Chapter 10 - Truce

After avoiding talking to me for several days, Dayvid finally came and joined me on the sofa one evening,

'Who's the father?' He asked calmly.
'Briar Silva. From my pack.'
'Before or after we were together?'
'Before.'
There was a long pause.
'Does he know?'
'No.'
'...I can't believe she's not my daughter.'

That made me stand up straight.
'Just because she is not biologically related to you, does not mean that she's not your daughter. You cared for her before she was even born and that's more than Briar ever did.'

'But I can't help but feel insecure about your feelings for him! I was so happy when I became your husband but I don't want that if you love someone else!'
'Dayvid, don't get me wrong, I did have feelings for him, but it was a one night thing. Jasper was at the babysitter's house and Briar and I had gone out for the evening to hunt for birds. We ended up outside his place and he invited me inside for a drink. One thing led to another and... here I am. The mother of a wonderful baby girl. It was before I discovered my feelings for you and I don't love him. I'm so sorry but I don't regret what I did, If I hadn't done it then we wouldn't have Cescie!' I stopped, I hadn't meant to snap.
'I...I just don't want to lose you again.' He whispered, his voice trembling.
'Oh, Dayvid. I'm sorry. I love you so much, but you're Celeste's father.'
He seemed reluctant.

I took his hand and placed it on my developing bump.
'This is our child. Another welcome addition to our lovely family. Nobody can take that away from us.' He smiled slightly as the baby moved.
'Jasper, Celeste, the baby and I all love you so much. You're more a father than Briar will ever be.'

To my relief he began to relax. He crouched down and planted a kiss on my belly.
'I love you too,'
He placed one hand on my waist and with the other he caressed my cheek.
'I'm sorry.' He whispered.
'Me too.'
He held me close for several minutes, until he spoke softly in my ear.
'We should tell Briar.'
This was a surprise to me. 'Are you sure?'
'Yeah, He should know. And Cescie needs to know too, when she's old enough to understand. I don't think we should exclude him from her life. We should be grateful for the gift he has given us.'
I pondered this for a moment. I hadn't even told Briar I was pregnant, how would he react to the news?
'Well, okay. I'll see if I can find him tomorrow.'
'Great. Now, we should start thinking of baby names!'

After a wonderful few hours spent curled up on the sofa with my head in Dayvid's lap, I went upstairs to the nursery to say goodnight to Celeste. Her eyes fluttered open when I tiptoed in and she immediately sat up and reached for me.
'Okay, special girl, okay. Mummy's here.'
I lifted her onto my hip and held her close, running my fingers through her hair. I couldn't comprehend how much I loved my children and how much happiness they had brought to me. I was so lucky to have such a perfect life.

The previous owners of the house had planted a little garden and the next day I decided to try and get it started again. Unfortunately, my pregnancy hormones were running riot and I couldn't help but weep over the dead plants.

As promised, after lunch I put Celeste in the pushchair and went to find Briar. I found him in the park having a picnic with who I assumed was his girlfriend. I hesitated. Should I interrupt him? A child could change his life, even if he didn't have any contact with her.

Before I could decide, however, Celeste reached out towards him and gurgled with delight. He looked up and smiled.
'Hey there, Elizabeth! Long time no see!' He said as he got up and walked towards me.
'Yeah, sorry about that. I've been a little... preoccupied.'
'I can see that.' He chuckled as he eyed my pregnant bump. 'I heard you and Dayvid got married, congratulations! Anna and I are planning our wedding at the moment.' He gestured towards the girl sitting on the picnic blanket. She seemed engrossed in her mobile and wasn't taking much notice of us.
'Oh yeah? That's great news.'
'You don't know the half of it, she's pregnant with twins! Maybe you could give us some tips? You must be getting pretty experienced in the matter. Last time I saw you you were a first-time mother of a newborn son and now look at you! Pregnant with what I assume is your third and mother of a gorgeous baby girl! Who is this little cherub then, anyway?'
'That's what I wanted to talk to you about.'
He looked puzzled. 'What aren't you telling me, Elizabeth?'
I sighed. 'Briar, this is Celeste and she's your daughter.'

He looked stunned, who wouldn't be, but his silence worried me. Finally, he spoke.
'Okay.'
'Okay?'
'Yeah, okay.' He stared at her. 'Wow. She's beautiful.'
'Yes, she is.'
'Do you want money?'
'Oh, goodness, no! I just thought I should tell you.'
'Right, yeah. Thanks.'
'Listen, nobody has to find out-'
'No. It's good news. I have a daughter!'
'Briar, you should know that Celeste being your daughter does not make you her father.'
'Of course, sorry. Dayvid is her dad. Wow. Thanks, Elizabeth. Uh, come and meet Anna.'

Reluctantly I followed him over to where the girl was sat chewing gum and furiously typing on her phone.
'Anna?' Briar said. 'This is Elizabeth and she's come to tell us something important. Anna?'
She tutted loudly and rolled her eyes, making a point of putting the phone down. She looked up at me with a blank expression and asked 'What do you want?' in a monotone voice. I wondered what Briar saw in her.
'Um, hello. I'm Elizabeth, from Briar's pack.' She stared at me. 'Uh, well, a few years ago Briar and I had a night out and...' Briar nodded his encouragement 'Um, this is his daughter, Celeste.'
'So?' She asked, much to my surprise.
'Sweetie, did you hear what she said? This is my daughter.' Briar placed his hand on her shoulder and looked into her pretty but ignorant eyes.
'Whatever.' She said and went back to punching words into her mobile.
I was stunned. I imagined how I would feel if some woman came up to me with a toddler and announced that it was Dayvid's. Not great, to be honest. I could suddenly relate to how my husband must be feeling.
'It's probably just hormones. Thanks for coming, anyway.' Briar said. 'She's lovely.'
'I know.' I smiled and went back home.

I felt happy when I got home. Dayvid greeted me with a kiss and took Cescie out of the pushchair to put her to bed. That night, for the first time in months, everybody slept well. My daughter-

My son-

My husband, and I.