"Tara, just the woman I was looking for."
Tara looked up from her freshly bloomed tulips as Ira approached on the sidewalk, slowing down from his brisk pace to stop in front of their yard. She stood up from her knees and brushed the dirt off her pants.
"Good morning, Ira. You're up early."
"As I always told Willow, the early bird catches the worm," Ira smiled humbly.
"Yes, she was quite the early riser until we had children," Tara replied as she plucked her gardening gloves from her hands, "Something about it being forced took all of the motivation away. She's still fast asleep."
"That's quite alright, it was you I wanted to speak to," Ira replied, his breath still ever-so-slightly labored.
"You mentioned," Tara smiled and waved her hand, "Come in. There's coffee."
She looked over her shoulder and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry. There's plenty of herbal tea, too."
Ira waved a hand bashfully.
"It was only difficult to go off the stuff for the first…year or so."
He laughed and Tara smiled. Whenever Ira laughed, she had an image of Lily bouncing on his palm as a baby while they both laughed. He, Michelle, and indeed, Rose had helped out so much when the twins were babies and Tara was still struggling so she was glad to have fond memories borne from it.
"Would you like orange blossom or peach surprise?"
"Peach surprise," Ira requested as he sat onto a stool, "The kids aren't up yet?"
"The twins are," Tara replied as she put the kettle on the burner, "I'm sure they'll be down as soon as they hear your vo—"
"Zayde!" two voices spoke in unison, then Lily and Emily came scampering in and hugged Ira around the middle.
"Oh, hello little ones," Ira greeted warmly, stroking their hair either side of him, "How are you both doing this fine morning?"
"I'm good, Zayde," Emily said, bashfully pushing her glasses up her face.
"Zayde, Zayde!" Lily suddenly started bouncing, using Ira's stool as leverage, "Let's have a tea party!"
"Honey, your Zayde is a bit busy," Tara said gently.
"Oh, well, I'm sure one cup wouldn't delay too much," Ira said with a doting look between the girls, then back at Tara, "Unless you have plans you need to attend to?"
Tara held her hands up with a smile.
"It's Mothers' Day Weekend. My plans are to relax and enjoy being a mother," she said with a serene nod that was sure to have left her by the weekend's end, "Girls, I'll bring the tea."
"And cookies!" Lily said excitedly as she swung from Ira's hand to bring him into the living room.
"And flapjacks," Tara amended in a singsong voice.
She took out a plate and put the last of the breakfast bars she'd prepared last weekend on it, then heavily diluted the tea into the special little teapot the twins used for their tea parties. She poured Ira a full-strength cup and brought it all out on a little tray.
"Your tea, Mademoiselles," she presented it to them, "And monsieur. Lily, it's Emily's turn to pour the tea first."
Lily scowled but allowed it and Tara wondered if there would be a day when she didn't have to remember things like who poured the tea first last time, and if she'd miss it.
Robyn came in then with her feet trailing behind her, one sock missing from under her pajamas.
"Hey Ganpy," she said, throwing her arms around his neck from behind and nuzzling into the back of his head, "What are you doing here?"
"Having tea," Ira answered, holding his cup up indicatively, "Would you like to join us?"
Robyn looked glum.
"Tea plantations use excess water, have poor soil conditions, and have destructive pest management," she said sadly, "Plus their laborers generally get paid low wages in unsafe conditions."
"Oh," Ira replied, his mouth closing quickly.
"All the tea we buy is fair trade and sustainably produced," Tara reassured, and threw an arched eyebrow at Robyn, whom she knew already was aware of that, "You took me to that bodega so we could pick it out? We spoke about this, Robyn."
"I'm just informing the man," Robyn pushed herself away and curled up on the couch.
"You'll have to show me the brand you buy," Ira said cordially, with a smile again, "And perhaps you know of an organization that supports the farmers that I may donate to."
Robyn's face lit up.
"I know lots, Ganpy!"
As Robyn regaled Ira with the many, many non-profits she had banked away for such an occasion, JJ showed up in shorts and a basketball jersey putting wireless earbuds in his ears.
"Going out for a run. Need to be at peak performance."
"Have you a basketball game this weekend?" Ira inquired.
