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“I know, right? She loves it though. I honestly think she would steal them from us if she could.”
Tori smirked as she shrugged. “I’m sure as hell not stopping her.”
I laughed and nodded in agreement. “Same. I adore Emery, but being a single mom is exhausting.”
“And lonely,” Tori said softly as she stared off into space.
I understood that feeling way too well. Spending all my time with my daughter filled my heart with so much joy, but also reminded me of what was missing, or who was missing to be exact. I looked over at Tori who was still looking straight ahead, and I didn’t feel so lonely anymore. “At least we have each other now.”
My words finally caused Tori to look over at me, and when she did, the amount of care and understanding written all over her face took my breath away. For a long time, she didn’t say anything. She simply looked into my eyes, her own eyes wide and unblinking. Then, without a word, she moved closer to me and leaned her head on my shoulder. I put mine on top of hers, and we stayed like this for a few minutes. Normally, extended silences made me feel awkward, but there was nothing awkward about this moment. There was an understanding between us that didn’t need to be spoken.
“We’ve always had each other,” Tori finally whispered, so softly that if there was any noise at all in the house, I never would have heard her words. “I know what you mean though. Having someone around to help me get through the rough moments with Bella is going to be really nice.” Tori chuckled softly. “Careful, though. If this goes well, I might never move out.”
“I don’t think I’d mind that,” I answered honestly. “We can become old spinsters together.”
“Perfect. Should we go buy our rocking chairs now?”
“Nah. Let’s at least wait until Bella and Emery move out.” I hesitated for only a moment, because I wondered if I would end up regretting the suggestion I was about to make. “You know what? This conversation has actually made me feel rejuvenated. What do you say we go get our daughters so all four of us can celebrate our first day of officially living together?”
“That sounds great to me!”
After searching through Tori’s things to find two blindfolds (which she told me I was better off not asking about), we walked to the Stones’ house to get our daughters. Once we got back to our house, we had them put on the blindfolds. Since we still had some finishing touches to put on Emery and Bella’s room, Emery had been sleeping in my room for the past two weeks. Neither she nor Bella had seen their finished room, so we were excited (and maybe a little bit scared, if I was being honest) to show it to them.
They giggled and held hands as we directed them up the stairs and down the hallway. As soon as we opened the door to the room, they both pulled off their blindfolds without any prompting.
Bella ran right for the new bunk beds Tori and I had bought together. She pointed to the top bunk. “That one’s mine, since I’m a big girl and Emery is still a baby.”
Emery put her hands on her hips and scowled. “I’m not baby. I’m tree.”
I covered my mouth so Emery didn’t notice me laughing about the way she said three. When my giggles went away, I knelt down next to Emery and put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re right. You are a big girl. That means you understand that living somewhere new is going to be scary for Bella, so you need to let her choose where she sleeps. If she wants the top bed, that’s the one she should have.”
“Fine.” Emery looked at Bella once again, the scowl still on her face. “But I’m not baby, okay?”
Stubborn just like her mom, Bella put her hands on her hips. “Okay, but you’re still just three. I’m five.” She held up five fingers to really make her point.
Tori looked at her wrist, as if she was checking a watch that wasn’t actually there, then leaned closer to whisper to me. “Great. They haven’t even been living together for five minutes, and they’re already fighting like sisters.”
“I have an idea.” I clapped my hands together to get their attention and try to ease some of the tension in the room. “What do you say we order pizza and watch a movie while we eat it?”
A smile quickly surfaced on Bella’s face. “Can we make a blanket fort and watch the movie in there?”
Emery giggled and bounced up and down. “Yeah! Fort!”
Bella put an arm around Emery’s shoulder and pulled her close. “You’re my bestest friend, Emery, even if you are little.”
I held my breath while I waited to see what Emery would say in response to the little comment, but was happy when she giggled even harder. “You’re my best friend.”
“But you were my best friend first.”
“Well, guess what?” Tori asked, most likely trying to stop another fight before it started. “I was best friends with Emery’s mama and mommy before either of you were even born.”
Bella’s eyes went wide as if Tori had just blown her mind. “No way.”
“Yes way. So, I guess that means, I win.”
Tori scooped Bella up in her arms and tickled her, both of them laughing together as they left the room.
Emery watched them leave then held her arms out toward me. “Carry me, Mama.” As soon as I picked her up, Emery snuggled into me and kissed my cheek. “I’m happy, Mama.”
