Eleven: Paternity Tests and Girls' Night

   I stood outside the two story home, hoping I didn't mix up the address. The front door opened to reveal an attractive, petite brunette women. "Hi, um I'm looking for the Coltons, I'm sorry, do I have the wrong address?"
   "Oh, oh no! You don't. Sorry, I'm just visiting them." She looked at her feet, awkwardly shuffling them. "I'll go get them."
   "Okay, tell Harrison it's his sister." She turned away from me, I could hear her calling to him.
   "Ronnie!" He exclaimed, hugging me tightly. "I didn't know you were in town."
   "Surprise! I'm shooting scenes in New Orleans for that movie I'm in, figured I might as well drop in, since your town was on the way. Hopefully you don't mind, I didn't realize you were having people over."
   "Of course I don't mind, you're my sister. My family. Speaking of family, I think... I think you should come in and sit down for this."
   "Is everything okay?"
   "Yeah, yeah everything's fine." I followed him into the house, sitting down in the living room. "Ronnie, this is Avery." The woman who opened the door smiled and waved. "She's visiting from South Carolina."

   "Oh, cool! I filmed a tv pilot there."

   "What show?" She asked, as she reached for the hand of the little boy that sat next to him. 

   "Catalina Carolina, it was about some Nancy Drew-like detective girl. It wasn't picked up." I'd been in a string of unsuccessful films and tv shows since my first movie, With Love, and my first tv show, Baby Makes Two, which ran for four seasons. Now I was twenty-eight, still trying to make it big. At least my career wasn't so bad that I had to resort to doing infomercials. "So, who's this little cutie?" I gestured with my chin to the little boy.

   "I'm Colin Percy Colton." Colton? Colton wasn't an uncommon last name, but it wasn't like Smith or Jones where you knew a thousand of them. I glanced at Harrison, who opened, then shut his mouth.

   "Well, Colin Percy Colton it's nice to meet you. I'm Veronica Violet Colton."

   "Are you my aunt?"

   "Your aunt? Harrison, can we talk?" 

   "Sure." He stood up, leading me to the kitchen. "I... Colin's my son."

   "You're what?!" He had a son? A son who was clearly nine, ten, eleven years old?

   "One night stand, she and I hooked up when I was in Pittsburgh, the night I convinced you to go to community college..."

   "And she didn't tell you until now?! Are you sure it's... It's true?" It could be a scam, I wasn't an untrusting person, but then again it seemed really odd to wait ten years to announce the paternity if your kid.

   "Here." He pulled a slip of paper from his back pocket, handing it to me. "It's a paternity test. Ronnie, he's my son. And she's... She the mother of our child. My child." How was I supposed to react to that? A secret kid... 

   "Does mom know? He does have her eyes." Dad had passed away two years ago, may he rest in piece. Damn smoking from his youth caught up with him, lung cancer took his life. 

   "I haven't told her. I didn't know how to tell people. And, um... I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but Katie's pregnant. Eight weeks. We're not supposed to tell anyone until the second risk, in case there's complications, but oh my God, I've been so hesitant and she's wanted to be a mom for so long, I just... I'd do anything for that fetus, you know? I love it so much and it's just a clump of cells right now. And I love Colin, even though I've only know him twenty-four hours." I glanced down, listening to him talk about how much he loved his family. I'd dated Lyla on and off since college and we'd broken up a few months ago, for good this time. Our relationship wasn't mature enough, she said. I wasn't focused on the future enough. I didn't know the type of love Harrison was describing and for the first time, I wanted to. "Would you mind taking Avery out for a girl's night with Katie? She hasn't had a break since Colin was born, her parents pretty much shunned her when she told them she was pregnant and dropping out of college... I'd love for you and Katie to get to know her, she's going to be in my life and I hope maybe you'll accept her into yours, too."

   "Okay..." I sighed. Nothing says fun like a girl's night with a pregnant, married woman and some chick my brother hooked up with. I loved my sister-in-law, but she wasn't exactly a fun party girl. 

   "There's one thing that I want you to promise me."

