Tessa, I have to go, I don’t know how much longer I can keep your mother thinking I’m up in Nebraska, she’s not easily convinced.”
“It’s so nice having you here though, you’ll have to visit more, or less, I don’t want her thinking you’re having an affair and then she’ll really go nuts.” I held Iris in my arms as I was putting her in her playpen.
Collin is supposed to be here soon, allowing me to drive to Pueblo for a meeting with the school board, I was going to drive with my dad but it’s a long drive to Pueblo all the way back to springs. It’s just easier if I drive behind him and part ways when we split.
We’ve had endless conversations, mostly about my mother but a lot of them involved my childhood, and it wasn’t the horrible parts of it.
Collin knocked on the door, and I walked up to the door opening it, he had flowers in one hand and a baby toy in the other.
Yes. He’s having a dad and daughter date with his two month old, she can’t even smell flowers, she can’t even properly hold a toy yet and he’s spoiling her with admonition and gifts.
Or maybe I’m jealous that Collin has the time and money to do this for Iris. I find myself having to rely on my dad for money, not a lot, and I will pay him back but the load sum of money I have is for emergencies, and I have to get a job but this meeting with the school board is important and debates whether or not I can get a job.
“Thanks for coming Collin, I know you were probably busy with work or something.”
“I was just sitting on the couch watching tv on the big screen, in my underwear without my shirt pic--”
“I’ll wait outside.” My dad said. That’s the other thing, my dad told me he really likes Collin, but he doesn’t like his care free attitude, he doesn’t like his biased opinion on politics, and he told me he doesn’t appreciate the fact he got me pregnant but he loves Iris. His feelings when I was forced to tell my mom, brother and dad that I was pregnant were true, and I feel awful that I reacted with such hate when she kicked me out, but I was angry.
“If you’re trying to make me date you by telling me you were basically naked on the couch, keep dreaming.” I gathered all the things I needed from my room and the counter into a backpack, the notes and proof of grades of the last six months in school.
“I got these for you.” He said sticking the flowers in front of him. They were roses and daisy flowers the same ones I thought were for Iris.
He reminded me of what I needed to give him which was laying right on the counter, I grabbed the flowers and handed him the box “and this is for you.”
He opened the ring box and saw the promise ring, his face turning sad, “come back home, you don’t belong in this part of the state and I miss you.”
“No that would be weird to live with my ex boyfriend who so happens to be the father of my baby. But I have to go.”
I placed the flowers on the counter unable to put them in a vase or having time to say goodbye to Iris. I walked out the door and got in my car, pulling out of the driveway and following my dad back to Pueblo.
Collins p.o.v
I was sitting in the office looking on Google for answers to how I can win my girlfriend back. Most of them said pull off something insanely wicked, ignore her, find someone new.
None of those were useful to me. Which forces me to think on my own. Tessa called me yesterday asking if I could come over and watch Iris as she goes to Pueblo for some stupid meeting at the district’s office.
I left the house and on my way to springs I stopped at a rose parler to grab some flowers for Tessa; I don’t know what her favorite flower is but I don’t want cheap ones, like the ones you get at walmart or costco, I wanted the ones that Tessa could potential accept my proposition of being her boyfriend again, I made a mistake of breaking up with her, and I want to change it.
__
She left the flowers on the counter and the ring box in my hand, Iris still sleeping in the playpen. I didn’t get a chance to ask her if there was a chance for us to get back together but it seems like I have an answer already.
Her house is a mess, the couch cushions are disordered, the small kitchen has bottles and dishes in the sink, there are clothes on the couch, mounds of clothes on it, and makeup all over the bathroom counter. Tessa is obviously stressed out. Her house is always clean, our house used to always be clean.
I heard Iris crying as I walked into the bedroom, and when she saw me leaning over the playpen; she smiled, and it gave my heart a warm affect.
“You think you could help me clean mommys house? Do you think she’ll like the surprise?” I picked her up and cuddled her close, smiling. “I’m kind of glad no one can understand your babbles or otherwise you might tell mommy my plan to win her back.” I put her in the living room in her baby bouncer where she normally just falls back asleep, where she can watch me clean which really isn’t that fun but she’s almost three months old and can’t do anything more fun.
I started with the clean clothes on the couch which were a lot, mostly Iris’s clothes. I moved all of the baby clothes into a seperate pile away from Tessa’s clothes. One thing Tessa is really good at, is organization, at least when she was pregnant all the way until she moved out. When Iris came home she had grown out of a lot of clothes so she would mark the tag with a black sharpie if she grew out of it so she could store it into a bin.
