Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty Seven
Josie
Seven Months Post Partum
Idon’t know why I never thought to take Shiloh to the local greenhouse nursery. I didn’t even know they had a kid zone.
“momma! Watch this!” Shiloh yells at me while he bounces across the air trampoline and then tumbles forward. I clap my hands together as he straightens himself out and stares right at me, pride beaming from him.
“Good job Loh! That was super cool!” I shout at him.
He quickly goes back to jumping around, and I look around to see what everyone else is doing.
Monty has Hayes in his arms, leaning over so he could pet the goat that’s in the petting zoo.
Xavier is there beside him, and while it looks like he’s enjoying it and spending time with the animals.
I know he’s also trying to check their health, that man does not know how to take a break.
Harper snorts beside me, when I look at her I see her eyes are in the same spot mine just were. When she looks at me her smile widens. “How much do you want to bet he’s checking to make sure that goat that Hayes is touching is healthy?” I ask her.
“I don’t need to bet anything, because that’s one hundred percent what he’s doing.” Just then Xavier grabs the goat's face like he’s trying to pet it, but I catch the way his thumbs move over the animal's face as he checks its eyes, nose and mouth.
We both start laughing, and Xavier’s eyes snap to ours before shrugging his shoulder and scratching the goats chin before moving on. Evie is also looking over at us, camera in hand and a raised eyebrow. She’s been taking pictures of everyone since we’ve been here, and she makes our way to us.
“What are you guys laughing about?” She asks when she’s close enough.
“We were just calling out Xavier for trying to be stealthy and checking the health of all the animals in the petting zoo.” Harper says to Evie, her eyes haven’t left where Xavier is and it’s adorable.
“Oh that’s what he was doing with that goat?” Evie hums, “I was wondering why he was grabbing it’s face like that.”
I snort and shake my head, “Yeah he tries to be subtle but he really isn’t.” I look over at her and ask, “Did you get some good pictures?”
Her face brightens at the question.
“Yes! I got so many pictures. They’re going to turn out so good.” She fiddles with her camera before turning it to me and showing me some of the pictures she took.
They’re stunning, and she captures so many great moments.
Each shot shows the various faces of Hayes as he tries to figure out exactly what each animal is.
Then she moves on and there’s another picture of Shiloh as he does one of his ninja moves on the air trampoline.
Immortalizing the joy in his face as he actively does another front flip.
“These are amazing, Sweets.” I say to her so only she can hear. I’m not sure how much she has told Harper so I don’t know what her thoughts are. Monty plans to tell Xavier when they go camping with Shiloh next week. Obviously once Shiloh is asleep for the night, but still.
A soft smile dons her lips, she’s not looking at me but keeps looking through the photos.
“Thank you.” She says quietly, her eyes finally looking up to mine and I watch as she bites the bottom of her lip. It’s moments like this that make it hard to keep us on the downlow because I’d really like to kiss her right now.
Instead, I clear my throat and move us along with the outing. “Shall we go into the greenhouse and pick out a plant?” I ask no one in particular, but it’s Harper who answers first.
“Oh yes! I wanted to find a plant for the living room.” She links her arm into Evie's, and then into mine and we head toward the greenhouse with the guys following behind us.
A blanket of light humidity hits my skin as we walk through the doors to the greenhouse.
Scents of damp earth, swirling around with different shades of herby tones.
Multiple lines of different plants on tabled palettes, vast shades of green with splashes of blues, purples, pinks and so many other colors to each different flower that is offered.
Right at the entrance are a mixture of large potted and hanging plants. I have no idea what the names of any of these plants are, but I can appreciate the beauty.
Hayes begins to get fussy in the carrier so Monty takes him off and lets our youngest son hold his fingers while he wobbly steps forward. Paying more attention to his surroundings knowing that his dad won’t let him fall.
Shiloh is doing very well in the greenhouse, granted he’s still bustling up and down the aisle but he has stopped on more than one occasion to try and reach the plant label. He’s just started trying to reach and for six years old, he’s doing a great job.
“Momma! What does this word say? I can’t read it.” Shiloh calls for me. I make my way over to him and look over his shoulder, looking at the small tree sized plant.
“That says Panchira Aquatica, below it also says that it’s also known as a money tree.” I summarize the information card that’s provided.
“Woooahh.” Shiloh says in fascination. “I need this tree – daddy! Can’t I get this money tree? I wanna grow my own monies.”
I softly chuckle at my son, running my hand through the hair on his head before peering over at Monty who’s staring at me, a question in his gaze. I just shrug my shoulders, I wouldn’t be mad about that sort of plant. It’s said to be low maintenance.
“Alright buddy. We can get a money tree. Which one of these did you want?” Monty hand walks Hayes over to where we are and we watch as Shiloh thoroughly inspects each of the six potted trees in front of him before choosing the smallest tree out of the bunch.
He grabs the plant, proud of his choice and begins to walk away.
He doesn’t get too far before he turns around and asks me to carry it for him because his arms are tired.
He walks ahead further down the row as we all follow behind him.
