“They weren't that bad,” Howie laughed.
“They're your kids now, not mine!”
“Okay...so Nikki cried a little bit and Jacob didn't sit still for a little while.”
“Cried a little?!? She cried almost the whole time! I'm surprised they didn't throw us off of the plane!”
“Well,” Howie chuckled, “I cried too the first time I was on a plane. But Jacob was pretty good.”
“That's because he was climbing all over me and not you for four hours!!”
“Well,” Howie said winking, “I could climb all over you too for four hours if you let me.”

“Hey big guy! Did you have a good night sleep?” Howie asked as he got Jacob out of his crib. “And how's my Princess Nikki this morning? Can Daddy get a kiss? Hey, you guys want to go wake Mommy up?”
I pulled the blanket over my head knowing what was about to happen. I heard Howie come back into our room and felt babies crawling all over the bed. Suddenly the blanket was pulled back.
“There's Mommy!” Howie shouted as the kids laughed. Howie jumped in bed with us.
“So what time is the show tonight?” I asked, still not fully awake.
“8:00 – but I have to meet with a bunch of the sponsors and other people from the foundation all day. Then there is the rehearsal...you know, stuff like that. So what are you and the kids going to do today?”
“I figured that since we're in San Diego we should check out the zoo, maybe do lunch, and of course, gotta go shopping.”
“Sounds fun, just make sure you stay out of the shoe stores,” Howie laughed. “We didn't bring any extra luggage!”
“So what time do you want me to bring the kids there?”
“Why don't you guys show up around 6:30 or 7:00. You should probably start to get ready. I'll watch the kids while you jump in the shower.”
“Okay – don't forget to write me out the directions,” I said as I climbed out of bed and headed to the shower.

After spending most of the morning at the zoo, I decided to head back to the hotel. The kids were about ready for their nap and I needed to look for the directions that Howie was suppose to leave me. As I walked into the lobby my heart sank. There was my husband, heading into the elevator, holding another woman's hand.
“Excuse me – could you hold that elevator?” I shouted. The bellboy stuck his hand out to stop the doors from closing. Howie looked out the doors and saw us standing there.
He dropped the woman's hand and stepped out of the elevator. “Honey...”
“Don't fuckin' honey me!”
Howie pulled me away from the elevator and towards a hallway leading away from the lobby. “Can we go somewhere else and do this?” he asked.
“Why? So people don't know what kind of fuckin' asshole you are? What? Am I making a scene?”
The girl walked out of the elevator and over to where Howie and I were. “Oh, this must be Jacob and Nikki. They are so cute!” she said as she leaned down to the stroller.
“You stay the fuck away from my kids!” I snapped as I took a step towards her.
Howie held me back, “Baby, you're getting a little loud.”
I looked up to see the lobby full of people trying to look away as if they weren't paying any attention to what was happening. “So how long has this little Slutbag been around? Or is she just the flavor of the day?”
“Her name is Sarah,” Howie said. “And we've been friends for a couple of years.”
“You want me to believe that you hold your friend's hands as you are taking them upstairs to where I can only assume would be our hotel room.”
“Um...” Howie said now looking down at the floor.
“Pretty convenient for your wife and kids to be out of that hotel room too, huh?”
“Howie,” Sarah said grabbing at his arm, “Maybe you should just tell her.”
“Honey, it wasn't suppose to be like this,” Howie said not being able to look me in the eyes.
I looked from her over to Howie. “You know what Howie, after the hell Cal put me through, this hurts a hell of a lot more. And you know what else? One day I woke up and realized who Cal really was...and now I know who you really are.” I grabbed the stroller and headed towards the elevator.
“Honey wait!” Howie shouted. “Where are you going?”
“I'm going home Howie...I doubt we'll be there when you get back. But you'll definitely be hearing from me...or at least my attorney.”