Going Solo: Davis Gen 3.19

I tried to keep things casual with Blythe but it didn't work. She was sweet, and fun and just sort of struck a cord with me like...Cora did. Of all the women I'd dated, Blythe was only the second one to really meet Mom and Sha. They both took a liking to her. When the girls came to visit she was happy to meet them. She'd get up in the mornings and fix them breakfast since she didn't approve of me feeding them pop-tarts and other non-healthy options.

Hey they never complained. Hope warmed up to her quickly, Grace took a little while longer. We'd have fun on family outings and have dinner some nights with Mom and Sha. Mom often had that look of hope that I was finally settling down.

I liked Blythe, I did but something still felt like it was missing. Mom thought it was all in my head since I was a self-proclaimed bachelor for life according to her. Cora called me after the girls went back, I guess they told her about Blythe and she was asking questions. She didn't approve of me having a parade of women run through the girl's life. I told her Blythe was the first one I'd introduced them too.

She asked me if it was serious and when I told her I thought it could be the tone of the conversation changed. She seemed ticked off, but also a little sad and got off the phone with me quickly. I continued to see Blythe and when the girls came out for Christmas, and for summer, they were happy to see her. Cora had become a little stand offish again, the girls said she was tired a lot working late hours at the hospital. I tried really hard not to grill the girls about their mom and her relationship, but when I heard some of the things they told me, I was worried about them and Cora.

Grace: Dad are you going to marry Blythe?

Davis: I'm not sure why?

Grace: Well, cuz you are with her all the time and you guys are happy.

Hope: Yeah, we like her. You should marry her like Mom is gonna marry Tristan. She said we'd be her flower girls when we got back.

Davis: They are getting married when you guys go back?

Grace: Uh-huh. Mom had been putting it off. They didn't know, but Hope and me would hear them talking.

Hope: Yep. Tristan was mad that Mom wouldn't set a date, but she finally did I guess. She told us when we talked to her the other day.

That was interesting news. I knew they'd been engaged for a long time, but I had no idea it was Cora that was putting things on hold. She was so gung-ho to get married I thought she'd had jumped at it the first chance she got. I'd known she was planning on marrying that guy, but hearing that the date had been set had an unsettling feeling on me.

Hope: Hopefully now she'll be happy too.

Davis: What do you mean?

Grace: Well sometimes she's just sad. When she thinks we're not around she cries for no reason.

Hope: Yeah, but she gets happy when you call. Maybe you should call her more often.

The girls didn't say much after that since Mom showed up. They were having a girls' spa day and they were very excited. After they left, I called Cora but she didn't answer. She sent me a text saying she was working and would call me later. When I did talk to her, I noticed she sounded tired. I offered my congratulations on her upcoming wedding, she was shocked I knew about it but I just told her that the girls were excited to be her flower girls.

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Going Solo: Davis Gen 3.18

A lot changes in two years. The adjustment to not seeing the girls daily took some time. We did talk or text a lot and we'd use Skype as well. I worked a lot and dated here and there, but no one was ever that serious. Rebecca I met at work. She was a new hire and my boss wanted me to show her the ropes. After dating Raven, I'd tried not to mix business and pleasure, but Rebecca actually pursued the relationship.

We went out for a few months but I had to end it, I quickly learned she wanted more than the casual dating I had in mind. It caused a bit of a hiccup at work, and she ended up being transferred to a different office. When the girls came back for the summer I made sure we enjoyed our time together.

Hope had gotten into computer games and we'd play together a lot, Grace was still found with her head in a book. However the two of them got along well. I think they complimented each other nicely since Hope was still the more outgoing one. At the summer fair they talked me into a hot dog eating contest, who would have know Hope could eat so much so fast, and that I couldn't.

Boy they didn't let me live that one down for a while. Cora and I talked often. She did a good job keeping me informed about the girls and their activities. I even flew out for their first ballet recital. She was loving her job in the pediatric department of the hospital. We didn't talk much about her relationship with Tristan (I still called him Tracy when we talked just to annoy her) but I did know they lived together and were engaged. The girls liked him ok, and said he worked all the time and was hardly ever home. They didn't like his dad all that much, they'd only met him a few times but they said he was scary looking and wasn't very nice. To them, or Cora. Hearing that ticked me off, but when I asked Cora about it, she just brushed it off.

She did say they weren't around him often so I had nothing to worry about. When the girls went back in the fall, I went back to focusing on work more. Mom even talked me into having dinner with her and Sha some nights. Dad said Nick was doing good in college, he was studying telecommunications and apparently partying hard like I did. Of course I didn't tell Dad that part when Nick would call me. I also told him to make sure he was extra careful, not that I didn't love my girls, but he needed to avoid that oops that I made. At least at such a young age.

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Going Solo: Davis Gen 3.17

Over the next few weeks things were tense. Cora wasn't speaking to me, and we used Mom's house as a drop off point when I wanted to see the girls. We had both hired attorneys and she delayed her starting time in Barnacle Bay. I tried to make the most of my time when the girls stayed over. Hope complained that she wanted a better room instead of being tucked away in my gym so I found myself giving up my bed once again.

We did all the fun things, like having pillow fights, playing rock, paper, scissors, and just generally goofing off. They liked being with me. I could already tell Hope would be a social butterfly. I'd gotten them phones since it would be easier to call them directly instead of going through Cora.
Hope informed me that Cora was not happy I didn't talk to her first, but how exactly was I supposed to do that when she wasn't talking to me? But I digress, back to Hope. It was a good thing money wasn't tight because I feared getting a large phone bill with the way that thing always seemed to be attached to her head.

