrote it for Mommy, right?”

“I did.  Just for her, before we got married.”

“I love that song, Daddy. I can feel how much you love her when you sing it.”

“I’m glad you feel that, music should make you feel something. You’re a perfect mix of your Mommy and Daddy… you both are,” he said, looking at Joshy at the end.

Justin sang the two songs, both children asleep by the end. Mikayla listened from the hallway, hearing his footsteps approaching. 

He looked at her as he closed the bedroom door of the twins. 

“I know you have that thing at the school tomorrow, but I need to have you tonight, show you how much I love you.”

She nodded with a smile. “I’ve got all night and until my alarm goes off…”