Brown Eyes | Loubbie

Chapter Twenty Seven

"Come here, little peach." Cate spoke softly as she carried Laila, placing her on her right hip, "And you big boy," she crouched down and poked Louis' nose with her finger, "small and silent steps." She whispered.

The kids silently laughed. She then opened their room's door gradually, doing her very best to not make a sound. It's Tuesday morning and she woke up early to get the kids ready for school. She had to secretly called their babysitter to inform her about the abrupt day-off because she wanted to have her time with the kids and to somehow reciprocate the things that Sandy was doing for her. Cate cooked their breakfast, bathed them clean and dolled them up, all set for school. She missed doing the mommy duties though and somehow, as she did those things for Laila and Louis, her heart pricked a little pang; she missed doing it for her own kids. But the situations were different - her kids were all grown up, except for Edith. She wanted her time with Edith, but the little girl was an absolute daddy; she wanted Andrew at all times. It would be futile to feel jealous though, because in all honesty, Andrew was a great dad. He may not be the best husband, but he was the best dad one could ever ask. Smiling the bittersweet reveries, she put Laila down on the foot of the bed. The kids smiled at her before the two crawled their way up to their sleeping mom.

The sight was sweet and it was one for the books of memories. Watching them, trying to wake their mom felt like watching a great movie with its pieces falling back to the right places. Cate was smiling watching Louis and Laila peppering their sweet kisses on Sandy. It didn't take too long when Sandy moved. Her hair was messy and was staining all around the pillow, but when she fluttered her brown eyes open, it was one of those heart-stopping moments when Cate just wanted to ask all the gods if Sandy was indeed real. Her brown eyes gleamed like how the sun beamed for the crystal ocean, it was as if she was looking back at a valuable diamond in the middle of an abandoned island. Her eyes still looked so sleepy and heavy, but it looked warm, and it educed an immense amount of warmth too. Just by looking at those soulful brown eyes, she could tell she's home. Those eyes were her home. She smiled when Sandy covered her face with the blanket, acting pissed off and it made the two kids laugh.

"Mommy! Wake up!" It was Laila who literally jumped on Sandy' stomach.

"Mom!" Louis sweetly screamed at Sandy's ear.

There was a chain of laughter. It sounded saccharine, like honey and milk altogether bursting on her tongue. Cate sat on the bed and pondered on her thoughts. This family - the one in front of her wasn't hers yet, but they were going to be. Laila and Louis deserved a nice, lovely and a complete family, and she would do everything to make it real, for them to be real. Few more steps, a wedding would be placed and then, Laila and Louis would have a complete parents, a few more siblings and hopefully, a loving uncle in the glory of Andrew. She laughed when Sandy sat up and covered the two with a blanket. Sandy was laughing hard; Cate's vision was in a slow-motion twirl, as if they were trapped in a movie and the scene was that cliché part, however, it was real and for her, it didn't feel cliché at all. Sandy's laugh along with the giggles of the kids resonated around the room, - it was the sweetest minstrelsy one could ever hear, so dulcet. She was only taken aback when Louis jumped at her and hurriedly clung to her neck like a baby koala.

"It's mommy Catie!" Louis yelled in all excitement, his finger pointing at Cate at the same time.

Cate shook her head taking a hold of herself back to reality, "Why me? What is this all about?" She added and hugged Louis, jokingly suffocating him and it made Laila laugh.

"Mom asked us who prepared breakfast, bathed us and prepared us to school, mommy." Laila chimed in, sitting down on Sandy's lap as she playfully kicked Louis.