Right Where You Left Me | Grayson Dolan

11

Grayson

It was a random Thursday afternoon, and Ivy and I were sitting at the table in our backyard, coloring together in a coloring book.

This was one of her favorite pastimes, and it was always interesting to see her creativity flow.

"Daddy, are you going to marry my Mommy?" she asked.

"I hope so," I said. "Should I ask her?"

Ivy giggled. "Yeah. I want you to marry her."

Brooklyn walked outside with a bowl of freshly cut watermelon in her hands. "What are you two conspiring about over there?"

"Do you wanna get married, babe?"

"Of course I want to," she said, walking over and pecking me on the lips. "Is this you asking?"

"We could take a trip to Vegas one of these days," I said. "I know you wouldn't want a huge wedding."

"You know me too well," Brooklyn said, sitting in the chair next to me. "Ivy, do you think we should get married?"

"Yeah!" Ivy said, throwing her arms in the air with excitement.

"Let's do it," Brooklyn said. "How about next weekend? We'll fly out, and it'll be perfect."

"Just us, or are we bringing anyone?"

"Obviously Ivy will come with us. Your mother, your siblings, and Kylie."

"Sounds perfect," I said. "Let's get married in a week."

-

So we did, and it was perfect.

Brooklyn and I didn't need a huge ceremony. We just wanted our family to be there, and it was the most amazing day.

After the chapel, we all went out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. My mother bought a cake, and we rented out a small private terraced room to eat in.

Now Brooklyn finally shared a last name with me, and with our daughter.

My mom agreed to keep Ivy overnight that night, so Brooklyn and I went to the casino and gambled for a bit. We ended up betting on the number that was the date of our wedding. The 16th. We won a few times.

"Do you ever think of having more kids?" I asked her as we laid in bed that night.

"Sometimes. I would love to have another one. What do you think?"

I smiled. "I think that I would also love to have another. How would you feel if we started trying soon?"

"Ivy's gonna be a great big sister. I think we should go for it."

"Mrs. Grayson Dolan, will you make a new baby with me?"

"I will, Mr. Grayson Dolan."

So, we tried. We waited to find out if it worked. We tried a couple of more times.

It was mid September when we finally got a positive test. Brooklyn felt uncertain, so she took two more tests. All positive.

We ate a lot of ice cream that night. She got up three times in the night to pee.

Ivy was super excited about a new baby being in her mommy's belly. My mother was just as excited.

Ethan was super excited, and Kylie cried when we told the two of them. We're lucky to have such supportive family.

We had a doctors appointment in mid November, when Brooklyn was eight weeks along. We heard the heartbeat. We learned that it was indeed one baby in her womb.

December was a month full of excitement. Brooklyn and I were planning on giving Ivy the best Christmas yet, and so was the rest of my family. They've spoiled little Ivy since day one.

We found out we were having a boy right before my birthday. Ethan was there with Brooklyn and I when we got the phone call.

Our family gave us a bunch of baby stuff for Christmas. Clothes, a car seat that converted to a stroller, and some baby toys. Brooklyn and I started making a nursery out of my old home office. I rarely used the room anyway.

February was Ivy's birthday, then came the fastest, yet slowest three months of our lives.

Brooklyn turned 23, and it was one month later when our son was welcomed into the world.

River Gray Dolan.

Since Ivy's name was naturalistic, we wanted our son's name to be of a similar theme. River was the perfect name for our son.

He was born on May 16th, which Brooklyn and I were happy about. 16 is an important number to us. The date we got married, but also the date we met.

Ivy was instantly obsessed with her new little brother. She always was wanting to help change him, or hold him.

Brooklyn and I quietly celebrated our wedding anniversary that summer, with homemade ice cream sundaes and a movie marathon on the couch at home. We were tired from taking care of the kids, and a chill night to ourselves was just the way we wanted to celebrate.

River was four months old at Ethan and Kylie's wedding. Brooklyn and I had a four year old, and a four month old. Fitting for a family of four, right?

Their wedding went exactly how the two of them wanted it to, and I was so happy for Ethan and Kylie. They got the dream wedding they deserved. The one they've probably been planning in their heads since high school.

"Kids are asleep," Brooklyn said as she sat down next to me. "Ivy passed right out as soon as her head hit the pillow."

"River was already asleep on the way home," I said. "Did he wake up when you put him down?"

"Yeah. I fed and changed him before putting him in his crib."

I nodded. "Typical."

Brooklyn leaned her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her.

"Tonight was awesome. Ethan and Kylie were glowing with happiness."

I smiled. "They got their dream wedding. I couldn't be more happy for them. And proud. They worked hard to pay for it all on their own. Even their honeymoon. Kylie said she didn't want to take a penny from her parents, and she didn't. Neither did Ethan."

"Wow. That's incredible. They had a huge wedding too."

"They've probably been saving for it since high school."

"They got their perfect wedding, and we had ours. Isn't it so crazy how different people can have such different weddings, yet they still are perfect for the couple?"

"Yeah. Our wedding was perfect for us. Imagine if Ethan and Kylie got married in Vegas like us."

I laughed. "That would be interesting."

"I love you, Grayson."

"I love you too, baby. We really created a great life together. I love our family more than anything."

"Me too," Brooklyn said. "You three are everything I wanted when I was a little kid. Everything I dreamed of. The family dynamic I missed. I love being a mother to our kids, and being your wife."

I kissed the side of her head. "I'm so lucky to be spending the rest of my life with you, and that I get to watch our kids grow up with you right here. I'm the luckiest man in the world."