Authors: Lacey Black
“Yes!” the woman scream in unison.
“Twin A was born first at three sixteen. She is five pounds, two ounces and seventeen inches long. She came out screaming and I don’t think she’s stopped since,” he says with a weary smile. “Meet Tessa,” he says as he hands the photo to Mom first. After she stares and touches the photo as if reaching for her grandchild, she passes it along to the other eager women in the room.
“Twin B gave us a little bit of a scare. She is four pounds, six ounces and sixteen inches long. She was silent when she came out, and I’ve never been so scared in my life. When they finally got her to cry, it was still only a whimper. She’s the sweetest little thing ever,” he says, staring and smiling down at the picture of his second daughter. “Meet Annie,” he adds and passes the picture to my mom.
I have to admit, when the photos finally make their way around to Carmen and me, I fall instantly in love with my two new nieces. I latch onto Carmen’s waist and pull her tightly against me.
“I want that,” I whisper against the top of her head.
“Me too,” she says, gripping my side fiercely tight.
“Wanna go home and practice?” I ask, not able to hide my smile.
“Why wait? I’m sure they have an available office or a closet here we can use for a bit,” she says with an ornery smile. I instantly recall our hot and heavy tryst in her office a few short months ago.
“Don’t tempt me, woman. I could have you bent over an empty exam table in less than a minute,” I whisper.
Heat floods her eyes as she looks up. “There’s a supply room at the end of the hall. I’ll go to the bathroom first. You follow me out in a few minutes,” she says with a wink before politely excusing herself to go use the bathroom.
I stand there – staring at the woman I love – as she exits the small waiting room. Just as she gets ready to turn the corner, she gives me a saucy smile, which promises dirty things to come. My pants are suddenly two sizes too small as I check the clock. Great, more clock watching.
Two minutes. I can surely make it two minutes.
So much in my life has changed in the past four months. I fell in love with my boss. A beautiful woman – inside and out - who I’ll ask to marry me when the time is right. Soon. I’m not sure how long I can wait, though. I’m itching to make it official.
I’m selling the condo I purchased right out of college and am now living for the first time with the love of my life and her son. A son that I’ve bonded with and love as if he were my own. Even if I have to share him with Nick, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Blood be damned, Zach is my son and always will be.
I’m about to make an offer on a new home that we’ll share as a family, and hopefully, someday, add another child or two. The thought of Carmen pregnant with my child sends my blood pumping and my heart soaring. I missed the first twelve years of Zach’s life, and I’m eager to share with her the joys of parenting from the very beginning.
This is what life is all about. This is what I’ve waited my whole life for. These precious moments. I’m happy. Content.
I’m finally complete.
And it’s only just the beginning…
~ The End ~
Dear Reader,
I’m not ready for this to end, are you?
Enjoy a glimpse of the Stevens family through Elizabeth’s point of view…
Lacey
A Rivers Edge Short Story
Elizabeth
Five Years Later
Today is my favorite day of the week. Sunday. Today, my entire family will descend upon my normally quiet, tidy house and wreak havoc on my sanity. But staring at the faces of those I love most in this world brings me more joy and peace than anything in this world; messy house forgotten. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Today is also our anniversary. Michael and I have been married forty blissful years. Those years have been the hardest, yet most fulfilling years of my entire life. We opted not to have a formal party to celebrate as the kids were suggesting, but instead, chose to celebrate today with those near and dear to our hearts. Just a small gathering of our immediate family, which, I guess, really isn’t that small anymore.
Michael is outside, getting his ‘65 Corvette out from winter storage and ready to run. I’ve heard him out there tinkering throughout the morning, starting and revving it up a few times, then taking off for a quick spin down the road. Some might criticize him for not being inside, spending time with me on the one date we celebrate our marriage, but this is who we are. We click.
