When Friends Visit Unannounced

I wasn't even in the door five minutes yesterday when someone was knocking. When I went to answer it, I was surprised to see Devon standing on my door step. "Hello," I stared up at him and asked him what he was doing here.

"I wanted to see Alexis," he told me. "I haven't had a drink since you told me you wouldn't let me see her, so?" He glanced past me, "Can I see her?"

I couldn't smell any alcohol on him nor did he seem like he was under the influence. "Sure," I stepped back and let him in the house. "She's -"

"Alexis?" Devon called out as he went and that's when I noticed he was holding a gift bag in his hand. "Lexi sweetie, uncle Devon has a present for you."

Alexis appeared around the corner as if she heard he had something for her and she wanted it. When she saw him, she sat up and held out her hands to him. "Dada," she said and I gave Devon a dirty look.

"I didn't ask her to call me that, it is close to my real name," he shrugged but when he scooped Alexis off the floor to carry her back into the living room, I heard him say something along the lines of 'I wish I was your daddy but I'm not.'

Despite the fact that Alexis called him daddy, I was happy that Devon was there because it gave me time to get started on supper and do a little cleaning up before Reed got home. I can't tell you how good it made me feel to hear Alexis' giggles as she 'talked' to Devon in the other room; all concerns that I had about having Devon around her seemed to disappear.

I had just finished putting the meatloaf I was making for supper into the oven when there was a knock on my door. With a quick check into the living room to make sure that they were still doing ok, I headed for the door.

"Janie?" I was probably more surprised to see her than I was to see Devon. "Are you ok?" She wasn't looking at me, she was looking at the car in my driveway, Devon's car.

"I shouldn't be here," she said quickly and went to turn away but stopped. "I didn't come because he as here, I wanted to talk to you."

"I believe you," I told her and held out my hand to her. "Why don't you come into the kitchen with me? Devon won't even know that you are here if you don't want him too."

She hesitated but gave in a moment later. "Why is he here?" She asked as I closed the door behind us but I didn't get a chance to answer before Devon's laughter came from the living room, followed by Alexis' 'talking' and giggling. "He's with Alexis?" She gave me a confused look as she moved towards the living room so she could peek in. "Why is he with Alexis?" Janie asked when she returned to my side.

"He wanted to spend some time with her," I told her.

"But why?" She looked so confused and then slowly she seemed to come up with some explanation, little did I know the extend to which she tended to go. "Is he...?" She glanced towards the living room and then back to me.

"Is he what?" It was my turn to be confused.

"Alexis...is he..." she couldn't seem to get the question out.

"What about Alexis?"

She didn't say anything for the longest time and when she did speak, I couldn't believe what I heard. "Reed is her father, right?"

My jaw dropped to the floor, if there was a pin around to drop, you would've been able to hear it as it hit the floor too. "Of course he is!" I stared at her in disbelief. "You know he is! Why would you ask me something like that?"

"I just..." she motioned towards the living room. "I've never seen him with any kids before now, he always said he hated them."

I wanted to laugh and tell her she was crazy but then I realized that she didn't know what I did. "I've told you before Janie, there is more to Devon than you realized."

"What does that mean?" She asked but I didn't say anything, I headed back to the kitchen where I started on the rest of supper. "What do you know about Devon that I don't?" She joined me in the kitchen.

"I know that he's not the man I thought he was and that Alexis loves it when she gets to play with him," I glanced at her. "And he doesn't like it when he can't get to see her."

Janie sat down across from me, she seemed lost in her own little world as I started to peel the potatoes for supper.

It must have been a good half hour from the last time she spoke till the moment I heard Reed's keys in the door. I listened to Reed as he stopped by the living room to see how Alexis was doing. "Is Janie here?" I heard him ask Devon.

I didn't hear if Devon replied to him, I really don't think he did because he wouldn't have had time from the moment Reed mentioned Janie's name till the moment he appeared in the kitchen.

"Hey Devon," I glanced over my shoulder at him but he wasn't even looking at me, he was staring at Janie who was staring right back at him. "Reed!" I smiled when he entered the room behind Devon. I stood up and made my way over to him, giving him a kiss when he pulled me into his arms. I was about to ask him if he saw Alexis and lead him out of the kitchen so Devon and Janie could be alone, when Devon found his voice.

"Janie," he said her name so softly and he started to move towards her.

"No," she jumped up and backed away. "I'm not here to see you!"

"We need to talk," Devon told her.

"No," she started towards the front door. "I don't know what you've done to fool Amber into thinking that you are a different guy than she remembers but you aren't fooling me! A leopard doesn't change his spots and you will only ever care about you."

Janie blew past him without even looking at him again.

And Devon watched her go.

Until she reached for the front doorknob. "Janie," he called out to her and she paused for a moment with her hand on the knob but she didn't look back or say anything. Devon didn't move from the spot he was in, "People can change," he told her. "But one thing that will never change is the way I feel about you."

Janie shook her head and laughed. "Great, you'll always think of me as a bed buddy." She opened the door and turned around. "I'm so over you Devon."

Devon sighed, "That really sucks," he told her. "Because I love you Janie."