"No, he wants to look buff for the next time he sees Cleo," Lily cackled and started making kissy faces.
JJ swooped in and caught Lily under his arm.
"Careful or I'll take you with me!"
"Stop!" Lily giggled loudly and spun a few times when JJ placed her back on the floor.
"Catch you laters!" JJ called back as he jogged out the door.
"JJ is funny," Emily smiled happily as she lifted her pinky to sip her tea.
"Funny looking," Robyn mumbled under her breath, "Hey Ganpy, I have a new anagram for you! Astronomer."
Making anagrams was a game Ira had always played with Willow growing up and it had been his privilege and joy to be able to play it with all of his grandchildren too.
His eyes sparkled.
"You've stumped me."
Robyn grinned victoriously.
"Moon starer."
"Oh, very good," Ira grinned.
"Give us one, give us one!" Lily demanded.
"Hmm…" Ira replied thoughtfully, "Elbow."
Both twins' faces contorted in concentration, then Emily's face lit up first.
"Below!"
"That's right,' Ira smiled and when Lily's face looked like thunder, he quickly supplied a new word, "Act."
Lily looked sullen, then brightened.
"Cat!"
"I've always wanted a cat," Emily said with a smile and nod.
"We have a dog," Robyn replied with a roll of her eyes, "Known arch-nemesis of cats."
Emily shrugged one shoulder and asked for more tea.
Kayden was the last to appear, which was unusual as he was usually the first up helping Tara with something. He had still been the first of the children awake, but he'd been looking up a few things on his laptop until now.
"Hello Kayden," Ira greeted warmly, "Do you have plans for today?"
Kayden nodded and reached back to hold onto his opposite shoulder; a standard pose for him when standing around awkwardly.
"I need to go to the library later."
"You like to read?" Ira smiled, "Willow was an avid reader, cover to cover. Couldn't stop her."
"I like to read," Kayden nodded slowly, "But I have to research some stuff."
"If you need a ride, I'd be happy to offer one," Ira offered with a pleasant smile.
Kayden shuffled from one foot to the other.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Rosenberg, um, sir, but JJ lets me use his bike."
"Why do you call Zayde 'sir'?" Lily giggled, helping one of her stuffed toys drink some tea, "He's not a sir, he's a Zayde!"
"Quite right, Lily," Ira nodded and smiled at Kayden again, "You don't need to call me sir."
"Okay, si—" Kayden stopped and caught himself, "Um, Mr. Rosenberg."
Ira frowned but Kayden had already twisted away to go into the kitchen.
"Mom, is it okay if I make some breakfast?"
Tara smiled across the island.
"Now that's a step up from JJ who just came in and asked if there were 'any eats?' and stole the last flapjack," she said, though with a fondness in her tone, "I will make you breakfast. What would you like?"
Kayden shrugged bashfully.
"You don't have to."
Tara came over and used one arm to hold Kayden to her.
"I want to, my gorgeous son."
She kissed his head and released him, both smiling from the simple affection.
"I know," Tara said as she walked back over to the cabinet, "Cinnamon and brown sugar popovers. With eggs and bacon. The smell might actually rise my dear wife."
"Can I help?" Kayden asked keenly.
"You can whisk the batter for me if you'd like," Tara offered and got down the ingredients for him to mix together.
She gave Kayden the muffin pan while she readied the eggs and Kayden helped her tidy while the popovers were in the oven.
Lily and Emily ran in when they got the smell of cinnamon and brown sugar and Tara had to hold the muffin pan above their heads to stop them from burning themselves. Sometimes they were so like Willow and Tara could only smile.
Robyn tried to act cooler about the whole thing but did snatch a popover before anyone else could take it.
None of them even wanted bacon or eggs in the end, but Tara did so she scrambled them up together.
As she was plating up, Ira appeared again, apparently having excused himself for the tea party,
"Ira," Tara greeted again and offered him a plate, "I used turkey bacon."
Ira held a hand up and patted his breast pocket as he sat on a stool.
"As much as I would love to indulge, I have six almonds in my pocket should I need a snack."
Tara stopped to look at Ira sincerely.
"I hope you know how much we all need you around."
"I wouldn't be refusing one of your delicious popovers if I didn't," Ira replied with a bit of a mischievous twitch on the hair on his upper lip.