Michael and I have had an amazing forty years. We’ve celebrated each and every anniversary the same way. I wake to freshly brewed coffee and a cinnamon roll - that I had to make the night before for him - and a note. Not a card, but a note. Each note details his feelings and love for me over the years. I’ve kept every single one of those love notes, dating back to the first one I received when we were just dating, and keep them stored in the safe in the den.
There were years in there - early years - where I wondered if we would ever make it to ten years, let alone forty. Marriage is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. When you date someone, you are blinded by your desires, your love, and your happiness. Weddings are magical. The vows, those little kisses you steal throughout the evening promising more later in the night, the dancing. It’s all part of the fairy tale.
Then reality sets in. Every decision you make is questioned - by yourself or your new spouse. Dinners are burnt, tempers are short, and a “new normal” is established as you learn to cope with living with another person. Their habits, your habits, their needs, your needs…it’s all part of the learning process, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, that’s the most difficult part of any marriage.
Some things never change and Will and Carmen are the first to arrive. As I’m placing the second tray of lasagna in the double oven, my middle child and his little family join me in the kitchen. The girls all tried talking me out of cooking today, but I wouldn’t hear it. Heck, who do you think Jake
really
gets his stubbornness from?
“Hi, Mom. Happy anniversary,” Will says moments before he places a kiss on my check.
“Good afternoon, William, and thank you. It’s a beautiful day.”
“It sure is,” Carmen adds as she gives me a warm hug.
“Hi, Grandma,” Zach says as he joins us in the kitchen.
“Hello, Zach. Great game Friday night,” I comment as I start to butter the loaves of Italian bread.
“Thanks. It was a close one, but we got the W,” he says with a big smile.
Will and Carmen celebrated their fourth anniversary this past summer. It was a busy summer that year with Nate and Lia and then Will and Carmen getting married within a month of each other.
I watch as Will tweaks the end of her nose as they share a private moment. Carmen brings so much to their marriage. First, there’s her son, Zach. He’s seventeen now and a senior in high school. Zach plays varsity basketball and has started the past two seasons. He spends every ounce of his free time studying for college or out on the courts. Or at least he did until a few weeks ago. Carmen tells me he has a girlfriend who’s drawing his attention away from the game he loves so much. It reminds me of his stepfather.
Carmen and Will have been trying unsuccessfully to add to their family since they married four years ago. It’s been difficult to watch their struggles to conceive. As a parent, you want your children to have it all, including the family that they both desperately want. As her age approaches forty, they’re still hoping for a child of their own, but understand that their window of opportunity might be getting smaller and smaller with each passing day. They are both amazing parents to Zach, and I know if they were given the chance, they would share their love with more children. I pray for them every day and know that God has a plan for them. Even if we can’t see it or understand it, I know that this is in his hands. And when the time is right, they will be blessed with a child together.
In fact, I’ve kept it to myself for two very long days, but if the way Carmen was glowing this past Friday night at the basketball game is any indication, I image we’ll be hearing an announcement from them soon. They’ll tell everyone in their own time, so for now, I’ll just sit back and wait.
“I smell Italian,” Jake exclaims from the doorway.
“You just ate,” Erin chastises as she brings a large bowl of fruit salad into the kitchen. After a little grumbling, my daughters-in-law all agreed to let me cook today, but it was with the stipulation that they would each help by bringing something.
Jake, our oldest, celebrated his fifth anniversary to his wife, Erin, this past August. Their love story is one I will always cherish. I’ve watched them fight for their love, fight for their family, and fight just for the sake of making up afterward. Jake made Lieutenant a few years back and has proven to be the man and the police officer I always knew he was. Erin continues to improve the library, making it a favorite place amongst young and old in Rivers Edge.
Jake and Erin blessed us with four-year-old twins, Tessa and Annie. While the girls may look alike, they are night and day different: one like Jake and the other like Erin. Where Tessa is stubborn and bullheaded, Annie is sweet and quiet. Both girls have Erin’s auburn hair with those famous Stevens blue eyes. And my favorite part? Both girls have their father wrapped so tightly around their little fingers that Jake never sees it coming until it’s too late. You might as well tattoo “sucker” across his forehead.
