5 years after the birth of Allie and Oliver's daughters, they discover she is pregnant again. Money is tight for them, and they must make the difficult decision to move across the country for a new job, putting Oliver's dreams of starting a business...
Finally, it was Friday. Tomorrow, Saturday, was the only day of the week both Oliver and I had off. Other than at night, we rarely got to spend time as a family. Even then, he was usually busy studying.
I woke up at 5:30 and stumbled into the bathroom. My morning sickness still hadn't ended, and it likely wouldn't for another month or two. I got dressed and went back into our room to wake up the girls, who had fallen asleep in our room the night before. Maddie got up right away, but Olivia was feeling grumpy and pushed me away, snuggling closer to Oliver. I couldn't help but smile. She was adorable and loved her dad beyond words. Maddie ran ahead of me into her room.
"Someone's excited," I said.
She giggled. I pulled out some overalls and a pink striped t shirt and dressed her.
"What do you want your hair like today?" I asked her.
"Piggies!" She said.
I smiled and put her curly, dark brown hair into two pigtails. She ran off to find a toy and I went back into my room. I brushed my teeth, put my hair up, and put on some light makeup. It was nearly 6 and I had to make a 6:30 shift. I woke up Oliver.
"When do you have work?" I asked him.
"8"
"I have to leave in 10 minutes. Would you be able to get Liv ready? Maddie's already up."
"Sure," he said, sitting up. I grabbed some work clothes for him and he started to get dressed. I went into the kitchen, grabbed a bagel and some coffee, and headed out the door.
Every day for us was like this. Exhausting, busy, and on a strict schedule. I hated it, but it was beyond worth it when I saw my beautiful girls and husband at the end of the day. I worked as a waitress, and my work didn't offer paid maternity leave, so I had no idea what I was going to do the following February when the baby came.
However, changes would be happening since Oliver just graduated last week. It was the day after the girls' birthday, in fact. He dreamed of starting his own business, but we had both agreed that until we were more stable financially, a more dependable job was a better idea. In addition, the girls would be starting Kindergarten in the fall. I was sad that they were so big already, but relieved that we wouldn't be as dependent on Oliver's mom anymore.
However, today I was working until 2 pm and Oliver was working until 7. It would be another long day.
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When I finally finished work, I drove over to Oliver's parents' house to pick up the girls. They were both napping, so I stayed there with his parents until they woke up.
"How have you been feeling?" Anne asked.
"The same. I still have morning sickness but nothing new," I said with a shrug. "It's just been stressful. I don't know what I'm going to do about work."
"Don't worry dear," she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "We'll be here to support you no matter what."
"Thank you," I said, smiling, "It means a lot."
"Oh yeah," I said, "do you guys want to come on a picnic with us tomorrow? My dad's going to be there."
"Sounds wonderful," she said.
"Perfect. I'll text you the details."
With that, Olivia and Maddie came wandering out.
"Hello girls," I said, kneeling down on the floor.
They both climbed into my arms.
"Girls, you're too big! I can't hold you both at the same time."
Frowning, Maddie stepped back and I picked up Olivia.
"Thank you so much Anne," I said, holding on to Maddie's hand.
"Of course. See you tomorrow."
"Say bye girls!"
Still, groggy, they both waved goodbye.
I put the girls in their car seats and hopped in the driver's seat. We drove back to our apartment and the girls ran off to play.
At 7:30 that evening, Oliver finally got home. He wheeled over to the couch and sat down next to me. I cuddled up next to him. Moments like this made me forget he was paralyzed.
"How was work?" He asked.
"Fine," I shrugged, "I'm just exhausted."
The girls ran in and climbed onto Ollie's lap.
"Dada!"
I smiled as he hugged them tight.
"Guess what?" he said, smiling.
I looked up at him.
"I got offered a job."
"Seriously?" I said, hugging him.
"Yep," he said, kissing my forehead.
"Only thing is, it's in Indiana."
"Oh," I said.
I didn't know how to respond to that. Our only support system, our parents, were here in Montana. It would be hard to go so far away from them.
"We can talk about it tomorrow," he said, smiling.
I smiled back and laid back on the couch. Maddie climbed onto my lap.
We relaxed as a family, all cuddled together, until the girls' bedtime arrived. I got up and dressed both girls and Oliver helped them brush their teeth. I nearly teared up, thinking about how perfect my family was. No matter where in the country we went, I would always have these three special people, and of course the fourth one on the way.
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