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The next day Tim and Erin announced their big news to their children.
“Coach Tim has asked me to marry him,” Erin said, carefully monitoring her oldest kids’ reaction.
“You mean he’ll be like a dad to us?” David asked.
“Yes, and he will live with us forever.”
Debbie looked at him curiously. “Can I call him Daddy as Brianna does?”
Erin nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be very happy if you all call him Dad or Daddy.”
“We will be real sisters,” Brianna said, hugging her best friend Debbie. “And I will have a mommy again, right Ms. Erin?”
Erin hugged her. “Right, sweetie. You can call me Mommy like Debbie.”
They celebrated Thanksgiving at home with their children. Teresa and Russell joined them for an early dinner and discussed their wedding ceremony and reception.
“Russell’s children are coming in two days,” Teresa announced in a nervous tone. “I hope they’ll like me.”
“They will love you,” Russell reassured her.
In fact his two sons and two daughters loved their stepmother from the first day they met her. Kristel and Gwen went shopping with Teresa for a wedding gown, while Carl and Kevin helped their father finalize his honeymoon cruise around South America during the month of January.
***
December
With the children participating in the wedding, Erin decided to take the girls shopping.
“Go, have fun. David and I will babysit the twins. Right, David?”
The boy’s eyes sparkled with pride. “Sure, Dad.”
“Erin, I opened a joint expense account for us. Here’s your credit card. Sign it right away.”
She flushed, from embarrassment, gratitude, and joy. “It’s too much, Tim. I mean—”
“Nothing is too much for my family.”
The little girls squealed with delight as they visited the girls department of a big store and Mom showed them a rack of pretty short dresses with long sleeves, high waist, and round necks. “All of these have the same pattern in different colors. Each one of you can choose her own color.”
“I want the pink one,” Becky answered right away.
“I prefer the blue,” Rachelle pointed at her choice.
Debbie whispered in Brianna’s ear, and she nodded vigorously. “Brianna and I want to wear the red one. We’ll be twins.”
“All right.” From the moment they’d learned they would become stepsisters, the seven-year-old girls have declared they would be twins. Erin gave them the dresses of their choices to try on and accompanied them to the fitting room.
“Oh my God, you are so pretty,” she exclaimed when they paraded in front of her. Next she bought them black patent shoes and white pantyhose, and later invited them for a hotdog lunch with Mommy.
The next day, Tim declared it was her turn to go shopping for a new outfit. “We can do it while the children are at school. I’m wondering if we shouldn’t hire a nanny for when we’re both too busy.”
She lifted a hand. “No nanny for our kids. I followed your suggestion, and gave my resignation to the hospital. I’ll quit work in two days. I’d love to go back to school and become a nurse practitioner. Besides, this would give me some free time to prepare for Mom’s wedding and our first Christmas together. But…”
“What?”
“Are you sure it won’t put too much stress on you?”
