March 2016

Have you ever heard the quote ‘The days are long, but the years are short”? In high school, I never understood it. Yeah, the days were long – sometimes they were torturous – but the years were awful. The year from my 17th birthday to my 18th was like ten years crammed into one. That year did not feel short at all, nor did the few years after it that followed.

I didn’t quite start understanding the quote until after Zack and I reconnected. We spent four months together, but it felt like seconds. The days were long, but those four months were…so short.

The years after that flew by quickly. I moved back to L.A., got back on my feet and things were good for a while. For the first time in my life, I fell in love with life and then, I simply fell in love. In December 2009, my perfect life came to a halt. A life so precious, a soul so needed in this world was taken away and I attended Jimmy’s funeral in January. I sat in the back and mourned for my friend that I wished I would have spent more time with. After the funeral in Huntington Beach, I slipped away before Zack or anyone else could see me and disappeared back to Los Angeles, and haven’t returned since.

In August 2011, my world stopped spinning for a second time. I took ten tests, from ten brands but they all said the same thing. I was pregnant. The floor beneath my feet that day crumbled, and my perfect life crumbled with it – or so I thought. My boyfriend was thrilled. He wanted a family – a wife to love, a son to protect a daughter. Oh, and a dog or two. He asked me to marry him shortly after those two pink lines showed up on those ten pregnancy tests. Maybe it was the hormones or the fact that I hadn’t stopped throwing up in weeks, but I said no.

I expected him to leave me and the baby. He had every reason in the world to walk away that very moment, but Tobias is the most patient, kind and loving man in the world. He promised he would wait for me; wait for when I was ready.

At 11:53 A.M. on April 5th, 2012, a beautiful baby boy joined the world. He weighed seven pounds, eight ounces and was eighteen-and-a-half inches long. He was perfect in every single way. I named him Noah, after my father.

On Thanksgiving Day 2014, Tobias presented me with a beautiful diamond ring and promised me he would love me and our son for the rest of his life. I agreed to marry him that day surrounded by our friends and his family. His mom cried, his father hugged me – it had been such a long time since I felt like I had a family – a family that would last.

---

It’s a sunshiny day in Los Angeles. It’s been raining for the last week straight, so the park is busy today. Moms and Dads are either running after the kids, or watching after them on a bench or standing near the playground in the shade. I watch from the bench as Noah helps one of the younger kids down the slide. He claps for his new friend when she reaches the bottom of the slide and she looks up at him, beaming.

“I did it! I did it!” she tells Noah.

I smile and watch my boy as he plays nice with others, fidgeting with my diamond ring. I look over at my best friend and notice she’s staring at me. Her flaming red hair is pulled back into a messy bun, and although the sun is shining, her sunglasses rest on the top of her head. She smiles.

“What?” I ask her, chuckling slightly.

She doesn’t answer immediately. Her blue eyes flicker down to my ring. “Are you nervous?”

“About what?” I ask her.

My best friend rolls her eyes, flipping her sunglasses over her eyes. “Your wedding. It’s coming up quickly.”

“Yeah, but, Brooke…” I trail off, shaking my head. “We’ve been engaged for almost a year and a half. I’m ready to marry him, to start the rest of our lives…maybe have another kid.”

“Noah’s been begging for a sibling, has he?” Brooke asks.

I nod. “Yes,” I tell her, dragging out the word dramatically. “There are two girls in his pre-K class and they’re sisters, so now he wants a brother.”

Noah climbs into a tunnel and disappears from view for a moment. Then he pops out on the other side with a huge grin on his face. “Did you get scared, mom?!” he yells over at me, “Because you couldn’t find me?”

“Oh, you know it!” I call back to him and he laughs before dunking behind the tunnel again.

“What does Tobias think about having another kid?” Brooke asks me.

I smile at her. “Oh, he’s almost as bad as Noah. I just wanted to wait until Noah was in school and he’ll be starting kindergarten this fall, so…I guess there’s no reason to wait. I have a doctor’s appointment in a few weeks for my birth control. Maybe I’ll talk to her about getting my IUD removed.”

“That means we can have a baby just in time for Christmas!” Brooke gushes.

