Lies

Chapter 7:

The ice cream truck came slowly down our road. Harper and Ryan ran toward it, dropping their bikes on the driveway. They stopped at the end of the driveway and waited as the truck slowed down. I watched as they gave their money to the man working the truck saying their thank yous when they received their ice cream. They came bounding back towards me and stopped in front of where I was standing. They sat down and started to lick their ice cream.

"Is it any good?" I asked, looking down at them.

"It's so good." Harper answered, taking a big chunk out of hers and letting it sit in her mouth. She made a face and spit it out. "It's too cold!"

"Of course it is. It's ice cream, silly." I giggled, looking at the ice cream that was now melting on the driveway. Ryan was laughing with me and Harper narrowed her eyebrows. She got up and walked into the house. "Harper is mad now. We need to say we're sorry."

Ryan nodded and got up. He grabbed my hand and led me into the door that Harper just entered into. It led into our foyer and I looked up to see our large, glass chandelier. Harper was on the staircase, sitting down, licking her ice cream. She had a scowl on her face when she saw us.

Ryan ran up the stairs to Harper and put his arm around her. I could see his mouth moving and she even put her arm around him. She giggled at something he said and she got up, walking to me. I held my hands out and let her bound into them, her small little body crashing into my own. I kissed her forehead and ran my fingers over her blonde hair.

"I'm sorry, Harper." I told her, letting go to look her in the eyes. She nodded and smiled at me. I watched as she took another big bite of her ice cream and wash it down her small throat. "All right. Let's go back outside. Nolan will be waking up any time now so let's get some outside playing done before he does so."

Harper nodded and ran out the front door. Ryan followed, leaving his ice cream on the floor. I shook my head and grabbed it, putting it in the garbage in the kitchen.

My gaze went to a picture of my father and mother next to Colton's father and mother. My father was standing next to my mother with a huge smile on his face and an arm draped over her shoulders. It was the picture before he was going to ask her to marry him. My mother was looking out at the ocean, her baby bump clearly visible, watching as the waves lapped into the shore and onto the boardwalk where they stood. I could see the engagement ring box in his hand but knew my mother couldn't at the time. It was a perfect picture to represent the best day of my mothers life.

I turned away and walked out into the driveway. Harper and Ryan were playing in the yard; Harper with her Barbie's and Ryan with his cars. They looked so peaceful when they were playing together. Something that I loved about having children. Children were always so energetic and loved to run around to blow off steam but when they were just playing, it was fun to just sit and watch their imaginations run wild.

I knew I always wanted a big family just like my own. I loved the support from such a big family and the trust that we gained from each other. I also loved the dependency I could have on all my siblings. I wanted that for my children too. Harper and Ryan were just the start of a large family that would be based on the family that I grew up in and I would give them that dependency and support because those are very important in life.

I grabbed out my phone and noticed a text from my mother. It was asking whether or not I wanted to help at the nearby local mission center. She explained that it was giving food out to the homeless and if I had nothing to do then to think about it. We weekly helped there so I texted back and said yes. Service work was another thing I loved about my family. My mom encouraged helping the less than plenty and she knew how it would touch each of our lives individuality and change us in a sense.