Attending At Twenty-Four

XVIII. Hot Tub

"Tammy, come down for dinner!" I heard Phoebe shout, causing Jordyn to cover her ears and whine again. Except this time, she is literally about to cry. We'd been pretty much silent after Jordyn learnt how to say thanks properly but now Phoebe with her fat mouth has shouted, Jordyn is upset.

"Headphones." she sobbed. Ruth put the head phones but she was still a little agitated.

"I'd have to take her down to Mama. I don't know what's up."

When Ruth tried to pick her sister up, the little girl shook her head and pointed to me. So I picked her up and she was happy with that.

"Favourite." I winked at Ruth.

"Shut up."

We go downstairs and I see that Mom has pulled the table into the living room and everyone goes around, picking bits and pieces that they want.

"Is she okay?" Kate asked as I we came into the room.

"She's a bit agitated and doesn't like noise right now."

"She's probably hungry. She gets the worst hanger out of all of us." Kate smiled a little as she took the girl from my arms, "Where can I go to feed her?"

"Oh, like breastfeed?" I whisper.

"Yeah," she nodded, grabbing her little bag that I assume she carries all of her stuff for Jordyn.

"Follow me."

I know that she'd probably want to be comfortable feeding Jordyn so I take her to my room. I stack up the pillows and bunch up the blanket and Kate looks so relieved.

"Can you help me get situated?" Kate asked.

"Yeah."

I took Jordyn from Kate and allowed her to sit down. She got a bunch of towels out from her bag and basically covered my whole bed with them. Then she took her shirt off and pulled down her bra.

"Pass the baby." she said, holding her arms out. I pass Jordyn to her and I helped her get comfortable. Which also meant taking the headphones off.

"Do you mind me asking, Jordyn seems a little old to be breastfeeding still, how come you still feed her?" I question.

"I had the same problem with Bennie, Billie and Danny. She just refuses to eat anything else. Although, she is enticed by applesauce, which is different to her older siblings. I'm hoping to ween her off of breastfeeding soon."

"Hm," I hum, "How old is she?"

"She's two but she'll be three in March."

"She's cute." I smile.

"She knows it."

"Her hair is quite thick, isn't it?" I wonder. Jordyn's hair is long and thick, thick enough to be pulled into a ponytail like Christina, Ruth, Zoey, Billie and Danny.

"Both Christina and I had thick hair when we were younger." Kate attempted a shrug, but she couldn't because Jordyn was latched onto her.

"I just realised that I'm still sat here. I should probably leave."

"No, stay! I'll need your help when she finishes." Kate said.

"Oh, okay."

"I noticed that you and Ruth are wearing the same colour."

"Yeah, we have a habit of accidentally matching." I chuckle.

"Christina and I are the same. We're wearing green tops and black bottoms today."

"That's cute."

"What's your favourite colour?" she asked.

"Green."

"You can marry Ruth." Kate nodded.

"What?" I laugh.

"That's my favourite colour, too."

"Oh," I nod.

"When Ruth and Zoey were about five, Christina took them out to buy me gifts for my eighteenth birthday and they all chose my engagement ring that Tina proposed to me with." Kate reminisced, "I'll show once Jordyn is finished."

"Did Christina propose to you on your birthday?"

"Ay, she did. In the hot tub."

"She seems like quite the romantic." I say.

"Yes, and I bet Ruth is the same, so you best watch out before she makes your heart explode."

"I'll be careful." I smirk.

------

After everyone goes home, Ruth and I set up the hot tub. I requested it because I just want a little time alone with Ruth and totally not because I'm thinking about Christina's proposal.

"That was fun," Ruth said, sinking into the water next to me.

"It was, huh?"

"Yeah," she replied before a funny thought came to her, "Your Dad's face when he walked in."

"And then Mom was like, I told you we had guests coming over. Why don't you check your phone? Classic Mom." I imitate my mother's accent perfectly.

"What made it funnier was the accent."

"Oh yeah. You should hear when she's really angry." I chuckle.

"Mhm." she hummed, when I look over, she's got her eyes closed and look like she's in bliss. I tried not to check her out too much but she's in a bikini, how could I not?

I leaned over and kissed her cheek and her eyes open, looking directly at me, "Hi," I say.

"Hey," she replies.

"You look like you need this." I muse, nodding my head to her, her chin getting closer to the water surface.

She realised and sat back up, "Yeah. I'm tempted to sit in front of a jet and get a back massage."

"I'll give you one. Not here, obviously."

"Really?" she grinned at me.

"Yeah."

"What are my chances of getting a shoulder massage in the tub?" Ruth smirked.

"Very high. Scoot forward a bit." I say, getting up to sit on the side of the tub behind her. She did so and I placed my hands on her knotted shoulders, "Damn, I haven't even started yet and I can already feel how tense you are."

"Yeah, being a doctor does that to you." she chuckled. When I started massaging her shoulders, she groaned and it made me laugh a little.

"Oh my God. Your shoulders are so knotted." I laugh. She only hummed in response, "Your Mom said I could marry you because my favourite colour is green."

"She's crazy like that."

"What's your Mama's favourite colour?"

"Red."

"I know what yours is. Yours is purple. What about Zoey?"

"Blue."

"Bennie?"

"Also blue."

"Billie? Is it red?"

"No. She likes magenta."

"I think you know what my next question is."

"Danny likes teal. And I'm pretty sure that Jordyn likes orange."

"I loved Jordyn." I say.

"I love Jordyn, too. She's great."

"You love all of your sisters."

"I do." she nodded and leaned her head into my leg.

It wasn't long before we got out and got dressed. Ruth kept her top off though because she really wanted that back massage. And she really enjoyed it...