I laugh, shaking my head. “That would only happen if I got pregnant immediately and that’s really not how it works.”

Brooke shrugs. “Wishful thinking.”

“Well, you can get pregnant! Then you can have your own kid by Christmas!” I laugh.

Brooke scrunches her nose. “Uh, no thanks! I love babies and kids when they’re not mine. You know, when I can give them back once they start being brats.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “Okay, I’ll totally have another baby just for you then.”

“Aw!” Brookes laughs, “Thanks best friend!”

I roll my eyes, laughing. Noah runs up to us smiling. “Aunt B, will you come play with me?”

“Oh, well, of course!” Brooke laughs, grabbing Noah’s hand and jumping off the bench.

I watch as my best friend and son run to the toys, Brooke tickling Noah on the way there. I fidget with my engagement ring again, thinking about Tobias and how much I miss him. He’s been out of town for work the last couple of days, but he should be home tomorrow and I can’t wait.

“Sheridan?” I hear beside me. The voice is smooth, surprised and familiar.

I turn, facing a beautiful blonde. Her hair is pulled back in a low ponytail and she had red lipstick painted on her lips. Sunglasses dangle in her fingers like she had just taken them off to get a better look. “Valary, what are you – what are you doing here?”

“That’s my son in the blue,” she points to a dark headed boy in a blue shirt standing a few feet from Noah. “One of them, anyway. Matt and I have two now.”

“Oh, congrats!” I tell her. “Have you guys moved to Los Angeles?”

Valary shakes her head. “No, Matt is at a golf game. River and I decided to tag along but Cash is back in Huntington Beach with Johnny and Lacey.”

“Do they have any kids yet?” I ask her.

Val shakes her head. “No, but they’re trying. Michelle and Brian are trying too.”

I want to ask about Zack, but my mouth won’t let me. “So, golf, huh?” I ask.

“Yeah.” Val laughs. “He’s actually really good at it.”

“That’s good,” I tell her.

An awkward silence blankets us. Kids are hollering in the background, I can almost hear Noah distinctively from the other kids and I turn to look for him in the play area. He’s swinging on a swing while Brooke pushes him gently.

“Is that a ring? Sheridan, are you engaged?” Val asks me suddenly.

“Um,” I look down at my hand, the diamond glistening in the sunlight. “Yeah, actually. We’re getting married in a few weeks.”

“Oh my gosh! Wow, congratulations!” Val says, smiling. “What’s his name?”

“It’s actually Tobias.”

“Oh, I’m happy for you, Sheridan…” She trails off, biting her lip. “Even though I totally thought you and Zack would end up get married.”

I laugh, nodding. “Yeah, I uh, I thought that, too, once upon a time.”

Val is still smiling but it slowly starts to fade. “Sheridan…what happened?”

I furrow my brows. “Between me and Zack? You kind of already…”

“No,” she shakes her head. “No, I mean with us. We used to be such great friends – even after everything happened with you and Zack and then…one day you just stopped answering my calls. You and Tobias moved and…you disappeared – again.”

“Valary, I’m sorry. I…” I couldn’t tell her the reason why I stopped hanging around her without telling her everything. Before I could think of an excuse, we’re interrupted.

Noah is bolting towards me, crying and showing me his palm, which is slightly scuffed and bleeding. “Momma! Momma!”

Brooke is close behind him. “Sorry! He was running and tripped.”

“It’s okay,” I say, bending down and picking him up. “Hey, baby. You’re okay.” I gently brush the dirt from his palm and kiss it before picking him up. I wipe his tears away from his slightly chubby cheeks and then glance over at Valary, for a moment I forgot she was there.

Valary is staring at Noah with wide eyes. I watch her nervously as she takes in his facial features, his black hair, and long, dark curled lashes that surround his beautiful green eyes that rival his fathers.

“Oh.” Valary gasps slightly, still looking at Zack's mini-me. “Oh, Sheridan…you didn’t…”

Notes

The sequel to the sequel is here! Looks like Sheridan has gone back to hiding and keeping secrets. Will Valary tell Zack that he has a son or will Sheridan convince her to keep her secret? Subscribe to find out and while you're at it go ahead and drop me a comment and rate the story!

Title credit: Mest "Jaded (These Years)"