Harper and Xavier are over on the other side, looking at the larger plants.
He seems to be asking the associate which plants would be safe to be around animals.
Evie is walking alongside me taking some more pictures of the plants. Bending low to get to certain angles before standing and checking the image on the display screen. She looks so in her element and it makes my chest warm knowing that Monty and I were able to bring this joy to her.
She said the camera was too much, but I don’t think it is. Not when it’s for someone you care for.
As if the universe could sense that my heart is about to explode with joy, I watch as Shiloh runs over to Monty and takes over holding Hayes’ hands and he stands in front of him as he encourages him to walk with him.
I can’t see Hayes' face, but I can hear the melodic tones of his laughter as he follows his older brother.
I hug the money tree to my heart, ingraining this moment in my mind because it’s not something I want to forget.
Hayes takes a few more steps before he rocks backward and lands on his butt before he begins to crawl instead.
Making his way to whatever caught his eye under one of the tables, but Monty’s too quick and scoops him up.
With fast movement Monty gently throws Hayes up in the air making noises to avoid any potential meltdown over being blocked from getting to something he probably shouldn’t be grabbing.
Shiloh sits at the table as he places another sticker on the pot of his money tree.
I sit across from him sipping on a glass of water, his brows furrowed in concentration.
He has quickly grown attached to the plant, asking if he can have it in his room to sleep with him.
I tried to explain to him that moving the thing around isn’t the best idea, and not wanting to risk someone dropping it.
We ended up agreeing on the kitchen table for the time being until it gets too big then we will find a new home for it.
“I need more stickers!” Shiloh shouts before climbing off his chair and running to his art bins. The sound of rustling papers followed by a thump. “Oops.” He says and then more rustling before the pitter patter of his foot steps and he comes back to the table.
“Okay, five more minutes bud and then I want you to go get washed up before supper.” I tell him, and he agrees automatically.
Hayes has been sitting in his highchair playing with a busy board Evie made during one of his naps.
It’s the size of his tray and offers a bunch of different sensory things that help with his motor skills.
He’s obsessed with it and it’s currently been keeping him entertained for the last ten minutes.
The front door opens and a minute later Evie walks into the kitchen.
“Hey guys, I just wanted to check in quickly and say thank you guys for coming out with me today. I had a lot of fun, and I got a lot of great pictures.” She joins us at the table and looks at the money tree and all the stickers it’s sporting.
“This is super cool Shiloh, did you do this all by yourself?” She asks.
“Uh huh! I think it needs more.” he looks over at Evie, “but I ran out.”
“Oh man, I guess that means we will have to go and get some more stickers this week, eh?” Evie asks him.
His eyes light up and he nods his head enthusiastically.
“But–” I chime in, “You need to go wash up for supper. Your dad will be back with the pizza any minute.”
“You got it momma!” Shiloh quickly leaves the kitchen, heading toward the bathroom.
I look over at Evie to find that she’s already looking at me. Her blonde hair is straight with half of it up, she has on smokey eye make up and gloss on her lips. She smiles at me and I can’t help the easiness that flows when she’s here.
“What time is Harper grabbing you?” I ask her.
“Her and Xavier should be here any minute.” She stands up and rounds the table to my side. Quickly she looks down the hall to where Shiloh disappeared. When she establishes that the coast is clear she leans down and softly presses her lips to mine.
Just then her phone chimes, indicating that Harper’s here. She places one more kiss upon my lips before she straightens.
“That’s Harps. I gotta go, but I’ll see you guys tomorrow?” She asks hopefully.
“Of course, unless you want to take the day to yourself and sleep in.” I tell her. Even on her days off, she finds her way over here. I don’t mind it but I do want her to still have her own time alone if she needs it.
“We’ll see how I feel in the morning. I’ll talk to you later.” She quickly says goodnight to Hayes before she’s out the door.
Ten minutes later we’re all sitting around the table enjoying our dinner.
Shiloh inhales three slices of pizza before he heads off with Monty to go take a bath.
I do my nighttime routine with Hayes, breastfeeding him while I read him a story.
When he’s officially asleep in his crib, I sneak out of his room and head for my own.
I’m not tired yet, but I want to get into some comfortable clothes before heading back into the living room to clean up supper.
Thankfully with take out for supper it means that I only have a few dishes to toss into the dishwasher before turning it on. However, when I get into the kitchen I see that Monty has already got all of that done and is relaxing on the couch with a beer in his hands.
His head lulls in my direction, a soft smile on his face. His beard has been growing in nicely over the last couple months and he’s been making a point to keep it trimmed. Making my way over, I lay down on the couch next to him and rest my feet on his lap.
“Well, should we watch a movie?” I ask, melting into the couch ready to wind down for the night.
“Sounds good to me, I just want to veg out until it’s time to go to bed.” He responds, passing me the remote and I quickly pull up the current crime show that we’ve been watching together.
We sit in perfect silence, enjoying the quiet of the night. Monty begins to rub my feet as we’re watching and my eyes grow heavy, until the sound of Monty’s phone goes off.
“Hey Big Guy! Wha-”