Shock Of All Shocks!!!

Okay, so yesterday marked three weeks since Drew broke his ankle.  It’s a nice little diagonal break down the tibia, I believe the bone is called.  It’s the thinner bone in your calf and the break is right above the bump in a person’s outer ankle.  Anyway, he had a doctor’s appointment a week ago today that I took him to.  They took off the splint, did some X-Rays (which is how I know where the break is,) and he got a cast put on.  He’s not able to go back to work because the crutches still make him a liability and because he’s using them, he doesn’t have a full range of movement, so he’s applying for temporary disability.  Hopefully, he gets it, and since they’ll pay retroactively from when he was hurt he should be *okay* as far as money goes.  In any case, with any luck, he won’t fall insanely behind in his child support.

Speaking of that, I was over there on Saturday, March 12th.  Drew and I were sitting outside, talking, and somehow, either his ex, his kids, or both came up.  I mentioned something about ‘was I ever going to meet them?’ ‘Them’ being his kids.  I don’t remember his exact reply, but it was more or less something of a deflection, I think.  Well, I said that "I should meet them before we’re married, you know," and I think he semi-jokingly replied "Why?"  Well, somehow, I said something about, "So much for the idea for the wedding," and when he asked what I meant, I said I was kinda hoping his girls would be my Flower Girls.  He brushed that off and was saying how there was no way he was letting his ex know anything about us getting married, and she’d get suspicious if the girls were all dressed up and going out for the day, so I said, "Well, you could pick them up and they could change when they get to where we are."

I don’t remember the exact turn of the conversation, but I think at one point, I confrotned him with a simple question of why was he afraid of what his ex would do?  Why was he so afraid of her reaction?

I went and checked the lyric of something in my car a bit later, and while I was doing that, he got on the phone with his ex.  I walked back over and sat on the bench opposite Drew, just looking at my Brookdale catalogue, when suddenly, I hear him say, "By the way, I’m seeing someone.  I’m just letting you know."  I looked up at him in surprise.  I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.

Then, not only that, but because his older daughter was asking for it, he gave her his cell number so his daughter could have it and could call him, and I hear him asking her "Well, where are you?"  And he says that we can drive over and meet them.  I was only half listening, because a neighbor had stopped by with her dog (the neighbor is a friend of Drew’s mom’s and sometimes Drew’s mom dogsits.  I met the dog, a cute little fluffy puppy looking dog named Buddy, once before, so I was holding him in my lap petting him,) and I was paying attention to the cute fluffiness and trying (semi-unsuccessfully,) not to eavesdrop.

Anyway, when he got off the phone, he said we were going to this pizza place near him, cuz his ex was there with his oldest, and I could meet his older daughter.  I tried not to panic, and outwardly managed it, but after we got there and I let Drew out at the door to the place and parked, I turned the car off and held my hand out in front of me.  It was shaking so bad!  I tried to calm myself down and just went into autopilot mode, more or less.

When I walked up there, Drew and Alanna were standing by the door and his ex was in her car by the curb.  She said hi to me and asked if we’d met before.  I held my tongue, since we were in the presence of a six year old, and just said, "Yeah, we’ve met a couple times."  (Cuz we actually had.  I’d seen her at the store when Drew and she were actually semi-getting along, and I also saw her a few times when she would come there and bascially harrass him.  But why I had to hold my tongue was because what I wanted to say was something along the lines of, "Yeah, we’ve definitely talked before.  Remember?  I’m the one you lied to Drew about conspiring against him?  You almost cost me any sort of relationship with him.")  Anyway, Alanna was asked if she wanted to be picked up by her mother, or if she wanted Daddy to bring her home and her enthusiastic response?  "Daddy!"  So, they agreed about an hour, and we went in the pizza place.  Drew and Alanna sat at the table while I went up and placed our order.  She basically told Drew about what she was doing in school and she started listing her favorite fruits and veggies at one point.  Plus, she was being really silly.  Drew kept asking her why she was being so silly.  I basically just hung back and listened.  The only time I said anything, in fact, was when I told her about what Hero is like in the snow.

When I drove to his ex’s, she came out with Drew’s other daughter, Joy, and I waved to her.  I was glad, when Alanna got out of the car and I said goodye, she said goodbye back.  Drew told me later that she was definitely being overly silly and it was because she wanted me to like her.  So, this is encouraging. 

What’s even more encouraging is that apparently, Alanna’s been asking "when Daddy’s getting married" because she wants to be a Flower Girl!  Plus, Drew told his ex that I was the one who would be able to teach Alanna how to ice skate, (yep, she wants to learn,) so more than likely, that’ll start up once his ankle’s healed.  No, Drew wouldn’t be skating, but he would be there, and right now he doesn’t want to since the rink is so chilly.  Cold makes things hurt more for him.

I told him a day or so later that I’m really proud of him.  When he told me, after our last argument, that he was going to let go of the fears he had and everything, I expected that he meant it while he was saying it, but to be completely honest, I didn;t expect him to actually follow through.  But he definitely has.  Not only that, but it’s had a very good, unexpected side effect as well.  While she’s still being passively bitchy, his ex isn’t being anywhere near as bad as she’s been in the past.  Drew thinks it’s because she wants to see if she can become chummy with me and then start badmouthing Drew to me and I concur.  But you know what?  It doesn’t matter.  As long as she’s being less bitchy to him, it’s all good.

There’s more, but I write about it later.  I’m just, even over a week later, still amazed and pleased and shocked that he went through with telling his ex about me and introducing me to his kids.