One Autumn Day
“Okay, there we go, princess,” I say after finishing up Willow’s hair. She squeals as she admires my handiwork in the mirror. “Ooh, you look so gorgeous! Don’t you think so, LoLo?”
“Yes! I’m so pretty!” she nods before turning to hug me tightly. “Thank you, Mama.”
“You’re so welcome, baby. Now, go get your backpack so we can get ready to go.”
“Okay!” She replies before running off.
A few seconds later, Cassidy enters the room fully dressed, but with no shoes on.
I shake my head because he would find any excuse not to wear shoes.
And it’s not because they didn’t fit. Autumn and I had made sure to get him shoes with enough room to grow in.
No, he just preferred to walk around in either socks or barefoot.
“Cass, we talked about this,” I sigh, gently pulling him over to me. I squat, making myself eye level with him. “You have to wear shoes to school, buddy.”
“Ugh, but I hate them!” the four-year-old whines.
“I know, Little Man, but it’s the rules,” I reply gently. “And that specific one is in place, so you won’t get hurt out on the playground, okay?”
“Okay,” he sighs.
“Good. Now, please go put your shoes on. We’re already running late, and we still have to drop Syd off first.”
“You know, if you and Mom would just let me take driving classes, I could be driving,” Syd says as she enters the room. Cass takes that as his chance to scurry off.
I take in my now 15-year-old daughter, and I have to stop myself from getting emotional whenever I think about how much she has grown over the years.
When she walked into my classroom nine years ago, I never expected that being her teacher would eventually lead to me marrying her mom and adopting her as my daughter.
And I definitely didn’t think that Autumn and I would go on to have Cassidy and Willow.
But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the family that we’d created, and I’d do anything for these four humans. They were the most important people in my life, and I was so thankful that I was able to be a part of theirs.
“Ma’am, you are only fifteen,” I chuckle. “Even if you did go to driving school, which won’t be for another few months, you already know our rule.”
“Ugh, I can’t believe you’re really making me wait until I graduate until I get a car,” she groans.
“Well, Miss Top of the Class, it’s not like you have to wait too long, seeing as you’re going to graduate a year early.”
“Still, that’s so far away.”
“Patience, Sweet Pea,” I chuckle. “What did I promise you when you were younger?”
“That you would buy me the best car on the lot when I graduated if I kept my grades up and stayed out of trouble,” she replied. I nod.
“And you’ve done just that, and more,” I point out. I drape my arm over her shoulder and pull her closer to me. “You’re gonna get that car, don’t worry. You just gotta wait a while longer. You stay tryna grow up on us so fast.”
“Here you go,” she giggled, pulling away. “Geez, you're starting to sound more and more like Mom every day.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” We hear Autumn say.
We turn to see Autumn entering the room, fully dressed for the day.
Today was her day off, so I’d told her to relax while I handled the morning routine, but of course, she didn’t know how to stay put.
I smiled, shaking my head as she walked over to where we were.
She kisses Syd on the forehead before ruffling her hair.
“Mom, come on,” Syd groans, and I chuckle. “You gon mess up my hair.”
“And since when did you start caring so much about how your hair looks?” Autumn teases.
“Since she started talking to Mina’s sister,” Cassidy blurts as he and Willow enter the room again. Sydney quickly pulls him into a loose headlock, and I share a look with Autumn. He wiggles in her grasp as he giggles. “Sydie and Mina’s sister is sitting in a tree!”
“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Willow chimes in, and Syd cuts her eyes at her as well.
“Little Man and Princess, leave your sister alone,” I tell them. “Now come on, so we can head out.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Autumn tells Syd, and she groans once more.
I chuckle to myself before leaning in to give Autumn a quick kiss. After a few goodbyes, we’re on our way out the door. Syd is silent the whole way to her school, unmistakably lost in thought. It isn’t until we pull up to the front entrance that she snaps out of her trance.
She quickly tells me that she’ll see us later before hopping out of the car. Before she closes the door, she reminds me that she’s riding home with Lily this evening, and I nod before telling her that I love her.
