Three Years Later

Sundays are the best days in the Hades household. We wake up early, go out for a run, and come back to prepare waffles with chocolate chips for the kids. We also spend time working in the garden. Andrew Bell visits his grandchildren, and Tess Facetimes instead of just sending a few texts to let us know that she’s okay.

“Hey, Dad,” she grins, her auburn hair pulled back into her usual ponytail.

“How’s my little girl?” I smile back at her.

“Dad,” she protests. “I’m not little anymore.”

“Don’t challenge him,” Sadie cries from the kitchen, holding our six-week-old baby, Aubrey. “How was last night, sweetheart?”

“What happened yesterday?” I glare at Tess.

“She had a party.” Sadie makes her way to the living room.

She kisses my cheek and takes my tablet away. I lean and grab my sweet Aubrey, snuggling her against my chest.

“Did the costume fit?” Sadie asks Tess.

“It did and looked cool. Thank you so much for sending it. I love you.” Tess blows a kiss her way.

“What party?” I growl.

“Just a typical college party, Hades. She’s there to learn, but also to enjoy herself.” Sadie gives me a warning glare.

I clamp my lips together and take a deep breath. Leave it to Sadie to be the ambassador of all things fun when it comes to our children. Just the other day, I heard Hannah and her discussing a boy from her drawing class.

If I don’t watch those three, Tess is going to drag some stupid boy during Thanksgiving into the house and introduce him as her boyfriend. Hannah won’t be far behind. I’ll be damned if I allow that to happen.

“Is Aubrey awake?” Tess asks excitedly.

“She’s sleeping as usual. You should come home next weekend.”

“I can’t be flying every weekend, Dad,” Tess pouts. “Thanksgiving is close, though. Just keep sending me pictures of her.”

“Please don’t get them started,” Hannah waltzes into the room with Kieran right behind her. “Dad’s always filming her or taking pics. You’d think he’s never seen a baby in his entire life—he has four children.”

“Stop complaining, Hannah,” I say, taking a picture of her.

“Mama!” Kieran runs to Sadie to hug her.

“Baby!” She hands me back my iPad and bends down to hug him back. He gives her a sloppy kiss—her favorite kind.

“Can I cawy Auby, Dad?”

“After you wash your hands, bud.”

“Awe, take a picture of that and send it over. They look so cute together,” Tess points out the obvious.

“Hi, Tessy!” Kieran waves at his big sister.

“Hey, handsome. How are you?”

“Okay,” he smiles. “Can I have my Tessy, pwease, Daddy?”

“You may, but don’t keep her long, okay?”

“We lost her,” Sadie declares. “I’ll call her tonight to get more details about the party.”

“She met a guy,” Hannah giggles. “He’s cute and majoring in marine biology, like Tess.”

“Where is he from and why haven’t you told me any of this before?” Sadie sits right next to Hannah.

“He’s a local—from San Diego,” Hannah says, pulling her phone. “He’s a senior according to her last text.”

“Too old for her.”

“Oh shush, Hades.” Sadie rolls her eyes. “Let Hannah speak, or I won’t find out what’s going on with Tess until next week. Kieran took her away from me. You know she’s going to spend the next two hours on the phone with him.”

Kieran is Hannah and Tess’s favorite person. They do everything and anything for him. He adores them back. When the girls moved in with us, I was skeptical at first about our family dynamic. Two grown teenagers and a newborn didn’t seem to work well. They surprised us. Or maybe Sadie is right, and we taught them how to love each other and be there for one another.

“Are you ready to go to the greenhouse?” Sadie looks over at Hannah.

“Always. I want to check on the orchids you bought last Wednesday.” Hannah joins Sadie, and they walk toward the backyard.

Sadie glances at me. “Will you be okay if I leave you with the little ones?”

“You forget that I’m a pro.” I kiss Aubrey’s forehead. “She just fell asleep. I have a couple of hours.”

Slowly, I make my way toward Kieran’s room, where he’s telling Tess about his new drawings, Aubrey, and the baby brother he wants us to have. He wants us to bring him a boy so he can play with him. He already has a lot of sisters. There’s a plan to have one last baby in a couple of years. If it’s a boy or a girl, we’ll love him no matter what.

“Hey,” Sadie approaches and slides her arms around my waist resting her head on my arm and looking at our little baby. “You have that happy face that I adore.”

“Tess is okay,” I sigh wrapping her up in my arms along with Aubrey.

“They’re doing fine. You still worry about her, don’t you?”

Tess endured a lot of abuse from her mother. There are certain things that she never mentioned until she felt safe and loved. Instead of going to college after graduating from high school, she took a year off to heal. She went to therapy, support groups, and worked for Sadie full time. They finally bonded and became close friends. I dare to say that all three of my girls are best friends.

Alicia was in jail for a few days. She gave up filing for custody when she found out that I wouldn’t pay for her lawyer and she wouldn’t get any more money from me. It’s sad that once she realized that our daughters weren’t going to benefit her, she never tried to reach out to them either through my lawyer or myself. Of my two daughters, Tess is the one who never wants to see her mother again. Hannah says that maybe one day she’ll reach out to her.

“No matter how old she is, she’s my baby. I will always worry about her.”

“They are lucky to have you as a dad.” Sadie grabs Aubrey’s hand.

“I wish Tess had chosen to stay in town. San Diego is too far.”

“She’s doing great, just like Hannah. Their mother didn’t do any permanent damage.”

“You identify a lot with them, don’t you?”

“Let’s not talk about Catherine.” She sighs. “Not today.”

Her father’s change was slow, but permanent. The asshole side of him still might exist outside the family, but with us, he’s different. He even treats my daughters as his grandchildren. Sadie loves seeing him every Sunday evening, and he calls her often just to check in. Catherine though, she has a routine that I doubt she’ll ever break. Rehab, a few months of sobriety, and then another trip back again once she falls off the wagon.

“We have to take this little one to her bassinet, Mr. Hades.” Sadie tries to take Aubrey away from me. “She’s going to have a hard time once you start rehearsals again.”

“The band is on hiatus,” I remind her, not letting Aubrey go.

Killing Hades matters to me, but not as much as my family. I’d rather spend my days at home or at the flower shop with my wife. Instead of opening three different shops, we expanded it and hired more employees who help Rae, the flower shop manager, run the place.

“Don’t you miss it?”

“I’d miss you and our children more. This little one needs the same amount of arm time as Kieran.”

“Until one day she’ll start crawling around the house.” Sadie laughs. “It’s going to be fun watching you chase after her.”

“I love you,” I find her gaze, lifting her chin, I brush her lips with mine.

“After all these years, Hades?”

“Evermore I will love you, Hummingbird. I will love you until the end of time. As long as the stars shine their bright light into the dark night.”