Remember to Forget || Chapter 18

Chapter 18

A day had passed since Paula saw the results of her pregnancy test. And in just the one day, she had come up with a handful of ways to tell Simon about the baby. She might as well just write a book labeled “101 Ways to Tell Simon Cowell You’re Pregnant”. She laughed slightly at the thought in mind.

“Mommy, Mommy!” Isabella tugged on her mother’s sleeve. Paula shook her head of her thoughts and looked down at her daughter. “When is Uncle Simey coming?”

“I’m just about to leave to pick him up at the airport right now, sweetie. Would you like to come?” Paula told her.

Isabella shook her head and giggled, “No, me and Maybelle can wait til you get home and then tackle him!” She jumped up and down in excitement of Simon’s arrival. A plan was set, and once her mother left, she would put it into action. She desperately hoped it would work out the way she wanted to.

Paula laughed, “Okay, then. I’m going to call Daniel to watch you-”

“No!” Isabella shouted and then paused as Paula stared down at her. “I’m big enough to watch myself, Mommy,” she said.

“Sweetheart, you need an adult to watch you. How about I ask Marina to just check on you while she cleans the house? Is that okay?”

Isabella frowned slightly, but agreed. She didn’t want any adult to come ruin her plan. It needed to happen today. “Okay, fine,” Isabella sighed and then picked up Maybelle, holding her tightly.

“Now, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Paula picked up her purse and checked herself in the mirror real quick. Her heart was beating at the thought of Simon. How was she going to tell him? Gently shaking her head of the thoughts again, she turned towards her daughter. “You be a good girl for Marina, I’ll tell her on the way out to check on you. Alright?”

Her daughter nodded and waved goodbye. “Bye, Mommy!”

“Bye, sweetie,” Paula smiled and kissed her daughter. Isabella watched as her mother walked towards the front door and slowly closed it behind. She placed Maybelle down on the ground and raced to the window. She saw her mother get into the limo as the driver held the door open for her. Seconds later, the limo slowly pulled out of the driveway and once it was no longer in view, Isabella jumped up and clapped her hands.

“It’s time!”

--Remember to Forget--

Paula took her time as she made her way through the airport. Lifting her wrist up, she glanced at her watch. She was right on time. Simon’s flight should be arriving any second. As she neared the gate, her heart began to race as the woman at the desk announced the plane had arrived safely.

She gulped loudly, trying to calm herself down and get rid of the nerves but nothing was working. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her hands and began to think of the numerous amount of ways to tell Simon that she was pregnant.

As she slowly lifted her head up, she saw people start to walk into the airport from the gate. Being that she was so short, she couldn’t see many faces, so she simply waited with much anxiety.

Staring down at her hands, her minds raced again. ‘Simon, I’m having another baby…’ She shook her head at the thought. ‘I’m pregnant again, Si…’ Frowning, she pushed that one aside. ‘We’re going to be a family, Simon…’ She sighed loudly and whispered to herself. “How can we be a family when Isabella doesn’t even know that he is her father?”

“Paula!”

Paula looked up and a huge smile rose on her face. Simon was making his way through the crowd, smiling back at her. Her whole world stopped then and there, all thoughts were pushed aside and she only focused on the man who was walking up to her.

Once he finally reached her, he pulled her into a warm embrace, wrapping his strong arms around her tightly. “I’ve missed you, darling,” he whispered softly into her ear. She nodded against him.

She pulled back from him slightly and replied, “Well, I’ve missed you more.”

“That isn’t even possible,” he chuckled and leaned closer. “If we weren’t in a public place, your lips would be on mine, right now.”

She laughed, “Well, you’ll just going to have to wait then.” He pouted his famous “Cowell pout”. “Nope, don’t even pull that one on me, mister.”

“It was worth a try, sweetheart,” Simon smiled.

After picking Simon’s bags up, the two walked towards the exit of the airport. Paula told him about Isabella and how she missed him terribly. She avoided the other topic for now, but she knew sooner or later it would have to be discussed. Better sooner than later, though.

The limo driver held the door open for the two of them, taking Simon’s luggage. He thanked the man and crawled into the limo, and Paula followed him. Just as the car door shut, Simon pulled Paula towards him and crushed his lips onto hers.

