A Parental Proposal

A growing bond

When Leah woke up, Eric was still deep asleep. They had both slept facing each other and they had remained that way till now.

They had talked a little more before sleeping the previous night. Leah had shared her favourite band and all the crazy fan things she did. Eric had laughed from time to time and Leah had felt a warm fuzzy feeling whenever he did.

They had never spoken about each other before. Their conversations were mostly about the kids or about the house.

But yesterday had paved the way to catch a glimpse of Leah's past. Eric wasn't as talkative and Leah did the most of the talking. Leah had surprisingly felt easier to talk to him like never before. It was either the warmth of the dim light or the silence or the fact that it was really the first time they really looked at each other.

Back at their home, though they shared the room, he slept on the bed while Leah slept on a mattress on the floor. They didn't face each other and there was never an opening for any conversation of sorts.

They had that yesterday and had surprisingly used it well. Or so Leah thought.

Now, she stared at a sleeping Eric. An image of his laughter involuntarily appeared in her memory and it made her smile. Eric had a nice laugh. His eyes had stayed on hers all through the conversation yesterday and though she wouldn't acknowledge it a shiver had passed through her at times.

She wanted to peel her eyes away from him, but for some reason felt compelled to stare longer. It was the first time Leah was actually observing his features. Never before did she look at him for longer than a minute.

And now that she did, she realised he was really good looking. He had always been good looking, yes, but on closer and deeper observation Leah saw that he had good features.

In another world, another time, she would have totally swooned at him.

When that thought hit, Leah immediately snapped out of her trance. She was thinking nonsense. She immediately turned away and laid on her back. Her heart was suddenly racing and she took deep breaths to calm down.

She looked at the time on her phone. It was almost 8. The kids would be awake anytime now and she didn't want them to freak out when they found out they didn't sleep with their dad.

She got off the bed, refreshed and when she was about to leave the room, took one last glance at her sleeping husband and left.

******

The kids sat at the dining table for breakfast. Leah's mother made them tiny idlis with chutney.

"Do you like it?" She asked and they both nodded in unison.

"Leah used to love this when she was your age."

"I still do," Leah said.

Just then Eric stepped out of the room, looking clean and fresh.

"Good morning," he said.

"Daddy!" Haley shrieked. "We're having small idly. Come on!"

Eric came over and kissed each of the kids on the cheek. He then looked at Leah and when his eyes met hers something jumped inside of her.

"Good morning," he said to her.

"Good morning."

"Did you eat?"

"No. I was just waiting for you."

He smiled sweetly. "Then let's eat. Uncle, aunty?"

"We are yet to eat as well, son. I'll serve for you and then eat," Leah's mother replied.

"Oh, no no. We can help ourselves and the kids. Let's eat together, please."

Leah's parents sat with them and they all are together. It was such a beautiful scene. Her parents looked very happy and the kids were slowly warming up to this new family. Leah wanted to frame this moment.

"Daddy, didn't we sleep with you last night?" Sally asked while eating and Eric nodded. "But we woke up in grandma's bed today," she pondered.

"Yeah, honey. Grandpa and grandma wanted to sleep with you. Was that okay?"

Sally thought about it. She looked at Haley, but she seemed indifferent about it. After a minute Sally nodded and went back to eating.

Leah didn't know what that meant. Maybe Sally wasn't comfortable. Maybe Sally wanted to sleep with her daddy. Or maybe it was really fine. Leah couldn't figure it out for Sally has never been open with her feelings.

She had to work more on it. Get Sally to open up more. She should be able to openly say what she wanted or needed without being shy or uncomfortable with her parents. She needed to know her thoughts and wants mattered. That she mattered.

*****

They spent the day playing for the most part. Leah offered to help her mom with the chores and the cooking but she denied it. So instead Leah sat with Eric and the kids.

She didn't want to force her way into the trio. So she sat back and watched them. Eric was incredible with the girls. Leah had seen this before but today it seemed different.

But then a lot of things seemed different today. Or maybe it was just the way she saw that differed.

Leah found herself drawn to Eric's laughs. She had been since last night and she thought it was just a momentary thing and it would go away. But no. Every time she saw him laugh with the kids her heart jumped.

She had to mentally kick herself multiple times to remind that she was here for the kids and not for anything else.

They were now playing hide and seek and Haley asked Leah to join. But Leah had seen too many movies to know how a scene like this would go. Ever romance show or movie has this scene. The blindfolded heroine will accidentally bump into the hero.

No. Leah didn't want that. She was already feeling a lot of things at the moment that she needed to stop feeling. She wouldn't knowingly get into this.

So she gently denied it.

"You have been standing there all day watching us, Leah," Eric said. "You should join us for this one."

"I don't like being blindfolded," she said to make her escape.

"Okay, then. Let's not blinfold you. You can just close your eyes right and we'll trust that you won't peek. How does that sound?"

Leah didn't have the heart to deny any longer. She had been wanting to be a part of this since they started playing. This invite was exactly what she was waiting and longing for. She didn't want to pass it up and nodded.

They started playing. Haley was seeking while the others hid in different places. She counted to 25 and started searching for them. When she spotted each, she screamed and laughed and Sally joined. And then they repeated this several times with the first found as the next seeker. Leah had to seek twice.

It was so much fun and the fact that they played this in the same place Leah did in her childhood added more weightage to the memory. She treasured every second of it.

When they were all done playing, they crashed on the couch breathing heavily. It was one hell of a day. They spent the evening talking and laughing. They played cards and the best part was when Eric asked Leah's parents to join as well. They l sat together and played and laughed and screamed for joy.

The girls had gotten so comfortable that when bedtime came, they asked if they could sleep with their grandma and grandpa.

Leah had come here hoping to bond better with the kids. But as an added bonus, the kids and Eric had also bonded with her parents.

This trip was doing them more good than she'd ever imagined.

*****

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