Moving Forward

Grandma Time

"Hey, wake up."

Brad's sleepy voice whispers in my ear.  I turn towards him, expecting to see a kid or two separating us.

"We're alone?" I smile, wrapping my legs up in his, pulling myself closer "And I don't hear anyone crying or pounding in the door."

He leans in to kiss me, separating just long enough to admire me.

"Your mom was already complaining about them an hour ago.  We might wanna go save her soon."

"She can wait a little." I pull him closer to me, laying his head on my chest "She has a few years to make up for."

"You're terrible." He laughs, looking up towards me "At least she's here now, and kinda trying."

"I know."

I sigh, thinking about how happy I am that she is in our lives more, but I still worry about the fact that she could switch any second.

"I'm gonna go check on them.  Make sure we still have all 4 kids."

"You really want to?  If one or two escape we might get a little of our sanity back."

He walks towards our bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror on his way "I could use the extra time to take care of whatever it is that's happening to my body."

"Your body?" I walk over, standing next to him "Last time I checked your body hasn't been redesigned by a bunch of little brats.  If anyone needs extra time it's me."

"You're right," he looks over at me, staring at everything I'm complaining about "Can I use that as an excuse to get out of work more?  My wife needs extra time to fix her body."

"You are such an asshole." I walk away, trying not to laugh at his comments "I don't know why I ever liked you."

"You say that like you hate me now." He wonders off to brush his teeth "I thought you at least like me a little yet."

He tries getting the words out, but instead practically chokes on his toothpaste and ends up making a huge mess.

"Good job, dumbass."

I hand him a towel as I walk past him to pee.

"You really know how to impress me.  I don't think I've ever loved you more."

"I am pretty cute in the mornings." He turns towards me, smiling and not realizing that he still has toothpaste all over him "You can't deny that."

"Babe, look in the mirror."

"Why?  You want me to stare at my beauty?"

I quickly finish, standing behind him so I can see his reaction.

"Oh..." he reaches for the towel, wiping off his face "Did I get it all?"

"Sure." I lie, noticing that he didn't wet the towel, so he just spread it all over his face "You look great."

As soon as I open our door, Kassie runs to the steps crying hysterically.

"Mommy!" She tries to climb the gate "Ava mean!!"

I run down to get her, knowing she doesn't normally cry like this while Brad goes looking for Ava.

"What did Ava do?"

She buries her little head into my chest, sniffling crying as if it's the end of the world.

"She ruin baby!"

"What baby?  Show me."

I put her down and follow her as she very dramatically walks into the living room, obviously experiencing and crisis right now.

She goes off to find it, and I look around to see if I can find it first.

"Oh my God."

I freeze as Kassie holds up the poor doll.  Ava not only decapitated it, but also drew all over it's head and body.

"Avalynn!" I yell out, walking out of the living room to find her "Avalynn Rachel Pitt!"

I walk through the kitchen, right past my mom who looks scared herself, and into the dining room where I see Ava hiding in a corner scared out of her mind.

"You need to go apologize to your sister!" I stand her up, turning her towards the living room "Now!"

She gets pissed, but walks out while mumbling something about how mean I am on the way.

We get into the living room where Brad is sitting with Kassie, staring at the doll in just as much shock as I was, all while trying to calm her down.

Kassie sees Ava walk in, and jumps off Brad's lap, clutching her other baby as close to her as possible, running out to my mom.  I go to get her, but my mom is already walking her over towards Ava.

"Ava has to tell you something," she calmly tells Kassie, "I'll stay right here so she can't get this baby."

Brad and I stand nearby, waiting for another blow up, but also surprised at how well my mom is handling this.

"Ava, tell her you're sorry."

"I'm sorry, Kassie." She finally says, reaching out for a hug "I promise I won't do it again."

Kassie tries to avoid forgiving her, but eventually joins in on the hug.

"It okay, Ava."

"Thanks, mom." I walk over, cleaning up the remnants of the other baby "They really like you, I can never get them to apologize this easily."

"It's just a grandma thing." She smirks, pulling me in for a hug "I don't know how you do all this every day.  They were running around like crazy fighting, and the twins were taking turns sleeping and crying.  I'm so glad I stopped at 2, and had you guys years apart."

"I just think of it as a game.  I normally have at least one other adult here to help, anyway.  I don't even ask Brad what happens while I'm away or at work.  As long as they're all alive, I don't care all that much."

I go back to the couch to sit with Brad, but quickly realize something is off.

"Wait, where are the twins?  They're normally screaming around now."

"They're asleep." My mom walks over, joining us "Don't worry about them.  I'm giving you guys a day off today from everything except decapitated babies."

"Just as long as the real ones keep their heads all day." Brad says, getting even more comfortable "I could get used to having someone else take care of them."

"That's what grandmas are for."