Down From the Clouds by Marilyn Grey Page A

the guys followed me to kitchen. We grabbed some drinks and sat outside on the patio.
    "Needs some work out here," I said, sitting down between the two of them. "Ella wants to make a garden, but since it's a small city yard she wants to keep it pretty simple so we have room for the kids to play."
    Matt sucked on an ice cube. "Man, you guys are already thinking kids? Lydia and I aren't quite ready for all that."
    "Well, we're not going to have kids right away, but we probably won't wait long. We're both more than ready."
    Matt looked at James. "What about you James? Proposing to Sarah anytime soon?"
    James leaned back in his chair and pulled the bottom of his t-shirt. I couldn't help but notice the muscles in his forearm. He reminded me of Joaquin Phoenix. He wasn't overly muscular, but definitely made Matt and I look puny. Not what I expected for Sarah. Artists normally go for artist types, not sporty types.
    "Did I say too much?" Matt said. "I'm notorious for being a foot in the mouth kind of guy."
    "Nah," James said. "I usually don't talk about that kind of stuff. No offense, but I don't know you guys that well yet."
    "Yet," I said. "If you plan to marry Sarah you'll be seeing a lot more of us."
    Matt raised his water. "Cheers to that."
    James didn't look so thrilled.
    "So, what do you do for a living?" I asked.
    "I'm a gynecologist."
    I tried not to spit my drink all over myself. No wonder Sarah kept this guy a secret. Ella would have a fit.
    "Oh, really?" Matt said, shifting in his seat. "You don't find it weird looking at other women like that all day?"
    "Not at all. A job is a job."
    Right, I thought. 
    "Is that why your other wife left you?" Matt said.
    I slapped Matt's knee with the back of my hand. "Well, if you hadn't already put your foot in your mouth there goes your leg."
    "I'm kidding." James laughed. "I'm a mechanic. Nothing exciting. Sarah told me about Ella and her ideals. I had to mess with you a little."
    I laughed. "My poor Ella. She looks at the world with such love. Everything around her turns into a love story. Even the trees play a part. She may be a tad idealistic in some areas, but honestly, I'd rather err on the side of idealism than settle for less than what that girl has brought to my life."
    "Wow, Gavin," Matt said. "Haven't heard you open up like that in, well, I can't even remember the last time."
    "Yeah. That's only the tip of an enormous iceberg that would sink not only the Titantic, but an entire continent."
    "Could a continent sink?" James said.
    Matt laughed. "Anyway, James, what happened with your last marriage? How has Abby handled everything?"
    "Did Ella set you up to this?"
    "Just wondering. You don't have to answer."
    "I've never been married."
    "Oh," I said. "Well, what about Abby? Does she see her mother ever?"
    "She can’t remember her mother or her father."
    Matt and I looked at each other.
    "Are you messing with us again?" Matt said. "Because that doesn't make any sense to me. I know I'm short on brain cells, but the girl has to have a mother and aren't you the father? She doesn't call you ‘daddy’ for nothing."
    "I am her father," he said. "But she never met her birth parents. My brother and sister-in-law went out on their first date since Abby's birth. My mom watched Abby. She was only about six months old at the time. They were on a canoe. Hit some debris under a bridge. Flipped over. Their bodies were found a week later. Anyway, they died and my parents said they were too old to take the baby. They asked me next since I was the only person left in his family."
    "Wow," I said. "Just goes to show . . .  you should never judge a book by its cover."
    "Sadly too many of us still do, even though that phrase is so popular," Matt said. "So how old were you when you took the baby?"
    "I got custody of Abby two days after my nineteenth birthday, three days earlier I got an acceptance letter and scholarship to play running back for the University of Alabama. It was my dream."
    "Wow,