Early last year, they blessed us with a grandson, Clay. The little guy looks and acts just like his father. Lord help Erin when he’s older because in his short little year of life, you can already tell that the charismatic little toddler has more charm than anyone should have. We’ve been celebrating several of his firsts lately, and it won’t be long until we’re celebrating his first birthday.
“Girls, run and get the toys out of the toy box for Clay, please?” Erin asks just before the two little girls both start to argue with each other as they walk away.
“Little man, promise Daddy that you’ll be a good boy. Just like your dad,” Jake says with a huge wolfish grin.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Erin says under her breath with a decisive shake of her head.
As hard as I try not to laugh out loud, I fail. Fortunately, I’m saved from having to explain to Jake why his comment toward Clay is so funny by the sounds of our next guests arriving.
“Grant, if you don’t leave your brother alone, I’m going to take you upstairs and have a little
chat
with you,” Travis says before they’re even fully inside the kitchen.
Grant is six now and a first grader at Rivers Edge Elementary. He spends all of his free time out in the shop with his father, not playing in the house with his toys. He’s a smart little stinker and his hand-eye coordination is amazing. With the help of his father, he builds tons of little trinkets and such for his mom. Each gift he brings me fills my heart with warmth that the little guy built me something with his own hands.
His little brother, Levi, is about to turn three next month, and is the spitting image of Josselyn. He has dark hair and hazel eyes that fill with mischief on a regular basis. The middle child figured out very quickly how to push his older brother’s buttons; always trying to get a rise out of him. He reminds me so much of Nate at that age.
Then there is little Alexis, or Lexi Lou as we all call her, who was born just two short weeks ago. Travis and Josselyn celebrated their sixth anniversary this past November in style; by announcing their child would be a beautiful baby girl. She has two amazingly attentive big brothers, and hasn’t been put down since she was born. I know exactly where she is – in Travis’ arms.
“Grant, listen to your dad, please,” Joss says as she sets a tray of appetizers down on the center island.
“Can I go outside with Grandpa?” Grant asks with wide eyes.
“Me too!” Levi hollers.
“No, little man, you stay inside and play with Tessa and Annie. I hear them in the living room,” Travis says as he walks over and places a kiss on my cheek.
“But I can go outside, right?” Grant asks with pleading eyes.
“Yep. Listen to Grandpa, though,” Travis says moments before Grant takes off out the door.
“Happy Anniversary,” Joss says as she places a kiss on my cheek. I hug my very first daughter-in-law tightly before turning my attention back towards Travis, kissing Lexi Lou’s soft little baby cheeks as she sleeps in his arms.
I barely get to enjoy a few moments with Jake, Will, Travis, and their wives when the fourth family arrives. Nate and Lia blow into the house with their three-year-old in tow.
“This house is going to burst at the seams,” Nate says with a smile as he follows his wife into the kitchen.
Nate and Lia have been married four years already. Out of all of my children’s weddings, this is the one I didn’t have to lift one finger to help. They decided to have a destination wedding on the side of a mountain in Hawaii. Everything was completed for them when we all arrived two days before the big day. It was a hundred degrees in the shade, but the most perfect wedding ceremony ever. Standing in the thick grass, we all watched as Lia and Nate proclaimed their love for one another. The vows they wrote themselves still choke me up to this day when I think back on them.
Nate and Lia have a special bond, cemented by his need and desire to protect her. A vow that he still takes seriously as he does everything within his power to ensure that he comes home to her each and every night. Nate is still a fireman, though he cut back his hours to only a few days per week. Lia has become partners with Avery at the bakery I started all those years ago. It warms my heart to see my own daughter and my daughter-in-law share the business and the love for it together.