Tara kept the plate and got a fork and knife to eat it.
"What did bring you here this morning?"
Ira leaned in conspiringly.
"Truth be told I was coming to you to see if you had any advice on what to get Michelle for her birthday. I made the fool's error of getting her favorite perfume for our anniversary and of course, the bottle is still half full," he shook his head to himself, "But I believe now I have a different query to make with you."
Tara nodded for him to go on.
Ira clasped his hands in front of him humbly.
"I'd like to show Kayden how to shave," he said, cautious with his words, "I noticed a bit of bum fluff, he doesn't have much but I did it with JJ and I'd like to do with him too."
Tara felt her heart swell.
"That's a very caring thought, Ira. To treat him as you did JJ."
Ira nodded once; sharply, surely.
"Kayden is to be adopted. A part of the family as a matter of law. And as a matter of heart, he is already a son to my daughter. He is a brother to my grandchildren. That makes him my grandson. I don't do hierarchies. How could I? JJ being above anyone else because he was the first boy? Robyn because Willow carried her; the twins because we share some genes? I treat them all just the same."
Tara slowly smiled.
"I think you're an astute man Ira," she said with a sly wink, "Listen to your own advice."
Ira smiled at the compliment.
"I know the boy comes from a…" he paused, careful again, "Delicate background. I wouldn't want to upset or disturb him in any way."
Tara nodded in understanding.
"I think that this should be okay."
Ira sat up spritely with the gusto of a man half his age.
"Then I must go and source a nice razor," he said, clear excitement in his tone, "A boy only gets his first razor once. I will see you later, Tara."
As he headed out the door, Willow was walking in.
"Oh, hey, Daddy," she greeted sleepily, "Are you leaving?"
Ira nodded keenly.
"Indeed, I am. I'm on a mission!"
He marched off and Willow looked after him, amused.
"What's he up to?"
"Being a good grandfather," Tara answered and placed her plate in the sink, "Can you hold the fort for a little while if I go out to run some errands?"
"Can I have some coffee first?" Willow asked wryly as she reached into the cabinet for a mug.
"Only if I can have a kiss," Tara replied with a smile, which was returned and the kiss proffered shorty after.
"Bring me back something pretty," Willow smiled over her cup of coffee, "Ooh, are those popovers?"
Tara changed her shoes and fetched her purse and said a quick goodbye to the kids before taking Willow's car out to run her errands. She would never admit it because Willow would tease her too much but she did enjoy the short jaunts she got to take in Willow's car since she upgraded from the Mercedes to a Tesla Model S. Willow had fallen in love with Rose's car of the same type and there was no talking her out of it.
Tara had balked at the price and had been eyeing it as the first thing to sell if they were going to get sued by the cabin owners but it was so sleek and quiet and comfortable and it made Robyn so happy that she didn't even complain about the carbon footprint of the minivan anymore.
And Tara would admit this even less, but she enjoyed the little glances people gave when the car pulled up alongside them.
Such an occurrence happened just as Tara pulled up on the curb among the many other Saturday morning shoppers.
"Pretty little thing," a passing man said as he nodded slowly in Tara's direction.
Tara closed the door and locked it.
"Yes, she's a beauty."
The man took a step toward Tara and revealed a seedy smirk under his graying beard.
"I wasn't talking about the car."
"I wasn't either," Tara replied, quick as a button, "I was talking about the owner of the car. My wife."
She smiled pleasantly but the man just scowled and walked by her.
"Dyke."
Okay, maybe there was a limit on her enjoyment of the attention. Why did men always have to ruin everything? She was so glad to have the opportunity to raise her boys into being better men for the world.
She ran her errands and noted a few raised eyebrows as she unlocked the Tesla and decided that maybe she was better off sticking to the minivan in the future.
When she got home, JJ was shooting hoops in the driveway and as Tara drove in, he pretended she'd hit him and bounced off the hood dramatically.
Tara threw the door open but as JJ rose, grinning and unharmed, Tara nearly slammed it closed.
"Jacob, that's not funny."
"Look on your face is hilarious, Mom," JJ chuckled and bounced the ball around her before going for a dunk.