I saw the black sharpie and most of the clothes that had black sharpie lines on the tag were newborn to three months, so, with all of the newborn to three month clothes I put a black line through the tag and folded them, to put them in a bin when I was done. The rest of Iris’s clothes went into the bin next to the couch as a dresser, probably the cheapest Tessa could afford.
I’m not a billionaire, nor do I have the most perfect income in the entire state of Colorado, but I do work, I’ve been working for a private company my father used to work for, I write up forums, and other things within the law enforcement, which is how I got accepted in the academy, and it’s why they haven’t kicked me out yet.
Folding Tessa’s clothes seems kind of perverted just because I’m touching her undergarments, it would be fine if I was her fiancee or boyfriend, but I’m her ex, but I also am just folding them and putting them back in the laundry basket to put them away where she puts them. When I was done folding the clothes I put the couch cushions back in place, knowing this is where her dead slept for the last few weeks, I then finished the living room, needing really no vacuuming.
I then moved to the dreaded kitchen, where there are several baby bottles which are a pain in the a** to clean, especially the cap where imitates a woman’s breast. I hate cleaning these, but thankfully she got the one special apartment in the entirety of Colorado springs, Colorado with a freakin’ dishwasher. ALL of the dishes that could fit in the dishwasher I put in it, having to take two feeding breaks; one of them for Iris and both of them for me.
I’m not really going to bore you with the cleaning of the house portion anymore but I’m not kidding when I say she really hates being here if she let the house get this bad. I’ve only ever known Tessa to be a clean freak, it’s her way of comfort in case anyone showed up unexpectedly.
I was just talking to Iris while feeding her when she walked in, dropping her bag looking at the spotless house, running into her bedroom noticing that too, was clean.
“Did you clean the house?” she walked in front of me, her facial expression kind of shocked.
“No I used my magical wand and said “Abracadabra” while standing on top of the roof.” My feet were resting on the floor, when Tessa started smiling, then looked at me with her evil intended eyes.
“Why’d you do it? Is there something you want from me?” I was astonished that she would think I would literally want something from her, the only thing I want from her to be my wife by the end of this whole sh*t that we have, and I made a fu**ing mistake and I can’t f*cking tell her!
“I don’t want anything from you, I was bored sitting here watching Iris sleep. So I figured you needed some help and well I helped, you can’t be mad that I cleaned your house, you should at least say thank you.” She looked back in the kitchen, seeing the flowers in a vase.
“I don’t want your flowers, Collin. I don’t want to be with you and you made it clear you didn’t want to be with me. I told we over a week and a half ago that we can discuss being together after you come back from Virginia, until then find someone else to f**k!” she stormed into her bedroom and closed the door.
I stayed calm, and waited on the couch, still feeding Iris and closed my eyes, resting my head on the couch. “5..., 4..., 3..., 2..., 1..,--”
The door opened and Tessa came out, sitting next to me on the couch, I could hear her breath in, calming herself down.
“How’d your meeting with the school board go?” I opened my eyes and looked at her, while she looked out toward the window, trying to hide the red puffy eyes she has.
“They told me I can sign up whenever I wanted, they really didn’t need to talk to me, they just wanted to know my plans, I have to get a job so I can afford to drive to Pueblo everyday.”
“Or, you could let me pay for your gas, I really want to help, besides spending the night here Sunday through thursday.” I looked at Tessa with concerning eyes, and I’m sure she knew what I was going to say, “It’s ridiculous that you don’t want to come back to Denver but you want me to stay here for five nights and six days. Come on Tessa why don’t you want to come back?”
“Because it reminds me when I cheated! If I go back there and I see Jake, knowing our relationship is rocky, what if I do it again! I can’t go through that again I can’t betray you knowing that I’m head over f*cking heels for you!” She buried her head in her knees. My heart broke knowing that she doesn’t trust herself.
“Tessa, we would only be living together so that way we could provide for our daughter so you can stay in school and I can take care of Iris, we don’t have to be together until your ready.” I reached my hand in my pocket, grabbing the ring box, handing it to her, “Just know that I promise I’m going to be there when you’re ready. Just please come home, you’re not happy here.”
Iris finished drinking the milk and was sound asleep, allowing me to put her in the baby bouncer, and Tessa hugged me.
“I know you want to get back together with me more than you want anything else, but until I can trust myself, I can’t, Collin. But I will gladly go back home.