The Perfect Family

Chapter 15: Jack

I wake up in the day and look over to the other side of the bed and realize that Emilie is gone. As I rise out of bed, I hear the sound of crinkling paper. At first I have no idea what it is, but then I look at the calendar and have an epiphany. It's December 1st. Happy first birthday Kyson Dallas Donovan Alexander.

"Hey, look whose up?" Emilie says as she turns off the stove and faces me with Kyson in her arms.

"Hey, happy birthday, little man" I say as I hold my arms open for Kyson to come to me, as he does Emilie pulls me in for a quick kiss.

"A whole year, wow" Emilie sighs.

"Its amazing isn't it?" I respond.

"It sure is" Emilie replies.

As I place a free arm around my beloved wife, I look around our living room and notice several of the decorations. We spent a good amount of time last night decorating the house.

"The place looks good" I say as I turn my head and admire the work.

"Only the best for the best children we could have been given" Emilie replies.

"Of course" I respond.

"Oh, can you get his outfit from the top of the dresser?" Emilie asks as she looks at the time and realizes that it is nearly lunch.

"Sure" I say as I gesture for Emilie to take Kyson.

As I approach our bedroom door, I notice that Maddox is sitting against it with his sippy cup and blanket.

"Hey, buddy. What's up?" I say as he notices me and gestures for me to pick him up.

"Jack, honey, are you having any trouble finding it?" Emilie calls from downstairs.

"No, not at all. I've got it" I respond as I grab the Mickey Mouse outfit with my free hand.

As we come downstairs, the twins follow behind us completely covered in marker.

"Hey, beautifuls. What happened to you?" I ask.

"We were at a conference" Julia answers, most likely not understanding what it really is.

"Life can get so messy" Lucy adds matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see. Well, we we get downstairs, go to the bathroom to wash your hands. We're going out to lunch" I respond.

"Where?" Julia asks.

"Its a surprise for Kyson's birthday" I answer.

"Yay!" the girls say as they run straight towards the bathroom, completely ignoring their mother's greeting.

~X~

"Hey, here it is. I still think its really cute" I say as I hand it over to Emilie and take my place beside her  and Kyson on the couch.

"I know, isn't it?" Emilie says as she begins to reminisce about the connection between Kyson and Mickey Mouse.

As the twins emerge out of the bathroom, Julia taps Emilie on the shoulder and asks "where are we going for lunch?"

"What do you want for lunch?" Emilie asks.

The twins run to the corner of the living room, sit down and begin to debate what they should have. After a couple of minutes, they return with a compromise.

"Pasta!" the twins exclaims.

"Olive Garden it is" I say.

'We've got to get ready then" Emilie says as she gets up off the couch with Kyson grabs his outfit, and heads upstairs to change him.