Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“I am!” Olivia shouts excitedly.
“That’s my girl!” Grayson looks through the viewfinder of his fancy camera. “Squish a little closer to Mommy, Livvy Loo!”
“Like dis?”
“Perfect! Okay, here we go!” After pushing the button on the timer, my husband bounds back to his spot between Olivia and me, slides an arm around my shoulders, places his free hand on our daughter’s tiny shoulder, and shouts, “Say ‘cheese and macamomi,’ everyone!”
“Cheese and macamomi!” we all bellow happily, mimicking the way Olivia always says it, and when Olivia’s high-pitched squeak of a voice gleefully cuts through the rest, Drew, Grayson, and I can’t help giggling, precisely as the camera snaps its shot.
“Woohoo!” Grayson says. “I think we got a good one that time!”
As I pick up Olivia and rest her on my hip, Grayson heads to the camera to see if we’ve managed to finally capture gold.
“We did it!” he announces.
“Is it pokey-toody, Daddy?” Olivia says, trying to enunciate her father’s all-time favorite word—which, not surprisingly, he calls Olivia every night at bedtime—and, of course, we all chuckle at her adorable mispronunciation.
“It sure is, honey bear,” Grayson says, thankfully not correcting her. Grayson and I have talked about it and agreed that Olivia will learn how to say pulchritudinous, soon enough, as well as “gloves” instead of “glubbs,” and “earth” instead of “erff,” even without us correcting her now. So why deprive ourselves of these adorable, fleeting moments with Olivia that will surely turn into nothing but precious memories on their own, soon enough?
“Hey, Mom,” Drew says, and I peel my eyes off Grayson and Olivia, who are now playing pony on the family room floor. “I’m gonna go pick up Cassie at the airport.” He’s talking about his girlfriend, a young woman who runs track at their university and aspires to become a pediatrician one day. Drew continues, “Do you want me to pick up some pizzas for dinner on the way back?”
I shake my head. “I made a couple lasagnas last night. All I have to do is pop them into the oven. I’ll do that now, so they’ll be ready when you get back.”
“Bless you, woman.” He kisses my cheek. “God, I’ve missed your home-cooking.”
Olivia squeals, drawing our attention, and we both chuckle at the way Grayson is neighing with Olivia on his back.
“Will you make Cassie a cake when she gets here, Livvy?” Drew asks. He’s referring to the plastic cooking set he sent Olivia for her third birthday last month.
Olivia replies in the affirmative, but a second later, she’s too distracted by her neighing daddy to pay her big brother any further mind.
Smiling, Drew returns to me. “I’d better get going. I want to be at the airport early, so I can park and meet Cassie at baggage claim, rather than at the curb.”
“Good boy.”
It’s a classic Grayson move—being early for an airport pick-up—or any pick-up or event, really—that man is never late for anything. And that only serves to remind me, once again, what a tremendously positive influence my darling husband has been on my son.
When Drew leaves, I crawl onto the ground and join Grayson and Olivia’s game for a bit. I think the three of us are lions. If not, nobody is correcting me.
“Rawr,” Grayson whispers, shoving his face into mine. “That’s big-cat for, ‘I love you.’”
I rub my nose against Grayson’s. “Rawr to you, too. So, so much.” I peck his lips and then turn to Olivia to boop her little nose. “And rawr to you, too, my little cub.”
“Rawrrrrr!” Olivia replies heartily, baring her tiny teeth and scrunching her nose.
I laugh. “Wow, that’s a big roar! Are you hungry, my little lion?”
“I’m a tiger, Mommy.”
“Wonderful. Are you hungry, my little tiger cub? Yes? Me, too.”
Grayson looks around the family room. “Did Drew already leave to get Cassie?”
“He just left. I’d better put the lasagnas in the oven, so they’ll be ready when they get back.” I get up off the floor and head toward the kitchen with Daisy the Dog following me. But I can’t resist turning around in the doorway for one last look at Grayson and Olivia on the floor.
I never dreamed my life could turn out like this, back when Grayson sent me that wrong-number text all those years ago. Not in my wildest dreams. But now that I’m here, I know that’s because this life with Grayson—my husband, my lover, my best friend, my destiny—is better than I was even capable of dreaming about, even in my wildest of wild dreams. Grayson once promised me a happily ever after. And that’s exactly what that sweet man has given me.
THE END