Chapter 11
Reagan
It was a rare occasion when the triplets all agreed on something, so I was shocked when they not only came to an agreement on where to have their eighth birthday party, but also that none of them changed their minds after deciding. Roll ’N’ Rock Skating Rink was still the exact same as it had been when I was a kid, down to the multicolored flooring, graffiti-covered walls, and the smell of feet mixed with nachos.
I took a deep breath when we walked inside and let all of the sensations overtake me. “Every time we’re here it’s like coming home again.” I nudged Charlie and pointed to a dark booth in the corner. “Did I ever tell you that that was the spot where I first made out with a girl?”
Charlie rolled her eyes at me. “Only every single time we come here. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you wish you had married… What was her name? Oh yeah—Constantine Clarke.”
“Ah yes. Sadly, that was never going to happen since I found out after we made out that Constantine was only using me to get some guy’s attention.”
“Ouch. What a bitch.”
I waved my hand. “Nah. Worked out for everyone. I married you and she got knocked up by the guy she was trying to impress.”
“Good times. No wonder this place means so much to you,” Charlie joked.
“I know, right? Only the best times at Roll ’N’ Rock.”
After checking in, someone led us to the party room. We decided that this year’s party would be mostly family again since the triplets were at the age that if you invited a few kids from the class you needed to invite the whole class, and unfortunately since they each had a different teacher, that was way too many kids. We did allow each of them to invite one friend, and while they weren’t happy about it, they at least hadn’t put up too much of a fight (except Olivia who thought she deserved to invite two friends since she couldn’t choose).
Before long, everyone started to arrive. Ronan and his friend went right to the arcade with Finn, while Olivia and her friend didn’t waste any time before putting on their skates and hitting the rink. Of course, the friend Carter invited had bought her a book and the two of them insisted on skimming through the pages together before they put their skates on.
Once I was finally able to convince them that they should actually skate at this skating party, I went out onto the rink with them.
“Hey, pretty lady,” I said when I skated past Charlie. “Can I have this skate?”
“Excuse me?” Charlie asked with a laugh.
“You’ve never done a couple’s skate before? One person skates forward, the other backward. That way we can make googly eyes at each other while we go around.”
Charlie laughed once again. “I really hope this is you volunteering to be the one to skate backward, because there is no way in hell I am.”
“Of course I am.” I held my hand out toward her. “Please? It’ll be super romantic.”
“Well, in that case…” Charlie reached for my hand and I spun around so I was now skating backward.
When I smiled at her, she smiled back and my stomach flipped as if it was the first time I was seeing her. I held her hands tighter and picked up my pace slightly.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at me. “Why do I feel like you’re just showing off now?”
“Maybe I am.” I winked at Charlie. “Is it working?”
Charlie dropped one of my hands to bring her thumb and forefinger closer together. “Maybe a little bit.”
I felt like I was a teenager again while I led her around that skating rink. Everything else melted away, and for that moment, it was just the two of us. I took in Charlie’s long blonde hair that I had run my fingers through countless times and those blue eyes that I still got lost in. I stared at the mouth that constantly brought me pleasure in more ways than one. I was about to lean in and kiss that mouth, when I realized it was moving.
Charlie was saying something. I shook my head to pop the bubble I was in so I could actually comprehend what she was saying.
“Kid.”
Huh? Oh! My smile grew even bigger. “I know. This makes me feel like a kid again too.”
Charlie removed her hand from mine and pointed at something behind me. “No. Kid. Right behind you. You’re going to hit them.”
I looked back just in time to see a little girl sitting right in my path about two feet in front of me. I quickly swerved to miss her, but that caused me to lose my own footing and soon enough I found myself falling to the ground. In that last moment of desperation, I tried to reach for anything that would keep me from ending up on my butt. Unfortunately, the closest thing to grab was my wife, so instead of staying up, I took both of us down.
Charlie landed on top of me with a thud and it took me a second to catch my breath after having the wind knocked out of me. When I focused on Charlie, she was laughing hysterically. “So romantic, babe.”
“Mommy. Mama. Are you okay?” Carter asked as she skated up beside us.
Before either of us could answer, Olivia was standing over us as well with her arms crossed in front of her chest. “You two are so embarrassing,” she said before rolling her eyes and skating away.
Once we assured Carter we were fine, she skated away as well. I stared up at Charlie and pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. Absolutely breathtaking . “I knew I’d get you on top of me in one way or another today.”
