Aria's POV
"Mom, it's time." I hear a little voice say.
My eyes flutter open and I see my eight year-old son Joseph hovering over me. His identical twin brother Josh is lurking in the doorway, and it takes me a minute to remember our plan.
Today is Father's Day, and the boys and I have planned out an entire day for Ezra. He is the best father that any child could ask for, and today is the perfect day to show him how grateful we are.
"Did you wake up Grace?" I ask the boys curiously.
"We tried, but she doesn't want to get out of bed." Josh says with an eye roll.
I let out a small laugh before I walk out of my room and enter my daughter's. Gracie is five-years old, and she is the princess of the family. Her brothers give her hard time about it, but they still love and protect her.
"Sweetie-pie it's time to wake up." I say before panting a soft kiss on the girl's forehead.
"To early." Grace mutters before burying her face in her pillow.
"Come on, it's Father's Day remember? Don't you want to help us make breakfast for Daddy?" I ask the little girl.
"Can't we make it later?" Gracie asks as she stares at me with her big hazel eyes.
"No honey, it's already six o'clock and Daddy will be up in half and hour." I tell the girl apologetically.
Gracie rubs her eyes before stumbling out of her comfortable bed. I walk over to her closet and wrap a robe around her body to keep her warm.
"Let's go help your brothers." I say before picking up Gracie and carrying her to the kitchen.
"Look who finally decided to wake up!" Joseph says as he nudges Josh.
"Good morning princess." Josh tells Grace with a smirk.
To my surprise, Grace buries her face in my chest and bursts into tears.
"They're so mean to me Mommy." Grace says through her heavy sobs.
"Boys, was that really necessary?" I ask my sons angrily.
Guilt begins to wash over both of their faces, and I can tell that they regret teasing Grace this early in the morning.
"I'm sorry Grace, I didn't mean to make you cry." Josh says as he takes the little girl from me.
"Yeah, we were just playing around." Joseph says as he kisses her forehead lovingly.
"If it makes you feel any better, I love you way more than I like Joseph." Josh tells Grace.
"Hey!" Joseph exclaims angrily.
"Josh, we all love each other equally in this house." I tell my son seriously.
"Mom, I'm just trying to make her feel better." Josh says as he gestures towards Grace.
"Alright, we have a big day ahead of us. Let's hurry and make your father a nice breakfast before he wakes up." I say as I glance at the clock hanging above the oven.
"We should make him eggs, muffins, bacon, and pancakes." Joseph says after thinking about it for a minute.
"Yeah!" Grace and Josh say at the same time.
"That's a lot of food, I don't know if we can finish it all." I tell the kids.
"Yes we can! Me and Josh are teenage boys, we can eat for days!" Joseph exclaims.
"You two knuckle-heads are not teenagers." I say amused.
"Yes we are!" Josh argues.
"No, you two just turned eight." I remind them.
"When do you become a teenager?" Joseph asks me curiously.
"When you start going through puberty." I say with a chuckle.
"What's that?" Josh asks me with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Dad will tell you all about it when the time comes." I say as I ruffle Josh's hair.
"Mommy, let's start cooking!" Grace says as she grabs the hem of my shirt.
Line Break
After about forty-five minutes, we finally finish making breakfast. I enter my bedroom, and am pleasantly surprised that my husband is sleeping soundly.
"Mommy, he's still asleep." Joseph whispers to me.
"Let's pour cold water on him!" Josh says as his face lights up.
"Absolutely not! Wake Daddy up gently." I tell my children.
Grace nods before running to the bed and kissing her father's forehead.
"Happy Father's Day Daddy, it's time to wake up." Grace tells Ezra softly.
My husband's beautiful blue eyes flutter open, and he pulls our baby girl close to him.
"Happy Father's Day!" The twins say before jumping on the bed.
"Morning boys." Ezra says with a chuckle.
"We got up early to make you lots of yummy food." Grace tells her father proudly.
"How nice of you." Ezra says with a warm smile.
"Mommy did most of the work, we just helped her." Josh tells him.
Ezra's eyes dart over to me, and he smiles when he sees all the food on his tray.
"That looks delicious Aria." Ezra mutters as he motions for me to sit down next to him.
I hand Ezra his food, and wrap an arm around his shoulder.
"Happy Father's Day Ezra." I tell him softly.
