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Even if he had his little sister there, it would be a whole new environment for him, and I wanted him to be as comfortable and ready as possible.
He arrived at the house on the Sunday afternoon, two weeks before the start of school, his suitcase in hand and a box of his toys in tow.
Maureen had sent me a text earlier, and so I met them at the front entrance to the old brownstone building. We’d bought the top floor and joined the four apartments into one big one. We’d been slowly furnishing it and getting it ready for Liam to join us. My hearing with the judge had gone well and he said he didn’t see why Liam shouldn’t continue with the previous arrangement of him living with us during the school year and with Maureen and Chris having him on holidays and on weekends. Since we would be living so close, it would be very little disruption if we decided to alternate weeks between us. The judge said he would leave it up to us to make the arrangements and added that as long as we agreed, we could be flexible.
Liam ran up the stairs to the floor on which we lived, which was on the third floor.
“Wow, it’s big,” he said, his eyes wide when he saw the wide-open space.
Sophia squealed in delight when she saw him, running up to him and giving him a hug.
“Hi, Sophia,” he said and hugged her back. “Where’s my room?”
“It’s over here,” Kate said and took his suitcase, leading him to the other side of the apartment where one of the four smaller apartments had been. Sophia followed on his heels, eager to see him in his bedroom, which was next to hers. Beside them was a large playroom, with a couple of desks, some carpeting, a large flatscreen and several toy boxes.
We had a total of six bedrooms, six bathrooms, four living rooms, a large kitchen with all the amenities and a smaller kitchen off a bedroom in case Kate’s father and Elaine decided to come life with us. We wanted them to have a separate space for their own use if so.
It was far more than we needed, but two of the apartments had been very small and so we converted the kitchens into plain living space. The apartment was practically wall to wall windows except for the bathrooms and bedrooms. It really felt expansive.
We got Liam unpacked and his toys distributed to the playroom, and then we all sat down in the dining room for the first of our family Sunday dinners. I knew how much Kate loved big family dinners, and so did I. I hoped we could have Ethan and Elaine over once we got settled and make a tradition of it the way the O’Rileys did.
Once dinner was over, and Liam helped us clean up and clear away the dishes, we all went to the large living room with a huge sectional soft in front of the biggest flatscreen I could find, we watched the latest episode of Dinosaur Planet on Discovery Channel. Sophie couldn’t get enough dinosaurs, and I knew Liam was a fan as well, so they were held in rapt attention, a big bowl of popcorn between them.
Kate sat beside me, and I slipped my arm around her and pulled her closer.
“Well, this is going to be our new life from now on,” I said and kissed her warmly.
“It makes me happy to see them together,” she said and nodded over in their direction. They were sitting beside each other on the floor, on a large set of cushions they had taken off the sectional. “Brother and sister.”
“Yes, they are. It makes me happy for us to all be together.”
For the rest of the evening, the kids watched the shows and Kate and I read the newspaper or our social media. When bedtime came, after they’d brushed their teeth and were in their pajamas, they went to their bedrooms, and I sat down with each one and kissed them goodnight.
When I left, turning off the overhead lights and switching on the stars, it was so cute to hear Liam call out to Sophie the way he used to when he lived with us in Southampton.
“Good night, Sophia. Sweet dreams.”
“Nite nite Liam.”
I left the sleeping area and went back to the living room, where Kate was waiting. She’d switched off the flatscreen and turned on some music on the sound system. I crashed onto the sofa beside her, resting my head on her lap.
“I’m exhausted. I don’t know if I can keep my eyes open.”
“Then let’s go to bed.”
We did, turning off lights, making sure everything was locked up and put away.
When we finally fell into bed, we snuggled into each other’s arms and I took in a deep breath, a feeling of total and complete contentment filling me.
“Good night, my love. The love of my life.”
I kissed her warmly, and she kissed me back. “I love you, Doctor Morgan. More than you can know.”
I smiled and pulled her more tightly into my arms, knowing that whatever the future might bring, as long as she was with me, we would face it together.