Tara flicked her fingers against JJ's arm and shook her head with a stern look before heading back into the house. The girls were playing some dancing game on the games console, Kayden was still out and Willow was sitting in the kitchen still nursing a cup of coffee while she scrolled on the iPad.
Willow smiled as Tara walked into the kitchen.
"You brought me back something pretty," she said warmly with both hands cupping her mug, then continued when Tara looked confused, "You, doofus."
Tara gave a wry smile and leaned in for a kiss, which Willow dutifully obliged in completing.
"Did you shop 'til you dropped?"
"I got peaches," Tara replied as she took the fruit from her reusable grocery bag, "Smell."
Willow leaned in and smelled the peaches.
"Second best thing I've smelled all morning."
"Me again?" Tara arched an eyebrow.
Willow grinned devilishly and raised her mug.
"My coffee."
Tara blushed despite trying to pull off a withering look.
A while later, Kayden road up to the back door and parked JJ's bike on the wall. He slid the sliding door open and walked in, holding the straps of his backpack over his shoulders.
"Hi honey," Tara greeted from where she sat beside Willow as they did the crossword together, "Did you get your research done?"
"Ooh, what'cha researching for?" Willow asked eagerly, "Essay? Research project? Are you doing the Science Fair?"
Kayden frowned.
"Um, I'm not too good at science."
Willow began to look disappointed until Kayden spoke again.
"I prefer math."
Willow beamed proudly.
"You love whatever section of academia you choose. I support you all the way."
Kayden's mouth turned unsurely.
"Um. Thanks."
"Did you get your work done?" Tara asked again.
Kayden shrugged one shoulder cagily.
"I was just printing, mostly."
"Oh, we have a printer sweetheart," Tara told him gently.
"Oh. Um. Okay," Kayden replied as if he didn't know that, and swallowed gently, "Can I go to my room?"
"Go ahead," Tara nodded and Kayden sped out of there like he was on fire.
"Must be some research project," Willow commented, then pointed, "12 down. Eight words. Perfect companion."
She smiled at Tara.
"Soulmate. Spelled T-A-R-A."
Tara's lips sloped softly on one side.
"That's only four letters."
"Put it in twice," Willow suggested, "Because you're twice the woman of anyone else on this earth."
Tara leaned in and pressed her lips to Willow and the crossword was soon forgotten.
Not long after there were renewed cries of 'Zayde!' and Willow looked toward the door.
"Is my Dad back again?"
The girls let Ira in and after greeting and doting on them appropriately, he came into the kitchen with a carrier bag for an electrical store in his hand.
"Hi again Dad," Willow greeted, frowning with some confusion and curiosity.
"Hello bubbeleh," Ira greeted with a spring in his step.
Tara slid off the stool and picked up one of her own carrier bags from earlier. She took out a velvet, purple box and opened it in front of Ira. Inside was a pair of gold-dipped orchid earrings.
Ira put a hand against his heart.
"Oh, thank you Tara, but I'm not sure they're my color."
Tara smirked.
"For Michelle."
Ira looked up, his eyes filling with warmth.
"I am but a simple man in awe of the women surrounding him."
Tara closed the box and handed it over.
"You make sure you write a beautiful note from the heart in her card."
"You can be reassured," Ira nodded and accepted the earrings, which he put into his pocket.
He then held his carrier bag in both hands in front of him like a little boy on the first day of school.
"I have the, err, equipment," he said, thrusting his bag forward indicatively, "Do you think now would be a good…?"
Tara nodded easily.
"He's back from the library. In his room. You can use the bathroom up there."
Ira nodded once and spun on his heels before marching out.
Willow's head reeled and her eyes widened.
"…what's going on?" she made a slightly grimacing face, "Do I want to know what equipment he's talking about?"
Tara put a hand on Willow's upper arm reassuringly.
"Ira asked if it would be okay if he taught Kayden how to shave."
Willow put her hand against her chest.
"Oh, that's so sweet," she paused and looked at Tara meaningfully, "I'm so glad I got him back."
Tara smiled knowingly and leaned in to press a kiss to Willow's forehead.
At the second step up into the attic bedrooms, Ira paused to consider what he would say. Finally, he ascended to the top and rapped his knuckles on the door.
