Forever my Marine

Chapter #79

Chapter 79
August 26th, 2021
Louri’s POV
I wake up to my alarm at 6 am and turn it off. I slowly go to get up from bed but Scarlett mumbles no, making me laugh quietly. “Babe, I have to get up and check on the smoker and prep the pork shoulder,” I say to her. “Ugh, fine but you better be quick because I will be demanding cuddles as soon as you get back,” she says, still with her eyes closed. “Yes mam,” I say and kiss her on the head and get out of bed, grabbing my robe and heading downstairs to the kitchen. I look at my phone and the temperature for the brisket is making nice progress so I don’t have to worry about that right now. I grab the pork shoulder I had pulled out the night before and score it with my knife and then add the seasoning to it. Once I’m done I place it into another tray and bring it out to the smoker and put it inside and add another meat thermometer into that and close the lid once again. I head back inside and wash my hands and grab the chicken wings and start seasoning those. I won’t be putting those in the smoker now as they don’t need to be in that long. I also prep the bacon for the billionaire bacon that will go in at the same time as the wings. People go crazy over the bacon so I make sure I make enough for tonight. Once everything is prepped I place the chicken and bacon into the fridge, wash my hands again and head back upstairs to our room. I get back into bed and wrap my arm around Scarlett and pull her close to me and she immediately entangles her legs with mine, making me smile. I let sleep overcome me once again.

Scarlett’s POV
I wake up when I hear Thomas crying on the monitor. “I’ll go get him,” Louri says and gently untangles herself from me and gets up tiredly and walks out of our room. She is such an amazing wife, she prepares food for our friends and family coming over tonight and she still offers to get up and get Thomas when he’s crying. A few seconds later she walks back in with Thomas and sits on the bed next to me while holding him. He seems to calm down a bit so she lays back down while holding him against her chest and rubs his back slowly. After a few seconds he falls back asleep. I love that he has this great bond with her and falls back asleep immediately. I know Louri won’t fall back asleep since she is holding him, so I try to offer to take him so she can get some more sleep. “Hey baby, do you want me to take him so you can get some more sleep?” I ask her quietly. “No it’s ok, I love holding him while he sleeps. Plus I can lay down a bit later for a quick nap,” she tells me. “What did I do to deserve such an amazing wife and mother to our children?” I ask, smiling lovingly at her. “It is me who is the lucky one,” she says in response. My smile gets even bigger, if that’s even possible and I lean towards her and give her a soft kiss on the lips. I lay back down and close my eyes a bit. “Sleep honey, I’ll be here,” she tells me. I let out a small yawn and cuddle close to them and fall back asleep.

After some time I wake back up and see that it is now 10 am. Louri and Thomas are no longer in bed with me. I check the monitor and see his room is empty so I get up and head downstairs. Once I reach the bottom step, I see an image I would like to engrave into my mind for favorite memories. Louri has Thomas in the baby bjorn swaying him back and forth as she is cooking breakfast. This woman seriously is an angel. I walk into the kitchen and give her a kiss on the cheek and Thomas a kiss on the head. “Good morning sleepyhead, sleep well? She asks. “I did, thank you for letting me sleep in and for making breakfast,” I tell her. “Of course, anything for my Queen,” she says, making me chuckle. “Coffee is in the pot and food will be done soon,” she says, as she continues to cook. I walk over to the coffee pot and pour myself a cup. I inhale the lovely scent and take a sip, relishing the flavor and instantly waking up more. A couple minutes later Maya, Louisa and Devon come walking downstairs and head over to us. “Good morning my babies,” I say to them, giving them each a kiss on the head. “Good morning mommy,” they say, hugging me. “How did you three sleep?” I ask. “Good,” they respond and head over to Louri, hugging her legs and then walking over to the kitchen table. Louri finishes cooking and hands Thomas to me so I can place him in his high chair. We settle down at the dining table and start eating breakfast.

Louri’s POV
It is now 2 o’clock in the afternoon, everything is going smoothly. I put the chicken wings and bacon into the smoker and removed the aluminum foils from the brisket and pork shoulder to finish up the cooking. Ma and Scarlett are in the kitchen making sides and desserts together. Devon comes outside and tells me how excited he is to see Grandpa Sherman and Grandma Mildred. “Don’t forget your Aunts and Uncles are coming over too,” I tell him. “I know, but we don’t get to see Grandpa and Grandma a lot because of work,” he tells me. “That is true,” I say to him. We head inside and check the progress of how everything is going on. I get shooed out of the kitchen from Scarlett and Ma. Scarlett tells me to go and try to take a nap. Devon stays with them to help them bake. I head upstairs to our bedroom and decide to take a small nap.

About two hours pass and I wake up to Maya tapping my face with her hand. “Yes Maya?” I ask as I open my eyes. “Can I cuddle with you?” She asks. “Sure princess,” I say and lift her onto our bed and she cuddles right into my neck. I smile and rub her back for a bit while we lay there. After about 20 minutes my phone beeps, must be the smoker. I grab my phone from the nightstand and see the temp for the brisket and pork shoulder are ready. “Maya sweetie, I have to get up and get the food out of the smoker,” I say to her softly to not startle her. “Otay,” she says and detaches herself from me and gets off the bed. I get up and follow her downstairs and she heads over to her sister in the living room. I head outside and open the smoker and see that the brisket and pork shoulder look amazing. I grab my oven mitts and pull out a tray at a time and close it once again to let the wings and bacon continue to cook. I bring the trays inside and place them on the island and cover them with aluminum foil and place them into our separate oven that the ladies aren’t using to keep them warm. That’s when I hear the doorbell ring. “I’ll go answer it,” I say and head to the front door. I open it and am greeted with my brother, Shanna and Bri. “Hey guys, come on in,” I say, moving out of the way so they can walk in. The kids see their Uncle Chris and Aunties Shanna and Bri and excitedly go greet them. It’s going to be a great evening.

A/N: Hey everybody Chris here. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I’m breaking it up into two parts. See you all in the next one