KNOX
I loved holdingLarkin's hand as I drove down the road. Something about it just felt like home–especially with the kids chattering in the back seat. It reminded me that I was living out everything I ever wanted, thanks to this woman beside me.
We were going to take pictures on Madigan Ranch, and I couldn't wait. Even though it was wintertime, the countryside was still so gorgeous, with expansive grassland and panoramic views of the place where I grew up.
The drive there was as familiar as my own heartbeat, and a dozen minutes later, we pulled up to the meeting spot near the Madigan Ranch sign. A white Tahoe already waited there, pale gray exhaust spilling from the tailpipe while the photographer sat in the driver’s seat, watching us approach.
She was the same person who had taken photographs of goat yoga on what I called our first real romantic date. She smiled at us as we got out of the car and held up her camera. “You guys ready?”
“Yes!” Emily said while Jackson screeched. Apparently he was not in the mood anymore.
Larkin cringed, shoulders deflating, but I said, “Don't worry, buddy.” I picked him up and added, “We're going to have fun together.”
The photographer had us all posed in no time, sitting in the grass, standing on the grass, holding the kids between us. All the while making silly faces and sounds to make Em and Jackson laugh.
There had to be a million different poses that felt awkward and unnatural, but whenever she showed us little previews on the camera screen, my chest swelled. The photos were perfect.
After we'd gotten plenty of pictures with the kids, Larkin settled them into the truck with candy and a tablet so we could take the engagement pictures. With the windows rolled down, they could yell at us if they needed anything.
Then we started posing just as a couple. The photographer said, “Hold her close and whisper your favorite ice cream in her ear like it's a dirty word.”
I chuckled, not needing an excuse to pull my fiancé close. I made my voice low and sultry as I said, “Any type of ice cream with those brownies you make. I’ll lick it off your naked body tonight.”
Larkin giggled as her cheeks flooded with color and I heard the shutter of the camera go off at least a dozen times.
Then the photographer told us to walk back ten yards or so and then move towards her like we were coming home tipsy from a night at the bar.
Being our age, Larkin and I hadn't done that before, but for how much we laughed acting it out, I thought I needed to take her out and get a few tequilas in her.
My guy friends all complained about taking pictures with their girls, but the time seemed to fly by with Larkin. I could see how happy it made her to feel like a princess, like someone wanted to capture her image and admire her. And when we weredone, I paid the photographer a little bit extra for the idea I was hoping I could make come true.
3
LARKIN
“Mommy,do you think Knox will like the whoopee cushion I got him?”
I dumped a box of pasta into the pot boiling in front of me. “I think he'll love it. Just like he loves the other five he already owns.”
The kids’ ongoing prank war with Knox had continued in our dating phase and now our engagement. Over time, the pranks got more and more creative, but every so often, they went back to the classics. I wouldn't trade the joy it brought for anything. Even though sometimes I stepped on a mush banana or accidentally sat down on a toilet seat wrapped in cellophane, life was good.
Knox had hardly stayed the night at his place, opting to spend as much time as possible with us. Part of me felt guilty because I knew how much effort he'd put into purchasing his house and making it a home.
Emily said, “MOM!”
I realized I’d been lost in my own thoughts. “Sorry, hon, can you say it again?”
“Should I put it under the tree in the box?” she asked me.
“Why don't you go ahead and wrap it, Em, while I make dinner. You can draw on construction paper for the wrapping paper.” She instantly got to work, grabbing a box of crayons and pink paper from the craft cabinet.
Jackson was playing with a roll of toilet paper, which might have upset me if he wasn’t having so much fun rolling and unrolling it.
I ran a wooden spoon through the pasta to make sure it wouldn’t stick and checked the clock. Knox was still working the night shift and should be here soon. I looked forward to the new year when he’d start working days.
“Done!” Emily called.
“Let me see,” I said. She came over from the table and showed me an oddly shaped ball covered in construction paper and so much tape. I could see the outlines of two stick people on the paper with a heart between them. I smiled big and said, “Is that you and Knox?”
