Johnson Memories

Chapter 9 Trying again

Wes's pov
Mari has been gone for four months now.
Jenny has already turned five and Daniel is starting to walk and talk a little.
I've been back at work for two months but Mari kept her promise about not coming back until she's ready.
Flitz and Boze also got married about three months ago. Me and Mari were silent to each other through out the ceremony but at the reception, we had a quick dance.
It's still very hard to look after both of the kids, without Mari but I've been doing my best for them.
Today we're going to Mari's parent's house to visit Mari.
I strap the kids into their car seats and drive to the Takahashi house.
We get there, I help the kids out of the car and Jenny runs to the front door while I carry Daniel.
Mrs Takahashi opens the door and gives Jenny a hug then Jenny runs inside.
Daniel starts squirming in my arms so I put him down and watch him toddle to his grandmother.
She picks him up and he giggles at her.
She then looks at me.
"Hello again Wes" She greets.
"Hi Mrs Takahashi. Just brought the kids to see Mari" I tell her.
"That's ok. She really does miss being with them all the time" She informs me.
"Yeah, they miss her too" I say.
"And do you miss her?" She asks me.
"Of course, I miss her. I hate missing her and just want us to go back to the way we were" I reply.
"She really misses you too, Wes but it's really hard" She says.
I drop my head and look at the ground then hear Daniel squealing.
"Mama!"
I look up to see Mari at the door, taking Daniel into her arms with a big smile on her face.
I smile at seeing her with our son again.
She then sees me and her smile drops a little, it's still there but smaller like an admiring smirk.
"Hey Wes" She greets.
"Hey Mari" I greet back.
"Should we take the kids to the park?" She suggests.
"Yeah, that sounds good" I reply with a nod.
We get the kids back in their car seats and drive to nearest park.
We arrive at the park and let the kids play.
We sit on a bench, watching them in silence for a few minutes then I break it.
"So, everything good with you?" I ask, starting a conversation.
"Yeah" Mari answers.
"What about you?" She asks.
"Things are ok. Work is trying to survive without you and at home, Jenny and Daniel are wild making bedtime the best part of the day" I inform her, laughing at the last part.
Mari giggles a little and continues to watch our children.
"They've grown up so much. I mean before you know it, Daniel will be starting school and Jenny will be in high school" She says, suddenly.
"I know but I think we're doing a great job" I state.
Mari looks at me with hopeful look.
"Wes, I've been doing a lot of thinking about everything even Paige and after Jenny's fifth birthday and seeing Daniel take his first steps, made me realise that the more I'm away from my babies, the more I'm missing out on and I want to see them grow up but I realise that I can only do that with you. And I want to stand by you while we watch them graduate high school and college, move out, get jobs and start their own lives. So, Wes I wanna come home and try again" She tells me.
I cry tears of joy because I've been waiting to hear her say those words for four months.
"We'd be happy to have you home, honey" I reply, smiling.
She smiles with tears of joy in her eyes as our faces slowly get closer to one another and our lips finally touch.
I then pull away.
"I've missed you so much, Mari" I say.
"Shush now" She says and pulls me in for another kiss.
"Mommy! Daddy!" We hear Jenny shout, worryingly.
We pull away, quickly and look at Jenny to see her kneeling next to Daniel who's laid on his back, crying.
Me and Mari go into full panicked parent mode and rush over to them.
I pick up Daniel and calm him down while Mari asks Jenny what happened.
"Sweetheart, did you see what happened?" She asks her.
Jenny nods and points to a boy about Jenny's age, playing on the swings with his mother, pushing him.
"Daniel wanted to go down the small slide but he pushed him off" Jenny explains.
Mari's looks at the boy with rage.
"Jenny, stay with Daddy. Mommy's going to go talk to him" She tells Jenny.
Our daughter obeys and stands next to me.
Mari then speed walks over to them and the other woman looks shocked while her kid tries to look innocent.
They then walk back over to us.
"I'm really sorry sir but my son has something to say" The woman says, sternly.
"I'm sorry for pushing him off the slide" He apologies.
I nod and they leave.
Mari turns to look at me.
"Well, why don't we head back to Nana and Grandda's, so Mommy can pack and then we head home?" She suggests, holding Jenny's hand and smiling.
Jenny gasps in shock and excitement.
"You're coming home?" She asks Mari, jumping with glee.
Mari nods at her.
Jenny cheers and continues to jump around.
"Yay! Mommy's coming home!" She exclaims, excitedly.
I chuckle at her and so does Daniel.
Jenny then calms down and looks at Mari.
"We've really missed you, Mommy" She says.
Mari kneels down to hug her.
"I've missed all of you" She replies.
We then head back to the car and drive back to Mari's parent's house.
When we arrive at the house, we get out the car and go inside to tell Mari's parents that Mari is coming home.
They were a little sad but happy to see her come back to her own family.
I help Mari pack while the kids are downstairs with their grandparents.
"I'm actually glad to leave here. I love my parents but they're still having trouble in believing that I'm an adult" Mari tells me.
I laugh at that.
"Hey! Don't laugh! They still believe that I'm their little girl, before I went to college" She exclaims.
"Well, they seem to perfectly believe that they're grandparents and have a son in law" I say with a shrug.
Mari scoffs and giggles then stands close to me with her head resting on my arm.
"No parent wants their children to grow up" She whispers.
"I know. I remember what I was like when I realised that Jenny was growing up too quickly" I state.
"You were so desperate that you wanted to have another baby" She giggles.
"I wasn't desperate, I was.......ready" I say, trying to think of the right word.
"Mmhm" Mari hums, not convinced.
"I was. I was ready to have another" I argue.
"Well, that's all behind us now. We're finally fixing our relationship and raising two beautiful children" She reminds me.
I nod in agreement and finish packing.
We get the suitcase in the car and say bye to Mari's parents.
We then get in the car and drive home.