In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

152

"You know, I can almost never get sex either. It's like, they just know when their mommy and daddy are trying to have private time. I don't care if they've been asleep for 9 whole hours, if you try to get some, THEY JUST KNOW!" I laughed at Kat's words, but wow did I know exactly what she was talking about. I loved my babies with everything in me, but I did miss how Colby and I could have each other whenever we wanted. Now, it was quickies while they were napping, always keeping the baby monitor by our heads so that we could hear if they woke up. We were either working, Colby was out of town traveling for his and Sam's show, which they had aptly named XPLRS, or the kids just didn't want to let it happen. Colby had promised that he would get someone to watch them both overnight soon so that we could have a night together. He was dragging his feet on that though, and I was okay with that. We had the rest of our lives to enjoy each other, but only a short time with our babies actually being babies. They had already grown so much in the just in the past year. My friendship with all of the girls grew even stronger, as we bonded even more over our children. It was funny how that worked out. They say that you make the greatest friendships of your lives when you're younger. They never tell you that those friendships completely change when you have kids, but in a good way. Over the years, I watched Colby change from this wonderful person, into this wonderful father that I knew he would be. Our kids wanted for nothing, and were spoiled rotten by everyone who loved them. I made sure that they knew their parents loved them so very much. They grew into these amazing humans with huge hearts who knew how to love dearly. Funnily enough, Sam's little Caleb and our little Kairi fell in love with each other. All of the friend group, our family watched as our generation took a back burner, and our children learned to navigate the world on their own. We all grew older, and lost a few on the way, sadly. My parents passed away, as did Mrs. Gail and her husband. Others lost their parents too. It was hard, but I guess that's life. We all managed to still get together at least once a month or once every other month. I could see Colby aging, his dark hair and beard getting peppered with gray, the lines around his eyes and mouth deepening. It only made him more handsome to me. I saw myself aging as well. Even my hands seemed to change overnight from a young woman's hands to ones that belonged to an old lady. Colby never failed to tell me how beautiful I was though. Our kids moved away to different places, but they always came home to see us whenever they could. I loved my grandchildren so very much. I could see my own children in them, and even a little bit of Colby and myself. I knew that time was passing us by so quickly, and I didn't want to miss a thing. When Denise passed, I took that harder than anything. There was nothing wrong with her at all. She was so healthy for someone our age, but I guess that's what they mean when they say you die from old age. Your body just gives out on you. It was very, very hard for me to get through that, and I think that I may had died from a broken heart, had I not had my husband and my children by my side. Colby and I weren't as active as we used to be either. Our bodies had changed, and it just wasn't possible. Last time Colby had went out with Sam on a hike, a simple fall had caused him to break a hip. I had waited with bated breath during the surgery to have pins put in. We still took vacations together, but instead of adventures, now it was just resting on the beach or overlooking the scene from our balcony hotel room. I didn't mind it, but I missed the hiking and the exploring. Sam missed it the most, I think. His back had set up with arthritis pretty severely from his old injury, but he made the best of it by playing with his grandkids, and keeping up with the small hikes with Colby. Sometime Katrina and I would join them and we'd have a picnic or something. One day, I was resting in my recliner, reading one of my favorite books that I had gotten in large print. My eyes weren't what they used to be and my glasses didn't always do the job. We were living in a smart home now, so I was notified that I was receiving a call from Katrina. "Accept please," I told the AI system. "Hey Kat," I said, leaning back in my chair and closing my eyes. "T, I'm sending a car for you. You need to get to the hospital right now." Her words hit me straight in the heart and I sat up so quickly in my chair, that I got light headed. "Why? What's wrong Katrina?" "Just go outside. The car is there, waiting on you. I'll tell you when you get here. Be safe T." She hung up before I could say anything else. I felt like I couldn't breathe as I grabbed my purse and headed out the door. I saw the black Sedan waiting for me. Kat still liked to travel in style. I rushed to the car, as fast as my old bones would let me. The driver let me inside, then shut the door. The entire ride there, I tried to call Colby several times, but he didn't answer. I felt the tears well up in my old eyes, and I didn't even try to stop them. My head was coming up with the absolute worst scenarios that it could. I felt like it took forever to get to the hospital, even though the driver made sure to get me there as fast as he could. I didn't even thank the man, as he pulled up to the E.R. entrance.