We take turns being customers in Shiloh’s store, looking for the craziest items. Hayes joins in, talking in equal parts gibberish and English. Slamming a fake broccoli on the check out counter chanting “fee, fee, fee!”
“It’s not free Hayes! That cost two dollars.” Shiloh huffs, hands on his hips. I try to hide my chuckle as the two of them try and figure out how to play together with such an age gap. “It’s seriously not funny dad.” he whines at me, “Hayes isn’t playing right.”
“Buddy, I get that you want your brother to play the way you want him too, but he’s still a bit too young to understand that.” I walk up behind Hayes who has continued to slam the fake vegetable on the counter andpass Shiloh one of his fake bills. He grumbles a thank you while I lead Hayes off to the side so he can continue to ring his pops through.
“Come on up!” My moms voice filters its way down the stairs, letting us know dinner is all set.
“Okay Loh, let’s get this place tidied up and head up for some supper.” Clapping my hands I help him clean up the toys while Hayes and my dad head upstairs. We clean everything in record time, and race up the stairs to join everyone else.
Dinner was delicious, and no one spoke as we ate and enjoyed the food. I help my mom clear the table while Josie and my dad bring everyone to the living room before dessert.
My mom stands at the sink and begins washing, but I quickly move her out of the way and take over. Instead of leaving me to wash the dishes she sidles up beside me with a dish towel and begins to dry what I clean.
We work in silence and as I’m placing the last of the dishes into the sink my mom speaks. “Where is Evie? I thought she would come join us tonight.”
“She was going too, but she was feeling a bit run down. She decided to stay back and take it easy, and maybe head to bed early.” I respond, rinsing off the next dish and passing it to her.
She hums in acknowledgement but doesn’t say anything right away. I continue with the next dish, and it isn’t until I’m emptying the sink and wiping things down that she continues.
“Evie is a nice girl.” She states, pulling the cheesecake out from the fridge and placing it on the counter.
“She is.” I agree with her, “She’s been a huge help since Hayes was born. I don’t know exactly how we would have done it without her.”
“The boys seem to be very taken with her too.” She says, passing me a slice of the cheesecake. I take it cautiously, little warning bells start to go off. My mom is fishing for information, this isn’t the first time I’ve beena victim to Sloane Montgomerey’s subtle third degree. She’s flawless and you don’t realize what’s happened until you’ve already spilled the beans.
“You know my cribbage girlfriend, June?” She continues to place slices of cheesecake on each plate.
I slowly bring my fork to my mouth and take a mouthful of my dessert before I muffle my answer, “Yes. You meet every Friday night and you play crib.”
“Yes. Well, she was telling me the other week about how her husband’s cousin and his wife just came out that they had added another person to their relationship.” She says, with her back still in my direction.
I stop chewing and stare at the back of her head, trying to figure out where exactly she’s going with this. “Well, that’s an interesting little piece of gossip.” I respond, unsure of where to really take this.
“That was my thoughts too.” She pauses and turns to face me. “Then I thought about it, and our society has changed so much since your father and I were young. There are a lot of different dynamics that have come out into the public eye that never would’ve happened before. I may not understand these things as much as I would like too, but I’m always open to learning more.”
The fact of what she’s hinting at hits me right in the center of my chest. We haven’t told either of our parents of our dating habits throughout the years, because they were never serious enough to broach the subject.
I don’t know what it is about hearing my mom saying that on top of how much she adores Evie. It settles something in me, and further confirms that what Josie and I feel toward her is something that is worth it.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Josie
One Year Post Partum
“OkayLoh!Getreadyto count down! We’re almost at the new year!” Monty says to our son. They both are decked out in New Year’s Eve party favors that Evie got for tonight.
It’s not actually close to midnight, Monty pulled up last year's ball drop and has it playing as it counts down from sixty seconds. Realistically, it’s just before eight p.m. and we’re putting everyone to bed under the guise that it’s midnight.
We wanted to do something special between the three of us to celebrate coming into the new year. Things have been a dream, and with every moment we spend with Evie I’m more confirmed in the fact that I want this to be a permanent thing. The feelings I have toward her are just as strong as the ones I have for my husband.
Monty and I sat in bed one night after Christmas, Evie had gone to her moms for the night to celebrate their Christmas together. They didn’t get together on Christmas Day, it was a nasty snow storm and her mom lives over in Westroth which is at least an hour drive from Rosewick Falls. She didn’t feel comfortable driving in that weather, so she made plans with her mom to go out after boxing day to avoid the Boxing Day chaos.
I told Monty about how strong my feelings were for Evie, and he listened to me as I poured everything out. How I saw a future with her involved, with us, with our family, all of it. I wanted to tell people she wasours and how we are hers. I want to be able to hold her hand and kiss her in public, to take care of her in a way I know she isn’t used to.
After I told Monty everything, he just looked at me with a love struck look on his face, and a soft smile before he responded, “I feel the exact same way.”
It was surreal, and it was then that we plotted how we were going to officially ask her to be ours tonight. On the night that changed everything last year, when my water broke and Evie helped me to the ambulance. Giving birth to Hayes, and the complications to my c-section that led us to asking her for help, bringing her more into our lives.