There were some sounds of movement from the other side and then it slid open enough for Kayden to pop his head out.
"Oh, hello," Ira greeted as if he was surprised at this development, "I thought we might have a chat."
Kayden seemed confused but politely hid it.
"Yeah. Um. Come in…?"
He slid his door open enough to let Ira in, then hurried back to his bed to hide some papers under his pillow.
He sat near the top of the bed and looked at Ira expectantly.
Ira bent his knee on the chair at Kayden's desk and cleared his throat. Then he felt a bit silly for being nervous and knew it wasn't a good look for the request he was making. He'd spent his whole career impressing clients and had been good at it, but it was different when it was his own new grandson.
"We've never had the chance to talk alone, you and I," he said, taking his leg down and standing up straight, "And I thought I might take the opportunity if you have the time."
Kayden nodded agreeably. He actually quite liked Ira. He liked how he let the twins paint his nails pink and seemed very secure in doing so. He liked how affectionate he was with both Willow and Tara and how he talked to Robyn the same way as he spoke to JJ and indeed, how he spoke to Kayden himself. Not many older men that Kayden had had in his life spoke to him without looking down at him.
Ira left the carrier bag on Kayden's desk and reached in. He took out the box and tossed it to Kayden.
"I take it you don't have one of these?"
Kayden turned the box the right way up and once he identified what it was, he blushed.
"Um…never needed it."
"I think you might now," Ira said with some pride in his voice.
Kayden patted his face and blushed again but smiled this time too.
"Cool. Thanks."
Ira's shoulders adjusted as he tried to retain his tall stance.
"I thought perhaps you might need a lesson. It's not as simple as one might think."
Kayden looked up at Ira.
He'd seen enough movies. He knew what this was.
"Really?" he asked, his knees twitching nervously.
Ira nodded kindly.
"If you have the time to spare."
Ten or so minutes later they were standing in front of the mirror in the attic bathroom, both with their lower faces and chins covered in shaving cream.
"Now we start with short strokes just under the chin here, do you see?"
Kayden copied Ira's stroke with militant precision.
"It's better to shave over an area twice gently than apply too much pressure and cut the skin," Ira advised wisely, "That's why it's always important to take the time to prepare your face with the shaving cream. You don't want to have a face full of cuts."
Kayden nodded to indicate he was listening seriously, as he was.
Ira showed Kayden a few more strokes and rinsed the blade off.
"All of the children call me something different, you know," he said nonchalantly as brushed the razor over his top lip, "JJ called me 'Grandpa' when he was very little and then he settled on 'Gramps'. Robyn always called me 'Ganpy' because she couldn't pronounce the others correctly. And Willow did me a little favor and encouraged the twins to call me Zayde — it's a Yiddish word, a Jewish word for grandfather — because she knew I'd always wanted to be called that. Elongate your upper lip here so it's a smooth canvas."
Kayden pursed his lips as Ira advised and gently pulled the blade down over the top.
"What I'm saying is, if you had your own word, that would be just fine with me too," Ira finished with a definitive nod, then gently caught the handle of Kayden's razor, "Here, drag it a little further. Not so much to cut your mouth but enough that you're not left with a furry lip."
Kayden copied the motion Ira showed him.
"Like this?"
Ira smiled proudly.
"You've got it."
As they were finishing up, Ira handed Kayden a towel to clean off with.
"When I was a kid I watched this cartoon," Kayden said, looking at himself in the mirror to make sure he didn't miss a spot, "The main kid had a Pops. I…I always wanted one too."
He glanced at Ira and back again quickly.
Ira hadn't prepared himself for the swell of emotion he would feel. He slowly smiled.
"Pops," he said with a nod of his head, "Very good."
He then quickly picked up a nearby bottle.
"Now just because your face is clean doesn't mean we're done. Aftercare is every bit as important. Some people use these fancy new gels but I think some classic moisturizer is good any time of the year."
He offered the bottle to Kayden, who took it and squeezed some into his hands unsurely.
"My um…ex-uncle?" he said unsurely. He rarely thought about him anymore, "Used to say moisturizer was for sissies."
"Balderdash," Ira dismissed with a twinkle in his eye, "Soft skin is the prerogative of every man."
Kayden smiled and patted it onto his cheeks.
