"Mom! Mom, where are you?"
"In here, sweetheart!" I called back, wiping my hands on the nearest cloth, to rid them of the soapy residue that was left from washing the dishes. I picked up my wedding ring from the kitchen table and slid it back onto my finger. It became a habit for me to take if off while washing the dishes as it had almost slipped off into the drain one time.This ring was far too precious for me to lose. It's been in my posession for 20 years now, since the day Luke and I got married. I remember it as though it had been yesterday, although by now the details were a bit foggy. It happened about 6 months after Julie and Ashton's wedding.
Julie and Ashton... They're still very happy together. They have two children; Charlie, a 17 year old boy, who inherited Ashton's curly, brown hair and positive attitude; and Melody, a 15 year old girl, who had Julie's piercing, dark eyes and niceness. Luke and I, on the other hand, couldn't have kids for a while after we got married. We went to doctors and tried countless methods, but they all said it would take a miracle. Apparently, a miracle is what we got because we know have Logan and Emily, two 16 year old twins who couldn't differ more if they tried. Logan resembled me more, with slightly curly, brown hair and hazel eyes. Emily, on the other hand, looked exactly like Luke, with her blond hair and baby blue eyes. They foght all the time, unable to agree on anything. Luke and I love them a lot and were over the moon when we found out they were on the way.
I spiralled back into the present when Logan came bursting into the room, "Mom, can I have my pocket money earlier this week, please?" he asked awkwardly, reminding me of Luke in his behaviour.
"What for?" I asked, frowning slightly.
At this, Logan bit his lip, going slightly red, "Well, Valentines day is tomorrow and..." he trailed off, most likely hoping I wouldn't ask more.
He wasn't in luck, I haven't yet learned to control my curiosity, "Do you by any chance have a little crush?" I smirked at his guilty expression, "Who is she?"
Logan looked down to his feet, shovelling them against each other. His face flushed with embarrassement, "Juliet...she's really pretty..."
"She is, isn't she? Looks a lot like Aunt Jenna." I said with a smug grin. Juliet was Michael and Jen's only child. She was a very bright and kind 15 year old, with straight, brown hair and her dad's beautiful blue eyes. Luke and I were her godparents.
"I knew it!" Emily shouted victoriously, appearing from behind the kitchen door, "Wait 'till she hears about this!"
"You are not telling!" Logan called back, his tone threatening.
"Oh yeah?" Emily said slyly, with a smirk.
I was just about to break them up, when the front door flew open and I heard Luke yell "Honey, I'm home!" from the living room. I rolled my eyes playfully, almost positive I heard him laugh at his own joke. Moments later, he too slipped into the kitchen. He told us Calum'd invited the whole family to his house for dinner the next day. Cal married Sam and they now had a 17 year old boy, Kyle, who was almost like a younger version of his dad.
Suddenly, Luke realised the comotion and shot his eyebrows up, "What's going on?"
"Logan's in love with Juliet!" Emily spat satisfiedly. He looked torn between going pink again and lashing himself at his sister. Finally, he just hollered, "I am not!" in a very unconvincing tone.
"So? You like Charlie. There's nothing wrong with that," Luke shrugged before I could gesture to him to keep quiet. I sighed as the two of them began bickering again. Logan, who was not familiar with this information, was now glowing with the fact that he, like his sister, now had something against his twin.
Luke flashed me a guilty smile while I tried to persuade them to leave each other alone and go do their homework instead.
"Oh, wait!" I called after Logan as he was about to leave, "Here," I said, handing him a little more money than his allowance would usually carry, "Get her some roses too, she's a keeper, Juliet Clifford," I winked and he went red.
---
The next day, February 14th, Luke came home from work bearing a giant bouquet or red roses, a box of my favourite chocolates and a card. He does this every year, same flowers, same chocolates, but I pretend to be surprised anyway. I've gotten pretty good at it, too. I was in my home-office, which was really just a quiet room reserved only for me, working. We had moved into a house, with much more space and rooms, after we found out the twins were on their way. I admit, sometimes I come in here not just to work (I've become a quite well-payed song writer), but also to get away from the comotion. This time, I was in here working on a new tune that popped into my head, when Luke came bursting through the door, the bouquet hiding his grin.
"Jessica, will you be my Valentine?" he asked with the same, goofy expression plastered over his face.
"Always the same dork, Lucas," I smirked, picking up the roses, they smelled wonderful, "But yes, of course."
I kissed him to thank him. But, as I did so, Emily showed up, her face cringing in mock-disgust, "Ew, parents kissing! Mom, dad, that's gross!"
Luke and I laughed. Emily seemed to remember what she came here for, "Er, mom, can you help me pick out a nice outfit for tonight?"
"Why?" Luke asked cluelessly.
"Well," Emily blushed, "Uncle Cal invited the others too, right?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes," Luke nodded with a blank expression, "I don't get it."
I groaned. Honestly, sometimes Luke was so clueless, I couldn't believe it. I got the message, however, and explained to him that Emily wanted to look nice when she saw Charlie. To this, she blushed again, but couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face.
That evening, we set off to Sam and Calum's apartment. They hadn't moved from the first one they ever bought, but it was quite enough for the three of them. We'd arrived, but had to stop in front of the door to persuade Logan not to get rid of his flowers and card. He was noticably nervous. Samantha opened the door, looking to Logan curiously and informing him that Juliet and her parents were already inside. Finally, he got over his fear of rejection and asked Juliet for a word the second we entered. I smirked after the two of them as they set off for the hall for some privacy. Juliet was really such a gorgeous girl, but she didn't know it.
I drew a wide, toothy grin as I came into the dining room, full of familiar faces. Everyone stood up, greeting me as though they haven't seem me for years instead of weeks. Michael was the one who changed the most, his hair at least, he had much less of it. But their personalities stayed the same. Logan and Juliet soon emerged, both looking particularly happy. I assume she liked him back, then. After that, we engaged in a long talk about how our lives were going. Julie's career as a pharmacist was going great; Jen was pretty sucessful as a tattoo artsist, one of her hidden dreams and talents; Sam had a good deal working with computers, and my career was going great. The guys were still very involved with music. Our coversation soon took a turn back to our kids and we bragged about how good they were at school or other activities. Being back amongsts my closest friends felt great. I now had a family of my own with Luke, Logan and Emily, but these people were still a huge part of my life. Somehow, I knew we'd stay this way.
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hey guys
last chapter, i'm kinda sad about ending it :( comment and vote, I appreciate it :) and thanks for sticking with me 'till the very end!
love you xx