She met his aggressive mouth as teeth nipped and tongues battled. Her hands found their way around his neck and his arms wrapped around her waist. Pulling back slowly, he groaned, “God, I’ve missed this… I’ve missed you.” Then he captured her mouth again, but with a more gentle kiss, brushing his lips softly against hers.

She smiled into his kiss, and then pulled back. “We should stop before this gets out of hand,” she told him. He nodded and respected her, sitting back but keeping an arm wrapped around her waist.

“So how was London?”

“Eh, pretty boring without you there, sweetheart,” he chuckled, poking her in the side and she giggled. Then she saw his eyes lighten up and an even wider smile spread across his face. “Oh, I forgot to tell you! I have big news!”

“Me too,” she told him, without even thinking over what she had said.

“You go first,” Simon said.

Paula regretted even saying anything now. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She was too nervous to tell him just yet. “No, no you go first,” she said.

Simon laughed and then, still with a smirk on his face, he took a deep breath. “Okay, well you know my show X-Factor in the UK, right?” Paula simply nodded, telling him to continue. “Well, I’m bringing it to the U.S.! I’m having my own show in the United States, can you believe that, love?!”

“Really?! Simon! That’s great!” Paula jumped into his arms, which were opened wide for her. He hugged her tightly, smiling so wide. She pulled back, remaining in his arms still. “I’m so happy for you, Simon,” she said softly, looking him in his eyes.

“Thank you, darling,” he grinned. “So, what is your news?”

Suddenly, Paula remembered her news… ‘He’s in such a great place right now. Just look at that smile… He hasn’t smiled like that in awhile.’ She kept contemplating on what she should do, which was right and which was wrong. ‘Another child might make things more difficult. But he has a right to know. But his job! He loves his job, this will be another success for him. I can’t… I won’t take-’

“Paula?”

“Huh? What?”

“What’s your news?” he asked, still with that charming and glowing smile upon his face.

“Oh umm…” Paula paused, still pondering about what to do, if this was the right time. Was there anything else she could say? That she could tell him? That she should tell him? After a few seconds of her mind racing over her thoughts, she came to a conclusion.

Choosing the words carefully, she turned away from his eye contact and sighed. Taking a deep breath, she spoke in a whisper, “I-I… I think that it’s time… I think that it’s time Isabella should know who her father is.”

She waited a few seconds, not wanting to see his expression. Afraid of what it could be. “Paula, look at me… love, please?” She turned her eyes, staring into his dark ones. His smile had disappeared and his face showed nothing, not a hint of emotion. “Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded.

Then before anything else could happen, he bent his head down and kissed her softly. She was surprised, but kissed back with much passion. Simon pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers. “You don’t know how long I have waited for you to say that, sweetheart… Thank you.”

Paula smiled and tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She made the right decision. Before another child came along, it was time Isabella knew who her father was. It was only fair. “I’m sorry that I kept you waiting so long,” she sighed. “I feel so selfish now-”

“Don’t,” he told her gently. “You shouldn’t. It was the right thing to do and I respect our decision of waiting.” As silence filled between the two as they continued to stare and smile at one another, Simon spoke up, “So… does this mean that we’re in a strong committed relationship?”

“What do you mean?” she replied.

“Well, you told me that you didn’t want to tell Isabella until you were sure that we were in a well-committed relationship. Do you have faith in us, then?” he asked. He couldn’t help but ask. It was the only thing that was racing through his mind at the moment. He wanted them to be one big happy family. He wanted to propose to her… and yet, he still had to tell her that he was, in fact, in love with her. Maybe he was nervous if she didn’t return the same feelings back.

“Oh Simon, of course we are… I think we always have been. I just,” she sighed and caressed the side of his face. “I just wanted to be safe, you know for Isabella’s sake. She loves you so much and I would hate to see her get hurt.”

“Well, I understand. I mean, it’s you and me.”

Paula smiled, “And hopefully it will always be you and me.”

“You really mean that, darling?”

“Do you not have faith in us, Si?” she laughed softly.

He shook his head and chuckled, “Of course, I have faith in us. I see my future… and that is you.” Smiling at him, she snuggled closer to Simon if it was even possible. He kissed the top of her head and sighed. “So when would you like to tell Isabella?”

“I was thinking about tomorrow, that way we can have time to figure out how to tell her properly,” she said.

Simon nodded, “That’s fine with me.”

