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As they sat in the small exam room on the second floor, he held her hand. They had been rushed to different places in the hospital a few times before. She had blood work done, and then this was in this last department. They were waiting for one of the techs and a doctor to confirm what they already knew. She smiled at him as he caressed her fingers with his.
“Is this your husband? “the tech asked as she walked in and looked over Mack.
“It is,” Henni said as she looked up with him.
“I didn’t even know you were married.” The woman said as she looked at the couple. “Well, Mr. Hanson.”
“Paulin.” He replied. “She is a Hanson. She didn’t change her name professionally.”
“Oh.” The woman said as she settled in. “Now, what are we here to check?”<
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The Friend Trap 36
Mack waited outside the bar for a few minutes after the time that he was supposed to meet his cousin. He wanted to see if some other people would show up in the parking lot after he was supposed to arrive so they could ambush him. He was tired. Though he tried to sleep, he had nightmares about this meeting. When he felt maybe he was overreacting a bit, he got out of the car and then walked into the building. He could spot his cousin easily. No one was with him. He moved to the table he was at and then sat down.“Sorry, I was later than expected,” Mack said as he looked at his cousin.“No problem,” Gabe said as he looked at Mack sitting in front of him. “What do you want to drink?”“Nothing.” He replied as he smiled a bit. He was watching his cousin see the changes in him.“Nothing?” Gabe ask
The Friend Trap 37
The group sat at the bar together though Gabe was watching all the people he was trying to replay what his cousin had said. “Nicole, when was the last time you went out with him?”“Like two days ago.” She said. “I just don’t want to talk about it or him right now.”“I can’t believe him,” Abby said. “Gabe, you need to do something about this.”“And what do you think I can do?” Gabe asked. “I mean, I called him and tried to get him to talk to me. I told you that you all showing up was not going to help anything. It would set him off.”“He is your cousin. He is hurting my friend.” Abby said as she stomped her foot. She looked over to her friend and then shook her head.“Is he, though?” Gabe asked. She looked at him, and it turned into a glare. “Did you see he
The Friend Trap 38
Mack called his mother the next day. He let her go ahead and tell the rest of the family. He was okay with the fact they would be mad at him for not inviting them. He hated the fact this was part of his life. However, the trade-off was better than he realized. When the phone calls didn’t come rolling in over the weekend, he didn’t care anymore. He had other things to think of now, and that was helping Henni adjust to the new burden she had growing inside of her.As the time passed, months went by, and she grew more and more. He was happy to let everyone know that they were expecting when he could. He was on a cloud nine most of the time. As the two made the nursery room for the babies and added to it when they went out on the weekends. He loved this quiet place he was in.“We have to talk to him!” Abby demande
The Friend Trap 39
They were discharged two days later. They settled into their house and watched over the boys. A few days after they came home, there was a knock on the door. Mack looked at the time and saw it was nearly nine at night. It was a Saturday now, so he didn’t think too much of it. It could be his parents or her father wanting to see the boys again. He got to the door and could hear quite a few different voices. It was time.He opened the door and looked at the group that was standing there. Everyone in the friend group was there, including the woman who had caused so much trouble. Christian was there as well. He was the first one to speak. “What are you doing here at my sister’s house?”“It is his house too,” Henni said from in back of him. Though Mack knew she would be the one to end all of this. She had one of the twins in her arms. She looked down at the baby and then back to the group in fr
The Friend Trap 40
“Are you going to tell me that you are going to blame us for this situation?” Abby demanded.“If the shoe fits, wear it, honey,” Henni said as she looked at the other woman. Mack had gone into the house to put the baby down. He had come out to find Henni almost ready to swing her arm. “Maybe you need to look at yourself and your friends and the way you all have handled this situation. You all acted like children each step of the way. You will never be welcome here in this house or any other I live at.”“Henni,” Mack said softly, and she softened a bit.“But you are right,” Mack said as he looked at the other women. “None of you are welcome in our house and near our children. That is a risk I will never take.”“Come on, Mack,” Beth said as she looked at him. “We
The Friend Trap 41
They moved to the back of the house and looked at each other. He could see her anger still rolling through her. She had been ready to take on the world for him, and he opened his arms. “You know I love you more right now than ever before?”“Why?” She asked as she looked up at his face.“Simply because you are you. Henrietta Paulin, I am the luckiest man on the planet.” He said as he brushed his lips across her forehead.“But why? “She asked as she looked at him, confused.“You stood there and defended me. You were willing to cut every one of them to pieces because they hurt me. You have every right to be pissed because of things they caused you, but you were worried about me.” Mack said as he looked at her.“Mack, I still don’t understand why that is important. I will always hold a grudge against the pe
The Friend Trap 42
Time passed, and they both went on with their lives now that they had the boys there. Every day was the same, but for them, that was perfect. He would get home from work and then give her a break from being on a full-time on mom duty. Henni watched them all play as the boys grew. She had never been so happy in her life. Mack had brought so much into her life that she had never expected anything like this.There was a knock on the door. She went to get it when she looked at the kitchen and smiled it wasn’t so late. She looked at the door and then opened it. She was shocked when she saw who was there.“Hello, Henrietta.” Her mother said as she looked at her youngest daughter. The older woman was dressed in a nice outfit like almost looked like a business suit. She was far too made up for a visit with one of her children. Especially the one the older woman had turned her back on years before. This w
The Friend Trap 43
She smiled at him. “Well, at least now you have met your mother-in-law,” Henni said with a laugh.“And she is as wonderful as I thought she would be,” Mack said dryly. “I have a feeling we are going to have a few more incidents with her, and what the hell was she talking about the rumor?”“My mother has never been one of those people that said what they really wanted to outright. She always hid it with the statements, “I heard this.” Or “I heard a rumor about you.” Basically, it is the way she is. For someone who says they don’t like toxic people, she is one.” Henni said as she laughed. “I mean this one she said it was living in sin. She isn’t religious, and lord knows she has had more affairs than one of the presidents.”“Henni.” He said as he laughe
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