In fact, Ana is feeling a lot more confident about the future she is building here in Willow Creek. She can count on a steady stream of money coming in now that her art is selling so well. And Aaron's birthday is rapidly approaching, so more and more often Ana finds herself thinking about having another baby.
She never wanted just one child, and it would be nice for Aaron to have a sibling close to him in age. Ana even has a man in mind to put the next bun in her oven.
She invites him over, and fixes a simple salad for them to eat. Then she hurries to get herself ready before he arrives.
My butt looks fantastic in these shorts.
One last look in the mirror and Ana is satisfied that she looks just alluring enough to be appealing, but not desperate.
"Do you ever wish had had more kids?" She begins the conversation.
"I did, when I was younger. It just never happened for me and my ex-wife. Why do you ask?"
"You say that like you're so old now. You're not too old to have more now."
"Let's see if you think you're too old for more kids fifteen years from now. Anyway it takes two to make a baby, and no one's applied for the position of mother." He adds the last part with a wink.
Ana figures that is as big of an opening she could hope for to spell it out for him. "If I had known you were taking applications for the job that would have saved me the trouble of planning this dinner."
She quickly explains, while he seems to stunned to speak. "I know I've mentioned that I'm not interested in getting married.... ever. I was serious when I said that. But you also know how much I love kids. I've always wanted a big family. Well knowing those two things, I've always known I wouldn't have a 'normal' relationship with the father of my kids."
Still Arthur doesn't say a word. "Things didn't go at all the way I wanted with Mitchell, when I got pregnant with Aaron. This time I wanted to plan things out. Have everything out in the open from the beginning."
Now Arthur's mouth is hanging open a little, but still no words. "To be clear, I'm not asking for an army of babies. I know I said 'big family' a second ago, but if you only want to go for one...."
The wrinkle between his brows is growing deeper, and Ana knows she is rambling. But she can't stop herself; someone has to fill the awkward silence. "Look...I know what I'm proposing here is unconventional....although I would prefer we do the actual.... baby making..... the conventional way. B--"
"Of course."
"Well...Thank you for the salad. I'll be going now." At the door Arthur turns around and says, "I'll let you know what I decide."
Ana decided to take is as a good sign that he hadn't turned her down on the spot. Or called her crazy.
She accepts, but asks if he would mind if they make it an at home date, since she can't afford a babysitter at the moment. So they make plans to have dinner at her place that night.
When she opens the door to find him in the tux again, she bursts out laughing.
"If at first you don't succeed, try again." Says Ken with a big smile on his face.
And of course they take a picture as proof of how gorgeous they both look.
The meal is a little awkward; the two of them have become such close friends that neither Ana nor Ken quite new how to act on the date.
They do just the trick. Ana and Ken feel much more at ease during the rest of their date.
Ana has just about concluded that romance just wasn't in the works for her and Ken when he pulls her in for a goodbye hug.
But it is just a hug, and now it and the date are over. Ana is left feeling a little torn between Arthur and Ken.
He asks if he can come over. She says, "Of course, what time?"
"How about in fifteen minutes?"
"Sure." And she hurries off to get ready.
So Arthur let's himself in. The door closes much harder and louder than expected, and he hears the distinct cries of a baby being awoken from his nap. "Sorry, Ana! I woke Aaron. I'll go check on him" He calls to Ana, before she comes running.
When Arthur picks Aaron up out of his crib the baby immediately stops crying and grins. And he falls back asleep surprisingly fast.
"Hey," she says somewhat lamely. "So have you been thinking about what I was saying the other night?"
"I've hardly thought of anything else. Half the time I spent thinking you're out of your mind. The other half I spent thinking I was the crazy one for even considering taking you up on the offer." He replies.
"I'm assuming you have your mind made up now, or you wouldn't be here...What did you decide?"
Arthur sighs. "I was coming here to tell you I couldn't do it. I wanted to tell you before I had a chance to argue with myself about it some more." Then he reaches out to take Ana's hand. "But while I was holding Aaron just now...I...I just... remembered how much I love babies and children."
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying yes. I might be crazy, but my answer is yes."
"Something looks like it's still bothering you, Arthur."
Ana is sure she can see a faint blush color his cheeks before he responds. "Well...you said you wanted to... conceive... naturally. And it's been...a while since I've... Oh for heaven's sake! What I'm trying to say is I haven't dated anyone a long time. I gave up the practice years ago."
"Arthur.... Why don't we get the awkward first kiss out of the way?"
"Art, you still seem a little tense." whispers Ana. "How about a massage?'
"Better?"
"Much better."
Ana throws one more look over her shoulder to Arthur.....
It doesn't take long for Ana to realize she should tell Ken sooner rather than later that she can't keep seeing him romantically. After all, just because she doesn't want to get married, that doesn't mean she wants to be promiscuous. She makes excuses to turn down his first few attempts at arranging a second date, but she doesn't want to lead him on. The trouble is she doesn't know how to do it; she doesn't want to lose Ken as a friend. So she procrastinates.
Then one day shows up at her door. Unable to come up with an excuse, she invites him in knowing the time has come to break the news.
"Ken, I'm glad you're here. We need to talk."
"Uh oh. This can't be good." Says Ken unaware of just how true his words are. He sits down.
"Don't tell me you don't feel the chemistry betw- "
"I wasn't going to.: Ana cut's him off mid-sentence. "It's just.... there's sort of someone else. We have an... arrangement."
"What kind of an arrangement?!" Ken asks.
"You know I want more kids...Well he's agreed to--"
"Why didn't you ask me?" Ken interrupts.
"So what was I? Your backup plan?!" Says Ken, plainly hurt.
"No. Not at all. I really do care about you, Ken. I just didn't know what was going to happen with-"
"Okay. So now you know. But Ana, don't you know I would give you anything you want? So why him?"
"No."
"What?" Says Ana a little confused by his reaction to a name. "He's a really ni-"
"Ana! Arthur Sutton is my dad!"
"I cannot believe you, Ana! First that womanizing douche, Mitchell. And now my father!?"
"Wait a minute. First of all, we were not a couple, it's not like I cheated on you. Second, I didn't know Art was your father. He mentioned a son, but I didn't put it together."
Ken sighs, "I just can't do this anymore."
"Ken, I didn't mean to hurt you." Ana says as he gets up and heads towards the door.
Ana can't do anything but watch him leave.