--Remember to Forget--

It was an hour later and Isabella sat by the window, waiting to see the limo pull up into their driveway. The plan was all set and ready to go. Just as if on cue, the limo parked outside the house and Isabella jumped in joy once she saw her Uncle Simey step out of the car.

She raced towards the door and waited for it to open. “This is it, Maybelle!” she giggled. Suddenly, the door opened wide and Simon walked inside with Paula following behind him. “UNCLE SIMEY!” Isabella ran towards him as he knelt down on one knee with arms open wide. She threw her tiny arms around his neck. “I missed you!!”

“I missed you too, sweetheart,” he chuckled.

Paula took in the scene and smiled. ‘Tomorrow she will know the truth, and we can be one big happy family,’ she thought. She placed a hand on her small stomach. ‘All of us,’ she smiled.

“C’mon! I have a surprise for you, remember!? You too, Mommy!!” She grabbed both of their hands and started pulling them towards the dining room, but just after a few steps forward she forced their hands together and walked ahead of them.

Paula looked at Simon, who wore the same confused expression. They ignored it and walked hand-in-hand into the dining room.

“Oh, Bella-Boo, did you make all of us lunch?” Paula asked, noticing the table was set with plates, silverware, napkins, and even a single flower, which was obviously from the garden in the backyard.

“Something like that,” Isabella giggled. “Take a seat, Mommy and Uncle SImey! I’mma go get lunch!” She ran out of the dining room on her tiny little legs and into the kitchen area.

“She’s such a little sweetheart,” Simon chuckled as he took a seat.

Paula nodded and smiled, sitting down in the seat next to him. “I can’t believe she did all of this. She didn’t even give the slightest hint to me whatsoever.”

Just then, Isabella ran out of the kitchen with a sandwich in her hand. She placed a half of it on Paula’s plate and then the other half on Simon’s plate. Then she walked over and grabbed a glass filled with apple juice and placed it in the middle. “There you go! A peanut butter and jelly sandwich with apple juice!”

Simon looked at the glass. “Um, Isabella, there’s only one glass here.”

“That’s the point!” Then Isabella placed two straws in the glass and smiled at the two of them. “Now you two can share,” she giggled. Turning away from the two of them, she walked towards her Barbie radio and pressed the PLAY button. In a matter of seconds, the song “L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole filled the room. “Have a lovely lunch, Mommy and Uncle Simey!”

Paula glanced at Simon, who was staring at her, completely confused at Isabella’s actions. Paula couldn’t believe this was happening. Was her daughter setting Simon and her up on a date? “Wait, Isabella, aren’t you going to eat with us?”

She shook her tiny head and said, “You two need to be alone.” And with that said, she ran into the kitchen, leaving the two alone.

There was an awkward silence shared between Simon and Paula. They kept glancing at each other, waiting for the other to speak first. Paula sighed, “Did you say something to her?”

“What makes you think I said something? I just got back from London,” Simon replied.

“Well, what will make her think that we should be on a date? I didn’t say anything and you didn’t. Why would she think something like this?”

“Maybe, she thought it all up on her own, darling. Ever think of that?”

“Maybe… I just, I’m surprised she went through all this trouble. The music, flower, and the one glass of apple juice?” Paula laughed softly and Simon chuckled along with her.

Suddenly, Isabella poked her head into the room with a smile. “Are you two kissing yet?!”

Paula and Simon looked in Isabella’s direction, both asking, “What did you just say?”

“I said, are you two kissing yet?” she giggled.

Paula said, “Umm, sweetheart, why would you say something like that?”

“Because you supposed to kiss when you love someone!”

“Bella-Boo, your mother and I aren’t going to kiss,” Simon told her. “Remember I told you about how there are two different kinds of love?” Isabella nodded. “Well…” Simon glanced at Paula, not knowing exactly what to say. Should they come clean and tell her everything or wait until tomorrow like they agreed on? Paula stared at Simon, not knowing what to do either.

Isabella sniffled, “I get it, Uncle Simey… Now I’ll never have a daddy,” she said sadly with tears in her eyes. Then she ran up the stairs, sniffling, before Simon and Paula could say another word to her.

Simon sighed, “I’m sorry, Paula, I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if-”

Paula placed a finger up to his lips, silencing him. She softly said, “Simon, I think it’s better that we should tell her everything now.”

He gently took her hands into his and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “I think you’re right.”