Always Been You

~Lola’s POV~

“Wake up, mom!” yelled one of my sons. “Wake up, Mom!” I sighed and sat up. I examined him closely to see which of my boys he was. I smiled when I realized who he was.

“Good morning, Kai.” He giggled as I hauled him up. “OK, baby, let mother prepare you for school, okay?” I noticed his face turning pale. I was clueless about the cause, but I could tell that he was making a valiant effort to construct a sentence. However, when he was unsuccessful, he simply began sobbing. “Oh my poor thing, what’s wrong with, baby?” When the others heard him screaming, they all started crying as they walked into my room. I hate seeing my children weep, but what is the problem? I seated them one by one on top of my bed and got down on my knees to be at the same level as they were. “Okay, children, now we are going to play a game. Okay, I’ll ask you a question, and if it’s true, you’ll nod, and if it’s not, you’ll shake your head to the sides. Are you ready?” They all nodded at the same time. “All right, let’s get started. Would you like to go to school?” They all began to cry and shake their heads. I was taken aback, but just as I was going to ask them more questions, I heard a doorbell ring. “Okay, children, mommy is coming, okay.” I went down the stairs to open the door, and as I did, June walked in with an annoyed face. I’m not sure what’s wrong with her, but she’s not looking good. She looked pissed.

“Morning June.”

“Morning, I’m rushing to work, but there is something I really need to talk to you about.” I fixed my gaze on her.

“Okay.” That’s all I could say to her.

“Listen, Lola, I know that your work has been demanding lately, but taking those kids to school isn’t a good idea right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know what the kids are going through in school, Lola? They are two years old; they don’t need to go to school. The teachers aren’t even trying to help. Your kids are being bullied in school, Lola, because people think they do not have a father.”

“What!” I was taken aback. It’s no surprise they don’t want to go. Why can’t the residents of this town just leave me alone?

“You’ve got Ruth and Evelyn, Lola.” They can look after your kids. They’re only two, and you don’t want to leave them in such an unhealthy environment. For now, you can let them play at home or find a tutor. You can send them to kindergarten when they are four, but it is not healthy for them right now. I almost slapped Mavis yesterday when I was picking up my daughter.” I brushed my hair back. For a week, my kids were dull and didn’t talk much, so this was the case. I took a look at June.

“Thank you so much, June. I couldn’t have known. I knew those women often picked on me, but I had no idea they’d go so low as to pick on my children.” June fixed her gaze on me. I had a feeling she had more to tell me. Then she jumped onto my couch. “What now?” She exhaled a sigh.

“I tried so hard for him to like me, but that man thinks I’m annoying and he kept telling me I wasn’t his type.”

“Mr. Monroe, again,” I grumbled. She gave a nod. June loves the man, and all she can talk about is how much he loves his wife and doesn’t want to even give her a single glance. She’s tried everything to get his attention, but nothing has worked so far. The man is truly wicked. Why can’t he just tell her straight that he doesn’t like her?Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“I am so ashamed. I’ve never been turned down by a man like that. All he does is tell me about his wife. My wife this my wife that. Come to think of it. Why don’t you want to tell me your husband’s name?”

“Just know he’s Mr. Monroe, but definitely not the Mr. Monroe you have been meeting.” She sighed in defeat.

“I really don’t know how I’m going to face that arrogant man.”

“Just act normal and stop chasing after him.”

“You are right; let me get to work.” I simply wanted to let you know that I don’t think it was a good idea to send kids to that school. Why not try the school beside the hotel? Maybe the teachers might be professional.”

“No, June; for the time being, I shall employ a tutor for them.” She gave me a peck and left. Just when I thought I had forgotten about my past, this town would always rub it in my face that my children were bastards. I sighed and made my way to the kitchen. How can I possibly be a bad mother? I mean, I had no idea people were saying hurtful things to my children. I decided to make them breakfast today. Normally, I leave these things for Ruth and Evelyn since my shop is always busy. I cook for them on weekends. My children enjoy omelets and fruit salad. When I was done, I called them. As I watched them eat, my heart was pounding.

“Nice Mama.” My sons can at least create a complete phrase, however, my girl is a touch sluggish. Mia is having difficulty forming sentences. As I watched them eat, I smiled at them. It’s entirely my fault. I put us in this position. Maybe I should have gone to a different town or maybe remained in New York City. I grumbled and requested Ruth bring my laptop. She went down the stairs and handed me the laptop. While my children were eating, I decided to look for a live-in tutor. I think that would be better. After posting an ad for a live-in tutor, an idea struck me, and I beamed at my children. I took out my phone and called Matthew to let him know I’d be gone for the weekend. After they were done eating, I took them on a trip. We drove to Ozark’s eastern outskirts. I’ve been here for almost three years and am still unfamiliar with the place. I didn’t know that Ozark had a place like this. Thanks to Ruth, my kids and I got a perfect place for our picnic. I looked at the back seat and the three little munchies were busy playing throughout our drive. My gaze was drawn to the picnic basket Ruth had prepared for us. It was a beautiful sunny day, ideal for a picnic. I parked my car beneath a massive oak tree and went down to open the door for my children. Kia yelled out while I was doing so.

“Look, Mom, it’s Uncle Mason’s car.” I grinned and looked in the direction Kia pointed, and to my amazement, it was Mason’s car parked beneath the same oak tree. My kids jumped out of the car and went to Mason, launching themselves on top of him. He was taken aback at first, but when he saw them, he smiled.

“Surprise!” Mia exclaimed. Oh my God, why did she say that? He’ll think we followed him here.

“What are you guys doing here?” Mason finally spoke. He rose to his feet and kissed me on the cheek. “You look stunning.” He said to me and went back to playing with the kids. I don’t know why, but I found myself heated. Why would something like that make me blush? What was that? Stop it, Lola! I mentally slapped myself. I mean, Mason is a great guy, but I can’t possibly bring myself to be a burden to him. I’ve got three kids.

Wait a minute, where are all these thoughts coming from? Am I falling for Mason or it’s just years of no sex killing me? I mean Dante and I only did it twice. I shouldn’t be having these kinds of thoughts.