Grace on the other hand rarely used hers. Instead she kept her head buried in books and avoiding direct conversations with strangers. She'd come alive and be talkative with her sister and with the rest of the family, but large groups was not her thing. When not with them, I threw myself into work. The pressure of negotiating contracts seemed to be less stressful than dealing with Cora and all that mess.

After work, if they weren't with me, I'd have a drink and chill in the hot tub. My attorney told me I needed to cut out my going out for a little while. It would help me seem more 'stable' and 'responsible', like cutting loose and partying was such a bad thing. I sucked it up and dealt with it. I was getting ready to relax when my doorbell rang. It was Cora, and to say I was shocked to see her was an understatement. We hadn't talked in nearly a month and a half.

Continue Reading: "Going Solo: Davis Gen 3.17"

Going Solo: Davis Gen 3.15

When I woke the next morning Cora was gone. At first I thought she was just downstairs, but no, she was gone. I called her, she didn't answer so I called Mom.

Davis: Morning Mom, how are you today?

Kerri: I'm good. Having the girls keeps me busy.

Davis: That's good...hey is Cora there by chance.

Kerri: She was honey, she stopped by to see the girls and said she had to get back to school.

I couldn't believe she'd leave without even saying goodbye. Over the next few weeks our conversations took a different tone. She'd immediately ask to speak to the girls and once she was done talking to them she'd get right off the phone.

It was odd. Her standoffish behavior lasted for the next month or so. I didn't understand it, we'd been getting along great and she just started giving me the cold shoulder. Eventually she did stop being so short with me on the phone, but she also stopped staying the weekends at my house. Instead she'd take the girls with her to Mom's. She had to be the most frustrating women I'd ever encountered. After two months of her not being in the same room with me for more than a few minutes, I devised a plan. I took the girls to Mom's house early, knowing Cora would come over to pick them up. She was going to talk to me one way or another.

Cora: Where are the girls?

Davis: At Mom's.

Cora: What didn't you tell me?! I could have saved the trip over here!

Davis: Because we needed to talk.

She reluctantly sat.

Cora: So talk.

Davis: What's going on with you?

Cora: Nothing, I'm just stressed, trying to finish school. Then I can move on and really get life started for the girls and I.

Davis: I understand school, but something's different. You haven't been the same since that night.

Cora: Look, I have to go. My time with the girls is limited as is and now you've cut into more.

She got up and left. I could have stopped her, but I didn't. My suspicions were confirmed by her avoidance of the topic. I don't know why sleeping with me again upset her so, but it did. It's not like she ended up pregnant again or something. After she left, I needed to go out. I called Chrissy to see if she was free.

We were still seeing each other every so often, so she was happy to get my call. A night out is just want I needed, free of the stress of kids, and my moody baby momma. I started treating Cora with the same sort of disregard she had for me. When she'd call, I'd instantly get the girls on the phone instead of even saying hello. I started making a habit of taking the girls to Mom's house before she arrived in town and letting her know via text. My weekends, now free, were spent hanging out. Work was going well, I'd gotten another promotion. My life was good, other than Cora seemed to get pisser with me for some reason. When her graduation rolled around, I wasn't going to go, but Mom wouldn't get off my back about it. The girls and I were there to support her, but we weren't the only one. I saw her kissing some guy right before the ceremony. The following week was the girl's birthday party.

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Going Solo: Davis Gen 3.14

I was getting the hang of this dad thing. The girls loved being with me, and who could blame them. I was probably the coolest dad ever! Plus no female could resist my charm, not even ones in diapers. Speaking of...potty time was still torturous!

It was hard to believe almost two years had passed since the day Cora first showed up on my doorstep. We still talked or texted often. She was nearing the end of her program. Just one more year to go and her grades were high. I was proud of her. She had a minor set back with the girls, but her ambitious goal oriented ways kept her focused on her dream of becoming a doctor.

She still came home often, she missed the girls a lot. I'd do video 'chats' when I had them sometimes, not that they actually talked much. Their vocabulary was limited, but we were working on it.They had momma and more importantly da-da down packed. When Cora came home for summer break, I'd actually hoped she'd stay with me, but she ended up staying with Mom and Sha. She would stay on the weekends, and I found myself looking forward to having her around. Even if she did keep kicking me to the couch. Friends only, she'd tell me.

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Going Solo: Davis Gen 3.13

The longest two weeks of my life! I'd get home from work, Mom would kiss me on the cheek and leave. She would always leave. I honestly thought after the first day or two, she'd cave and just take them again, but she didn't. She would drive off in my car leaving me with two little beings that needed stuff. They always needed stuff and if I didn't get it they let me hear about it.

I honestly didn't know how two things so small could make so much dang noise. And the smells! Oh my goodness the stuff that came out of their bodies was enough to make me hurl and I lived in a frat house!

That place was nothing compared to emptying the potty chairs or changing diapers. Changing diapers...that was an experience especially when I put on the new one wrong and it promptly fell off just as Hope started to pee. Mom laughed when I called her, she LAUGHED like this was all some sort of big joke. Eventually I got into a rhythm with them.

I have to admit it was a pretty good feeling the first time I saw Hope take a step. Cora called me almost daily while they were with me. I could hear in her voice she was worried I'd do something to them.

I assured her we were doing ok, leaving out that they had both fallen down the stairs that first day. I assured her I was not sleeping through their cries at night either.

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