"You too baby girl, thanks for everything." Ezra says before giving me a gentle kiss on the lips.
"Can you two kiss when we're not in the room?" Joseph asks with an eye roll.
"Sorry buddy." Ezra says before ruffling his dark curls.
"Daddy, try the muffins I helped Mommy make!" Grace exclaims.
"These are the best muffins I've ever eaten my sweet princess." Ezra tells Grace after he takes a bite out of the pastry.
"Try the bacon, I made that." Joseph says proudly.
"Maybe you three should make breakfast for me every morning!" Ezra says with a chuckle.
"No Daddy, then we'd have to wake up early everyday." Grace says with a shutter.
"Mommy, can we tell him the surprise?" Josh asks me hopefully.
"Yeah Mommy, please!" Joseph says as he stares at me with his beautiful blue eyes.
"Okay, go ahead." I say after thinking about it for a minute.
"Mommy is taking us to Coronado!" Grace screams excitedly.
After Ezra and I got married, we went to Southern California for our honeymoon. We fell in love with the area, and so we moved to San Diego shortly after I became pregnant with the twins.
One of Ezra's favorite things to do in the city is to take the bridge over to Coronado Island. We use to go there all the time, but with work and three kids it's hard to find days that work for our family. Since it's Father's Day, I figured today would be the perfect day to visit Ezra's favorite place.
"That sounds like a lot of fun! Great idea Aria." Ezra says as he shoots me one of his famous boyish smiles.
A blush forms on my cheeks, and I feel like I have millions of butterflies bouncing around in my stomach. Ezra always manages to make me feel like a moon-eyed sixteen year old girl.
"The boys and I made a list of everything that we need to do on the island." I say as I cuddle close to Ezra.
"Yeah! We're going to rent kayaks, swim at the beach, and have dinner at The Hotel Del." Joseph says happily.
"I can't wait to go to the Hotel Del so I can see the ghost." Josh says as his little face lights up.
"G-ghost?" Grace asks as terror begins to form in her eyes.
"The boys are just having fun honey, there are no such thing as ghosts." I assure my daughter.
"Yes there are Mommy! Everyone knows that there is a ghost living in the Hotel Del." Joseph argues.
"D-Daddy..." Grace starts to say.
"Your mother is right princess, there are no such thing as ghosts. Even if there were, you wouldn't have to be afraid because I wouldn't let a silly ghost hurt you." Ezra says as he cradles Grace in his arms.
"Pinky promise?" Grace asks as she holds out her little pinky.
"Pinky promise." Ezra says before locking his pinky with hers.
I smile to myself at the interaction between Ezra and my daughter. He is a wonderful father, and he deserves a memorable Father's Day.
"Why don't you three get dressed so we can start the drive to the island?" I suggest.
My three children nod before sprinting out of the bedroom, leaving me alone with my husband.
"Aria, you didn't have to do all of this for me." Ezra says as he pulls me close to him.
"Yes I did Ezra, we all love you so much." I tell him truthfully.
"I love you too, and we're going to have an amazing day." Ezra says before giving me a gentle kiss on the lips.
Ezra's POV
After a forty-five minute drive, I arrive in Coronado with my beautiful family. It's exceptionally crowded because of Father's Day, so it takes me a while to find parking near the Hotel Del.
"Where to first?" I ask as I give my wife's hand a gentle squeeze.
"We should probably rent kayaks before they run out." Aria says after thinking about it for a minute.
"Alright, let's go." I say as I walk out of the car.
We walk onto the beach and rent two kayaks for three hours. I help Grace put her life-vest on, and we're ready to go.
"Who's going with who?" Aria asks me curiously.
"Josh and Joseph can have their own boat and we'll bring Grace with us." I decide.
"We get our own kayak? That's so cool!" Joseph says as he begins to bounce up and down.
"You two better stay right behind us though." I tell my sons seriously.
"We will." Josh assures us.
"Daddy save me!" I hear a little voice call out.
I turn towards the ocean and gasp when I see Gracie sitting in the red kayak, which is floating about two feet from the shore.
"I've got you princess." I say as I grab the front of the kayak.
"Let's just get in the water already!" Josh exclaims.
I chuckle before helping the two little boys into their kayak, and then getting into mine with Aria and Grace.
We paddle for about ten minutes, before Aria and Grace give up on rowing completely. I'm left doing all the paddling while Aria rests her eyes and Grace peers into the blue ocean.
