What He Needs

Chapter 37

.:Author's Note:.

Please excuse any mistakes.

***

Jonathan's POV:

"I don't like this, Bugsy."

"You don't have to be here, Pebbles."

Macy grumbled childishly beside me before taking a sip of her coffee as we waited anxiously for Amanda and Marilyn to arrive. They were expected to reach by noon, but it was already a quarter past that time.

The day had finally come for the court-appointed visitations with them, Alyssa, and April, and everyone in the Russell household was unsurprisingly on edge. Macy was more annoyed about the entire situation than anyone else since her relationship with Amanda was on a hate-hate basis.

"I'm not going anywhere. How many times do they have to come over again?"

"Judge said three times a week, two hours each time, for the next year," I sighed.

"Too much if you ask me," my sister rolled her eyes as she scoffed. "It should've been one hour, once a week."

"You said the same thing on the day of the hearing," I chuckled.

"And I'm still not wrong! When you think about it, our schedules are just going to be based on hers."

"We can work something out. Maybe set designated days and times going forward."

"Why are you so easygoing about this?" Macy questioned with a raised brow. "You were hellbent on keeping the girls away from Amanda when she initially popped back into our lives."

"Yeah," I answered while scratching the back of my neck and laughed uneasily. "I've had a change of heart."

"Of course, you did. Why?" Before I could respond, she continued speaking, seeming to have a lightbulb flick on over her head. "It's because she can't have kids, isn't it?"

I didn't have to respond verbally for Macy to know that that was the exact reason, yet I still nodded my head. Guilt like never before had consumed me when I learned of the fact at the court hearing, and with each passing day, I just felt even more awful for putting her through something like this when all she wanted was to see the twins.

"You always see the good in people," Macy muttered as if it was a major issue. "Honestly, all I could think about when I heard the news was that she's beyond selfish. If she or her wife could have kids, neither of them would be interested in April and Alyssa. Also, why didn't they adopt if she was so determined to be a mother? Blood doesn't make you family, and it sure as hell doesn't give her a right to come and go into my nieces' lives as she so pleases."

I guess Macy had a valid argument. It had never crossed my mind to question beyond being unable to have kids being the reason Amanda wanted to see my girls. All I could think about was Miranda's cancer and how Amanda had fulfilled her dream for her. Was it unfair to want to return that favor? With my sister's argument now in mind, I was skeptically starting to believe so.

Unfortunately, before I could respond, the doorbell rang.

"Be nice," I said simply as I went to go let whoever it was in.

"No promises!" Macy shouted back in response, making me sigh.

I looked through the glass of the door, finding two familiar female figures standing on the other side of it. A nervous feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, but I pushed it aside as I opened the door while stretching my lips into a friendly smile.

"Welcome, ladies," I greeted politely.

"Hello, Jonathan," Marilyn was the first to reply with a friendly smile of her own. I gave her a simple nod before my eyes flickered over to her other half.