La Sombra [Ben Hargreeves]

Epilogue

Ten years later

"Mami!" I heard a cry from down the hall. My middle child, Eden, sounded upset. I was currently in the kitchen packing up a cooler with sodas and waters for the annual family picnic. "Mami!"

"What's the matter, mi amor?" I called out, now placing the cut up fruits and vegetables Tupperware.

"Jace took my AirPods and he won't give them back." Eden stomped her way towards me, her cheeks flushed from frustration.

Eden had just turned ten two weeks ago. She had gotten a balanced mixture of both Ben and I. Eden had long black straight hair, brown eyes and her father's nose. She even had freckles across her nose and cheeks just like I did. With Eden being a balance of both of her parents meant that she also received our attitudes and temperament (mostly Ben's).

"Jace." I sighed, seeing my youngest head pop out of his room.

"I asked if I could borrow them!" Jace defended himself.

Jace was currently eight years old. He was a carbon copy of Ben. The only thing he got from me was my freckles and dark brown hair instead of black hair. He even acted a lot like his father. His uncles were quick to point that out.

"Did not!" Eden turned to scoff at him.

"Did too!" Jace walked toward us, the AirPods in his hand. "You said these were the old ones!"

"No, I said that I don't know where the old ones are and that these," Eden pointed to the AirPods in his hands, "are the news ones."

"Oh." Jace furrowed his brows and he looked at his hand. "Then where are the old ones?"

"Appa has them, Jay." Milo ruffled his younger brother's hair as he made his way to me. My oldest son now sixteen. Over the years, Milo started to favor more of my attributes. One of the few things he didn't get was my height. He now towered over me, even slightly taller than his father. He had to lean down to peck my cheek. "Hola, Mami."

"Hola, mi amor. Where's your father?" I raised a brow.

Ben had been teaching Milo how to assemble a PC this summer. They had tried to build a car from scratch last year and that turned out into a hospital visit and a broken hand. Now they both agreed to work on computers since they were both tech savvy.

"Cleaning up the spare parts in the study room. He should be out here soon." Milo leaned against the counter, peering into the cooler to see what I've packed. I went to the freezer to grab the bag of ice. "Oh! You're bringing the Italian sodas! Nice."

"Arlo loves those!" Jace said. "He's going to be happy that you brought them, Mami."

"Let's see if his parents will be. Your Tio Five and Tia Delores hates it when he gets those sugar highs."

"Eh, he'll be burning that off when we play soccer." Milo reassured me, flicking his wrist.

"Oh! Isn't Claire bringing her boyfriend to the family picnic this time?" Eden eagerly asked. She adored Claire, looking up to her. "Last year she didn't bring him because they just started dating and she didn't want our tios and tias to scare him off."