Together

15.

15.

"Would you like more pancakes?" Chris held up the frying pan questioningly. 'No. I'm completely full.' Maeve rubbed her stomach. "Would you like another pancake, Jane?" Chris asked. The toddler shook her head. 'Well, they ate well. I don't mind three pancakes.' Lizzie said as she grabbed plates from the table and put them in the dishwasher. 'Me neither. You ate well.' Chris complimented the girls.

'What are we going to do now?' Maeve asked. 'Get changed. We're still in our pajamas.' Lizzie chuckled. Maeve and Jane giggled. 'Are you coming upstairs with me? I bought you new clothes.' Maeve and Jane stood up and walked out of the kitchen. "Looks like they already know where to go." Chris laughed. Lizzie chuckled. 'Parenthood is still going quite well for us.' She walked out of the kitchen and Chris was left alone. This gave him the opportunity to dress up too.

He walked upstairs towards his own bathroom. The advantage of a large house was that it had several bathrooms. Ideal if you all had to be in the bathroom at the same time. Chris quickly took a shower and then got dressed.

When Chris was completely refreshed, he picked up his phone and was shocked by the amount of messages he had received. An awful lot of people had taken the trouble to send him a message. Chris replied to messages from his family and Scarlett. Then he looked at the press releases that had come out. Below the articles were photos of Chris, Lizzie and the twins at the airport. Fortunately, Maeve and Jane were not clearly visible in the photos.

Chris put his phone away and walked towards the nursery. In the hallway he met Lizzie, Jane and Maeve. 'You look so beautiful!' Chris said. Jane and Maeve both had their hair down and were wearing the exact same dress. "I just don't know who is who anymore." Chris said. Lizzie chuckled. "Jane is standing to your right." She replied. 'How do you see that?' Chris asked. 'Jane has a rounder face.' Lizzie revealed. Chris looked at the twins but he could barely tell the difference.

"Can we play now?" Jane asked. 'Yes, of course you can! Shall we take the toys downstairs? Then you can play there.' Lizzie suggested. The two girls nodded and Lizzie grabbed a box of toys from Maeve's room and Chris grabbed a box of Barbies from Jane's room. They all walked downstairs.

The toys were placed in the living room and the girls started playing with the Barbies. Chris and Lizzie looked at it with a smile. "They're really cute." Chris said. Lizzie nodded. They were the cutest children she had ever seen. It's strange how quickly time changed. A week ago she had expected never to see them again and now they were right in front of her.

'Lizzie, do you think Jane will continue to be afraid of dogs? Dodger is in my room but I can't keep him there forever.' Chris said. Lizzie shrugged. 'No idea. She reacted very strongly yesterday, but perhaps that was also due to the tension and all the new impressions.' Lizzie replied. 'I'll go outside with Dodger first. Then he can release his energy.' Chris said. 'Fine. Then I'll stay with the twins.'

Chris walked upstairs to get Dodger and Lizzie plopped down on the couch. The girls were happily playing together. Lizzie took a photo of them and she sent the photo in the family group app. Everyone wanted to see the twins as soon as possible, but Lizzie didn't want to scare the girls. They thought Lizzie and Chris were scary, let alone how scared they are when their entire family comes over.

Lizzie's phone went off. Jane and Maeve immediately looked up. "Play on." Lizzie said. She looked at her screen and Robbie's name was on the screen. Lizzie stared at the screen. She didn't want to talk to him. She clicked him away. She didn't have time to think about Robbie at all. She had to focus on Jane and Maeve. To her family. Everything she had ever lost she now had back. If she hooked up with Robbie now, everything would become more complicated. Not only for her but also for Chris and the children. She put her phone in her pocket and sat down on the floor.

She took a Barbie out of the box. 'Can I play?' she asked Jane and Maeve. The twins looked at her in surprise and nodded. "Yes, you can have this Barbie." Maeve said. She gave Lizzie a Barbie. 'Wow. It's beautiful!' Lizzie made a braid in Barbie's hair and then they played with the twins and the Barbies for a long time.

After half an hour the door suddenly opened and Chris came in with Dodger. "Look, daddy's home." Lizzie said. The twins looked up. 'Dodger!' Maeve stood and curiously looked at Dodger who stood obediently next to Chris.

Chris got down on his knees. "Come and have a look." He beckoned the twins. Maeve carefully walked forward. She had already met Dodger yesterday, but it was still exciting. "Will you come and have a look, Jane?" Lizzie had stood and reached out her hand to Jane. The girl shook her head quickly. "He doesn't do anything." Lizzie tried to reassure her but Jane stayed in place.

Maeve was curious and in doubt she stroked the dog's head. Dodger found the girl interesting and enjoyed the attention he received. 'Sweet little dog.' Maeve said. 'That one is cute, isn't it?' Chris looked proudly at the interaction between his daughter and dog. Dodger licked the girl's face and Maeve giggled. "Looks like you and Dodger are real friends already!"