Filling in the Cracks

Epilogue

They say with age comes wisdom.

Well they were wrong.

With age I have been granted and have been blessed with many things indeed, but not wisdom on certain topics.

I've never been much of a chef. I'll liquefy toast and burn milk. Chop the board instead of the tomatoes. Put chicken in the soap dispenser and soap in the soup.

And that all just happened in the past hour!

"How about I just call Raoul to cook us up some lunch?" Kayden suggested getting up from his computer.

"How about you sit down and watch the master at work." I suggested again, I mean he's listed fifteen chefs in the past three minutes! I'm no Rachel Ray but . . . I forgot where I was going with this.

As I popped another piece of gum into my mouth to help me concentrate on my cooking I felt a small tug on my pajama bottoms and looked down to view the three-year-old yawning. I took the clues and knew she had just awoken from her slumber. Probably from all the racket that was coming from the cooking.

"Mommy, why?" Naomi asked as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Good morning to you too, Munchkin" I greeted as I stirred around the boiled water.

"You're in the kitchen. Linda usually cooks, right?" She asked as she cocked her small heart shaped face to the side.

"Yes, but today the workers are off, Hon. Do Mommy a favor and wake up your brother?" I leaned down to level with Naomi and spoke in a softer tone, "If you don't hit Ry today I'll let you lick the icing off the spoon." I negotiated.

Naomi hesitated before asking, "Did you make the icing?"

I slowly nodded, "Yes. Why?"

"I never wanted icing anyways. I'll be a good girl since it's a special day." Naomi said before skipping up the staircase.

Was I really that bad of a cook? Well there was only one way to find out.

"Honey." I drawled. "I need your help with something."

Kayden stood up as he loosened up his tie, "Anything."

I quickly pulled him close and let him get a taste of my watermelon gum before I went on with my plan, I pulled away from the kiss and let him try my icing which ended up not so well.

Kayden was coughing hysterically as I was doing the same. Well instead of coughing I was laughing.

I rushed to the fridge to grab him a bottle but as I turned around I was brought into another kiss that I had been familiar to for the past four years.

Yes, four years. I had been granted with two children; Naomi, she's spunky like her father, and Ryder was a bit mature for his age being only a year older than Naomi, four. It's a bit ironic since I chose Naomi's name that she went after her father and Kayden had chosen Ryder's name and he went after me.

After feeling out of breath and out of something else too we both pulled away and Kayden smugly walked away and on instant I knew what else was missing.

"Kayden! That was my gum!"

"You're not the only smart one here, Honey." Kayden said as he put emphasis on 'honey'.

"Good one Daddy!" Naomi said as she high-fived her father as Ryder and I stood there shaking our heads at the view of our blood-related trader.

"Trader!" Ryder and I called out to Naomi as Kayden picked her up causing her to giggle.