EIGHTEEN MONTHS & ONE WEDDING LATER
As is the way with our now very large group of friends, whenever there’s a birth, death, marriage, new job, old job, holiday, start—and end—of a season, anything we can celebrate, we do it.
So really it’s no surprise that it’s a Saturday afternoon and all of us are gathered in the backyard of my new house with Thomas and Brody. We had been living in my apartment until last weekend when we finally moved into our new five bedroom, three bathroom dream home in the same neighborhood as Noah and Zoe. It’s family friendly, close to great schools and although we took our time to find our forever home, I’m so glad we waited to get it just right.
I still work for Sean, but now I run all of the administration and accounts for his three bars and clubs, not just Throb. To make it even better, I work from home three days a week so that I can spend as much time as I can with Brody. The other two days a week when I have to travel into the city, it’s Thomas who has our son home with him.
Yes, our son. Thomas legally adopted Brody shortly after our wedding.
But today is a big day in Chez Caldwell. We’re welcoming all of our friends into our home to celebrate the start of an amazing new life for us.
With the gaggle of kids playing on our back lawn, all of us women decided early on that it was probably best that we stayed close in case of child emergencies e.g. fights, spills, accidents and the like.
Sitting around the brand spanking new outdoor table with the rest of the girls, I spot Thomas walking out of the kitchen’s French doors and heading our way just as Kate and Zander’s seven-year-old daughter Rose comes walking up to her mother.
“Mommy?” Rose asks, standing next to Kate and tugging on her top.
Kate takes a sip of wine before looking down at her daughter with a smile on her face. “Yeah, princess?”
“What’s an ortasm?”
Wine shoots out of Kate’s mouth and she starts choking. The rest of us either gasp, snort, or in Mac’s case, cackle with laughter.
Noah and Zoe’s Nate, never one to miss out on being the center of attention, decides to wade in with his five-year-old wisdom.
“I have a penith,” he says before proceeding to pull down his pants and prove the fact.
“Oh God, I can’t breathe,” Abi wheezes, bent over in her chair and laughing like a loon.
“Daddy says that he’ll cut off any boy’s penis that touches me,” Sean and Sam’s gorgeous eight-year-old daughter Megan informs the group.
“He’d be right, pumpkin,” Sam replies, pursing her lips and not looking at all surprised by her daughter’s announcement.
“I’m so glad Riley can’t hear us. You don’t want to know the things she comes out with,” Mac adds, looking over her shoulder to where her now ten-year-old daughter was playing a few minutes ago. “Shit,” she mutters when Riley appears right beside her.
“Daddy told me I’m not allowed to talk about penises. But if you can then I can.”
“Riley, this is an adult conversation. Remember we talked about that?”
“But I found a huge plastic penis in that red box at the back of your closet and *you* told me it was a paper weight.” Mac’s faces goes red and her lips twitch.
“Ah . . . yeah honey, it is.”
“That’s good because I put it on Daddy’s desk in his office. You shouldn’t hide things like that.”
The rest of the group struggle to stifle their laughter but somehow Mac powers through it. “Why were you in my closet, missy?”
Riley shrugs, her hand darting out to grab a handful of potato chips from the bowl in the middle of the table. “I was looking for the chicken.”
We all go silent, waiting for the penny to drop.
Mac’s head jerks back. “What?”
“Oh no, I’m not sure I want to know where this is going . . .” Abi says quietly beside us.
“I heard you say you wanted Daddy’s cock.” Riley turns to her mother and narrows her eyes, her hands moving to her hips as she takes a hilarious—and very indignant—pose. “You shouldn’t hide Daddy’s cock. It’s mean for Daddy to keep a chicken inside.”
“Ah . . .” Mac’s wide eyes move to Kate.
“Riley,” Kate says, her voice full of humor. “I think you should go ask your daddy about his chicken. Make sure you do it so that all of the uncles can hear too. I bet they’ll love to hear about the chicken.”
“I think I will,” she states with a firm nod before turning on her heels and leaving the room in search of her father.
“I swear to God that child is not mine,” Mac says with a laugh.
“Oh, no. She’s totally you. Head to toe,” Thomas adds, a huge grin on his face that just gets bigger when Mac pokes her tongue out at him.
“Baby?” I ask, bending my head back to look up at my husband. His eyes go soft in that way I love and part of me wants to jump him then and there.
“Yes, sweetness.” He dips his head down, resting his hands on the arms of my chair and bringing his mouth close to mine.
