AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I like your new car, Ash,”Lainey hollers from the third row of my new SUV. Noah wore me down, and now that we’re a family of five, one car, let alone a sedan, isn’t cutting it. “But if it’s yours,” she continues to yell, “why is Noah driving?”
“Good question,” I answer, turning my head as to not yell at Lainey. “It may be because he’s bossy.” We’re on our way to the cabin this weekend. It’s pretty tight with all five of us, but it’s family togetherness at its finest. We hike, roast s’mores, watch movies. During the summer we swim in the creek. Devin pulls out the sofa bed, and Lainey and Collin have twin-sized air mattresses for the living room.
“Or,” Noah interrupts, “it’s that I put my life in danger every time Ashton gets behind the wheel.”
“I can’t disagree, you scare me. I close my eyes and hope we get to our next destination when you drive.” Collin joins the conversation, and I turn around to the second row where he sits.
“Hey, you little turd,” I tease. “Dev, you have anything to add?”
“Nope, because I need someone to teach me to drive. I’m not going to piss off one of the people that can make it happen.”
“Now that is a smart man,” I say, playfully poking Noah in the side.
“Hey, um, question?” Devin asks.
“Yeah, shoot. What’s up?”
“Next time we come up here, can I bring, um…someone?”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Noah smirk.
“Who is this someone?” my husband asks, giving me that knowing look we seem to exchange now that we’re parents.
“Her name is Celeste. We can put a sheet or something across the living room, and she can sleep on Lainey’s side and I can sleep on Collin’s. You know if I do anything, these two will tell on me.”
“You’re not wrong,” Lainey chimes in.
“Maybe we should meet this Celeste first. And I’d think her parents might have something to say about spending the weekend with a boy,” Noah explains.
“You act like it’ll be just me and her. My sister, my brother, and my parents are going to be there, so we certainly won’t be able to get into too much trouble.”
My eyes widen. Noah’s lips turn into a broad smile. He called ushis parents. I cover my hand over his, squeezing it tight. We can’t get sappy. We won’t make a big deal out of it, in front of the kids, but we both know this is a big fucking milestone.
* * *
“You know what I think?”Lainey decrees after watching Lion King for the hundredth time. “We should come to the cabin every weekend. I love it here. And the Wi-Fi sucks, so no one is on their stupid phones.” She calls our phones stupid because she doesn’t have one.
“Maybe not every weekend, but there’s no reason we can’t come every couple of weeks,” Noah answers.
She purses her lips together. “I guess I can accept those terms. But since the night is still young, how about s’mores?” She returns the DVD to the storage area when one of Liam’s colorful penises from our honeymoon falls to the floor.
“Um, I found another one.” She points to the inch-long pink penis, and she begins to laugh. “Uncle Liam is silly.”
“That’s one word for Uncle Liam,” Devin deadpans, walking over to her and throwing his giggling sister over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Come on, Lainey, we’ll get the fire going.” Devin is an attentive brother. He could stay at home for the weekend, he’s old enough, but he hangs on to our family time. He doesn’t want to miss anything.
“Hey wait for me,” Collin cries out, following them through the kitchen and the back door.
“Don’t let your brother or sister fall in the fire pit, Dev,” Noah reminds him and stands up to grab the penis. We find one every time we come up here. “What do we have here, Mr. James?” Noah stalks to me. “We’re alone. Isn’t this nice?”
It’s not like we can have sex, our room is open to the living room. We typically wake up in the middle of the night, horny for one another and hide in the bathroom as he fucks me over our vanity.
“They’re such good kids, in spite of their shitty-ass parents. They’re the best. And I love them so much.”
Noah leans forward, his elbows on his knees. “Have you by chance heard from Mrs. Roeger if we’ll find out anything soon, about their mother and father terminating their rights?”
Mrs. Roeger told us the parents were ready to terminate rights but they’ve fallen off the face of the earth. But what’s telling is that Lainey, Collin or Devin never ask about her. They’re safe here. But more so, they know they’re safe with Noah and me. They don’t have to worry about their next meal, if their clothes will fit if they encounter a growth spurt, and a million other things no child should worry about.
“It’s a waiting game,” I admit, but both our stomachs knot up over possibly losing them.