"Smells nice."
"You'll find one that suits you the most," Ira nodded surely and that little twinkle was directed right at Kayden this time, "Quite often it will be the one your admirer likes the most."
Kayden blushed but was thankfully already rubbing his face to hide it.
When their razors had been rinsed and Kayden put his away on his shelf on the wall, they walked back downstairs together chatting easily.
"Dad, wow," Willow commented with raised eyebrows from her stool in the kitchen.
"Ira, it's the only time I've seen you bare-faced in years," Tara added with a wry smile.
"More fun to grow than maintain," Ira went to pluck his beard and let his hand drop sheepishly, "My wife must be wondering where I've gotten to all morning. Thank you all for your company."
"Bye, Dad," Willow waved her hand.
"Bye Ira," Tara said with a warm smile.
"Goodbye, ladies," Ira replied cordially.
Kayden lifted his hand up by his head.
"Bye Pops."
"Goodbye Kayden," Ira replied with a pat to his back, while Willow mouthed 'Pops?' to Tara, who made a face that said something akin to 'be cool'.
"You look fresh, honey," Tara said with an encouraging nod.
"You did better than JJ. The first time he shaved I counted 6 cuts," Willow snorted, then shut up quickly when she got a look from Tara.
Kayden didn't seem to mind though and was smiling, pleased.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh," Willow nodded, casting her eyes furtively at Tara but she was smiling again.
Kayden rubbed his chin a little proudly and took a sidelong view of his profile in the microwave. His head snapped back to Willow and Tara.
"Can I go see a friend?"
"Of course," Tara nodded after looking at Willow for a moment to see if she had any objection, "Just be back for dinner. Do you want something to eat before you go?"
Kayden shook his head as he walked past them toward the back door.
"No, I'll just buy something."
He slipped out of the door in a second and Tara watched him go, frowning.
"I don't know whether to be upset about the fast food he's clearly going to consume or happy that he's spending his allowance on himself."
Willow held both hands up.
"Go with the happy."
Tara was pleased that Kayden was finally starting to show some teenage irreverence, frustrating as it might be sometimes.
She let her hands fall from her hips and smiled at Willow.
"I'm going to go finish my gardening."
Willow slid off her stool and followed Tara out to the front yard.
"And I'm going with my happy."
She pulled up a lawn chair and even though it was only a mild Spring day she donned her sunglasses for protection.
Against embarrassment from being caught staring at Tara's butt.
She especially liked it when Tara had to dig in the soil and it would wiggle atop the back of her shoes.
At some point, Tara went inside to find the correct gloves and when she hadn't returned, Willow went in to help.
She found Tara hunched just outside the kitchen doorway, peering in. Willow sneaked up and peered in just above her. She saw Robyn, Lily, and Emily helping each other to crawl up into the top cabinets where they knew Willow's sneaky stash of cookies was.
"Why are we not busting their asses right now?" Willow whispered to Tara.
"Because Emily is joining in," Tara replied, her smile evident in her tone, "Emily is being naughty."
Willow realized Tara was right and beamed. She took Tara's hand and tugged gently.
"Let's go with the happy and get out of here."
Tara cast one last look to make sure they'd all gotten down safely, then caught up with Willow.
"Where are we going?"
Willow looked back with a devilish smile.
"Why should they be the only ones who get to be naughty?"
Kayden walked up the stairs with the rest of the kids, still in his pajamas, and looking a little bit confused.
"Didn't we just do this?"
JJ shot him a grimaced look as he yet again balanced a tray of breakfast items in his hands.
"Birthdays and Mothers' Day, man," he shook his head, "We have the misfortune of having one like a week later from the other."
"But then we're free and clear until Mom's birthday at the holidays," Robyn added, cutting the air with her hand.
"Plus when we do breakfast in bed we start the day off in their good books and they don't ask us to do anything else," JJ added with a serious nod.
"This is an established routine, dude," Robyn said with an arched eyebrow, "Don't f—"
She glanced at Lily and Emily, mostly Emily, and back to Kayden.
"Don't mess this up for us."
Emily swung her hand into Kayden's.
"You don't mess things up, Kayden, you make them better."
Kayden smiled downward.
"Aw, thanks Em."
