[Featured on @adultfiction, @NA, @teenfiction, @Contemporarylit]
"He takes a step closer to me, close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off his body as my heart races. "Just say no if you want me to stop," he mumbles in a husky voice, as h...
I turn around just in time to see Paxton pull Elizabeth's hair, and Elizabeth biting Paxton's arm. "No!" I quickly pull them apart. "Guys, no fighting," I say sternly and they both start wailing.
Lincoln comes out of the kitchen holding Astrid. "Everything alright?" he asks, resting his hand on my shoulder. The sight and feel of him helps calm me down.
I nod, tucking my long, unbrushed hair behind my ear. When was the last time I even had time to brush my hair? He gets Paxton and Elizabeth to stop crying before guiding me over to sit with him on the sofa. "How long are the 'terrible twos' supposed to last. Paxton is already three," I groan quietly. Elizabeth is still two, but she's been like this since she was born. She really takes after Jason.
He chuckles and kisses my temple. "I'm exhausted too honey." He runs his hand tiredly through his messier than usual hair. I can barely remember the years before the kids were born these days. Me and Lincoln may be only thirty four and thirty seven respectively, but I swear it feels like the kids have aged us by decades. Our lives have been a chaotic blur of tantrums, diapers, toys, and messes to clean these past three years. Don't get me wrong though, Lincoln and I love the kids so much, and would do anything for them.
As if on cue, Astrid starts crying.
I take the squirming baby out of Lincoln's arms and try to calm her down, rocking her and gently patting her on her back. "It's OK Astrid, Mommy's here. Please stop crying," I whisper softly to her. How can something so tiny make so much noise? I have a terrible headache from all the crying and yelling.
"Paxton! Drop that!" Lincoln exclaims.
In the literal fifteen seconds we spent looking away, Paxton managed to find a pair of scissors and was running around with them. He stops and drops them onto the coffee table, looking at us guiltily with his big hazel eyes. Paxton may be very rambunctious, but luckily he does listen to us. "Sorry Daddy," he says looking at the floor.
"It's alright buddy," Lincoln reassures him, "just no more scissors without supervision OK?" He nods, though I feel like we'll probably run into this situation again.
We hear the doorbell ring. "Are we expecting someone?" I ask Lincoln.
"I don't think so."
I carefully hand Astrid to him, thankfully, she's finally stopped crying. It melts my heart a bit when she looks up with her big sapphire blue eyes, at his matching blue eyes. "I'll put her down for her nap," he says, and I get up to answer the door. My eyes widen. It's Stephanie and Ray, they're each holding one of the twin's hands.
Stephanie laughs. "Toddlers and babies are rough eh? Cause my god, you look terrible."
I roll my eyes and smile before she pulls me into a big hug. "What are you guys doing here?"
Ray looks confused. "I thought we told you we would be in town this week."
I suddenly remember the calls we had together a month ago. I somehow managed to forget about two of our closest friends. They said they would be visiting from Ottawa this week while the twins are on spring break. Lincoln and I agreed to watch Lily and Braedyn today while Ray and Steph would go out with her old friends. "Oh my God, I forgot," I groan, bringing my palm to my forehead.
"We can probably find someone else for the twins, it seems like you have a lot on your plate," Ray says sympathetically.
"No of course not, come in," I reassure them. We suddenly hear a loud smash. Paxton and Elizabeth are standing next to a pile of glass on the floor. They somehow managed to knock the very nice vase we got as a wedding gift from Lincoln's parents off the side table.
"She did it!"
"He did it!"
They both shout at the same time, pointing at each other.
Lincoln quickly comes downstairs. "What happened?!" He sees the broken vase and two guilty looking toddlers and sighs. I groan and bury my face in my hands. Deep breaths Katie, I try to calm myself. Lincoln puts them in a time-out and starts cleaning up the glass.
On his way to get a broom, he stops and looks confused at the sight of Ray and Stephanie. He pauses for a moment before he realizes why they're here and turns to me. "Oh my god we forgot," he groans. I nod sheepishly.
Ray laughs. "Nice to see you too Lincoln. Don't worry man, things get easier when they get older. The twins are seven now and things are...somewhat...easier."
"I didn't realize Elizabeth would be here too," Steph remarks.
"We're watching her for the afternoon. Jason is on a business trip and Vanessa is taking Albert to the dentist," I explain. I'm suddenly jealous of them for having their kids nearly five years apart.
"I have a loose tooth!" Braedyn says gleefully to me.
"Mine came out first," Lily says smugly.
"Well I was born first!" Braedyn retorts. Lily responds by sticking her tongue out. I can't help but chuckle at how much their energy is just like their mom's.
"Kids, it's not a competition," Ray says sternly. They both don't respond and just run upstairs to the playroom.
"Look at us, eh," Lincoln chuckles after discarding the broken glass. "Tired and stressed parents. Feels like just yesterday we were all just tired and stressed university students." He wraps his arm around my waist.
Stephanie smiles at us reassuringly. "I'm sure you two will raise your kids to be wonderful people. They've already gotten a head start, having your guys' genes and all."
"Thanks Steph," I smile. The house has suddenly gotten much louder, the twins "snuck" Pax and Liz out of time out. We can hear them all loudly playing upstairs. "It's chaotic as hell but we love them so much."
