200.

Olivia closed her eyes and held Ed's arm to her chest. Their bedroom was dark and the apartment was silent. The kids had all fallen asleep on the way home, and they didn't stir when Ed and Olivia carried them upstairs. In the elevator Olivia admired how effortlessly Ed held both three-year-olds to his shoulders exactly as he did when they were babies. She shivered. Everything she loved about him intensified when he interacted with the children.

"Cold?" Ed asked.

Olivia had guessed he was asleep, so she startled at his voice. "Oh, um, no," she whispered. "I'm good."

"You shivered."

"I did," she cooed, "I was remembering the elevator." She could feel Ed's face contort into a smirk and goosebumps formed up and down her back. His mind must have drifted to all the times they snuck kisses in elevators, including the cars in both their office buildings. "Tonight," she clarified, "You carrying Maggie and Wyatt. You're such a good Dad. We're so lucky to have you."

"Mmmm," Ed hummed into her hair.

Olivia patted his arm, "I love you."

"Love you."

"It was a good day today," she said.

"It was," Ed agreed, "Even John and Margie were tolerable."

"I feel bad for them," Olivia said, "They both have families yet they seem so lonely."

"They let themselves drift apart," Ed mumbled.

"We're not going to fall into that category."

"Never." Ed kissed the top of her head. "I promised myself a while ago I'd never let that happen. And besides, I miss you too much when you're gone, so, you're stuck with me, Olivia Margaret."

Olivia smiled and spun his wedding ring, which he rarely removed, around his finger. As much as she loved her rings, it was uncomfortable wearing them overnight. Ed, though, wore his so consistently the skin underneath was several shades lighter than the rest of his finger. He claimed he was used to it, that it didn't bother him to never take it off, but Olivia suspected there was more to the story. The ring connected him to her, and, after losing grip on his first marriage, keeping the ring on constantly was his way of holding on to this one. This hypothesis was, exactly that-an educated guess, but Olivia was confident it was true.

…..

The first day of school revealed to Ed and Olivia the challenges of having three kids attending two separate schools. Neither parent wanted to miss the beginning of second grade, but, at the same time, they didn't want the twins to be late on the very first day of their academic careers. "We won't stick around Noah's school long," Ed suggested confidently, "They won't want us there anyway. Second grade? They're vets. And the email said as much." He was right. The back-to-school communications began pouring in mid-July, and the latest letters encouraged parents to leave campus after a quick, cheerful goodbye.

Olivia bit her lip and played with the straps on Noah's backpack. She had to make this work, at least for this year. She couldn't bring herself to choose between Noah and the twins. "Yes," she replied softly, "Let's make sure we have everything Maggie and Wyatt need before we go."

Ed smiled, nodded, and kissed her cheek. The preschool was three blocks away. They could bring Maggie and Wyatt anything they needed. They could hang out at the coffee shop across the street for the entire four-ish hours if they wanted. Ed hoped Olivia would quickly come to appreciate the few hours to themselves each morning. He had visions of them taking walks along the river, visiting one of the more obscure museums Olivia had on her to-do list, or simply hitting stores for errands. But first, he needed to help her get comfortable with all three kids out of the house.

"Alright Tucker kids," Ed announced, "Let's get our shoes on. Time for school."

Noah marched out of his bedroom clad in his school uniform-khaki shorts and burgundy polo. With his newly trimmed, freshly combed hair, wristwatch, and perfectly tucked-in shirt, he looked dignified and studious-a first-day-of-school poster child. He grabbed his new sneakers from the foyer, put them on, and easily tied the laces. Maggie and Wyatt fumbled with their own laces and soon called for help.

"No! Tie me!" Maggie said.

"Mama," Wyatt said, "Loop, loop, swoop!" He said the words and did his best to mimic Noah's actions, but his fine motor skills weren't yet aligned to his ambition.

Ed and Olivia each took a twin, tied their shoes, and helped them shoulder their new backpacks. Wyatt's bag was green and blue, dinosaur themed, with stegosaurus spikes running along the center seam. Maggie's was bright tye-dye, and so colorful it was difficult to see her embroidered name near the top zipper. Inside the bags were extra shirts and shorts, sunscreen, a bag of snacks (even though food was provided by the school), the twins' familiar water bottles, and the required supplies which would be tossed in community buckets for everyone to use once class started.

"TIME FOR'SCHOOOOOOL!" Maggie shouted as Ed locked the apartment door. She jumped up and down and her ponytail swung from side to side.

"Now, 'member," Noah said, "You gotta listen to da teachers and follow directions." He was still uncertain if all of his coaching was going to be lost on his siblings once they were in the classroom with the other kids or if the twins had absorbed any of his advice.

Maggie and Wyatt ran to the elevator, giggling, and they both slapped the down button.

"Uh oh," Noah said, "Those babies are arready hyper!"

"Good luck to the teacher," Ed muttered.

Olivia smiled, "No kidding. A classroom full of three-year-old energy. I hope she has a lot of help."

Noah quizzed his siblings on the ride down to the lobby. He pointed to the numbers and letters on the panel, and, each time, Maggie and Wyatt answered correctly. However, they did, more than once, answer out of turn. "In school you gotta wait 'til you're called on sometimes," he said, "Kay?"

"Kay, No!" Maggie said.

"Okie dokie," Wyatt added. He grinned shyly at his usage of the new phrase he'd picked up somewhere over the weekend.

Noah beamed right before the elevator doors opened, for he knew the doorman would be there to greet them. Sure enough, there he was, decked out in his own uniform. He said a jolly good morning and pushed open the exterior doors with a flourish. "Have a wonderful first day," he said, "Knock 'em dead!"

"We will!" Noah said, "Thanks!"

….

Second grade drop-off unfolded smoothly and without drama. Noah hugged his parents and siblings goodbye and ran off to find his desk and huddle with his friends before class officially started. Mia was nowhere to be seen even though Olivia saw a desk labeled with her name. Ed joked that her parents may have forgotten it was the first day of school, which was plausible, but when they were back in the car they saw Mia's mother half-dragging her into the building.

"She hasn't changed," Ed muttered haughtily.

"Nope."

Preschool drop off looked and felt a lot like daycare. The other parents and nannies made little fuss about leaving their charges in the large, airy classroom. Once they found the appropriate hook and cubby, they said their suggested quick goodbye and left. Maggie and Wyatt, slightly unsure of themselves, did not stray far from their parents. For the first few minutes, Olivia regretted not sticking with day care. If they had, the twins would have been more familiar with the routine. Despite the agony balling in her stomach, Olivia cheerfully talked the twins through the motions.

"Here are your hooks!" She said, "Maggie and Wyatt, right here. We'll hang your backpacks. Let's get the crayons and colored pencils out and bring them to the teacher." She handed over the school supplies and pointed to the front of the room. "Come with Mommy." With a hand on each of their backs, she ushered them to the teacher and she accepted the items with a huge, welcoming smile. She also introduced herself and waited patiently for Wyatt and Maggie to say their names. Wyatt spoke first and buried his head in Olivia's leg. His courage gave Maggie confidence and she giggled her name.

"Welcome, Maggie and Wyatt!" The teacher said. "We'll have our morning meeting on the sun rug in five minutes." She held up a hand and pronounced the number slowly like the actors did on the children's shows the twins watched. "See you there, okay?"

Wyatt and Maggie nodded.

Olivia realized the teacher's speech was also a gentle reminder to the parents that their time to linger was waning. They wandered over to the sun rug and passed a set of kidney-shaped tables. Olivia was relieved to see the teacher had not assigned seats-she had worried about the twins being separated.

"Suh rug!" Maggie exclaimed. She tiptoed around the edge of the bright yellow berber-style rug with a smiley face printed in the middle.

"Yes," Olivia said, "Where do you want to sit?"

Maggie furrowed her brow and, confused, looked up at her mother.

"You're going to have your morning meeting on the rug. And I bet a story, too!"

"You read?"

"No, Miss Diamond will read."

Ed had been trying to stay on the sidelines, but Wyatt had glanced longingly at him so he, too, was standing at the sun rug. He felt Wyatt hanging on to the hem of his khaki shorts. Suddenly, Wyatt's grip tightened, and, with the other hand, Wyatt pointed across the room. "Paw Patrol sirt!"

Ed followed Wyatt's gesture and saw a boy wearing a shirt emblazoned with the characters from the twins' favorite show. "Oh, yeah, bud! There they are. Ryder and the gang."

It was a brief distraction, but spotting the shirt lightened the mood and relaxed the four-fifths of the family standing in the preschool classroom. Miss Diamond started to make her way over to the sun rug and her two teaching assistants began directing the kids to find their "special spot" for the day and told them they were all "rays of sunshine."

Olivia took a deep breath. "Okay sweet twins," she said, "We'll see you in a little bit."

"Have a good time," Ed added.

A couple of kids whimpered and ran after their mom or dad or nanny, but Maggie and Wyatt, once they got their hugs and kisses, soldiered to the rug and sat down together almost on top of the sun's right eye. They snuck a glance back at their parents. Ed waved and smiled. Olivia blew a kiss. Instinctively, Maggie and Wyatt both reached into the air to "grab" it and slapped their palms to their cheeks. Then, they turned back to Miss Diamond who was starting to tap a rhythm onto a set of bongos.

Olivia took another deep breath and held Ed's hand. "Let's go," she said, "They're going to be okay."

"Yes they are," Ed replied, "And I saw they had a bunch of other bongos to give the kids, so, yeah, let's get outta here."

…

Sarah and Brooke gushed over the pictures Ed and Olivia sent them of the twins and Noah posed before leaving home that morning. They both agreed Noah looked distinguished and older than eight. Olivia was thrilled Brooke noticed Maggie's shirt was perfect for the first day of school. It was navy with a red-and-white checkered apple in the center. Wyatt had been attired in a navy polo and red khaki shorts, so the twins weren't dressed identically, but they were close. When the text conversation began to taper off, Olivia laid her phone on the table and yawned.

"Gosh, I feel like I've been up for three days," she said, "The first day of school is draining. But I love it. Sort of."

Ed took a sip of his coffee, grimaced, and slid it across to Olivia, "This is yours."

"Oh, thank you," she replied, trading him cups, "What's wrong with mine?"

"Almond milk."

"You can hardly taste it."

"I can taste it."

"You don't drink milk in your coffee anyway," Olivia said, "That's probably it."

"Maybe," Ed made a show of peeling off the lid of the second cup to make sure there were no foreign substances present. He drank, smiled at his eye-rolling wife, and cocked his head as he asked, "How many cups of coffee you think we've had together?"

"A lot. Thousands."

"Thousands?"

"Sure." Olivia did some quick calculations in her head. "You figure we have at least two cups each a day, so there's four a day, that's well over a thousand a year, we've been married for almost four years, so, yes, thousands. And that's not counting before we were married."

Ed winked at her and said, "You're smart."

Olivia bashfully ducked her head and smiled.

"So this might end up being kinda nice, huh?" He dared to say, "The two of us every morning? Just like this?"

"I am taking Maggie and Wyatt's milestone much better than I anticipated," she said. "And I've been so consumed thinking about this day and worrying and being happy and sad at the same time that they're all growing up...I forgot," her eyes clouded, "I forgot there's a silver lining. You and me."

"Yep," he whispered and reached for her hand. "You and me."

….

Ed waited for Olivia in the back of a diner that had at one time been a smoke-filled hole in the wall serving greasy breakfasts and heart-attack inducing cheeseburgers. New owners renovated the interior and revamped the menu so it now included avaocado toast and organic granola among more traditional dishes. They also served brunch and had a liquor license and Ed considered ordering a couple of shots for himself and Olivia but decided against it and got coffee instead. The Lieutenant arrived, downcast and gloomy, but she did manage a smile for Ed and, as an added bonus, gave him a quick kiss before taking the seat in the booth across from him.

"Thank you for the coffee," she said, taking her mug.

"Thank you for the kiss."

