Forever my Marine

Chapter #78

Chapter 78
August 25th, 2021
Scarlett’s POV
Now that the kitchen is fully remodeled I thought it would be the perfect time to throw a little get together to show off Louri’s hard work. I walk into the living room and see Louri holding Thomas while sitting on the couch and watching cartoons. She is holding a bottle in his mouth as she drinks from her cup of coffee. This woman and her multitasking I swear. I walk behind the couch and lean down and kiss her on her head. “Hey babe,” she says looking up at me. “Hey, I see that you’re having a nice time,” I say to her. “Yeah, just some quality bonding time with Thomas while the other littles are still asleep,” she tells me. I smile and walk around the couch and sit next to her and place a kiss on Thomas’s head as well. “So I was thinking, since the kitchen is finished, maybe we could invite some people over? They would also get to meet Thomas since only Chris and Shanna and our parents saw him after he was born.” I say to her. “That sounds like a great idea.” She says. “Great I’ll let everyone know, how does tomorrow sound? I ask her. “Sounds good to me,” she says and I lean over and give her a kiss. I get up from the couch and text everyone and invite them over tomorrow for dinner.

Louri’s POV
Devon heads downstairs in his PJs and walks over to the couch. “Good morning Mama,” he says, while rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Good morning my little marine, how did you sleep?” I ask him. “Good, how's little brother?” He asks, making me smile. He’s such a sweet kid. “He’s good, just finished feeding and burping him, now we are just watching cartoons,” I tell him. “Can I hold him?” He asks. “Sure, sit on the couch and get comfy,” I tell him. He jumps up on the couch and sits in the corner. I get up and place Thomas gently in his arms, adjusting a little to show him how to support his head. “He’s so small,” Devon says, looking over his little brother. “Yes he is, but you’re doing a great job holding him,” I tell him and he smiles up at me before looking back at his brother who’s looking at him attentively. Scarlett walks back in a few minutes later and sees Devon holding Thomas. She smiles widely and takes a picture on her phone and sends it to me and through the group chat. “I let everyone know they can come by tomorrow for dinner,” she tells me, making me nod and wrapping my arms around her. After a few minutes Louisa and Maya join us in the living room and they decide to sit next to Devon and Thomas. Moments like this really warm my heart. Scarlett then turns in my arms and gives me a quick kiss and lets me know she’s going to start on breakfast. I reluctantly let go of her but not after receiving another kiss. I sit down next to Maya and Louisa and scoop them both into my lap and we decide to watch some cartoons. Once breakfast is ready I put the girls down and get up and grab Thomas from Devon’s arms. We walk into the kitchen and the kids go to sit at the table and I place Thomas into his high chair. We eat breakfast and Scarlett and I tell the kids about everyone coming over tomorrow. “Is Grandpa Sherman coming too?” Devon asks. “I can see if he’s not busy,” I tell him, making him nod excitedly. I grab my phone and send a quick text to see if he and Mildred are available. After a few minutes he replies and says they’ll be there. Devon is over the moon. He really loves Grandpa Sherman. Once we finish eating I help clean up and we decide to take the kids to the park since it is a nice day out.

In the evening after getting the kids to bed, I head downstairs and grab the brisket that I will be smoking and place it on the kitchen island. I grab all the seasonings I want to use and grab my chef’s knife. I begin trimming the fat off but leaving some good pieces knowing it’ll add to the flavor. I also cut some pieces to make burnt ends as well, knowing my brother and Robert love my burnt ends. Scarlett walks downstairs in one of my shirts and some shorts and walks over to me. “Whatcha up to?” She asks. “I’m preparing the brisket that I’m going to smoke for dinner tomorrow night along with making burnt ends, pulled pork and billionaire bacon,” I tell her. “Oh my, my mouth is already watering,” she says, making me chuckle. “Oh, also I’ll be smoking some wings too,” I tell her and her eyes light up like it’s the 4th of July. “You know I love wings,” she says and I laugh nodding. “I know they’re your favorite, that’s why I’m making them. And it’s going to be a new rub recipe too,” I tell her. “Well I can’t wait,” she says, smiling. She sits with me while I prep everything. I walk out onto our deck and uncover my smoker and turn it on and put the right kind of pellets I want. I close the lid after putting the thermometer in and check my phone to make sure the app is working properly. Scarlett got me a Bluetooth thermometer that hooks up to my phone so I don’t have to go outside constantly to check the temperature. Once it gets up to the right temperature I grab the tray that has the brisket and place it into the smoker, closing it and heading back inside. I wash my hands and grab Scarlett’s hand and walk upstairs with her and into our room and we head to bed.

A/N: Hey everybody Chris here. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. See you all in the next chapter.