Swanson Farms

Chapter 36

6 months later almost everything was different. Bailey was now almost two years old, walking and "talking", the twins were growing at a quick pace, and Seth and I were getting closer and closer to our wedding day. Jackie and Zach were in the middle of trying to adopt a six month old girl and in the process of building a new house on their property.

Unfortunately as we were all moving forward, one of us was not. My dad suffered a major heart attack two weeks after the twins were born and didn't make it. My family was still grieving, the wounds of his loss still felt fresh. No one mentioned him for the time being, I'm pretty sure Mom still had all his clothes and even his cologne, and part of me wondered if she would ever throw it away.

Jonathan was her first love, and I wondered if he would be her first and last love. I hoped not, as much as I loved Jonathan as my father, I knew that Mom couldn't be alone forever.

Even now, almost six months later from the day we lost him, it still brings me to tears to write about. Jonathan was one of the best things that happened to Mom, me, and Bobby. Before Jonathan we didn't have a father, he was and had been out of the picture since I was young. With Jonathan came another brother and a sister that became my best friend, my side kick.

We were slowly healing, leaning and depending on each other more than ever. Travis moved here, taking the house Jackie and Zach originally had, selling the house the family owned in Toronto.

Travis was actually engaged to a girl he met at the airport before flying here. She was saying goodbye to her family as they went to see relatives in the Southern U.S states. He'd been on a lay over and they couldn't stop talking. Once his flight was called, she made a split second decision and bought a plane ticket- and they've been inseparable ever since. She seemed very sweet and fit in to the quiet and slower lifestyle of Willowhurst well.

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Early in the morning one of the twins started crying, and I didn't doubt it was Daniel. Unfortunately he hated being away from Seth and I, his cries got so bad we ended up moving the twin's crib into our room for the time being. I slowly pulled the covers back and walked over to the crib, surprised to see that it wasn't Daniel crying, but Gabriel. He tended to favour me over Seth, Daniel didn't care who held him as long as he was being held.

I picked him up and cradled him to me, rubbing his back softly. Seeing Daniel mostly asleep I went to check on Bailey, and she was sleeping in her toddler bed, with Goose asleep at her feet and Maverick asleep on the dog bed beside her bed. I smiled and went back into my room, laying Gabriel on my bed, smiling when I saw Seth laying on the bed with Daniel resting on his chest. I realized then there was no one in the world I'd rather do this with.

"She sleeping?" He asked and I nodded, slowly pulling only the sheet up as Gabriel laid curled into me.

"They didn't wake her today." I whispered, and he smiled. The renovations for Seth's restaurant had finished and he decided to make it similar to a diner, but instead of serving burgers and other appetizers similar to Bernie's he would be selling steaks, spaghetti, dishes similar to that. More of a restaurant than diner I guess. He'd decided to call it Jonathan's Steakhouse, and the grand opening was in a month. The name had yet to be revealed to the family and the public, only to Uncle Joe, Aunt Margaret, and I. I cried when he told me, it would mean the world to my family that he decided to name it after them.

He decided that he couldn't be the only cook, so he offered Adam a job. he gratefully accepted, being in a small town it was hard to find a job that wouldn't judge you for some of the scars attained for fighting for peace. Seth offered a job to Travis' fiancé as a waitress, as well as a couple teenage girls, and some younger boys to be in the kitchen. After his Mom lost her job, she'd asked him for one, and after careful consideration he gave her the position of head waitress. I was proud of him, every week he held different training sessions with his employee's, making sure they knew the proper etiquette, table manners, etc.