“Do you want to get everyone outside? I’ve got a few things I want to say.” I reach up and run my fingers through the short stubble on his cheeks and jaw. I was never a huge facial hair fan until he got past the rough and scratchy phase of beard growth. Now it’s at the soft and tickly stage, let’s just say I’m a big advocate. Some might even say huge.
Beards for the win, I say. Or at least, I always win when that beard is close to certain body parts.
Wanting a kiss, I pull his lips to mine and ease my tongue into his mouth, his answering groan everything I need in my life.
“You play dirty.”
“I play to win, like every good woman should. If that means dirty, then so be it.”
“And you do it well, wife. Give me a minute and I’ll have everyone out here. Cameron just arrived too.”
I jerk my head back, surprised that Cade’s twin brother Cameron finally accepted an invitation to a group gathering. Cade’s sister Callie, her husband, Jonathan, and their two kids are permanent fixtures at our get-togethers but Cam has been a bit reclusive since he got out of the army eighteen months ago.
Something tells me that Cam is going to have his own dose of drama soon. At least this time, it won’t be me having to hold on for dear life while experiencing it firsthand.
As promised, Thomas returns a few moments later with Brody in his arms and the rest of our guests trailing behind him. I stand up and move around the crowd to stand facing everyone, looking toward my partner in crime and giving her a nod.
Daniel walks over to Mac, his lips twitching as he reaches her side. “I hear we have a chicken problem at home.”
Abi and I snicker as we walk past them, not helped by Mac’s audible snort as she bursts out laughing and buries her face in Daniel’s neck.
Mia and Zoe also stand, lifting their two chairs and carrying them to their pre-planned place opposite me but at the front of the group before taking their place next to their respective husbands.
“Brody, come to Mommy,” I say, crouching down and waiting while a confused Thomas lets our son down to the ground. When Brody reaches me he claps excitedly and wraps his arms around my shoulders, holding on for dear life as I stand up straight, taking him with me just as Abi reaches my side.
“You ready for this?” she whispers under her breath.
“Are you?”
“Abso-fuck—I mean, fudging-lutely.”
“Thomas and Cade, we need you to take a seat right here,” I announce, pointing our two very confused—if their furrowed brows are anything to go by—and out-of-the-know husbands to the two chairs in front of us.
The rest of our friends gather behind the guys, forming a natural semi-circle.
Taking a deep breath, I turn to Abi and her glassy eyes and struggle to swallow down the huge lump in my throat.
I lean in so my mouth is by her ear while trying to contain a squirming Brody desperately trying to attach himself to his Aunty Abi. “You ready for this?”
“Yeah.”
“So,” I say, facing back to the group and a wary-looking Thomas who’s watching me like a hawk. I reach down and grab Abi’s hand, giving her fingers a squeeze and grinning. “Abi, Brody, and I would like to make an announcement.”
“We’re kinda getting that impression,” Zander calls out from behind Thomas.
“I know we talked about swinging, Spitfire, but I didn’t think you’d want to tell the world about it,” Cade says with a shit-eating smirk. Somehow I don’t think he’s going to be laughing in a few minutes.
“Amy and I are running off together.” And the air goes completely still.
I decide to take it a step further, wrapping my arm around Abi’s waist and pulling her into my side. “We’re in love and we can’t deny it any longer.” I struggle to get out the words, switching from Thomas’s amused eyes to Cade’s narrowed ones before dissolving into giggles.
Thankfully Abi is able to maintain at least a little composure. “Come here Brody, you have to give Daddy and Uncle Cade their presents now.” My son claps and scrambles out of my arms, launching himself into his godmother’s arms.
Abi crouches down, letting him stand on the ground before handing him two white boxes from a paper bag behind her.
“So you’re not leaving them then?” Matt says. “I thought for sure you’d finally come to your senses and were ready to join my harem.”
I shoot him a grin. “You barely handle Mia, let alone the two of us.”
“Amen to that, sister,” Mia replies with a laugh.
With the presents in hand, Brody walks over to Thomas first, throwing the box at him rather than handing it over before running—yes actually running—to Cade and jumping in his lap.
“Now you’re taking my son and your wife is taking my wife?” Thomas says, his lips twitching.
“Seems like it. Should we hook up too? I mean, I’ve already seen you naked so—”
“Is it just me, or has this night suddenly turned into a scene out of the Twilight Zone?” Mac says with a shake of her head.