Next, I head back towards downtown to drop the twins off. As usual, they try to convince me to let them skip, but I shut that down quickly. I had plans for just Autumn and me today, and we needed all the alone time we could get.
Don’t get me wrong, we loved our kids with all of our hearts, but between parent duties, many extracurricular activities a week, and full-time jobs, we rarely had time to relax if it wasn’t bedtime.
So, when Autumn told me she had the day off, I decided to take one off as well so we could spend it relaxing and spending time together.
Upon arriving back at the house, I received a message to let me know that the first part of our day was waiting for us.
I didn’t waste any time heading inside and letting Autumn know that we had places to be.
I could tell that she wanted to ask a million questions, but she also knew that I wouldn’t give any hints away.
So, as usual, when I told her we had plans, she slipped on some shoes, grabbed her purse, and slipped in her phone and Kindle. Once we were all settled in the car again, I pulled out of the driveway and headed towards our first destination of the day.
“What’s this?” She asked after I handed her a yellow envelope. It had her name scribbled across the front in black ink.
“Open it and read it out loud.”
“Oh…Kay,” she replied skeptically. She ripped it open and began to read.
Hey, Sunflower. How are you?
I know it’s been a while since we got to have some alone time that didn’t involve us cuddling in each other's arms after the kids go to sleep (even though I know we both love that), so today I want to change that.
Of course, I won’t tell you what I had planned, but I will give you your first clue here:
You were mesmerized, and so was I. We couldn’t stop staring under those fluorescent lights. I hit six, and you said five. Our lives were changed that very first night.
She reads it once more, and then I hear her gasp right as I pull up to a red light.
I turn to face her and see the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.
She throws her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss.
Damn, this was only the first part, and she was already this excited?
I couldn’t wait to see her reaction when we got to the final part.
“Ugh, Winter, you are so amazing,” she says once she settles back into her seat. “It’s like a little memory scavenger hunt, huh? Oooh, this is gonna be so fun!”
“I thought that it would be cute to visit different places that meant a lot to us, recreate fond memories, capture them with photos, and then make our own memory books to one day share with the kids,” I reply. “That’s not too cheesy, is it?”
“It’s perfect, baby,” she assures me, placing her left hand on the back of my neck. She rubs gently, and I relax at her touch. “So, I’m assuming that the first stop is the elevator in our old apartment building?”
“And you would be correct,” I nod as the light turns green.
Although I couldn’t see it, I already knew that she had the biggest smile on her face.
It had been years since we last stepped foot inside the building, but since it was close to my job and the twins’ school, we passed by often.
I knew Mr. Gary had retired a couple of years ago, but a few other staff members we knew were still there.
However, I’d enlisted the help of my friend and tattoo artist Denny, whose family owned the building.
“Hey, Winter! Hi, Autumn!” They greeted us as soon as we were buzzed into the building. We exchanged hugs and greetings before following them down the hall.
When we made it to the elevator that started it all, I was hit by an overwhelming wave of emotions.
It always felt so surreal to think about how our story had started in this very elevator.
Neither of us thought that one encounter would spark the flame that would lead us to be happily married with three kids.
I realized years ago that the universe had a way of pushing you on the path you’re meant to be, and I was grateful for it.
“Wow, why am I getting so emotional right now?” Autumn said as we stood in front of the open elevator. Denny had used a key to stop it for us, rendering it out of order for anyone else. “Our story really started right here.”
“And what an amazing story it has been, right?” I ask, moving behind her to wrap my arms around her waist. I rested my chin on her shoulder as we stood there in silence. Denny left us to go handle some other business, telling us to let them know when we were done.
We stood there in silence for a while longer before we finally moved to do what we came to do.
The amount of laughter and joy that bubbled between us as we recreated our first memory together was unmatched.
We’d been transported back to when we were in our late 20s, and still trying to figure shit out, but enjoying the ride.
After we were done with that stop, I called Denny back, and they delivered the next envelope to Autumn, who was just as excited as she was earlier. When we were back in the car and buckled up, she opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and began to read.
If you’re reading this, then that means you’ve successfully found the first stop. Good job, Sunflower!
Now, here’s your next clue: