Polly sat on the beach watching Sam and Lola splashing around in the shallows. Sam would chase her and pick her up and threaten to dump her in the water and then let Lola chase him and catch him and they would roll around in the incoming waves. The laughter and squeals from both Lola and Sam made Polly smile. He wasn't always around as much as he wanted to be, especially lately but when he was he away from Chicago he was all in. They had to get out of the city to make Sam switch off. Mae was just starting to stir beside her. Instead of taking her back up to the house when she fell asleep Polly let her sleep under the umbrella while she read a book and probably even dozed off herself for half an hour. When Sam looked up at them earlier he figured, by the lack of movement they were both out to it.
Sam and Lola had gone shell hunting along the beach, built a sandcastle and were now playing happily in the water. He had been busy lately at he zoo with new babies left right and centre, including his long awaited first giraffe calf so now that things had settled down a little they had decided to take a long weekend and come up to the beach house. The girls loved it here. Lola was in her element and was constantly begging to go to the beach and she loved any time she got with her Daddy lately.
Polly and Sam were struggling to balance their life at the moment. They didn't have a lot of time for each other, the girls took up most of their spare time and Sam had been working long days, sometimes up to 12 hours and even on his days off he often had to go into work. It had put them under a lot of stress and Polly was working three days a week and managing the girls so by the end of the day she was usually in bed when Sam came home. They knew they had to straighten up but it was easier said than done. The weekend was the first step.
The house had been given to the four children when Phil had died. Sam and Polly got up here the most, although Heidi did always spend a few weeks here over the summer. Jolene avoided the place, it bought back too many memories for her now but the kids and the grandkids loved it. Andrew and Dylan would spend the odd weekend up here and at least once a year they all spent a long weekend up here together and it was loud and busy and fun.
"Mum, mum, mum." Mae babbled groggily as she pushed herself up and sat resting her head on her Mom's leg as she woke up.
Polly rubbed her curly dark hair lightly. The salt water made it curlier than usual and she was impossibly cute right now. She had Sam's dark hair but her nose was more like Polly's than Lola's was. Her elder daughter was the spitting image of her father but Mae was more a mix of both. "Hi darling, did you have a good sleep." Holding onto her Mom she pulled herself up to standing and bounced up and down on her little legs. "Shall we go for a swim with Daddy?"
"Da, Da." She responded happily and looked around for her Daddy and squealed when she saw him. Polly pulled on her rash vest, which was a feat as she tried to crawl off towards the water. Polly had taken it off while she was asleep because it was damp and she got too hot wearing it and while she was trying to go to sleep it was annoying her. The Umbrella was big enough and Polly made sure she was always in the shade and covered her with her light cotton wrap, she was paranoid about them getting burnt. Mae hated wearing a hat but they were strict with the no hat, no play but it was a never-ending battle with Mae some days to keep it on her head. Lola just accepted it and would often screech at Mae when she pulled hers off. Particularly if they were out with just one of them, if Mae didn't wear a hat that meant they both needed to go inside and that was not cool according to her sister.
It was funny watching the two of them together, Mae was completely oblivious to what Lola was doing or talking about most of the time but she just wanted to be around her sister and would happily follow her around the house but Lola certainly got annoyed with her at times and even went as far as blaming Mae for things that she couldn't even manage.
She tried to blame Mae for letting one of the birds Sam had bought home out of its cage. He'd walked into the study to find the bird flying around the room. He had caught the thing while Polly completely freaked out and got it back in its cage before he went off his trolley at Lola who insisted that Mae had done it. Unfortunately for Lola they knew Mae had no idea how to open the cage nor was she old enough or strong enough to climb up onto the table to get at it.
It didn't end well for Lola and Sam was furious with her. Polly had tried to intervene and he told her to butt out. It was an ugly day for everyone. Sam and Lola made up a long time before Polly forgave him, she could understand why he was angry but had tried to explain that Lola hadn't deliberately lied to him, that was just the age she was and how her mind worked. Lola certainly hadn't touched one of his animals again without asking.
Sam happily caught Mae as Polly threw her at her Dad and she squealed with delight while Polly splashed around with Lola. He held onto his youngest tightly and Polly tried not to freak out as he took her into the deeper water. Lola had always been fearless around water, which worried them a little and they had to keep a sharp eye on her and she'd certainly come up spluttering and laughing more times than they could count and it rarely bothered her but Mae clung to her Dad like a monkey, although as long as she had her Dad's arms holding her tightly she was happy and loving it.
At least they knew the girls would sleep well and that's what they loved about coming up here. The fun days and long peaceful nights that made the weekend seem like twice as long. If it wasn't such a feat to pack up two girls they'd be up here every weekend in summer. Even in winter when it was too cold to go outside they loved it up here.
"Mabel." Lola screamed excitedly. "Clever Monkey."
Both Sam and Polly dropped what they were doing and dashed into the lounge room. They were in the kitchen getting dinner ready; Sam was cooking Risotto for them and Polly was leaning on the bench talking to him while they shared a beer. It was nice and casual and Sam appreciated the company while the girls were playing happily. He loved to cook when they came up here, his brother had taught him well enough but he didn't get the opportunity at home much. Polly was more than happy to sit back and let him take the reins in the kitchen. The girls would eat anything, they didn't always love it but they would at least try new foods. Sam made a mean risotto and Polly couldn't wait.
"She's walking." Lola screamed at them as she jumped up and down and pointed at Mae who was sitting happily on the floor and clapping. "Monkey walked to me."
They had been waiting and encouraging Mae to walk for weeks but she had shown so little interest in it they gave up. She would just wait and Lola would bring her what she wanted and could crawl after Lola a lot quicker than trying to walk. She would stand up and let go of the table or whoever's legs she was holding, she could stand for quite a while and even squat down and get back up but she refused to take a step.
Lola was jumping up and down; she was so excited and the joy on Lola's face was infectious. "She walked, Mabel walked." It was funny how lately Lola had started calling her Mabel; no one ever called her that. She got Monkey a lot but rarely did she get Mabel until recently Lola had started doing it and it was so cute.
Polly got down on the floor with the slightly bemused looking Mae, she wasn't quite sure what was going on but she quickly got swept up in everyone's excitement and she sat and clapped her hands as Lola continued to jump around like she was possessed. Sam grabbed his phone and they got Lola to sit a few feet away and Polly helped Mae up onto her feet again and Lola called her. She dropped down onto her bottom and crawled towards her sister. Polly grabbed her by the legs and playfully pulled her back towards her, much to her delight and they tried again.
It took a few attempts but finally she took those wobbly steps they were waiting for but the resultant scream from Polly and Lola knocked her off her feet again, but it was enough, Sam had caught her on video and Polly smothered her in kisses. "Oh my beautiful big girl." She cooed.
Sam popped the tops off two beers as they ate dinner and then kicked back and watched the girls hang out on the deck, the music blaring and Lola was shaking her groove while Mae bopped up and down watching her. It was a perfect family moment and the hectic last few weeks just faded away, this place had the ability to make two days feel like a week.
"My baby is all grown up." Polly wiggled her way back against Sam as they sat outside sharing another beer once the girls had finally given in and gone to sleep. He pulled a rug over them as the night air cooled off. It had been a long time since they had time to just relax and enjoy each other's company and just because they were struggling it didn't mean they weren't content to get close physically. When you were at home there was always something else you could be doing and the girls were always in bed earlier up here because they had been outside and busy all day and that tired them out.
"She has." He entwined his fingers through Polly's and rested in on her chest. "When did that happen?"
"While you were at work." Polly knew the moment it came out of her mouth it was a shitty thing to say and she felt Sam tense up. "Sorry, that wasn't fair."
"I'm trying Polly."
"I know."
"You know I miss you too, it will settle down now." Sam tightened his arm around Polly "I love my girls." Without a doubt he was busy at work and a lot of things just couldn't be put off until another day. It was the life of a Zookeeper; animals like kids needed you to be there for them every single day. His girls needed him too and he hadn't been there for them lately and he felt like shit because of it. It was his idea to come away and Polly had commented that she was surprised he could find the time for them. It wasn't appreciated and she had apologised immediately and agreed that it was a great idea and that she was looking forward to spending the time with him and that the girls would love it.
"Oh Sam, I know you do."
"All three of them." She rolled her head to the side so that Sam could kiss her neck. Sliding his hand under the blanket he unbuttoned Polly's shirt and slipped a hand inside and she closed her eyes as he massaged her breast and continued kissing her. Despite how rough things were with them lately Polly loved his touch, his kisses and being loved by him. She was weak. He was her weakness.
"Mommy." Her eyes flew open at the sound of Lola's voice and Sam pulled his hand away. She jumped up from the seat and Sam made sure the blanket was covering the evidence of how much he had enjoyed the last few minutes. Polly's hand hadn't exactly been idle under the rug.
"What's wrong sweetheart?"
"I can't sleep. The wind is noisy." They had left the window open a little because the room the girls were in was stuffy and the banging had kept Lola awake. Sam groaned as Polly scooped her up and took her back to bed.
He closed his eyes and waited. "Where were we?" He smiled as she lowered herself on top of him, wiggling her hips to get comfortable.
"You were about to tell me how much you loved me."
Polly inched her way up and sucked on his bottom lip. "I love you."
"You sure they are asleep?"
"Yes."
"Because I don't want to be interrupted again. This is about to get serious."
"What are you going to do?"
Sam manoeuvred one hand in between them and got it inside her shorts. She pushed herself up on one knee slightly to give him more room to move. Polly rocked against his hand for a moment before returning the favour and grabbing hold of him. She heard Sam suck in a deep breath and she knew she had gotten to him, big time.
"Mommy, I still can't sleep." Polly dropped her head onto Sam's chest.
"God Charlotte, what's wrong?" He snapped. "Go back to bed."
Her bottom lip dropped instantly as she burst into tears and went fleeing back inside. "Sam." Polly ripped her hand out of his pants, making him gasp a little at the roughness of it and she pushed him lightly in the chest. "Don't be a asshole."
"Come on Baby." He waved his hand back towards the house. "What's her problem?"
"What's yours?"
"What's my problem?" He called out to her retreating frame. "Come here and I'll show you." Polly just flipped him the bird and kept walking.
He was waiting for her outside; he'd popped his feet up on the table and grabbed another beer. It had taken Polly a while to calm Lola down and get her to sleep and Sam had stalked around the house impatiently. He was looking forward to having some fun. Polly was always worried that they would be caught out so didn't often want to get hot and heavy so early in the night or anywhere other than the bedroom or the shower. She had this thing about the shower; she loved sex in the shower and he had no issue with that whatsoever but outside; that never happened.
The fact that Polly seemed to be ready to go for it on the back deck was a bit of a surprise so Lola's timing was pretty bloody crappy. Talk about deflating, because he'd deflated pretty quickly and he doubted that he was going to get back there any time soon. It didn't take much lately for him to go from hero to zero.
"You over your little petulant outburst?" Polly grabbed the beer from his hand and took a swig.
"No."
"Lola was upset."
"So was I." Sam pulled her down into his lap. "You were sad too weren't you?" Sam slid her fingers up under the hem of her shirt and tickled her skin.
"Ha…" She pushed his hand away. "…the moment is over."
"No it's not." Sam knew exactly how to get her back on the same page but she was being a little stubborn. "Kiss me."
Polly shook her head. "You know Lola asked me if you were frustrated?"
Sam actually laughed at that one. She wasn't wrong though; Sam had been frustrated. "She's pissed with me isn't she?"
"She cried." It had taken Polly a little while to get her to stop crying. She was overtired and that always ended in tears. Luckily Mae slept pretty solidly and had barely stirred in the cot in the corner, they didn't share a room at home so it was always interesting up here when they had to be in the same room and they did that more because the house was pretty big and they didn't want to be too far away from them. "She was sobbing into her pillow." Sam dropped his head a little; despite being disappointed at the interruption he did hate upsetting the girls.
Her head was buried in her pillow when Polly caught up with her; she'd flung herself onto her bed. "It's okay Lola." Polly sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair. "Daddy didn't mean it."
"Daddy's frustrated at me." She sobbed and Polly did her best to hide her smile. Sam was very definitely frustrated, he wouldn't have been so annoyed if they weren't three quarters of the way down the road. Polly could turn off a lot quicker than he could, she didn't have to deal with the obvious physical reaction that he was left with. "I don't think he likes us."
"Daddy loves you Lola, you and Mae, very much." Polly certainly didn't like that comment from her and she would talk to Sam about it, he would hate it but sometimes he said things to her that were a little harsher than Polly liked and Polly was more than happy to pull him up. She was also surprised that Lola knew what the word 'frustrated' meant and even more surprised that she recognised that her Daddy was frustrated with her. She guessed that was because they spent a lot of time talking to her and involving her in all their conversations. Sam hated baby talk and refused to treat either of the girls like idiots, they may not understand what they were talking about but he just kept going and knew it would help them in the long run and they did love the conversations they were having with Lola now and Mae understood a lot more than she could say. "He just wants you to go to sleep because he knows how tired you are. He wants you to have good day tomorrow at the beach and not be grumpy."
"I'm not grumpy. I'm sad."
"I know Lola. Do you want Daddy to come in and talk to you? He loves you so much Lola."
"No, I want you Mommy." Polly stretched out beside her for the third time and rubbed her back until she fell asleep.
Sam closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "Sorry Baby." Polly knew why he was frustrated though, it had been a long few weeks for him and work had been tough. He'd done some very long days and they'd been like ships in the night for a while and Lola wasn't the only person who was frustrated, Polly was frustrated with him too. Their promise to always find time for each other every week had fallen by the wayside and they both hated it and took their irritation out on each other. This weekend wasn't just about getting the girls out of Chicago but to spend some time with each other.
"She'll be fine, what's the bet she doesn't even remember it by morning." Polly chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, unsure whether to tell him now or later. "Lola thinks you don't like us." As soon as she saw the hurt on Sam's face she regretted telling him.
"Well that's a kick in the nuts."
"She doesn't believe it Baby." Polly rested a hand on his chest. "I think she was just shocked when you yelled at her to go back to bed."
"It was just bad timing. I was enjoying the moment, I was enjoying you." Sam took a deep breath. "I like you, I like you a hell of a lot, all three of you."
"We know." Sam forced himself to smile before leaning forward and whispering in her ear and Polly turned to putty. He'd never call her easy but he had the keys to her house and it didn't take him long to unlock her door.
By four am Mae was asleep between them, Sam had staggered out of bed and wordlessly picked her up out of her cot as she grizzled before she woke Lola and bought her back into their room. She had spreadeagled herself within minutes and Polly and Sam clung to the edges of the bed and tried to sleep and as the sun started to peak through the blinds Lola climbed into bed, cuddled up to her Dad and stole his pillow and promptly fell back to sleep.
"Mom, Mom." Polly felt a hand on her face and reluctantly peeled open her eyes and found Mae's big brown eyes staring at her. "Up." She peered over at Sam who was fast asleep or at least pretending to be and Lola was jammed up next to him and she sighed, her hopes for a sleep in completely shattered. They hadn't exactly had an early night last night; they'd talked and played around with each other for hours. Grabbing Mae she hauled her over the top of her and onto the floor and slipped quietly out of bed. Encouraging Mae to follow her she just dropped to her knees and started to whine. She may have been an earlier riser but that didn't mean she didn't just want to cuddle while she warmed up to the day.
Polly made herself a tea and some toast and took Mae outside onto the deck and enjoyed the calm quiet morning with her little sweetheart. She cuddled up on her Mom's lap and ate her toast, sharing it with Polly happily and babbling away to her Mom. "Should we go and make Daddy a coffee?" Polly decided that Sam was missing out on the beautiful morning and they didn't often get the time with just Mae.
Reluctantly he got up but once outside they loved the hour they got with their littlest girl. She took more steps, wobbly walking between her Mom and Dad and that alone was worth being up so early. "Dad Up." When she'd had enough she held up her arms and demanded Sam pick her up and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"See what you would have missed out on if I'd let you sleep?"
"Hmmm, yes but I had Lola plastered all over me. Share and share alike."
"But she loves her Daddy." Polly rubbed Mae's back. "Don't you sweetheart." The smile she got back was adorable.
Sam grabbed her playfully around the waist and they all enjoyed the cuddle. "Are you going to plaster yourself to me again tonight?"
"If you are a good boy today."
When Lola staggered out of bed she curled up next to her Mom for some quiet time while Sam took Mae down the beach for an early swim. Life was good here; they had time with the girls that they never seemed to find at home. There was always something going on or somewhere to be or people stopping by, up here they didn't even have a TV and they rarely gave them a screen either and Lola quickly got used to it. She may get an hour in the afternoon during rest time but both of them usually feel asleep pretty quickly and Polly would read while Sam slept too. Mae still had two sleeps during most days especially up here because they were always outside playing or at the beach.
He worked hard, put in long hours some weeks depending on what he had going on at the time and he had just finished a long stretch of a lot of births so he'd been up at all hours being called in. Polly would take him in some dinner with the girls and they also got to witness some incredible moments, including the first steps of his baby giraffe. Lola loved them, Mae couldn't give two shits but she got to see her Daddy so that was a bonus. Whenever they got up here Sam would catch up on sleep and relax, knowing full well that come Monday he'd be up at five again and back into it.
Polly and Lola joined them once Lola had finished breakfast and they walked up to the playground for an hour. That was about all they could tolerate because while the girls had fun being an adult it got boring quickly. Mae also hit the wall and Sam lugged her back to the house and he lay down with her on the bed and promptly fell asleep. Polly let them go and did some baking with Lola, making her Daddy's favourite brownies. It was a perfect morning and Lola seemed to have forgotten about the night before.
"Daddy I cooked for you." Lola happily presented Sam with his brownies once they were both up. Polly had bought out the hot drinks and some water for the girls and Lola insisted on carrying the plate of brownies. They watched as half of them slide haphazardly off the plate onto the rug and Lola's bottom lip quivered. "Oh damn." She muttered and it was hard not to laugh as Sam jumped up to help her pick them up.
"Hmmm delicious." He popped one in his mouth straight off the ground and Lola giggled. "Thank you Chicken."
"They your favourite."
"My favourite brownies from my favourite girl." Polly loved how he was trying really hard to show Lola how much he loved her today. She told him that she wouldn't even remember what she said last night as she was half asleep but Sam didn't care, it had hurt him and he was going to make it up to her. His girls were his life, all three of them and while he loved his job they meant more to him than anything.
Lola shrieked with delight as her Daddy wrestled with Polly and sat on her so that Lola could tickle her. Mae soon got involved and pulled herself up on Sam and bounced up and down squealing as Lola tried to tickle her Mom and Polly squirmed. He encouraged Mae to join in which she did so happily and the girls loved it even more when Sam conceded easily when Polly pushed him off her and he rolled onto his back as the tables were turned and girls crawled all over him while Polly sat astride and egged them on.
"That was fun." Polly slipped her hand in Sam's as tidied up after lunch. They'd had a picnic and then played with Lola and Mae and the girls loved it. When Mae was ready for her sleep they gave Lola her iPad to watch for an hour.
"Hmmm…" He tugged on her hand so that she crashed into him. "…it kinda turned me on."
"What?" Polly sounded a little surprised. "Playing with the girls?"
"You. On my lap." His breath was hot and sticky on her neck. "I know you were grinding yourself into me. You were low-key trying to get me excited."
"Nope. Nothing low-key about it."
He backed her up against the bench and his hand crept up under her dress, she was wearing her bikini and had thrown a light cotton dress over the top. It was her standard beach house style. Polly couldn't resist him and when he took a step closer it was no longer low-key. "Is Lola asleep?"
Sam went and quickly checked on her and she was fast asleep on their bed. Polly was still in the kitchen cleaning up. He kissed the back of her neck as he grabbed the bench either side of her and pressed his hips into hers. "Sound asleep." Polly covered his hands with hers. "Turn around."
Before Sam had much of a chance to do anything Polly had turned around and slipped her hand inside his waistband of his board shorts and Sam just held onto the bench while Polly wrapped her hand around him. It felt so fucking good he was happy to just close his eyes, rest her head on her shoulder for a few moments and enjoy it. Slowly he started to kiss her neck, working his way up until he smashed his mouth into hers and worked at getting her bikini bottoms off.
Mae woke first and they hung out on the couch with her, letting her climb over the both of them until Lola got up. Sam had lavished Mae with attention; she just thrived when she got one on one time with either of her parents. Lola was such a dominant personality and Mae loved her sister but watching her with Sam right now made Polly a little teary. It was adorable and Sam looked as happy as Mae was.
Lola staggered out, hair all over the shop and crawled into her Mom's lap. "Mae is loud."
"Yes she is. Daddy is being silly with her." Polly kissed her hair after smoothing it back into a ponytail. "Did you have a good sleep?"
"Yes. Did you?" Sam winked at Polly when he heard Lola's question.
"Daddy didn't let me have a sleep."
"Was he being mean?"
"No." They both laughed. "Daddy was very sweet." Polly leant forward and whispered in Lola's ear while she was watching Sam. "He kissed me." Which made her giggle.
This meant to world to them, Lola and Mae were delighted and they spent the afternoon in the water and by the time they gave them dinner and bathed them both they were ready for bed. Lola lucked out and got Dad to take her to bed and Polly could hear them singing and giggling away while Mae cuddled up to her Mom on the couch and fell asleep. Sam was happy to put her to bed while Polly cracked a bottle of wine and they pulled out a pack of cards and just enjoyed each other's company.
"This has been good for us." Sam stretched out and rested his head in Polly's lap. She ran her hand through his hair before resting it on his chest. "I shouldn't have let it get on top of me like I did, I'm sorry."
"We missed you."
"I know. I missed you to, I don't want to let you down and I know I did."
"No you didn't Sam, we just missed you. You were working and your job is important to you, I've always known that doesn't mean I like you not being around though."
"Pull me up then."
"I shouldn't have to, you know the girls need you around. They are not going to be this little for long. I know you love being their Dad and they adore you, sometimes you need to be reminded that like those animals they need you everyday."
"I am trying, but I know I am shit at it."
"You are not shit at it Sam, it's just out of balance right now."
"Fuck, it sucked when you told me that Lola thinks I don't like you all."
"They can be brutally honest some days."
Like this, it was a brutally honest conversation and it wasn't always comfortable or pleasant but they had them and that was a good thing. "Do you think that?"
"What? That you don't like us?" Polly paused a little and waited until Sam looked at her. "No, no I don't Sam, not at all but I am not five."
"Everything I do is for you and them. I work to give you the life you want, I work to make sure that Lola and Mae can see these beautiful animals in the future, and so can their children. I want you to be proud of me, I want them to stand up at school and say, that's my Dad, he did that."
"I am proud of you Sam."
"I want to give you everything."
"Sam, we want you around. There is no point working yourself into the ground and then coming home when they are in bed, that's not what they want. They want to see you."
"What about you? Do you want to see me?"
"I am not even going to answer that. It's a stupid question Sam."
"Is it?"
"Yes it is. Stop this crap." She pushed him off her lap and jumped up from the couch. "You shit me sometimes."
"Sorry Baby." Sam reached for her hand and Polly shook him off and stormed from the room. "Come here." Sam dropped his head back on the couch and sighed. It was a stupid thing to say and he knew it annoyed her when he did it. Sometimes he just needed to hear her tell him that he was all she needed, he needed to know that Polly still just wanted him.
It took a while for her to come back and he heard the shower turn on and did contemplate going to join her but decided to give her some breathing space, he assumed she'd go to bed after that and he would join her in a few minutes. He wasn't asleep on the couch but his eyes were closed when Polly stretched out on top of him, without opening his eyes he snaked an arm around her waist as she nestled her head under his chin.
"Please don't say shit like that Sam. I hate it."
"I know, I'm sorry. It was a crappy thing to say, I just feel I am so out of whack right now."
Polly lifted her head and rested her arms across his chest and her chin on her hands. "What can I do?"
He ran his hand down her spine. "You are already doing it." She wasn't wearing much and he guessed that was the point. His wife was immense, she always knew what he needed and wanted sometimes before he even did.
"You know it is not that I want to nag you or hassle you but I really like you, I like spending time with you, I like watching you with Lola and Mae and I know you love being with them."
"And you, I love being with you." He kept dragging his hand up and down her back, slowly and deliberately, eventually slipping it under her top and touching her skin. Polly sighed a little and lay her head back down. "Still, after all these years you make me content."
"Are you content right now?"
"If by that you mean I am happy just to stop right here, right now, then no I am not content." Sam dragged his hand down her side, his fingers grazing over the side of her boob. "If you mean am I content with being married to you and a father to two insanely awesome girls, then yes Polly I am content."
"They are a little bit awesome aren't they?"
"Absolutely." Sam stole a quick kiss. "It's you though Polly, it's always been you. You hold me together, you hold us together…."
Polly put her hand over his mouth. "Right now I do, but you've played that role too. When Mae was born, you held us together, don't pretend that you don't."
"I really want to get this right again."
"Baby, it is right. It's always right, doesn't mean the road isn't bumpy though." She kissed the tip of his nose and lay her head back down and enjoyed the sensation of his hand up and down her back. "I have faith in you, in us and in our family."
"This weekend has been perfect."
"It has, the girls seem so happy." Polly didn't need much more than this right now. Even as they talked she could feel Sam relaxing beneath her, not that she was doing anything other than being close to him. They'd done the other stuff, sex wasn't always what was needed, you could have sex without intimacy and while that didn't mean it was bad, because sex with Sam was rarely bad but intimacy often came in the minutes before and after, the quiet moments when all they did was talk and touch each other.
"Yes, and so do you."
"I am always happy when I am with you." Polly tried to move but Sam held onto her and told her to stay. He liked this, the peace and quiet, the weight of his wife on top of him, the steady tickle of her breath on his neck as she put her head back down and cuddled up to him. They talked on and off but it wasn't really needed. Sometimes words were superfluous.
Sam wasn't surprised when Polly fell asleep and he wasn't far behind her and they had no idea how long they slept for but he eventually stirred when he started to get uncomfortable. "Baby, Let's go to bed." He shook her lightly.
They crawled into bed and Sam curled around Polly, holding her close. Even when things were shitty between them the moment they stopped sleeping close was the moment they knew they needed to work on things. Last week they had drifted apart but the last few days they'd put it right.
They assumed that they wouldn't be alone for long and were a bit stunned to wake up when Mae started to cry and it was almost 7am. They'd obviously ran them ragged yesterday, although because she slept so late she wasn't keen to climb into their bed and settle back down like she usually did. She was ready for a 'chat' and she was hard to ignore. When Lola came staggering in half hour later it was game over. They had to head back to Chicago today which was disappointing, another day would have been perfect but at least they felt like they'd got their balance back. Now they just had to keep it like that.