   "What?"

   "I don't want Avery turning into a Lyla situation." A Lyla situation? What the hell was he thinking? What did he mean?

   "Pardon?" I clenched my teeth, rolling my eyes. Sometimes my big brother was a complete imbecile. 

   "I mean, I flirted with Lyla and then you dated her. She was kinda an ex."

   "She was not an ex! You never dated. And she wasn't straight, she was a lesbian. You better not be insinuating that I turned her gay!" Avery wasn't even an ex, for him to think he somehow had a right to dictate who she or I fucked...

   "No! No, I know you're born like that, I just... Never mind. Forget I said anything, just please take her to girl's night?"

   "Fine." I came to town to visit my brother and instead I was going to spend time with Avery. At least she was attractive and seemed fairly nice. 

____________________

 

   "Ooo, you, oh! You oh!" Katie sang, off key, as Avery and I danced along to the mediocre karaoke. "Thank you, very much!" She smiled and waved, as the song ended. She stepped off the stage, smiling wide. I supposed this was probably the first time she'd let lose in awhile. "Hey, we've been here for a few hours and I'm feeling a bit tired, wanna come home?" I shook my head, as I continued gyrating my hims. "Come on, you guys are clearly drunk." She rolled her eyes, trying to pull me towards the door. 

   "No-o, I'm not dr-hic-unk." Avery giggled, her words slurring together.

   "I'm not drunk, neither. Either. So what if Imma dancin' with no music?" Katie sighed, in resignation, realizing she couldn't argue with two stubborn people who'd had one too many daiquiris.

   "I'm going to head home, please call a cab, okay? Or call Harrison or I if you need a ride." Katie was our designated driver, since she technically couldn't drink.

   "Byyye!" I waved.

   "Thanks for bringing me out, Veronica. I kn-now, you prob-ly don't wanna party with some borin' daycare teacher mommy."

   "Nah, it's no big deal." I giggled, as she blushed.

   "I haven't had fun in sooo long, like the last time I went on a date it ended with me and Jack Daniels. Stupid date said sh-hhee wouldn't go for my shit."
   "Whaaa? What shit?"

   "Well," she gestured over dramatically, thrusting her hand onto her hip, "see, she said I had ta picka side. Lesbians reject me and straight people reject me or sleezy guys ask me for a thr-reesome. And nobody will say bisexual, like I'm treated like a unicorn." She was bisexual. She was attractive. I needed to get Lyla out of my system. There was a chance she might be attracted to her. A small chance, but a chance... But, I couldn't... Why not? I searched my brain, a warning lingering in my mind. Something I was forgetting.
   "Thass dumb, 'sides you're hawwwt."
   "Haha, right. I still haven't lost all the baby weight, been working two damn jobs tryna get through college, now I'm a glorified babysitter."
   "You don't hava believe me." I shrugged, glancing down at me pedicured toenails.
   "And..." She leaned forward, taking my hands.

    She looked straight at me, her eyes were stormy skies dancing before a hail storm... I leaned forward and-
    We were inches from one another, I could feel her body heat and spell her sweet perfume. "Can I kiss you?" I asked, as she nodded, closing the gap between us.
   The memory of my first kiss with Lyla haunted me.
   "There's a photo booth upstairs." She winked, taking my hand.
   "No... Avery, I can't-t."
   "Why not?"
   "Because... Because..." Harrison had asked me not to. Yet I did. I just had. Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit. How was he going to react? Did I have to tell him? I supposed I didn't... What would a good sister do? And what did Avery think about this? What was this? The beginning of a tragic romance? A cheesy romcom? She was my nephew's mother, I'd probably see her again... Dammit. I had to go film in New Orleans soon, I couldn't stay for long. Maybe time would make things better? Wasn't it better to ask for forgiveness then permission? There were so many questions in my life, it was almost like I was a character in a poorly written dramedy that was desperately trying to create enough suspense and intrigue to make people tune in next week. "Because I can't." And with that, I turned, stumbling my way to a cab that was waiting outside of the bar.