Page 46 of Summer With You

Epilogue

Celine

Time had a funny way of getting away from you. One minute, you’re young and naïve with the whole world at your fingertips, ready to explore, and the next, you’re a mom waking up early in the morning to first breastfeed your baby and then make breakfast for the other two and get them ready for school.

We had to adapt to a new routine after bringing Jessie home. It was hard at first. The three-hour feeding shifts were the worst part in the beginning. Waking up at twelve a.m., and then three a.m., followed by six a.m. was extremely disruptive, but Ace and I took it in turns, although I took the most since he still worked a full day.

But he never complained. That sexy man loved his children and me more than anything, even his own sleep.

Sometimes, we woke up together. He would bring Jessie to me in the darkness of the morning, and we would talk about our upcoming vow renewal. It was like planning our wedding all over again, except this time, our kids would be involved.

I loved falling in love with my husband all over again.

As of the last week, Jessie had started to sleep through the night. He didn’t wake for his regular feeds, and often, I thought I was dreaming when I didn’t hear his familiar cry through the baby monitor. Ace joked that I shouldn’t jinx it when I woke up and checked on him to make sure he was still in fact breathing, but I couldn’t help myself. The other two only started to sleep through the night at six months, not three.

I had read online last week that the third baby was always the easiest, but I didn’t believe it. Just like I couldn’t believe it was almost summertime again, and a few weeks shy of our thirteenth wedding anniversary.

Time really does fly when you’re having fun. And I always had the best time of my life with Ace.

“Mommy, we’re out of toilet paper.” Summer entered the kitchen, her blonde hair standing up, blue eyes still bleary from sleep.

“Did you check the guest bathroom, sweet girl?” She nodded, rubbing her eyes with a yawn.

“I’m so tired of going to school. I hate it,” she groaned, sitting at the counter, holding her head up in her small hands. I fought a smile. She was so cute when she was disgruntled.

“Only a few more weeks,” I reminded her, and she released a long groan. “Where’s your brother?” She looked over her shoulder and shrugged.

“Still sleeping, I guess.” Shuffling Jessie from one arm to the other, I burped him over my shoulder, patting his back and listening for the big belch that was coming. “How many more weeks until we go to the lake house?” Summer asked.

Despite the hurricane, Charlie and Summer had so much fun at the lake house last summer that they didn’t even ask for Disney trips anymore. They just wanted to go to the lake house, which was perfectly fine with me and Ace. We loved it there just as much as they did.

“Six, squirt,” Ace announced as he came down the stairs. Summer groaned again. “Now, let’s see what we can do about helping Mommy out today. Go pull your brother out of bed and get him into the clothes I put out for him last night.” Ace walked into the kitchen, heading straight for the Keurig.

Summer slipped off the stool and bounced out of the kitchen. She always listened to her daddy.

“How’s my beautiful wife this morning?” He gripped my waist, kissing Jessie’s head before mine.

“Is it really six weeks?” I complained. “I don’t want to wait that long.” Ace took Jessie from me and went back to the coffee machine.

“Our anniversary is in four weeks,” he told me. Even that still seemed so far away. “What do you want to do to celebrate?”

“Just a few hours alone with you.” I popped some toast into the toaster for Summer and Charlie. All I would ever want is time alone with Ace. I loved being with him.

“Do you think your parents will babysit? I don’t think asking Ryan and Amber is an option anymore. Those two are still struggling to find a routine.” I frowned. Five kids, with four of them being sets of twins, wasn’t easy. Amber always looked extremely tired, as did my brother. I knew they loved every minute of being parents, but I could tell they were struggling.

Leaning against the counter, I rolled my shoulders, looking at Ace holding our little boy. “I haven’t had time to call them in a few days.” I frowned. “Has he still been coming into work late and leaving early?” Ace nodded, bringing the steaming coffee cup to his lips for a sip.

“He told me yesterday that both babies screamed the entire night. Something about colic. He looks like an absolute zombie.”

The kids trudged back into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen counter, dressed in their uniforms.

I quickly lathered both of their toast with peanut butter before putting the plates in front of them. They quietly munched on the toast, both exhausted from the week. At least tomorrow was the weekend, and they could recuperate for the next week ahead.

“Maybe give him the day off, or I could go over there and take care of the babies so they can sleep,” I proposed, looking at Ace.

“Do you think you can handle three crying babies and a toddler?” Ace continued to hold Jessie as he sat at the table and ate his own piece of toast.

I shrugged. “I can try,” I told him. I felt so bad for Amber and Ryan. They needed a break.

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