“When it comes to you, nothing is too farfetched. What makes you think our friends would be any different?” Daniel says. “I mean, you told our daughter a sex toy was a paper weight, nothing could beat that.”
“Can I open it?” Thomas asks, bringing everyone’s attention back to us and the white box he’s holding.
“Wait!” Abi shrieks. “You both have to open them together.”
Cade and Thomas look at each other with matching ‘what the fuck’ expressions before returning their eyes to their respective wives.
“Okay, go.”
“Go, Daddy, go!” Brody squeals, bouncing excitedly in Cade’s lap.
“Right, buddy. Want to help me?” Thomas barely gets the words out before our son catapults himself sideways, replacing Cade’s lap with his father’s one.
Balancing Brody on one leg, Thomas meets my eyes, his face turning soft and sexy, a playful smile playing at his lips.
“Go on, Daddy,” I rasp, my throat tight because of that damn lump in it. I blink rapidly, trying to hold back the inevitable tears that are going to strike at any moment.
Thomas—with Brody’s help—slowly opens the lid of the box, his eyes narrowing on the black tissue paper inside.
“You too, Cade,” Abi says, walking over to where he’s sitting. Kneeling on the ground in front of him, she rests her hands on his knees, eagerly waiting for his reaction to what’s in the box.
Everyone watches the scene play out, the girls leaning forward to see what the deal is.
Thomas is the first to pull back the wrapping, pulling out a white piece of card and reading it. I see his face turn from intrigued to awe, his wide eyes snapping up to mine.
“Sweetness,” he says in the roughest voice I’ve ever heard from him. He stands, hooking Brody on his hip and carrying both our son and the box toward me.
I don’t need to look over at Cade and Abi to know what he’s unveiled; a bread roll with a card that simply says Bun in the Oven. And since Cade and Abi have been trying for so long to get pregnant, I know that this moment is extra special for them.
The card that moved my husband so much that he had to be near me said “The only thing better than having you as a husband, is having you as the father of our children . . .” What he didn’t pull out of the box was the white cotton onesie that says ‘Hey Dad, See you soon.’
As soon as I’m within reach, Thomas wraps his hand around the back of my neck and leans forward to touch his forehead to mine. “We’re having a baby,” he whispers and looking deep into his eyes, I can see they’re wet.
Only two times have I seen Thomas show so much emotion; the day he delivered Brody on that grocery store floor, and the day we got married on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Putting my arms around both of my boys, I tilt my chin and gently kiss my husband, pouring everything into that one lip touch, knowing just how much we both want this baby, this family, this life.
“Get a room,” Mia teases, breaking me out of the moment. Thomas and I turn to the group of our friends and loved ones, my eyes first seeking out my beaming father and crying stepmother, before running over a grinning Mia, a smiling Kate, a soft-eyed Sam—which is a miracle in itself—a making-out-with-her-husband Dani, a laughing Zoe, and a bemused Mac.
I finally stop on Sean. The man who’s been like a big brother to me, who has always been there for anything I’ve ever needed. For an intense guy, he’s actually a big softie when you find that sweet spot.
He doesn’t smile at us, but he meets my eyes and nods, knowing that no words are needed because there’s nothing left to say.
I have my son, I have the love of my perfect husband, and I’m carrying a second child we’ve been so desperately waiting for.
I have my happy forever after and finally—finally—a lifetime of big whooshes that I know will never end.
Everything I ever wanted. Everything Thomas gave to me.
When looking back at the past few years—having been graced with everything I’ve ever wanted—I find myself reflecting on what led me to this point in my life.
The conclusion I’ve come to is simple.
Life is a series of decisions and consequences. They can be good, they can be bad, they can be dangerous, and occasionally surprising. And then sometimes, you get an STD, make a vow of chastity, and it leads you to a woman and son that make your life feel complete.
And as weird as it sounds, there’s not one thing I would change about my past. It led me to this moment in time. The love of a good woman, a son that may not be my blood, but is mine in every other way, a house, the figurative white picket fence, and—finally—my very own happy ending. So shout out to the girl who gave me the Clam, it may not have been fun at the time but it’s worth everything now.
The game is now done, the end is here, and lucky me, I’ve won the best prize of them all.
So thank you chlamydia, you stung, you burned, you were a total pain in the ass, but without you, I wouldn’t be where I am right now; a wife, a mine in every way possible son, and another much wanted child.
A full and happy life.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.