Spooky Day

(Tasha's POV)
Today is my favorite day, it's Halloween! I can't wait to get the girls ready for trick or treating. Smiling, I pushed the covers off me and onto Reade. I hopped off the bed and opened the curtains. Reade groaned and pulled the blanket over his head.
I laughed, "Wake up."
I got no response. I made my way to his side of the bed and climbed on top of him. Hugging him and swaying, I repeated myself,
"Wake uppp. It's Halloween!"
He managed to uncover his face and look up at me. He couldn't help but smile at my excitement.
"I'll never understand your love for this day." He mumbled.
"What's not to love? Free candy, a few adult drinks, and spooky stuff." I laid my head on the small of his neck.
"You're right." He kissed the side of my head.
I sighed and took a moment to appreciate him. I love waking up with him. I love being able to lay on him and snuggle up with him. Unable to contain my energy, I jolted up.
"Let's go!" I exclaimed.
First, I need to wake the kids up. They still share a room, for the time being. We can't afford a bigger house at the moment. I peeked my head in the door to find them sound asleep, of course. Leah sleeps like me, her whole body spread across the bed. At least they have their own beds. I have a feeling Grace wouldn't put up with that. Grace sleeps wrapped up in her blanket, against the wall. I listened to their peaceful breathing for a minute. The only time they're ever this calm is when they're sleeping, I smiled.
"Girls." I said, not too loud and not too quiet.
They didn't budge.
"Grace, Leah, time to wake up." I walked into the room and sighed.
Leah groaned and hid under her blanket. Grace stayed put. I went to Leah first and shook her.
"Wakey wakey. It's Halloween." I sang.
She yawned, "Not yet."
I laughed softly and picked her up, blanket and all. Reade walked in to see how things were coming along. It's always a hassle getting these two up. I smiled and tossed Leah into his arms.
"Mommy!" She yelled, now fully awake.
"Well good morning, Sunshine." I replied.
Grace is still in the same position, not a peep from her.
"Ohh, Gracie Pie." I whispered, knowing she must be awake by now.
I laid down on her bed and put my head on her back.
"Wow, this is one lumpy bed. My goodness, how does Grace sleep here?" I put my arm across her and my leg on top of her.
"Mom, you're squishing me." She mumbled.
"Did you hear something, honey?" I asked Reade.
"Nope, I didn't hear anything. Leah, did you hear anything?" Reade played along.
"I think I heard the pancake mix calling for Mommy." Leah giggled.
"I think Leah is right. Too bad Grace isn't here to enjoy a nice big breakfast, huh?" I stretched out and wriggled around, still pretending I can't feel Grace beneath me.
"Okay, okay. I'm up." Grace groaned.
"Oh! There she is." I laughed, sitting up.
"Mommy, don't you ever sleep in?" She rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"Not on Halloween." I smiled and kissed her forehead. "Now, come on sleepy head."
I pulled her into my lap and stood up to bring her to the living room. Reade and Leah lead the way.
"What kind of fruit do we want with breakfast?" I asked.
"Apples!" Leah yelled.
"Grapes and strawberries!" Grace insisted.
"No thanks." Reade mumbled.
"Mr. Grumpy Pants doesn't get any breakfast then." I teased.
"Daddy, fruit is good for you. You should really have some." Leah said, poking his cheeks.
"I know, baby. I'm just kidding." He ruffled her hair and set her on the couch.
I set Grace down in the recliner and turned on the TV. Reade put his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head.
"I think I'll have a banana, Mrs. Sassy Pants." He smirked.
"Yeah, okay. You know where they are." I nudged his shoulder and went to start breakfast.
Normally, I make them decide on one fruit, but I'm feeling generous today. I put water on the stove for Reade's tea and filled up the coffee pot for myself. I bought pumpkin flavored pancake mix specifically for today. Chocolate chips are a no brainer, of course. This is so exciting. I found myself smiling and humming. I'm not humming a song or anything, just a habit of mine when I'm in a good mood. Reade is leaning against the counter, watching me. I pretend I don't see him and continue to hum and prepare breakfast. I've got the instructions for making pancakes memorized, so the process goes a lot quicker. I feel like I need music. I slipped passed Reade, still not looking at him, and picked my phone up off the table. I scrolled through my music, looking for a specific song. I know exactly how far down it is, I always play this song first. I stopped and played "Crash" by Usher. Smirking, I walked back into the kitchen and set my phone on the counter. The tea kettle started to whistle, so I grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured some water into it. Reade still stood there, just watching me. I turned the burner off and dropped the tea bag into the mug. I left it sitting there and continued to cook. I made sure to keep a straight face during this shenanigan even though I wanted to laugh my ass off.
"And I really, really, wanna love you. And I'm really, really, only yours." I sang under my breath.
I found myself slightly swaying my hips to the beat. I've never had more fun flipping pancakes. I glanced in Reade's direction, he's making me a cup of coffee. I'm only picky with my coffee occasionally. At home, I just put a splash of creamer in it. That way it's not too sweet and not too strong. At work, I just drink it black because no matter what you put in it, it still tastes bad. I dropped the last pancake on the plate and tuned off the burner. I went to grab the paper plates, but realized they're on top of the fridge. I bit my lip to keep from smiling and gathered the fruits for the girls. Without saying a word, Reade grabbed the plates and slid them over to me. What is this game we're playing? I wonder if he thinks I'm actually mad at him. I shrugged my shoulders and got the girls' plates together.
"Leah, Grace, time to eat!" I called out, carrying their plates to the table.
They simultaneously jumped up from their seats and ran to the table.
"What would you like to drink?" Reade asked them.
"Strawberry milk" Grace mumbled with her mouth full of food.
"Juice." Leah said.
"What kind of juice?" Reade asked from inside the fridge.
"Umm.. The red kind." Leah replied, but seemed to still be debating on what she really wanted.
Reade pulled out the fruit punch and strawberry milk. I got together our plates, all except for Reade's banana. I set our plates on the table just as Reade set their drinks down. When I went to go grab my coffee, he stopped me.
"Hey." Is all he said.
"Hey." I finally looked at him and couldn't help but smile.
"I love you." He smiled back.
I chuckled, "I love you."