"What are you looking for honey?" I ask the five year-old curiously.
"Fishies Daddy!" Grace exclaims.
"They water isn't clear enough to see them." I tell the girl apologetically.
"Oh." Grace says as her face falls.
"Are you having fun though?" I ask her curiously.
"Yes, but I wish you would make the boat go faster!" My daughter tells me.
"Maybe if Mommy helped I could do that." I say as I glare at my sleeping wife.
"Shut up Ezra!" Aria says as her eyes shoot open.
"Sorry, I thought you were napping." I say with a smirk.
"Where are the boys?" Aria asks as she begins to search the endless ocean.
"They're behind us." I say as I gesture towards the slow green kayak.
"It looks like they're having trouble." Aria says with a small laugh.
"It probably wasn't a good idea to give them their own kayak." I say with a chuckle.
At that moment, Grace lets out a shrill scream.
"What is it honey?" Aria asks as she turns to out daughter.
"Sharks, I saw a sharks." Grace says before she bursts into tears.
"There aren't any sharks out here, we're to shallow." I tell her seriously.
"Look, there they are!" Grace says as she points towards a school of dolphins.
"Baby, that's a school dolphins." Aria says with excitement in her voice.
"Boys, hurry up! There are dolphins over here!" I call out to my sons.
The twins get their kayak over to us within seconds, and they marvel at the sight of the beautiful creatures.
"Dolphins go to school Mommy?" Grace asks Aria suddenly.
"What are you talking about?" Aria asks with confusion in her voice.
"You said they were a school of dolphins." Grace reminds her.
Aria and I burst into laughter at the girl's words.
"What's so funny?" Grace asks us curiously.
"Nothing sweetheart." I say to the girl.
"Are there teachers at the dolphin's school?" Grace asks as she watches the dolphins.
"I'm sure there are." I say deciding to play along with the five year-old.
"Do they teach English like you and Mommy?" Grace asks me.
"Yup, and others teach math and science." I say as I ruffle her curls.
"Do you ever teach dolphins?" Grace asks as the idea pops into her little head.
"No, but I teach a group of monkeys." I joke.
"Wow!" Grace says obviously not picking up on my sarcasm.
Line Break
I lay down next to Aria on the beach, while our three little miracles build a sand castle near the ocean.
"I love you Aria." I say as I reach for my wife's hand.
"I love you too Ezra." Aria says as tears begin to form in her eyes.
"Why are you crying?" I ask her concerned.
"I was just thinking about what an incredible father you are." Aria says as she wraps her arms around me.
"I do my best." I say with a blush.
"My father was never around when I was a little girl, and it warms my heart when I see how good you are with Grace." Aria says with a smile.
"Aria..." I start to say,
"And our little boys adore you Ezra! They want to be just like you, and it's so sweet." Aria tells me softly.
"Well you're an incredible mother. I love you so much, and I'll never be able to thank you for giving me the three most precious things in my life." I say as I glance towards my children.
"I couldn't have done it without you, literally." Aria says with a small laugh.
"Most fathers remember the day their children were born, but I remember the night they were conceived." I say as I wink at Aria.
"That was completely uncalled for!" Aria exclaims.
"You don't remember conceiving our children? We made the twins on the desk in my office, and little Grace on this very beach." I say as I stroke Aria's dark hair.
"Trust me, I remember." Aria mutters.
"I would recreate the moment if there weren't people here." I say as I look around the crowded beach.
"We can recreate the moment in our bed tonight, after the children fall asleep." Aria says as she runs her fingers through my messy curls.
"Sounds like a plan." I mutter.
"We should probably get going if we want to make our dinner reservations at the Del." Aria says as she glances at her watch.
"The twins will probably spend the entire evening looking for the stupid ghost." I say with an eye roll.
"Probably! I'm going to give the kids a five-minute warning." Aria says as she gets up and walks towards the ocean.
"Aria!" I call out after her.
"What?" Aria asks as she turns to face me.
"Thanks for everything." I say with a smile.
"You're welcome, I hope it's been a great day for you." Aria says as her face lights up.
"It's been a great Father's Day indeed." I mutter to myself.
What did you think? This is my family's tradition on father's day, so I decided to turn it into a one-shot! Hope you enjoyed the story, and be sure to give your dads a big hug! Thanks for reading, and please review :)