Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: I think this is probably going to be the last one in this series of stories. I can't really take them much further (much as I would like to).
Please read and review. Thank you all for reviewing previous parts, it really helped.
A LETTER HOME
PART FOUR
Dear Dad and Jenny,
We're having a wonderful time. We've done nothing but go for long walks and laze on the beach.
I can't thank you enough for offering to take the kids for us so we can have a second honeymoon. It's hard to believe we've been married 8 years already. It feels like only yesterday that Nigel and I stood in the chapel at Trinity College and said our vows.
Dad, I know you wanted to give me a big church wedding with all the trimmings, but we felt it was right that we start our married life together at the place where we first met. After all, if Nigel hadn't been assigned as my TA, we would probably have never met and you wouldn't have 3 beautiful grandchildren.
Speaking of the children, are the twins behaving themselves? How many trees have you had to get Matthew out of? It's funny; he looks so much like Nigel that I always expect him to act like him as well. I don't know where he gets his adventurous spirit from. Nigel swears he takes after me, but I was never that bad. Was I?
Bethany, on the other hand, definitely takes after her father. She's only 7 and she already speaks Latin better than I do (which wouldn't be hard). How many books has she managed to get through since we've been away? Judging by the weight of her suitcase when we dropped the children off at your place, she only had the minimum amount of clothes in there.
I bet it's chaos back there with 5 children under the age of 7 in one house. How are my gorgeous baby brothers? I bet they've never been in so much trouble in their young lives.
I know you and Jenny are taking good care of them, but I can't help worrying. Especially about Emily. She's only 6 months old and this is the first time we've both been away from home at the same time. They're with their grandparents, so I try not to worry too much.
Even after7 years, I still can't get used to the fact that my children have a grandmother who's younger than me. It really surprised me when we were in the delivery room and she asked if I minded if the twins called her Grandma or Nan or something. She said that as both Nigel's mother and mine were dead, she was the only grandmother they would ever know. I thought it was very sweet of her.
That was a big day, huh? Me and Jenny in labour at the same time. I had to feel sorry for the poor hospital staff, though. The looks on their faces when we insisted on being in the same delivery room. We were so busy laughing at you and Nigel running about like a pair of headless chickens, we completely forgot about the pain we were in. It was like that scene in Father of the Bride 2, where Steve Martin has his daughter and wife in labour at the same time and he's dashing backwards and forwards between both their rooms. At least we were in the same room, so we didn't put you and Nigel through that.
Maybe part of the reason the twins and James are so close is because they were born in the same delivery room and there's only ten minutes between the 3 of them.
I spoke to Karen yesterday and she said that she and Claudia are going to come over and take all the kids off your hands for a day, so you can have a break. I swear, between those two and Preston I have never seen 5 more spoiled children in my entire life.
I should say goodbye now, Nigel's taking me out to dinner so I should start getting ready.
Kiss Matthew, James, Bethany, Richard and Emily for me and tell them that we both love. Hugs and kisses to you and Jenny.
Love,
Sydney.
PS. Congratulations!! I spoke to jenny last night and she told me about the baby. Just what this family needs, another baby.
I know Karen and Preston have only been married a couple of months, but I look forward to having a niece or nephew. I've never been an auntie before. If they're anything like the rest of us, the children are going to outnumber the adults and then we're in trouble.
All we have to do now is find someone for Claudia so she can be as happy as the rest of us are.