Charlie laughed even harder now. “I hate you.” She leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “But I also love you so much.”
As much as I loved the current position we were in, I knew we couldn’t stay like this forever, so I gently pushed her off of me. “Sorry. I think parents might start complaining if we stay here too long. Especially because if you stay on top of me much longer, I won’t be able to control myself. I don’t think anyone would appreciate that show.”
Charlie grabbed onto the wall and pulled herself up, then held her hand down to help me up. I was so wobbly that I almost pulled her back down, but luckily, she had a firm hold on the wall so she was able to keep me upright.
We only did one more lap before there was an announcement over the loudspeaker that it was time for the triplet’s birthday celebration in their party room.
“I saw that spill you took out there,” Jamie said with a laugh when I skated into the room.
I pushed him playfully, almost falling in the process, but catching my balance at the last second. “Yeah. Whatever. If you had a hot wife like me, you’d also be doing anything in your power to get underneath her.”
Jamie scrunched up his nose and glared at me. “That’s wrong on so many levels.”
“What’s wrong?”
I jumped at the sound of Mrs. Miller’s voice behind me. When I turned to look at her, I gave her my sweetest, kiss ass smile. “How slick the floors are out on the rink. I can’t stay on my feet out there.”
Mrs. Miller laughed. “That’s exactly why you won’t find me out there today. I’m too old for that.”
Jamie snorted after his mom walked away. “Smooth.”
I smirked, because he was right. “I know.”
I helped the kids get into their seats at the long table that took up most of the room, then turned to find our party host bringing in the pizza with Charlie’s Aunt Patty following closely behind him and juggling three large presents in her arms.
“Let me help you with that.” I slipped behind the host and grabbed the two presents on top.
Aunt Patty smiled at me over the one remaining present in her arms. “Thank you so much. I was sure there was going to be a crash any moment.”
“Of course.” I carried the two presents over to the small gift table in the corner and directed Aunt Patty to lay the remaining one there as well. “Thank you so much for coming. It’s really great to have you.” Now that Charlie’s mom finally didn’t threaten our lives if we invited you .
“I’m so happy to be here. It’s going to be a great weekend.”
Weekend. Huh . I guess that made sense since Charlie’s Aunt Patty didn’t live close, but if I had known she was staying, I would have offered her our guest room. “Are you staying nearby? We don’t have any plans the rest of the weekend, so we would love to spend time with you.”
“That’s very nice of you to offer,” Aunt Patty smiled across the room and gave a slight wave to Mrs. Miller. “Sharon actually invited me to stay in Maryland with them for a few days.”
“Oh, wow! That’s amazing!” I knew things had turned around since Charlie chaperoned the reunion with her mom and aunt, but I didn’t know they were this good.
“Yes.” She leaned closer to me as if she had a secret to share. “Don’t tell anyone this, but I’m actually a little bit nervous. My sister and I have spoken quite a few times over these past few months, but I don’t know too much about her husband.
“I have a little secret for you as well,” I said, leaning close in the same way she had just done. “If you can handle your sister, you can definitely handle her husband.”
Aunt Patty brought her hand to her mouth to mask her laughter. That’s when it hit me that she was the only one present from her family. “I take it she didn’t invite the rest of your crew.”
“She did.” Aunt Patty sighed. “I could tell she was hesitant to offer though and I didn’t want to do anything to make them uncomfortable. My family has gotten through life free from most homophobia. I’m not going to subject them to it now, even if it’s subtle or unintentional.”
“That definitely makes sense. The Millers have come a long way since the time I first met them and they yelled at Jamie for not carrying my bags, which is apparently a man’s job, but they still have a long way to go.”
“At least they’re here. That’s more than can be said for some people.”
“I know, and as long as they don’t do anything to potentially mess up my kids the way they tried to mess up my wife and best friend, they can continue to be here.”
Aunt Patty smiled sweetly and squeezed my hand. “You’re a great mother, Reagan. I’m really glad Charlie and the kids have you.”
I pointed toward the table because I needed to end this conversation before I became choked up. I was extra emotional today because of my kids being so old already. I had no idea where the time had gone. Stop. Don’t cry at their birthday party. Don’t be that mother. “Why don’t you take a seat? Lunch is being served. I’m sure you’re hungry after your long drive.”
