Part 1

“You ask her.”

“No, you ask her.”

“Why don’t you both ask me?” Eliza said without bothering to look up from the papers she was grading. It was the third time that evening that her twin sons had come into her office to ask for something. The first time they’d come to ask for a train set for Christmas and she’d said she’d think about getting it if they didn’t get into any trouble in school for the rest of the week even though she’d already bought the train set a week ago for them. Then they’d come back to ask if they could invite, their friend, Alex to spend the night and she’d said she’d have to ask Alex’s parents if he could spend the night. She wondered what they wanted this time but pretended in difference. She loved her sons but sometimes they drove her crazy and they were always getting into some kind of mischief at school despite the fact that she was a teacher there as well.

“Mommy, can we have a Daddy for Christmas?”

Eliza didn’t know what to say much less how to answer her sons’ question. After a moment of silent shock she put down her papers and got up from her chair and walked around the desk to kneel before her sons.

“Did your grandfather tell you to ask for a Daddy for Christmas she asked looking form one boy to the other. She wouldn’t put it pass Mr. Taylor to plant that idea in her sons’ head. He knew how she felt about her father and he knew that Eliza was partly responsible for ending their relationship.

“No, Mommy.” Tyson said looking down at his unlaced shoes.

“Bobby Thomas said that we can’t go to the Father & Son games because we don’t have a Daddy.” Timothy said from beside his brother.

“Is that true, Mommy?” Tyson asked looking at me with hope in his eyes.

“No, Ty, that’s not true you both can go to the Father & Son Games.”

“But we need a father to play the games Mommy. We don’t want any toys for Christmas anymore and we got better grades too.”

“Yeah.” Timothy added. “We need a father or else we wont be able to beat Bobby and his Dad in the Sack race.”

“Well I can have Uncle Thomas take you to the games. He’s really good at sports.”

“I guess that means we’re not going to have a father for Christmas.” Timothy said turning away from me.

Even though both boys were identical physically they were as different as day and night. Both had emerald green eyes and midnight black hair. They looked exactly like their father and it hurt Eliza sometimes that they looked nothing like her. People didn’t believe that they were her sons but when they smiled there was no mistaking the resemblance. They had their mother’s smile and for that she was happy. Timothy was like their father while Tyson reminded her of herself when she was their age. At seven years old both boys were smarter than other children their age and had skipped a grade. It hurt her to know that she couldn’t give them the thing they wanted the most.

‘Why don’t you just call, Sean?’ Eliza shook her head as if trying to get rid of the voice of reason that had spoken in her head.

“No, that doesn’t mean that you wont get a father for Christmas.” Eliza said reaching out to grad her son before he walked away.

“You mean you’re gonna get us a Dad for Christmas, Mom?” Tyson asked in surprise his face was no longer sad.

“It just-”

Eliza never got a chance to finish her statement as both boys threw themselves into her arms knocking her to the floor with squeals of joy and laughter.

“You rock, Mom!”

“You’re the best Mom, ever!”

“Wait till I tell Bobby.”

“We love you Mom!” the boys said in unison and kissed both her cheeks at the same time before picking themselves up and rushing out of the room no doubt to tell their grandfather the good news.

Eliza knew she should call them back and tell them that she couldn’t give them a father for Christmas but she didn’t have the heart to disappoint them and maybe, just maybe it was time to stop running form her past. She’d never broken a promise to her sons and she didn’t intend to start now even if she hadn’t made a promise to them. There was no way she could let her babies down. She slowly got up from the floor and dusted herself off. It was time to face the man she’d loved and lost. It was time to call Sean Sloan.