If we werent getting home at 6 on a Saturday in the freezing cold in the middle of winter, it was a sign that it wasnt a good day. From 12:30 this morning to now, I had taken my 3 girls out on a walking trip for groceries, sight seeing, and a day at the park. And at 12:30, it had seemed like a good idea. By 2, i had realized how badly I messed up. Lugging my children around in an oversized stroller with two rows of inward facing seats sounded like a pretty good investment until you actually had to push it around. I didnt want the thing but my husband, Richard, had pushed me into letting him buy it since the last time I took the girls out and one of my daughters had slipped away from me, lost for almost a half an hour and even when she was found, I was still a mess for a few hours after.
Now, they were all secure in their stroller where they were buckled into the seats by the torso. There was no top of the 'Turtle Kiddy Bus' so i still had full access to them but every time there was a bathroom emergency, fitting the bus into what seemed like prison cell sized bathrooms was a hassel. But my daughters seemed to love the oversized wagon, where my 5 year old twins could sit next to eachother but still be facing their 2 year old little sister. Watching all three of my girls bond was worth the pain in my back from pushing around all their weight, but i was sure my legs were getting a work out too and i knew my husband would love it.
My three daughters were the light of my life. My twins were born at 3 in the morning, Janurary 13th, screaming and crying on their way out. Alexisander was first, with her black little bunches of hair stuck to her head and her big green eyes scrunched up as her lungs sounded a loud cry through the room, much louder than Alexanders cry. Alexander came 7 minutes later. She wasnt so much a screamer, but she was a kicker, and a pretty hard one for only being just born. Her hair was a very dark red color, darker than mines, and she also had green eyes like her sister and I. Now my girls were 5, Alexis' hair formed into waves at the age of 3 and grew past her bottom, she refused to let me cut it. Following her older sisters example, Alex never let me cut her hair either, which had also formed in waves, but much tighter than her sisters.
Then there was my beautiful baby girl, Anabel. My chubby little 2 year old that seemed to be much to mature for her age. She could read picture books to herself, she could scribble her name, she recognized the names of her sisters when they were written down in fron of her and she loved to color. She had bright, beautiful blue eyes from her father and she took my red hair. Although she had curly hair, and we still arent sure where her curls came from, and blue eyes, she looked identical to her sisters, with their chubby cheeks and bottle cap eyes. If anything were to ever go wrong in my life and I needed to sacrafice something, it would never, ever be one of my girls, they were my life.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard a screeching cry from in front of me. My eyes focused down into the bus and I saw Anabels head down in her hands and her feet kicking out in front of her. I sighed and let go of the handle and walked to the side of the bus.
Kneeling down, I eyed my twins "What happened?", I asked in a stern voice. The girls looked back at me, shaking their heads. So I looked over at Anabel and lightly forced her fists away from her faces and pushed my fingers into her hands.
"What happened, Baby?" I asked, giving her a concerned look once she composed herself enough to speak.
"Im cold" she whined, stamping her tiny foot against the back wall of the seat. I frowned at her. My tiny little spoiled brat. I then walked around to my station of the wagon and kneeled behind it, opening the actually pretty convenient storage basket at the bottom of the bus and getting the three blankets. One pink, one purple, one white. I walked the tiny blankets back the the side of the bus and opened the tiny door. I set the blankets on the grocery bag that occupied the empty seat next to Anabel and one at a time, tucked the blankets around my girls. "All better?" I asked. once they nodded, I told them that we were only ten minutes from home and that they would be getting a hot bath in just a little bit.
As promised, 10 minutes later, I had gotten my girls home. The only probelm was getting this thing up the porch steps.I had instead settled on going through the garge and leaving in there. I unlocked the garage door and pushed the bus through to see my husbands car parked in his spot. I smiled, he had gotten home early today. It had confused me though, because I would have assumed he would pick us up from the park but remembered the stroller wouldnt fit in his car. But why wouldnt he have called? He must have wanted to surprise us, he probably was expecting us to come through the front door. I could imagine him, sitting on the couch in the foyer, smiling and waiting for us. That thought made me smile.
I looked down at my girls to see if any of them had realized what daddy car being here meant. I saw Alexs' excited grin pointed at the car and I grined back at her. I saw Alexis looking at me with a questioning stare as she held her finger over the button to unbuckle her seat straps and I nodded at her laughing. "All right go ahead girls, but wait for your sister" I kicked the garage door closed then unbuckled Anabel and put her to stand next to her sisters, who were out as soon as i had opened the door for them.
"Alright guys, go find daddy, mommy gonna try to fold this thing down" before i got the words out, Alex and Alexis each took one of Anabels hands and ran her to the door that lead into the kitchen. I chuckled and shook my head, inspecting the thing to see where i could maybe push the wheels in or retract the canopy. Nothing. When we had gotten it shipped to us, Richard had to put it together but i dont remember reading anything about how to fold it down. I rolled my eyes and pushed it into my empty parking space. My car was in the shop. And it had been there for a week, something happened to my engine. It was fixed but Richard has such a busy schedule, we just havent gotten around to driving me all the way to Ridgewood for me to drive it back home. I guess until I got my car back, the stroller would have its own little parking space.
I dusted my hands over my jeans and walked through the door that the girls left agape. I carried the groceries in my hand and dropped the bag on the kitchen counter. I skipped lightly on the toes of my shoes, hoping to make as little noise as possible as I searched through the house for my family. The basement that we had turned into a giant play pen was empty. The living room, empty. Dining room, empty. Sitting room, empty. But the part that made me sad was the foyer, was empty too.
I went back to the kitchen and found Claira, a maid that came by every two days to clean up. I asked her if she saw the girls run through here but she stared at me with a look that I couldnt match to any emotion. I stared back at her but she never spoke so I turned around. When I looked back, I saw her going back to her sweeping, her back turned to me. I sighed realizing I hadnt heard any giggles or laughter coming from my girls and husband that I had always heard when Richard arrived home early and he would pick up the girls and tickle and spin them around.
I made my way up the stairs, thinking that maybe he would have wanted to surprise them in one of their rooms. Usually, the girls didnt get to see him before their bed time, so when they did it was always a big surprise. Sometimes, i would be tucking them into the bed and he would grab my leg from underneathe, surprising both me and them. He would crawl out from under the bed laughing and grab one of them and throw them up, making them laugh and squeal, they were always excited to see him. Then he would put them down, turn around, and kiss me, hold me, tell me he loved would kiss our girls goodnight and go back to our room. And even with me suspecting it sometimes, he never ceased to surprise me.