Olivia glanced backward. "I don't care anymore. Shouldn't I be happy about that? Shouldn't I be happy I can kiss my boyfriend in public and not care if anyone sees it?"

Stunned, Ed's jaw dropped. Instead of being flattered or thrilled or giddy she had finally used the word "boyfriend" in reference to him, he was nervous and speechless. All the stress, frustration, and sadness rooted in the church scandal finally had broken her.

"They're going to win, Ed," she said, "They killed Nina. They're killing our careers. They're sending predator priests to islands. And everyone's throwing their hands up because...it's the church. The fucking church." She clasped a hand over her mouth and mumbled, "Sorry."

"There's no love lost between me and the church."

Olivia chuckled sardonically, "Funny," she muttered, "I said almost the exact same thing to Nina before she ran out of my place that day."

"I should've stayed there."

"No. She was out of her mind and terrified. You did the right thing. I...I wish she would've trusted me enough to keep her safe."

"It's hard to trust someone enough so that it drives out the fear."

Now it was Olivia's turn to be shocked. Her chin trembled ever so slightly. "I don't know if truer words have ever been spoken," she said softly. Ed could be eloquent. He was always deeply thoughtful and capable of analyzing all different facets of a situation. But this...this was a new level of profundity, a deeper insight than she'd ever heard him utter.

"Liv?"

"I...I should write that down," she said.

"I won't let you forget it," he said, with a smirk, "I promise. C'mon. Let's take these to go." He held up his mug and slid out of the booth.

"Where are we going?"

"I dunno," He shrugged and rolled his neck. "Somewhere...more cheerful."

Olivia took his hand, "Lead the way, Captain," she replied, "I need cheer. I need it badly."

…..

Around the dinner table that night, the twins finally had a contribution to the how was your day at school question. Of course, Maggie and Wyatt chattered about preschool for a good hour straight after Olivia and Ed picked them up. There were number centers and literacy centers (it took Ed and Olivia a few minutes to figure out literacy as the twins pronounced it, and after they deciphered the word, Ed muttered "Jesus Christ, can't they just say reading or English or even letters?") and coveted recess time after which they washed hands and ate a snack. Miss Diamond apparently liked to begin and end the day with music, and Maggie and Wyatt sang a few bars of the songs they sang.

"Didja like da other kids?" Noah asked.

Maggie and Wyatt appeared perplexed.

"I pay with Wyatt," Maggie said after searching for an answer.

"Maybe tomorrow you can play with some other kids," Olivia gently suggested.

Wyatt chimed in to tell a story about a sand funnel, and how another boy, James, threw sand. "No throwin' sand," Wyatt said knowingly. He and his siblings were very familiar with this rule from the beach.

Noah's day, Ed and Olivia would admit to one another later, sounded boring. Or, rather, it was the typical mundane first day of school. Second grade would surely present new challenges, both academic and social, but it sounded like Noah and his peers endured a day full of rules and routine. The teacher did make lofty, exciting promises-a class pet, field trips, and experiments involving chemical reactions, electricity, and virtual space exploration, but even Noah shrugged at the end of his recap and rated the day a B-plus.

"Da plus 'cause Mia and Mateo are in my class still! Jus' like first grade!" He grinned and added, "An' we had a good lunch. Tacos. But Mateo said there're better tacos in Texas."

"It'll pick up and be more exciting, bud," Ed replied, "Have any homework?"

"No," Noah replied with amazement. "But we have a reading test t'morrow."

"Oh, well, we better make sure you get your shower and get a good night's sleep. Gotta be sharp."

"Gah be sarp!" Wyatt said, "Forra test!"

Olivia reached over and mussed his hair, "You have a test tomorrow, too, sweet Wyatt?"

"Yeah. Onna sun rug."

"Sun rug?" Noah asked, "Is it hot like da real sun?"

"Not hot," Maggie said, "You c'touchit."

"What do you do on the sun rug?" Noah asked. "Stories?"

Wyatt nodded and grinned. He started banging the table with his spoon, "An' music!"

