Not Used To It

IX

I woke up this time at a more decent time, 10 am. The bed was empty and so was Aaron's crib. I got myself together and went downstairs where I was met with the wondrous smell of bacon. I walk into a kitchen full of giggles.

"Mommy!" I hear 3 boyish voices call.

"Good morning." I say just as cheerfully as them. Henry has Aaron in his arms and a plate is set next to his. I walk in and place kisses on all the boys foreheads.

"Don't forget Daddy!" Avan yells. I roll my eyes and Henry smirks at me. He turns his head and leans his cheek out. I kiss his cheek and he smiles at me.

"Mommy you always kiss Daddy wrong!" Aiden yells. I just shake my head and sit down next to Henry.

"There will be a time when you boys will say ew to Mommy kissing Daddy." Henry tells them and they all shake their heads.

"This is your plate." Henry says and I glance at the plate in front of me : a chocolate chip waffle, scrambled eggs with cheese, and easily 5 pieces of bacon. I smile and dig right in to my food. As I'm eating I completely zone everyone out.

"Do you mind holding Aaron while I wash dishes?" Henry asks and I shake my head, he immediately hands me Aaron. I finish eating and Henry takes my fork and plate, putting the paper plate in the trash and taking my fork to the sink. The boys get down from their seats and run off to go play in the living room.

"Hi Aaron, I hope you slept good last night." I say to him and he just looks at me then breaks out into a smile.

"Aww, you're smiling at me? Baby boy, you're smiling at me? Thank you so much." I say to him completely forgetting Henry was in the room.

"My baby is talking to my baby, I like it." I hear Henry say causing me to jump and clutch Aaron for dear life, holding him to my chest. I relax once he starts laughing. I just glare at him and pull Aaron back so he is relaxed too.

"Alright slow down there Mr. It will take some time for me to fully adjust." I say and he nods.

"Look Charlotte, I'm sorry as hell for everything I've done. I was stupid and I just really took all my frustration out on you which wasn't fair but I was reacting to everything and I see now that I've got to change and learn to respond. These boys and you deserve a male to look up to. " Henry pours out. He scratches the back of his neck and turns to the sink. He starts to wash dishes and I just stay silent. It's like something clicked within him and it may sound foolish but I believe him. Sure he may not have fully changed and we'll hit bumps but I can tell he wants to and he'll try his damned hardest to. What the hell, lets go for it.

"Okay. I accept your apology but don't apologize anymore. We're going to go on a date this Friday." I say. The water goes off and Henry immediately turns around with a smirk on his face and amusement in his eyes.

"Charlotte, you're so forward. Taking me on a date already, Jasper would be so proud." Henry mocks and I stick my tongue out at him.

"That reminds me are you two friends now?" I ask and he nods.

"Yeah, do you remember last week when I didn't come home until 1 o' clock?" Henry asks. He rests his arms on the sink counter. I nod my head and start to rock Aaron back and forth.

"Jasper had saw me in the lobby arguing with Bianca. She had just slapped me and Jasper pulled me away after that. We went to his place and talked for hours. I really missed him and you too of course. But anyways we talked into the morning. Chloe woke up and insisted I stay for breakfast. I cleaned myself up, met the kids and watched how Chloe and Jasper worked. I wanted that and I was going to try to make things right then but on my way I ran into Bianca that's why I came back and just got in bed." Henry explains. I sit there in shock. He sighs and scratches his neck again. I get up and move to him. I put Aaron on my hip and use my free arm to half hug Henry.

"Hey, if this is going to work we got to tell each other everything. Thank you for sharing and I'm proud of you for reconciling with bucket boy." I say and he cracks a smile. He kisses my forehead and half hugs me. We stay just like this with me leaning into him until we hear footsteps.

"Group hug!!" Ashton yells and 3 little arms wrap around Henry and I's legs.

"If only Jasper were here to take a picture." I mumble and the kids break off then chase after each other.

"It'll be hard to leave them." Henry comments.

"Yeah, if they get adopted I'd try my very best to intervene." I say feeling myself get sad at the thought of not seeing them everyday.

"Maybe we can steal them." Henry suggests and I glare at him.

"Or visit, visit sounds good too." He corrects himself and I roll my eyes.

"I say we take the rascals to the park." Henry says. I bounce Aaron on my hip. He starts to talk, catching Henry and I's attention. He smiles and makes spit bubbles.

"Who knew spit would be so god awfully cute?" I say smiling and Aaron.

"Hi Bubs." Henry says, taking on a baby voice.

"You want to go to the park ? We can race around with you." He says and Aaron reaches out to his face. His spit covered hand grabs Henry's nose and Henry smiles . I hold in my laugh.

"Ugh you're gross. Daddy deserves this." Henry says but before he gets saddened Aaron moves his face to Henry's cheek and pats his face. Then he brings his hand back and claps. He laughs which causes us to laugh.

"Go get the kids ready, I'm going to make this a family picnic. Can you choose some clothes for me?" Henry says and I finally notice he's wearing plaid pajama pants and a wife beater. I nod. He kisses my forehead and I walk into the living room.

"Boys! Come on, we're going to the park today." I say and they stop jumping over the couch cushions on the floor. I see the excitement on their faces but this living room is out of sorts.

"Hey hey! Clean up or else we will stay in this house!" I demand and they nod then get to work. I just go upstairs and go to all the boys rooms choosing outfits for them. Aiden is going to wear a dark green shirt with khaki shorts, Avan will wear a dark red shirt with khaki shorts and Ashton will wear a dark blue shirt with khaki shorts. I made sure all their clothes were on their beds and I'm going to let them all choose their sneakers. I walk into our bedroom and I set Aaron on the bed on his back. He just rolls around before playing with his fingers. I get my phone and record him for 10 seconds. I post the video on my Snapchat story. I turn around and go to the baby bag we have for Aaron. We don't have much clothes for him since we technically weren't allowed to have him. I get out a pair of khaki shorts for him along with an undershirt and a red shirt that reads, in blue, " Hello Ladies" . I grab a pair of white socks with green lightning bolts on the bottom. I don't bother getting sneakers since I discovered that Aaron always kicks them off anyways.

I turn around to see Aaron still entranced by his fingers. He's so darn cute. I walk to our shared dresser and open Henry's stuff first. I pick out a pair of khaki shorts and a light grey shirt. I guess our family look today is khaki. I get out for myself a pair of mid thigh khaki shorts and an off white sleeveless shirt.

"So I see everyone is wearing khakis today." Henry says as he waltzes in the room. I nod my head.

"Where are the boys?" I ask him.

"Taking a bath. I just came to get my phone for pictures. I'll be back, I didn't shower yet so I'll need that once I'm finished with them." Henry calls over his shoulder as he plays with Aaron for a bit. He grabs his phone and then walks out. I should probably wash Aaron up now then. I take off his clothes and grab my baby.

Everyone can be done within an hour right ?