Chapter 1
BPOV
Locking the door for the final time, I hand the keys over to my neighbor to return later and give her a hug goodbye. Balancing Finley on my hip I gather my other two kids and lead them to my Highlander. I see to it that my brothers have a handle on the moving van before I follow them at a snail's pace off the base. I wave goodbye to the front guard in passing and settle back in my seat for our journey out of California.
What would take the normal person 20 hours and 18 minutes nonstop with lots of caffeine, it took us three days to lug three kids, my two brothers, two wives, and one homegrown blessing from Fallbrook, California to Seattle with more caffeine to last us a lifetime combined. We were in no hurry, so we took our time to smell the roses and visit a few places with 52 pit stops along the way. Davenie, my second oldest, kept on insisting, "Mommy, you know I have a small blender!" Yep bladder is just too big of a word right now, we're working on it.
Arriving in Seattle within the hour, our first step is to get organized. Having come down a few months earlier to find a house big enough for the now 8.5 people was a chore but a blessing. We found the cutest grey house with white trim to match the gloomy sky from up above. The house has three bedrooms, and 3.5 baths, with a huge backyard up against a forest of trees surrounding the neighborhood. It will be a tight fit having all of us living together for awhile but we'll manage together.
Yeah, unpacking all those boxes in one afternoon was sort of nightmare. I furniture had all been put into storage and the rest was being delivered tomorrow so we decided to make a make-shift mini camp out in our new living room. Seeing the house after all these months was sort of like a dream come true. We had a week to unpack, get the kids ready for school, and until I started my new job to get the house up and ready to be lived in. For now it was too late to do anymore unpacking besides the necessities so we lounged out among the floor to wait out the night.
"Mommy?"
"Hmmm."
"Is daddy ever coming back?" asked Davenie.
My family all gave me sympathetic looks, as if the grief hit them half as hard as it did my kids and me.
"Um no sweetie. Daddy is gone. It's just me, you and your brother and sister. But you have uncle Em and Jazz, Auntie Rose and Ally."
"Will we ever have a daddy again?" asked Weston my oldest son.
"I don't know West. Have you prayed for one?"
"Every night mom. I miss him so much." Tears stained his cheeks as well as Davenie's as she nodded as to say 'me too.'
"Come here" I said as I pulled them close to my side and we snuggled under the think blankets we had scattered around the floor. My nose stung under the stress of my own tears but I held them back.
"What have I always said about prayers?" I whispered to them softly.
"That God doesn't always give you the answer you want when you want it, he gives it when you need it." Said Weston and Davenie simultaneously.
"That's right. I know it will all work out in time but for now lets just enjoy the family we have around us at the moment and what God has given today?"
"Okay mommy." They said with sleepy voices.
"Go to sleep now, it been a busy couple of days."
"Can we pray together?" asked Davenie.
"Of course." I said holding out my hands to them.
"No, I mean, as a family, all of us together?" I looked up at my brothers and sister-in-laws in question and they smile sadly and nod, holding hands out to each other as we sit an oblong circle.
"Who wants to start?" I asked
"Can I say it mom?" Weston asked. I smiled at him in answer.
He closed his eyes tight, squeezing out one last tear and I squeezed his hand to show my comfort.
"Dear Jesus, Thank you that you've brought my family this far. Bring my sisters and me a father, and make my mom smile again. In your name. Amen."