Maggie followed suit and started banging, too. Ed grabbed the utensils. "No drums while we're eating," he said. "Drums are for school only."

"Schoo'only," Maggie repeated.

"That's right," Ed repeated, "School only."

Olivia took a bite of lo mein and simpered at Ed's gentle, non-threatening discipline. There was absolutely nothing authoritarian about his disposition even though he was trying to lay down the law as much as it possibly could be laid down to his three year olds. Yet he couldn't bring himself to be the no-nonsense, straight-laced Dad she was sure he'd been with Brooke and Sarah. The change wasn't necessarily better or worse; it was different. There would be a day when the twins or Noah would commit an offense far more serious than an impromptu dinner utensil jam session, but, until then, Olivia found great contentment in watching her kids take on the new and unfamiliar without fear or hesitation. For her, growing up had been hard, a terrifying slog at times, and she hadn't enjoyed it. She was determined to give her kids every chance at the opposite experience, and all evidence suggested she and Ed were succeeding.

…..

Maggie put on her pajamas and curled up on the couch. Her hair, still wet, was twisted in a knot on top of her head. Olivia reached over and tugged at one of the tendrils. "Not going to dry it?" She asked.

"Too lazy. Too tired. And it'll be wavy tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

Maggie giggled at her mistake. "Softball. Well. It'll be wavy until I get my helmet on."

"Did you have fun tonight?" Olivia asked, making sure to not sound too interested in what had occurred at the twins' first dance.

"It was pretty fun," Maggie replied, "But the music was kind of bad. Like, he played a lot of old songs and this dance called the Electric Slide. He tried to teach us but we didn't get it."

Ed rounded the sofa, handed Olivia a glass of wine, and sat down beside her. "I'll teach it to ya," he said as he made room for Olivia to scoot closer and settle in under his arm.

"You'll have to teach me, too," Olivia said.

"You don't know the slide?"

"No," she said, "I know the song. I know there's a dance. But I've never done it. And I also don't think they call it the slide."

"Dad," Maggie added, "I don't see you as a dancer."

"Ouch," Ed quipped, "Wife and daughter have no faith in my moves?"

Maggie and Olivia simultaneously said no and the three of them burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Wyatt asked, poking his head out of the room he shared with Noah.

"They're makin' fun of me," Ed answered.

"Oh." Wyatt shrugged and closed the bedroom door. He and Noah were watching a movie only the two of them had wanted to see and clearly didn't have time for shenanigans from the other three.

The impassive "Oh" made Ed, Olivia, and Maggie laugh even harder.

"We better quiet down," Olivia joked in a low voice, "We'll get in trouble. What do you two want to watch?"

"I'm going to finish playing my game," Maggie grabbed the iPad on the table, "You can watch your old people shows."

Olivia chuckled again. Ed groaned and reached for the remote. "The barbs never stop comin' around here," he grumbled. Before flipping through their queue he kissed Olivia's head and asked, "Any more from you?"

"No," she took a slow sip of the wine, "Not at this time, Captain. But I reserve the right to toss a barb later on."

Ed nodded and smirked. "Noted."

….

Olivia stepped out of the shower and took her time wrapping the towel around herself. Ed had already dried off and was pulling a fresh t-shirt on when he caught a glimpse of his naked, glistening wife. His breath caught in his throat and he could barely croak out an answer when Olivia asked him if he was sure he didn't mind getting the twins and then Noah on his own.

"Nope," he said quickly and took a deep, sharp breath. "I'm gonna want to hear all about it."

It was the final plan for the Benson Center Benefit. G's team was finished and ready for the October event and she wanted Olivia's approval on every aspect before officially giving everyone the go signal. From Olivia's point of view, G had done a remarkable job of keeping her informed every step of the way, but she understood why G would want to have an added layer of assurance.

"I better go," Ed kissed her and paused at her neck, breathing in the scent of shampoo and soap. "Don't wanna be late."

Olivia smiled. They had been paranoid about being late to pick up the twins during the first week. Even though the walk was less than ten minutes, they were always twenty minutes too early and ended up at the coffee shop across the street. It was Delaware day camp routine all over again. She kissed him, reminded him it was Friday, and she was looking forward to their family pub date later that night.

