four branches and one tree

Two branch four branch

My mornings have changed a lot in the past eighteen years, but they have only gotten better. Spencer and I have earned a lot of money from our successful careers, and we used some of it to pay for our dream wedding. We got married when we were 20 and had our first daughter, Andrea, when we were 23. She is 10 years old now and she looks just like me. She wants to be a writer when she grows up, and I'm so proud of her. Our little one is Odessa, a name that I chose because Spencer agreed to let me pick the name for our second and last baby. She is more like her dad, and she loves football too much for a 4 year old. Whenever she gets a chance, she plays with her dad and cheers for his team.

I start to wake up and stretch, opening one eye and seeing my baby girl next to me.

 "Remember what we promised, sweetie? You're supposed to sleep in your own bed and let mommy and daddy sleep, okay?" I say softly.

 "No, mommy!" she says, frowning. "You're not going to leave any room for daddy?" Spencer asks, joining us on the bed.

 Odessa jumps off the bed and crosses her arms. "When is she going to get out of this stage?" I wonder, shaking my head.

 "I'm so hungry," Andrea says, walking into the room. "Blame that on your dad, he can't cook, so now you have to starve," I joke. "Nah, it's fine, I'll call the chef," Spencer says, reaching for his phone. 

"No, babe, remember what we talked about? We can't be lazy, just let me cook." I say, getting out of bed and putting on my robe. "Alright, I'm going to hop in the shower," Spencer says, giving me a kiss.

 I walk out and go to the kitchen. "Alexa, play Run the World (Girls) by Beyoncé!" Andrea says, following me. "Ooh, great song choice," I say, grabbing eggs from the fridge. Andrea smiles.

 Her mom is her biggest inspiration, and she takes every compliment from me to heart. "Mommy, I want egg," Odessa says, holding an egg. "Mommy is making eggs," I say, taking the egg from her and putting it in a bowl.

 "Andrea, can you please help me watch her while I cook?" I ask. "Uh, sure, mom," Andrea says, looking back from typing on her computer. 

Odessa starts to walk over to her sister, and Andrea knows what's about to happen. The four year old's fingers start pressing on the computer aggressively. "Dessa, stop!" Andrea yells. "Mom, tell her to stop it!" Andrea says. 

"Odessa, come here!" I say, raising my voice. Odessa starts crying, and then Spencer walks in, fresh from the shower. "What did y'all do to my baby?" he asks, picking up Odessa and comforting her. 

She smiles through her tears. "Wanna go play some football?" Spencer asks her. Odessa nods eagerly. "Now that's just wrong," Andrea says. "Really wrong," I agree. But I can't help but smile at my beautiful family. I love them more than anything in the world.

At breakfast

"Mom, I have gymnastics practice today," Andrea said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I know, baby, I didn't forget. But your dad is going to take you," Olivia said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Can I go too?" Odessa asked, her voice hopeful that they say yes.

"You're staying home with mommy, unless you can find an outfit in time," Spencer said, teasing her gently. He knew how much she loved dressing up.

She crossed her arms and pouted. "Okay," she said. Odessa liked getting her way sometimes.

"You can play football with mommy," Olivia said, trying to cheer her up.

"Hmm, I'm good. You always win," Odessa said, sticking out her tongue.

"Oh, okay," Olivia said, laughing. She was proud of her daughter's competitive spirit.

Andrea laughed along. "Would you play football with me, sissy?" she asked, looking at Odessa with admiration.

Odessa nodded aggressively numerous times. "Then I can win!!!" she said, making a big mess and getting the syrup all over her shirt while eating.

"Dessa!" Andrea said, shaking her head.

Olivia sighed. "Odessa, go find another shirt," she said

"All by myself?" Odessa asked, looking at her with big eyes.

"Yes, we are in a rush," Olivia said, smiling. She trusted her daughter to be independent.

Odessa nodded. She got down from her chair and ran to her room.

It had been a few minutes and Odessa came back out with an outfit that didn't match at all. She had a pink tutu, a green sweater, and yellow boots. They had been running out of time to go, but Olivia and Spencer couldn't help but admire her cuteness.

"Looks like you have to stay home with mommy after all," Andrea said, jokingly. She secretly wanted her sister to come with them.

"We can watch a movie, baby. It'll be fun!" Olivia said, hugging her. She knew how much Odessa loved cuddling with her.

To get back on the chair, Odessa placed her sticky hands on Olivia's hand and climbed up onto the chair. "Baby, how about we go clean your hands?" Olivia said, noticing the syrup.

"They are clean, mommy!" Odessa said, innocently.

"Yes, yes they are, my princess," Spencer said, picking her up. He adored his little girl. "And you can in fact go with us, because I think you picked out the cutest outfit," he said, making her giggle.

Odessa smiled and hugged him. She was happy to go with them.

Olivia zoned out, thinking about where she was years before this. She had gone through a lot of struggles, but she never gave up on her dreams. She could never figure out how she got so lucky with two beautiful girls and the best husband she could ever ask for.

"Oh, dad, it's time to go!" Andrea said, checking her Apple Watch. She didn't want to be late for her practice.

"You're right, it is. Let's go, princess," Spencer said, putting Odessa down. He grabbed the keys and the bag.

I'm so lucky," Liv said to herself, as she followed them. She kissed them all and hopped in the car. 

(Hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter let me know if y'all want more, this to very long but it really was worth it)