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ISLA
Orin follows us home in his truck, while Silas and I have the boys in my car. The whole way home the boys excitedly tell us all about their first day of school, and it seems like they both had an amazing time. Silas is driving so I take the opportunity to look over the papers in the boys’ bags. Lochlan has a sticky note on his conduct sheet.
“Lochlan baby, your teacher left a note saying you wouldn’t eat your lunch, even though it was pizza with fries and a fruit cup. You love pizza and french fries. Was there something wrong with it?” I turn to ask my son.
He looks at me sheepishly. “It wasn’t as yummy as Bodie’s.”
Silas bursts out laughing. “Oh, Bodie is going to love hearing that!”
I chuckle as well. “Arden, did you like the food?”
He shrugs. “It was okay, I s’pose. I was hungry, so I ate it.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to start packing y’all’s lunches then, huh? When we get home I’ll make you a snack, alright my loves?”
“Okay mommy! I’m ready to see sissy!” Lochlan chirps.
“Well, then I’ve got good news, little man. We are home!” Silas sing-songs.
When we pull up to the house, the door flies open, Vivi and my grandmother come hustling out. “BUBBAS!” Vivi screams, running over and pulling both of her brothers into a hug. “I missed you!” she sniffles.
“How was your first day, boys? Did you like the school?” Maw-Maw asks them, scooping them into a hug when Vivi lets go.
“Yes ma’am! It was so much fun! I made a new friend and my teacher was super nice. We got to play outside and in the centers,” Arden tells her proudly as she guides them inside, Silas and I following lazily behind.
Before we get to the door, Bodie's truck pulls up, he gets out, and starts unloading grocery bags onto the driveway. Si and I walk over to go to help when Bodie grabs my arm and pulls me into a kiss. “How was the rest of your day Angel? Sorry I couldn’t meet you at the station, one of my cooks called in. His son was sick, so I had to help in the kitchen.”
“It’s fine babe, there was no need for all of you to drop everything to show up anyway. What are all the bags for?” I ask, kissing him back.
“Well, since Emma is being nice enough to let us all crash here, I figured I would cook dinner,” he replies, looping bags over his arms. “I’m making brown sugar bourbon grilled chicken with grilled potatoes, homemade mac and cheese for the kids, fresh green beans, and grilled corn on the cob.”
I groan. “You know I love your cooking, but this looks to be way more than just dinner groceries.”
He chuckles as we take the load of bags to the kitchen. “Well since I’ll be here, I figured I would make lunch for the kids for the week. I got the boys lunch boxes, thermoses, a nice bag, and a water bottle. I know you told the school about their allergies on their paperwork, but it still makes me nervous. So if it’s okay with you, I’ll pack their lunch everyday.”
We have just gotten to the kitchen when he says that last bit and the boys both cheer. “Yes! The pizza was nasty. I like yours better,” Lochlan tells him, coming over to give him a hug, followed closely by Arden.
“Well bud, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. Why don’t we get a pen and paper so we can make a list of foods you both want me to make?” he suggests, hugging the boys back.
After Silas sets Vivian down from where she latched onto him as soon as he put his bags down, she walks over to me demanding “Up, mommy!”
I pick her up, giving her a bunch of kisses and snuggles. “Did you have a good day with Maw-Maw, sweetie?”
“I did! I swimmed in the pool, and Maw-Maw played tea party wif me, and we baked cookies, and after I took a nap, we watched Frozen!” she tells me excitedly.
“Wow! It sounds like you had so much fun!” I say, grinning back at her. “Hey, sweetheart? I want to talk to you and your brothers for a minute, alright? Boys! Will you come in the living room with me please?” I ask, leading them there.
I guide them to the couch and sit on the coffee table across from them. “Okay, so mommy just wanted to check in with y’all about something. First off… Silas, Odin, Orin, Bodie, and Callum all want to get to know us better. Is that alright with all of you?”
I give them a second to think about it, and of course it’s Arden that speaks up. “Yeah mommy, we like them and they make you happy. Our old daddy never made you happy. They spend time with us and none of them yell or hit you or us. We love them and want them to be our new daddies.”
“Okay baby, well, it’s kind of too early to say they are y’all’s daddies, but I know they really care about all three of you very much. The other thing I wanted to ask you is, is it okay with you if they start spending time here at night?”
Arden and Lochlan jump up excitedly, whooping and hollering. “Like a sleepover? Can they tuck us in and read us bedtime stories?” Lochlan asks, doing his little happy dance.
Before I can answer, Orin chimes in from behind me. “Of course, little man, we would love to! Sorry for interrupting sweetheart, but Bodie wanted to know if he and Emma could have the children. He wants them to help with the banana pudding.”
“That’s fine, we were done. Y’all go help Maw-Maw and Bodie with the pudding, and after that y’all can go play in the playroom for a while, or y’all can swim until dinner. Whichever you want to do, okay?” I give them each a kiss as they walk by.
