Songbird [H.S]

☆ The Playboy Magazine ☆

May 1995

Josie - 17

River - 15

Magnolia - 11

Navy and Misty - 2

"Navy, get back here!"

Clutching onto the towel slung haphazardly around his waist, Harry hurried out of the shower after his youngest baby, leaving a trail of water droplets along the floor behind him. His feet slid across the tiles, making it almost impossible to chase after the toddler and he'd already lost track of which room he could have possibly gone into.

Harry loved his kids, he really did, but having the twins was the final straw for him and Marley - particularly with Navy being dead set on teaching them the full extent of what the term 'terrible twos' really meant. With five children, Harry had grown accustomed to the chaotic tornado that occurred every day but now at thirty-six years old, he was starting to feel the effects of growing older creeping up on him. It was a little harder to chase after energetic babies, play Barbies, help with homework, go to work, make dinner, do the laundry and scare away monsters under the bed all in one day, every single day.

But neither Harry nor Marley would change it for the world, no matter how exhausted they sometimes felt. It had always been a dream of theirs to have a big family and the twins had been a little miracle for them all, however, Marley was adamant she was done now. And in moments like this, where Harry struggled to keep up with his son, he agreed it was for the best.

It had been a long day at work for him with the impending launch of the gallery's newest exhibition and Harry had been craving a moment of peace with his wife once he got home before his eldest children came home from school demanding his help with homework for the next day. But the moment he'd stepped through the front door, he was met with a high-pitched screaming that made his ears ring and the beginning of a headache rumble around the back of his mind. Marley was at her wits end trying to get Navy to stop snatching the little frog toy from his sister Misty's hand but it was only triggering a temper tantrum she was too tired to handle.

That was how Harry had ended up taking Navy upstairs with him to play on the floor of the bathroom while he took a quick shower, hoping some time on his own would be enough to get him to calm down. But obviously, he could not be trusted to be truly alone and Harry could barely take his eyes off the boy knowing it only took two seconds for him to get himself into mischief.

"This fucking child, I swear to fuck." The man grumbled to himself, stomping along the landing by the stairs into his bedroom where he could quickly pull on some clothes before locating the rogue child. His wet hair clung to his forehead, causing water droplets to dampen his clean shirt but he didn't care, all he could focus on was stopping Navy from wrecking someone's stuff and having to deal with a teenage meltdown on top of a toddler tantrum later that evening.

"Little lovie, where are you?" He called with a playful tone, years of dealing with his kids teaching him the best way to find where they were hiding was to make it seem like a game. If they knew they were in trouble they'd only hide more and that just made it harder for everyone.

Besides, neither Harry nor Marley was the type to yell at their kids when they were naughty. Sure, they were stern when they had to be but a gentle and firm approach to parenting was more their style. Strict rules never worked, both of them knowing from experience that it would only push their kids into being secretive. This way their kids trusted them to have open conversations with them as they understood they weren't being judged or going to be yelled at - they'd be listened to and given the advice they needed.