Ed's great mood had to have been evident to anyone paying attention on the street. There was an extra jolt of energy in his gait and he couldn't stop his lips from curling into a tiny, proud smile. Inside the preschool building, he waited eagerly for the twins to run out of the classroom and crash into him. The weekend was ahead, the weather was supposed to be gorgeous, and he'd scored tickets to Sunday's Yankees game for the five of them and Caroline.

"Mr. Tucker?"

Ed turned and saw Miss Diamond walking toward him. The twins were at her side. Ed did a double take. A marker-wielding someone had drawn all over their arms, legs, and faces, though the purple and yellow designs on their cheeks were faded-whoever was doing the scrubbing gave up before the job was done.

"Hey, hey," Ed replied, crouching a bit, "What's all this?"

"Tattoo," Wyatt said in a whisper.

"Tattoos, huh?" Ed gritted his teeth in an effort to suppress his laughter. No one in their family had tattoos, but that didn't mean anything. They probably passed twenty people with visible tattoos on their way to school that morning. The word, though, that must have come from, well, Ed wasn't sure where they'd picked it up. Tattoo was not a term often used on the kids' channels or in their usual conversations.

"I dawed on Magg and Magg daw on me."

"I see," Ed straightened his back and regarded Miss Diamond apologetically, "Sorry about this," he said.

Miss Diamond's smile was less enthusiastic than it had been a few hours ago, "We had a talk about how we draw on paper, not our skin."

"Right, right," Ed felt his body tense and his protective juices started flowing. "We'll talk more about that tonight and this weekend." Ed noticed the twins had their backpacks. He knew they hadn't worn jackets that morning, so they were ready to go. He was grateful they could get out of there without further conversation or reprimands.

Maggie and Wyatt were silent and Ed could tell they were somewhat traumatized by getting in trouble. "Hey," he said, "Want pizza for lunch?"

They both nodded.

At their usual pizza shop, the twins perked up a bit. They ran to their favorite booth near the window and asked for orange soda. Ed ordered their slices and smirked at the twins' arms. The colors they'd chosen popped against their suntanned skin. At least they had a sense of style.

"What were ya drawin?" He asked, his smirk turning into a smile.

Maggie sensed the trouble they were in was either fleeting or, even better, maybe their Daddy was a co-conspirator. "Pitty 'zines."

"Pretty designs, huh?"

"I daw a fower on Magg," Wyatt said, poking his sister's cheek.

"Very pretty."

"Sunfower."

"I'm impressed," he said, "So," Ed alternated between slapping the table and playfully grabbing the twins' hands, "From now on we draw only on paper at preschool, okay? No tattoos. No pretty designs. No flowers. Not on your skin. Only on paper."

"Daw on rocks atta beach," Maggie said.

Ed reached over and pressed his knuckle to her cheek, "Yes you do. But at preschool you only draw on what the teacher tells you to draw on, okay? No skin. No clothes."

Wyatt tugged on his gray surfboard shirt, "Dint daw on sirt, Daddy!"

"No bud," Ed said, chuckling. Both twins' clothing were free from not only marker but from any stain or mark at all. "No ya didn't. Good boy."

Maggie grabbed some napkins from the dispenser and began tucking them into her collar.

"Whatcha doin?" Ed asked.

"Pizza bib."

Ed laughed. His kids looked like body art poster children, but they were not about to get one speck of pizza sauce on their shirts or shorts. "Great idea," he said, "Should I get a pizza bib, too?"

"Sure," Maggie handed him another handful of napkins, "Dere ya go."

"Thanks."

"Wel'om, Daddy."

Under the table, Maggie and Wyatt kicked their feet and they looked around the restaurant, pointing out parts of the wallpaper and display cases they'd seen dozens of times before as if they were new discoveries. Ed smirked at his two sweet, fun-loving twins and wished he could bottle the moment.

Then he zeroed in once again on their tattoos.

Oh boy, he thought, what was Mommy going to say?

…..

#Tuckson