Game Changer

Chapter 8

Ten hours after arriving home, I was more than ready for bed, and so was everyone else. Mark had sat down to watch Frozen with Piper and Owen at eight, and not even ten minutes later, all three of them were asleep on the couch. Nadia and I decided to go upstairs with the babies when they started the movie, so we sat on my bed for an hour and watched t.v..
"I don't think I've ever been this happy before." I said, and I smiled at Nadia, who was laying in one of my arms.
"You know, I haven't either. I mean, I was so happy with my kids, and I really didn't think I could be happier. When we met three months ago, I didn't see this happening. But now, I have my babies, you and your babies. And I couldn't be happier."
"It's crazy what can happen in an aisle at Target, isn't it?"
"It really is. Speaking of Target, we should go tomorrow and get some more things. And I need to go into my house and get some more of mine and the kid's things."
"Of course. Maybe we could leave Piper with Mark?"
"Probably easier. If they want to go, I suppose we could all go in my vehicle."
"That could work, too." I said, and kissed the top of her head.
"So, you never told me anything about your parents other than your father worked for beaver homes. What's the deal, anyway?"
"Oh. Yeah. Well, my mom died ten days after I moved out. We still don't really know what happened. And then, my dad got careless. He started forgetting things, and talking to himself and he would forget that mom was gone. He got in the car one day, and thought she was with him, and he got in a car accident. He didn't die from impact, but he had a heart attack when he got to the hospital. So it was just me and my sister. She's five years older than me, so she had already moved away. She was married and was pregnant when dad died." I explained to her, everything got quiet.
Nadia sat up and looked at me. "I am so sorry, hun. I don't even know what to say."
"It's okay. Every time I think about it, I just remember what Robb Nash said at his show."
"Who's Robb Nash?" Nadia asked me. "And what did he say?"
"He's a motivational speaker, and a singer. He's kind of my inspiration. I've been to his show more than once, it's been the same all the times I've gone, but every time I go, I get something different out of it. But what stands out to me every time is he always says "pain doesn't go away, but neither does strength."
"Wow. That's so true. I've never thought of that before."
"Right? He's great." I said, smiling. Knowing everything was okay, and that I really was strong, and everything was getting better, the pain was not going to go away, but neither was my strength. And I have my babies, my amazing girlfriend and her wonderful kids. "You never really told me, how come your father is never around?" I asked, hoping it wasn't a big problem.
"Well, this is hard to believe. He died in a car accident, too."
"I'm so sorry. Was it just you two?"
"No, I have a twin brother. His name is Aidan."
"So, where is he at?"
"He's in England right now. He's been all over Europe. He didn't know what to do with himself after dad died, so he became a photographer and travels and sells his photos."
"That's amazing. And I really like the name Aidan."
"Dad named us, he thought it would be funny because Aidan is Nadia backwards. They're anagrams."
"That's cool."
"It is. Now, what about your sister? You said you have one, but what's her name.. What's her deal?"
"Well, she moved out when she was eighteen, I was thirteen. She got married when she was twenty three, and she had a job as a waitress, and she married the owner of the restaurant. She got pregnant and lost the baby six months along, when she was twenty three, and then when she got pregnant again, dad died, and she was under so much stress, she had the baby two months early. She named him Christopher Thomas, his middle name is after our dad, his name was Tom, but that didn't quite fit, so Sam changed it a bit."
"Aw. That's so cute. You didn't tell me what her name is, though."
"Oh right, her name is Samantha."
"I love that name." Nadia said, smiling.
"Me too. I mean, it could be because I love her, but who knows." I said, and we started laughing.
"We just spent an hour talking about our families, and these babies are finally asleep. Maybe we should join them." I said, and stood up. I walked over to the bassinet and Nadia did the same. I put Ava in the one next to me, Nadia had Asher next to her.
We both got back in bed, and Nadia cuddled up next to me. "I love you." She said, it took me a minute to process, neither one of us had said that before.
I kissed her on the top of the head. "I love you, too."