Where Promises Must Glide

36 - Juliette

We spent the whole day together, and by sunset, Ophelia was getting dropped off by her friends mom.

"How are you feeling, munchkin?" I question, picking up a tired child. Her friends mom said she didn't have any issues while there, so i was optimistic for the rest of the evening.

"I'm alrighty," Ophelia replied with a small shrug. I kiss her on the apples of her cheek. I'll never forget when the doctor handed me this little baby that was mine. I've never been more in love with anything like i have with her.

"How about we make your favorite and watch a movie?" I ask, causing Ophelia to jump up and down—I presumed that to be a yes.

I giggle, handing her the TV remote so she can pick her movie of choice. The selections lately have been more mellow, probably because of the daycare I send her once a week so she can socialize with other kids. It was refreshing to not hear gun shots or police sirens every time I walked into the living room.

Ophelia, being an expert at controlling the TV, decided on her movie while Theo and I prepped dinner. He was cutting veggies up to make a roasted veggie pasta.

"Are you sure she is going to like it?" I question, watching him coat the peppers and tomatoes in olive oil. "She is going through her picky phase."

Theo kisses me on the nose. "Don't worry, princess. I add a ton of garlic so she won't be able to taste that there is squash and bell peppers."

I blush at the nickname that still sends butterflies in my stomach. "How do you know she likes garlic?"

"Because the other night she ate an entire loaf of garlic bread while watching Mission: Impossible for the seventh theme this month," he replied, giving me a shrug as though my action movie, garlic bread eating toddler is normal. "Trying to test me on Ophelia knowledge?"

"No," I reply with a meek sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. "If she hasn't eaten something in over a week, she considers it to be a scary food and won't touch it. I just had to make sure since you've been cooking a lot lately."

He kisses me on the nose reassuringly, passing by with the pan full of peppers. "I love cooking for my girls."

I blush profusely at the action. "Philly, dinner is ready."

"Coming, mommy!" she yells, running from her spot on the couch.

~~

"Princess, I have a question," Theo asks.

Ophelia was curled up into him, falling asleep mid movie. Theo and I watched the movie together over a bottle of cherry wine. "Mhm?" I hum between sips of the crimson liquid.

"A few months ago, when Ophelia's dad visited he said something about you never listening to him—which good because fuck him—but he mentioned you only listened once."

My heart stopped for a second, and I stood from my spot on the couch, bending to pick up Ophelia. "I didn't mean to start anything, love. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. It just had me worried, that's all."

I cradle the sleeping toddler in my arms, watching Theo practically jump to his feet. "I'm not mad, I just want to put her to bed so we can have this conversation like adults and without her in the room."

He nods, allowing me to go tuck Ophelia in bed and make sure everything is good, before shutting the door behind her. Usually, i didn't worry about shutting the door, but this time, I made sure she couldn't hear us. Sometimes, Ophelia likes to wake up and not inform me, and this was a conversation I didn't want her to overhear.

Theo hadn't even sat down since I left. He was practically pacing around the room, hands interlocked on the back of his neck as he looked from the ground to me.

Those eyes. They still make my heart skip a beat every time I see them.

"Sit down," I instruct. He listened immediately, sitting at the far end of the couch, practically boiling in tension and nerves. It's been a while since Ophelia's birthday party, I don't know how he still thinks about that one quote from my ex.

I sigh, knowing eventually I'd have to have this conversation with him. By the way things were going, I could see a lot happening between the two of us. I mean, he already accepts and loves my daughter—and Ophelia is attached to Theo like crazy. He is very attentive and kind and amazing (in and out of bed). I would one day have to have this conversation with him.

I just... didn't expect to have it so soon.

"You know my ex was very controlling and toxic," I begin, not even waiting for introductions. "He was also very powerful. We grew up in a small town, the kinds where everyone knew everyone and gossip like getting pregnant at nineteen spreads like wildfire."

Theo slowly nods. "Well, Isiah and I grew up together. Our parents were friends, we have been friends since birth. Everyone thought it was a perfect match when I asked him out to the sixth grade formal. We dated since and everyone thought we were going to get married. His family was very wealthy—powerful doctors in the city—so
my mother was thrilled. However, when I decided to move to college and not stay at home and get married, everyone got mad."

"Isiah didn't care, though. He was happy for me, and visited me constantly. This also did result in me getting pregnant with Ophelia at nineteen, because small town education lacks proper sex-ed. My parents were confused about the situation, telling me i should get married. I didn't want to get married. My skating career was doing amazing and I loved my school and didn't want to drop out. When I kept the baby—which pissed Isiah's parents off—complications happened."

"Complications?" Theo retorts, face beet red as I notice the muscles in his hand were contorted from being squeezed so hard.

"I was hormonal, sad, scared, barely twenty years old with a new born baby. His dad came to me one night after i gave birth. He told me that if I were to marry Isiah, I should get a hysterectomy. It was Isiah's dream to have one baby girl and no more kids. One girl, a dog, wrap around porch house, and a stay at home wife. I was so scared I'd lose Isiah that I agreed. He had some doctor friends do the procedure a safe amount of days after the birth, since it was rare to get a hysterectomy at twenty. All I remember was lying down in that hospital bed after the procedure and wondering if I wanted the one child, stay at home mom, one dog kind of life. It was too late. I had no uterus and no boyfriend since he ended up leaving me that same week."

"Jules I-"

"I don't need an apology. I don't need sympathy, Theo. That is the truth. I can't have anymore kids because Isiah's father manipulated me. I was too naive, and that is my fault." A tear jerked my eyes.

"No, Jules," he says, sternly. "You we're twenty. You were barely done being a teenager. You were not naive, he was the problem."

I shrug. I've accepted years ago that it was dumb to have even agreed to such procedure. My parents didn't know until a year later.

"I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you," I say with a week sigh.

Theo grabs the back of my neck, closing the distance between the two of us. Our foreheads connect, and we stay there for a few minutes, sulking in the quiet of the night.

"I love you, Jules. Thank you so much for feeling comfortable enough to share that with me."

I kiss him on the lips. "I love you too," I whisper.