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I swallow, willing myself to be unaffected when he buries his face in the side of my neck and wraps his muscular arms around me. I wasn’t successful because I have to manually figure out how to take every breath, but I do manage to get the tomatoes in the food processor without making a mess. Seth doesn’t move as I do the same with the salt, pepper, and a dash of lime juice. He stays perfectly still, the steady pulse of his heart thudding against my sunflower tattoo. His skin is deliciously warm from the sun, and he smells like fresh air and masculine body wash and the perfume Ella insisted on wearing today despite spending the afternoon with the Bryants on the lake. I love it.
I’m just about to pressStarton the food processor when little feet come running in from the backyard. Little feet accompanied by heart wrenching Eli wails, and Seth releases me so I can see what happened.
“Baby boy, what’s wrong?” I scan him from head to toe, looking for any scratches, bruises, or evidence of an injury as I kneel in front of him. I don’t see any, but his tears drip onto his tummy and his little blue swim trunks are soaking wet from the kiddie pool. “Eli, honey, tell Mommy why you’re crying.”
My words only stoke the fire, and his wails grow louder. I try to pull him into my arms. He’s not having it. He stands frozen in place, big tears rolling down his cheeks. Ella isn’t anywhere in sight, which gives me a funny feeling. I stand up, about to step around my inconsolable son when Ella comes running in with the twoPaw Patrolpool toys we got on our grocery run this morning.
I raise a brow at my daughter. “Do you want to explain what happened?”
Ella has a defiant look in her eyes. “He wouldn’t share them with me!”
“Nuh-uh!” Eli cries, his cheeks getting blotchy from crying.
“Yeah, huh,” Ella retorts indignantly. “I wanted to play with them, and you were hiding them from me! Tell him he’s gotta share, Mommy.”
“But they’re mine.” A hiccup of a sob shakes Eli’s tiny frame.
“Honey, he did pick them out and you got the princess one you picked out,” I remind her gently. “You need to remember to asknicelyto play with his toys. Did you do that?”
Ella nods.
“No!” Eli points at his sister. “She tooks them!”
I sigh, wishing they could both just take a deep breath, but I know that’s not going to happen. We’ve had a lot of fresh air today, a lot of going, and I think it’s going to have to be an early bed arrival kind of night, because we’re a lot testier than I usually allow.
“Look, I don’t—”
“Tell him to share, Mommy!” Ella repeats, stomping her foot.
“Elizabeth May,” I warn, hearing the edge in my tone.
Seth, who I almost forgot was here, grasps my elbow gently to ground me, then squats in front of the kids. “You need to respect each other, and you need to respect your mother, but yelling is not the way to do that. Ella, did you ask your brother nicely to play with his toys?”
Ella stares at the floor, but she shakes her head.
“Did you try to keep your toys from her?” he asks Eli, whose sobs have turned into whimpers.
Eli nods, his lower lip puffed out.
“Okay, then. I think you both need to apologize to each other,” Seth says evenly. “Ella, apologize for asking him rudely, and Eli, apologize for not sharing your toys.”
Always my little peacemaker, Eli’s the first to apologize. His lashes are spiky around his watery blue eyes and now he’s crying all over again because he didn’t want to hurt his sister’s feelings, and my mama heart almost can’t handle it. Especially not when Seth sets his large hand on Eli’s miniature shoulder as he glances at Ella to encourage her to follow suit.
“I’m sorry for being mean,” Ella says begrudgingly, not yet meeting Eli nor Seth’s eyes. “Can we go back outside now?”
“Not quite. You both need to apologize to your mama and then do a group hug. That’s what my mom always had my sister and I do.” Seth straightens to his full height and moves to stand beside my kids, nudging them with hands on their backs toward me. “The sooner you do it, the sooner you get to play again.”
I squat down and smile as they each murmur apologies, then fling themselves into my arms. My eyes close as I squeeze them tightly. “I love you both so much, okay? And I accept your apologies. Now, you’ll have to ask Daddy Seth how long until supper’s ready, but you can…”
My words die on my lips when I open my eyes.
What. The. Actual. HECK?
No longer is Seth standing like the knight-in-shining-child-soothing-armor he is. Seth… He… He is…
Seth isdown on one kneeandYES,I am freaking the freak out.
Am I dreaming? Surely, I’m dreaming. I’ve got to be. There is no way in heaven (or should I say hell, because this would probably happen in heaven) Seth is proposing to me now. Right? Anybody?Hello?!
