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“I love you too.” I smiled.
It hadn’t even been five minutes and Ellery was sound asleep. I was thirsty, so I got out of bed and headed downstairs for a bottle of water. On my way back up, I stopped into the spare bedroom that we had turned into a nursery. I flipped the light switch and looked around. The painted ocean blue walls with colorful fish, coral, and seaweed made you feel like you were standing in the bottom of the ocean. The turtles Ellery had painted on the wall were amazing, as were the stars up above on the ceiling. She spent three months painting the room and she just finished putting the final touches on it yesterday. I smiled at the thought that come tomorrow, I’d have a son, and we’d finally be a family of four.
Chapter 39 Ellery Six years later…
We took the kids out to di
“Julia, eat your chicken fingers,” Co
“I will, Daddy, don’t worry,” she responded as she kept looking at the table next to us.
I knew those women were staring at my husband and, after all these years, I still had a problem with it. But I’d toned it down, and I didn’t embarrass Co
“Daddy, those women keep staring at you and that’s rude.”
I almost choked on my salad as I started to laugh. Co
“I know, Julia. Don’t worry about it. Just finish your di
“Mommy, why do they keep staring over here?”
“They keep staring because they think your daddy is very handsome. Now, finish your di
Julia smiled as she ate her chicken. Collin was being a good boy and eating his di
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that staring is rude?” Julia said to the women at the table next to us.
I heard Co
“Did you hear what your daughter said back there?”
“Yes.” I laughed.
“It isn’t fu
I kissed Co
“Aren’t you going to say anything to her?” he whispered.
“Why don’t you?” I asked.
When we were walking down the street to FAO Schwarz, Co
“Why, Daddy? Mommy and Aunt Peyton say things to people all the time if they are doing something rude.”
Co
“Aw, you love it. She’s protecting her daddy.” I smiled as I hooked my arm around his.
We entered through the doors of FAO Schwarz and the kids were in Heaven. The first thing we did was get in line to see Santa. The line wasn’t too long, and all the Christmas decorations and animated people keep the kids occupied. Co
“What do you want for Christmas?” he asked Collin.
“I want a bike and a train set,” he said.
“And what about you, pretty girl?” Santa asked Julia.
“I want an easel and paints, so I can paint beautiful pictures like my mommy. Oh, and I want new Barbies and a baby doll, but it has to be the one that goes potty and comes with diapers and a bottle and really cute clothes. I want jewelry so I can sparkle like a princess. I want this really cool four-story dollhouse with all the furniture and the family of four.”
“My, oh my, you sure want a lot of things,” Santa said.
“Of course I do, Santa. It’s Christmas, and my daddy said I can have anything I want. So I want all that.” Julia smiled as she got off his lap. She started walking way, stopped, and turned around. “Oh Santa, I also want an iPad. The 128GB in white with a Hello Kitty case.” She smiled.
I looked at Co
“And you blame me,” I said.
He laughed as we walked over and took the kids’ hands.
“That’s a pretty long list of things, Julia,” Co
“Not really, Daddy. There’s more. I’ll give you my complete Christmas list when we get home. I’ve been adding to it for months.”
Co
“Standing here, like this, I feel like I’m watching me and Cassidy,” Co
“It’s amazing how fast time flies.”
“I bought it,” Co
“Bought what?” I asked.
“The big piano. I bought it for them for Christmas. That way we could all play on it, together as a family.” He smiled.
I stood there and shook my head. “What?” he asked.
“I bought one too.”
Co
Christmas had come and gone and, before we knew it, summer had arrived and the kids were out of school. We spent most of our time at the beach house. I was sitting down at the beach with my arms wrapped around my legs, when Julia came up to me.
“Mommy, Daddy’s being mean and won’t let me have any ice cream.”
“We’re going to be eating di
“Why are you just sitting here like this? Are you sad?”
“I was just thinking about my mom and how we would spend time at the beach.”
“She’s dead, right?”
“Yes, Julia. She died when I was a little girl.”
“I’m sorry, Mommy,” she said as she put her little arm around me. I’m glad you’re not dead.”
“So am I,” a voice said from behind me.
Julia got up and looked at Co
I laughed and Co
“Sorry to break the news to you, but it’s only going to get worse.”
“Great,” he said as he put his arm around me.
Before long, Collin and Julia ran to where Co
“Julia Rose Black, get back here!”
“Sorry, Daddy, but if you want me there, you’ll have to catch me.” She giggled.
Co
“Look what I found.” He smiled.