After Eve Chapter 2

I run through the front door. Henry follows with our bags in hand. I hear the slap of their little hands across the hardwood floor as they round the corner. Hope finds us first. She is always first at everything. She needs to be held first and fed first. Hope is a little high strung. Henry jokes she is exactly like me, lovingly of course. She babbles as she makes a beeline for me at Mach speed in her half-crawl, half-downward dog position. She’s so eager to walk. I won’t be surprised if she is running marathons before her first birthday.

I scoop her into my arms and smother her little face with kisses. Then Faith peeks her head around the corner, moving at her usual, leisurely pace. Of course I love my daughters equally, but there is something about Faith. Every time she flashes me her gummy little grin, my heart skips a beat. It must be because she is so much like Henry. They are one and the same. Those two are content sitting together for hours reading storybooks. She’s always smiling, and she rarely cries. I often find them cuddled up, napping, their matching pouty lips parted just slightly while they breathe. I sit and watch them sometimes and reflect on how lucky I am to have them.

“Come on, baby,” I encourage her.

Henry drops the bags and moves in closer, closing the distance. He squats down and claps his hands together. “Come to Daddy, Faith,” he sings.

She lets out an excited screech, and the sound of her little hands slapping on the floor gets closer. Henry effortlessly lifts her with one hand and holds her like a football. That’s her favorite position. She looks so minuscule in his arms. Being preemies, the twins are small to begin with, but because Faith came out second, she is a little smaller than Hope.

Mom makes her way down the hall, and to my surprise, Natalie is following her.

“Hey, Nat. I didn’t think you could make it this weekend.” When Henry and I planned our little getaway, I had asked Nat if she could help Mom with the twins. She really did want to help, but she had clients to entertain. When she said “clients,” she put the word in air quotes, so who knows what she was really up to this weekend. I stopped asking questions a few air quotes ago.

“Are you kidding me? I can’t go an entire weekend without seeing my goddaughters. I got here yesterday. We drank wine and gossiped all night. Isn’t that right, Mumsie?”

Mom rolls her eyes.

“Did we have any cereal incidents this time, Nat?” I regard her questionably.

“You know, you let a baby eat cereal off the floor once, and you never live it down.” She flips her arms above her head in defeat.

Henry takes Hope from my arms and smothers her little angelic face with kisses too. She grabs hold of his hair and giggles with delight. “I’ll leave you ladies to chat.” As he walks by, he kisses Mom’s cheek and thanks her. The three of us watch him admiringly as he walks into the next room. We all love him for different reasons and yet for the same reason.

“So how was your fuck-romp weekend?” Natalie blurts out.

My poor mom immediately covers her ears. She definitely does not need to hear this.

“Natalie!” I scoff in horror.

“What? We’re all adults here. We all know that’s what happened.” She shrugs in her matter-of-fact way. Mom shakes her head and rolls her eyes again. “I think I will go help Henry with the girls. You two can catch up all you want.”

“Seriously, Nat, a filter and some discretion every now and then would be nice,” I say, grinning.

“Look at you. You got banged so good this weekend, you can’t even be mad at me.” She leans forward and gestures a far-too-realistic hip thrust, making me blush.

“Admit it.” She laughs

“Okay. Fine. You got me. Yes, it was mind blowing,”

I reflect dreamingly on the last forty-eight hours. “But you’re not getting any details. Sex with my gorgeous, animalistic, incredible lover of a husband is off limits to you. I know what goes into Nat’s spank bank, and I prefer not to be in there.” I give her a wicked grin.

“Don’t forget I already know he’s hung like a horse, and that, my friend, is indeed in my spank bank,” she says, biting her knuckles.

I shake my head at her. I don’t make a habit of discussing the size of my husband’s penis, but one day when Natalie was visiting for the weekend, she happened to cross paths with him while he was getting out of the shower. It was priceless. Her jaw literally hit the floor, and she retreated to her bedroom in utter embarrassment. It was a while before she could look at him straight in the face without blushing. Now it’s a running joke between the two of them. Every now and again, she will tease him to flash her a peek so she can assure herself that she still likes men. He doesn’t, of course, but I know he’s secretly flattered and proud if his manhood.

“OMG. Wait until you see the gifts I brought the girls. You are going to love it. Well, I love it, and that’s all that matters.” She two-steps up the stairs to the spare bedroom that she has claimed as her bedroom.

It’s like having a third child when Nat comes to visit. A third child who drinks, smokes, and has a vulgar mouth. But I do love her just the same.

I take the opportunity alone to check out my ass in the hallway mirror. I twist my body and strain to see behind me. Damn you, five pounds.

“Aha, I caught you,” Natalie accuses as she makes her way back down the stairs.

“Seriously, Jones, you’re a fucking babe. You know how many women who haven’t had kids who wish they had a rocking body like yours? Give yourself a break. Plus, you can’t tell me that Henry doesn’t love that Kardashian ass you’ve got going on.”

I give her a shy shrug and pout.

“What’s in the bag?” I pivot.

She pulls out two pink baby tutus and matching black leather jackets. I could easily say no way, no how, but the truth is the outfits are adorable. Everything Natalie does for my girls comes from the heart. They have such a special bond, given everything she’s done for my family. Natalie was by my side and theirs when we really needed her. I can always find comfort in her words: I may not be able to solve your problems, but I promise you you’ll never have to face them alone.

“Well?” she asks, swaying the clothes back and forth on the hangers. I give her a kind, appreciative smile. “They’re great, Nat. The girls will look so cute in them. Next time we visit the city, they will be wearing them.”

“Hey, what’s up?” Natalie’s voice is full of concern. She hasn’t lost her knack for reading my mind. She pulls me into a hug. “Listen. It’s all good now.”

I sigh. “I know.”

The doorbell rings and we both jump. We look at each other and start laughing at our sappy interlude.

I open the door, and there is a delivery man standing there with a huge bouquet of flowers.

“Delivery for Izabel Jones.”

I look quizzically at Natalie. She shrugs, indicating that she has nothing to do with it. She pushes by me and snatches the bouquet from the delivery man and flashes him her signature Natalie smile and a wink.

“That’s your tip.” She teases. I offer my usual sorry about her apologetic smile and I shut the door.

“They’re beautiful. I wonder who they’re from.” I unhook the envelope from the stem and pull out the card.

Happy fifth anniversary to a wonderful couple. To many more.

~Tippy xx

I look at Natalie and drop to my knees. She kneels next to me and grabs my hand. “I haven’t heard from her since...”

Natalie squeezes my hand tight. “That night still haunts me, too, Jones.”