Always Us

stage five

Olivia's arm was dead under the weight. It had to have been at least an hour since the last time she moved, and at least another two since she last left her bed. The morning had stretched on lazily, and as early afternoon crept around the corner, she couldn't find it in her to change the course of the day. So much so, that her ringing cellphone on the nightstand felt more like a nuisance than just a friend or family member trying to reach her.

Carefully, she reached over the sleeping body next to her.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" Kia whispered back.

Olivia stroked her fingers through the headful of curls. "I'm the only one awake in this house."

"Ah."

"What's up?"

"Well, I wanted to see if you needed a break from the wild home life you've been living lately and wanted to come out with me and D. We're checking out this new rooftop everyone's been raving about lately."

"Don't give her the option! You have to demand her presence," Davita's voice floated in from the background. "Invitations don't work the same for those two as they do with other people."

Kia's laugh jingled over the line. "What do you say? A girl's night out?"

Olivia hesitated, her eyes wandering to the fingers curled into the hem of her shirt. "I don't know..."

"I told you," Davita's voice echoed. "We should have just pulled up to the house."

"C'mon Liv," Kia pleaded. "You had a baby, now you're trapped at home forever? Sienna and Spencer will survive a few hours without you."

Just hearing their names made Olivia pout.

"Live a little!" Kia continued. "Come out with us."

Preparing herself for the backlash she knew would come, she took a deep breath. "Sienna's been in this really clingy phase lately. Like total stage five clinger. She starts shrieking the moment I let go."

"Okay, and? Where's your husband? She don't like him?"

A breathy laugh slipped past Olivia's lips. "It's not like that. She just wants me most of the time. And you know, Spencer is—"

"I know, I know. He's the world's best dad. But seriously Liv, I've hardly seen you in months, and every time I hit you up, it's another phase. You've been cooped up in that..." Kia's words faded away as Olivia got sucked into the scene around her. The comforter was piled high at her ankles, and pillows were tossed all over the bed. The plates from breakfast still littered the dresser. Besides the mini pillow fight between her two favorite people, it really had been the laziest of mornings. But in this moment, it was the serene face smooshed against her chest that held her captive. She pressed a kiss to the soft skins just as Kia's voice bled back into her ear. "I miss my best girlfriend."

A pang of guilt hit her at the sound of her friend's voice. The longing was genuine. And she had been neglecting those around her recently. More than a little.

"I miss you, too, Kia," she sighed. "But not today," she added with finality. "We'll do something later this month. I promise."

"Fine," Kia relented. "But I'm holding you to it. You can even bring your adorable little mini me with you. We'll keep it low energy—mani-pedis and lunch nearby."

"That sounds perfect," Olivia smiled softly, partly at the plans, partly at the stirring body next to her. "Next Saturday. I'm penciling you in."

"Okay," Kia said, her voice satisfied. "I'm going to text you pictures of our night though. Let you see what you're missing out on."

"Okay," Olivia laughed, "I love you."

"Love you, too, girl. Don't go too crazy there in that mansion of yours."

Shaking her head, Olivia said one last goodbye and hung up. As she stretched to set her phone back down on the nightstand, she glanced at the baby monitor. On the screen was Sienna, her chest rising and falling, her little body surrendered to sleep.

Her other baby nestled his face into the crook of her neck, his beard scratching against her as he rubbed into her skin. The needles came alive in her arm, prickling up her shoulder when his weight finally rolled off her wedged arm and onto her torso. She scrunched her face as the stinging temporarily worsened.

Around her waist, his grip tightened.

"You have a good nap?" she murmured, a hint of amusement in her voice. Her husband wasn't usually one for midday naps. Unless they were preceded by sex.

"Mhm," he mumbled, trading the nuzzling for tender kisses. "Who was that on the phone?"

Her hand weaved under his shirt to stroke his back. "Kia."

When she didn't provide more, he propped his chin on hers and met her gaze. "She good?"

"Mhm. She just wanted to go out tonight."

He blinked slowly, processing the information through the grogginess. "You didn't want to go? We don't have any plans."

She shrugged. "Not really. I'd rather stay—" But before she even finished, he was pulling her legs around his waist and tying them impossibly closer.

"Good," he grunted, rolling onto his back. "Because I'm not trying to move from here."

She smiled.

And it was one of those smiles that came from deep, deep within. From a place of undeniable content. She hadn't entertained the idea of leaving for even a second. Not because their baby was clingy or restless, but because their baby had been sleeping through the night and cruising through her naps without issue for the past month, granting them a tiny bit of time back for just the two of them.

And that time was worth everything.

"She's going to wake up eventually," Olivia laughed as he forced her head down onto his chest, reversing their previous position. He slid a hand under the mess of curls and caressed the back of her neck.

"That's fine," he hummed once he had her exactly where he wanted, cozy and curled up against him. His eyes fell shut as he settled into his happy place. He patted the empty spot on his chest, opposite her head. "She can take the other side."