“Definitely. I’ve been sitting for hours though, so I think I’ll grab a slice and stand to eat it if you don’t mind.”
“Of course. Help yourself. Have a nice time. I’ll catch up with you more later.”
Once the party had officially started, things went by way too quickly to actually catch up with anyone. Right after pizza, the cake was brought out. After singing happy birthday and eating cake, the kids begged to go back out onto the skating rink. They groaned when I told them they had to take a picture with all of their party guests first, but luckily, I was still able to get it.
The kids then pulled me and Charlie onto the skating rink with them and we skated in circles for the next hour until I physically couldn’t do it anymore and begged the kids to let me go. They did, which was good since this was around the time the guests started to leave. After fighting with the kids once again to get them off of the rink, we said goodbye and hugged all of our family members. The kids immediately went back out and stayed there until their friends’ parents came to pick them up.
The only way we were able to get them off the rink was by offering to stop for ice cream on our way home. We stopped at our favorite ice cream shop and sat together inside while we ate. With the kids doing sports and starting to hang out with friends without us, it felt like moments when just the five of us were together were fleeting.
“What was everyone’s favorite part of today?” I asked before taking a big lick of ice cream.
Olivia rolled her eyes at me. “Obviously skating.”
Ronan smacked her arm. “Not obviously. That wasn’t my favorite part. My favorite part was getting the new record on the basketball game in the arcade.”
“You got it?” I stuck my hand in the air for a high five. “Good job, dude!”
Charlie gently poked Carter’s side as she smiled at her lovingly. “What was your favorite part, sweetie?”
“Getting a new book from Evelyn.”
“A book?” Ronan laughed. “That’s not fun.”
I gave Ronan my best mom look to tell him I wasn’t happy about him making fun of his sister. “We all enjoy different things, and that’s great. Personally, I love reading. She definitely gets that from me.”
Carter’s face lit up as if I had just told her she had something in common with her favorite celebrity. “Exactly. I’m just like Mommy.”
“You sure are, kiddo.” I put my arm around her and pulled her tight up against me, then looked back across the table at Ronan. “Now, I think your brother has something he wants to say to you.”
Ronan sighed, but then turned his attention to his sister. “I’m sorry I laughed at you. It’s cool that you like to read. Maybe someday you’ll write a book and Mommy can draw the pictures for it.”
“I would love that,” Carter said, her smile even bigger now. “Mommy, can we do that sometime?”
“There’s nothing I want more.” It was true. Even though they made me want to pull my hair out at times, I would take any special time I could with my kids.
Once we finally got home, we were all tired so we took it easy the rest of the night. Carter read her new book, Ronan played video games, and Olivia talked on the phone with the friend she had just seen a few hours ago. Charlie and I snuggled on the couch and watched mindless television until it was time to help them get ready for bed.
Once the bedtime routine was over and the house was quiet again, I went into the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine. I poured two glasses and carried them into the family room for me and Charlie.
Charlie’s fingers tickled mine as she took the glass from my hand. “It’s like you read my mind.”
I sat down next to her and slowly took that first sip of wine, enjoying the feeling as the warmth traveled down my throat. Today was perfect. Crazy, but perfect. Just like the rest of our life. “Can you believe we have three eight-year-olds?” I asked Charlie.
Charlie laughed. “I still haven’t fully grasped the fact that we have three that are the same age.”
“I know, right? It’s so crazy. Three kids to get ready for middle school dances. Three kids to teach to drive. Three kids to buy prom outfits for. Three kids to send to college. Three weddings.”
Charlie laughed and put her hand on my chest. “I think you might be getting a little ahead of yourself. They’re eight, not eighteen.”
I sighed. I couldn’t shake the feeling that life was racing by. “I know, but think of how fast these past eight years went. Before we know it another eight will pass and then another eight. And then they’ll be gone.”
“Gone where?” Charlie asked with another laugh. “We don’t lose them just because they go to college or move out of town or get married. They’ll always be in our lives in one way or another. And again, let me remind you one more time, they are eight.”
“You’re right. Sorry. I’m just being extra sentimental right now. Maybe I’m getting my period.”
“Probably. It’s normally me who acts like this.”
“Just promise me one thing?” I set down my glass of wine and lay my head on Charlie’s shoulder.
Charlie rested her head against mine. “Anything.”
“Let’s not take any moment for granted. Let’s enjoy all the time we have with them and with each other. Forever.”
“We will. I promise.”