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Camden slowly came around, not to become some great conversationalist, but willing to speak every now and again.
Astrid, thanks to a lot of support, a lot of understanding people up at Hailstorm, had learned to curb her unhealthy impulses with men, to learn to trust them. Enough to even let one into her life.
"You sure you got this?" Livvy asked, smirk pulling at her lips as she gestured to the wall near the front door. "This is what happened last time you watched them alone," she added, meaning the very large mural in permanent marker that Rune had blessed us with while I had been patching up Croft's knee from the two of them getting into a fight. I had to admit, it wasn't one of my best dad moments. And I hadn't even told her that while I patched up Croft and Rune wrecked our wall, Aviela had managed to get into a box of her makeup and smear it all over her bedroom.
Some things were kept from mommies so daddies were still allowed to co-parent.
It all washed out anyway.
Well, except for a few pillowcases.
But whoever noticed missing pillowcases anyway? They were like socks and tupperware - you somehow expected and blindly accepted it when suddenly they weren't there anymore.
"Ana is coming to watch Vas. And then we're going to the beach today," I reminded her, making her eyes go a bit worried. Three kids and a big, dangerous ocean. I got it. "With Aunt Mia and Aunt Zoe," I added. "I won't be outnumbered. And the house won't get wrecked," I assured her.
"Okay, but you need to pack more than a bottle of water and a towel," she told me with a smirk, knowing how much I loathed the people who packed for the beach as though they were going to live there, not just visit for a few hours.
"Fine," I grumbled in a spot-on interpretation of, well, all our kids. "You're still not going to tell me where you're going?" I asked, having been trying to guess for two weeks since she'd first told me about it, and never coming up with anything.
"Nope. You can hear all about it later," she promised, pressing a kiss into my cheek. "I'd tell you to be good for Daddy," she said to the kids at large, "but we all know that isn't going to happen. So if you could just... not ruin any more of my makeup - or pillowcases," she added, giving me a pointed Yes, I know all about the pillowcases look, "I will be a happy camper."Livianna -"You ready, mija?" Grace asked when we parked our cars on the street out front of the shop.
See, we'd never forgotten our first conversation back in her kitchen on New Years Eve.
We'd always planned on making good on the idea that had come to us then.
Covering something ugly on us - scars - with something that made us happy.
It was just that life constantly got in the way. Especially after the kids. Someone was always sick or had playdates or needed to learn to tie their laces or use the potty.
Sometimes, being a person came second to being a mother, something Grace understood all to well. So we had made an agreement - when the three kids were all mobile, we would finally go.
But then we'd been surprised with our fourth, and just decided to do it already.
Little Vas.
The name had been Roderick's idea.
Just when I was sure I couldn't have loved him more, he came up with an idea like that.
My life had changed so drastically since meeting him, since learning to let him into my life. And not just my life either. Cam's life. And Astrid's life. He came around and made everything better.
He made me better, pulled me out of my shell, showed me how to open up, to trust him, to let go of the reins a bit.
He gave me more love than I knew existed, he showed me how much I had to give.
He gave me sisters and a mom.
He gave me the girls club and the men I never could have anticipated bonding so hard with.
He gave me everything.
I'd given up things, sure.
In order to keep the peace, I had needed to give up a profession I had worked so hard for. But that being said, I understood that it wasn't something I could do forever, not at the capacity I had once done it. I wouldn't be able to keep getting beatings, keep having narrow misses. It only would have worked had I gotten a bigger team. Which was not something I wanted.
So, I got a fair cut of money to do nothing.
I had felt useless for a while, unsure of my identity with no job, not knowing what to do with my time without having to work.