"Whose year was it to get the gift?" Lily asked as they turned the corner toward their parents' bedroom.
"You," Robyn and JJ said to each other at the same time, then stared at each other wide-eyed, "YOU!"
"I made Momma's photo frame!" Robyn protested.
"I-I made it," Emily stuck her hand up shyly.
"I outsourced making Momma's photo frame!" Robyn amended with frustration in her voice.
"Now who's a fan of capitalism?" JJ sneered.'
Robyn's eyes narrowed but Lily was quick to point to the envelope Kayden was carrying that had a little bow stuck on the front.
"Kayden has a gift!"
Kayden looked to the group of eager faces and his eyes widened.
"Oh. Um."
JJ exhaled audibly.
"Phew, bro. You saved us."
"Actually—"
Robyn hugged Kayden's legs.
"Forgot what I said before, Emily is totally right, you do make things better!"
Kayden paled.
"I-I don't—"
Suddenly Lily opened the door and was shaking Willow and Tara awake.
"Happy Mothers' Day," the kids all said in unison but Kayden only managed to come in for the last word.
"Oh, you guys," Willow said as if this was a big surprise, "Thank you."
"You're so sweet," Tara added, sharing a smile with Willow that said I-love-our-children-but-what-age-do-you-think-they'll-be-when-they-realize-the-best-gift-they-could-give-us-is-to-sleep-in?
Everyone accepted a kiss and the tray was shoved at them with eager smiles.
Robyn pushed Kayden forward.
"Kayden has your present."
Kayden gulped and looked back at the other kids then at Willow and Tara.
"Um," he said, going from deathly pale to bright red in a couple of seconds, "Happy…Happy Mothers' Day."
He handed over the envelope.
Willow and Tara looked at him in confusion and slid the contents out.
"It's just some papers," Lily said with disappointment, "That's not a very good present."
"Shut it," Robyn hissed.
"Robyn," Willow and Tara clicked their tongue in a well-practiced tone.
Robyn held her hands up defensively.
Willow and Tara studied the papers for a second, frowning when it just appeared to be a bunch of forms until finally, it registered what it said on top: Petition For Name Change.
Kayden's details had been filled out and in the new name section was 'Rosenberg-Maclay'.
Willow spotted it first and looked up to Kayden, swallowing deeply.
"You want to take our name?"
Kayden gave a shaky nod as Tara placed her finger on the page.
"Willow."
Willow looked down and followed where Tara was pointing. It was the middle name section. Under 'current name' it was blank but the 'new name' portion was filled in.
It took Willow a minute, but then she remembered. Christmas morning; giving him a new name, the name they would have given him if he'd been theirs from the start.
"Kaleb with a K," she whispered and when she looked up this time there were tears in his eyes.
"Hey man," JJ reached out to pull Kayden's shoulder from behind, which he pivoted to pull him into a hug, "That's really cool."
"Yeah, it is," Robyn added in a rare moment of sincerity.
"I don't get it," Lily complained with a furrowed brow.
"Kayden's gonna be called Rosenberg-Maclay," Tara said with a big smile.
"Isn't he already?" Emily frowned.
"Not officially," Willow shook her head and wiped her eyes with a laugh, "This will make it official."
"Oh," Lily replied, then shrugged, bored, "Um, can we go play now?"
Tara waved them off with a last hug each and they kissed Kayden's cheek together.
"We love you Kayden Kaleb Rosenberg-Maclay," Willow said warmly, "Thanks so much for letting us be your family."
Kayden just nodded but it was obvious he was choked up so neither Willow nor Tara pushed.
When they were alone again, Willow exhaled slowly and picked at a piece of bacon.
"Our court date is coming up."
"I haven't forgotten," Tara answered with a playful shoulder bump.
"No, I know, I just mean…" Willow held up a hand helplessly, "Whoa, y'know?"
She leaned into Tara.
"I can't wait."
Tara kissed Willow gently.
"Me either."
"I've been remembering JJ's adoption," Willow said with a wistful smile, "Just how amazing it was that moment where we officially became a family. I didn't think we'd be doing it again. I'm so glad our son found our other son and brought him home."
She kissed Tara's shoulder blade repeatedly.
"And that you fought so hard for him to stay."
"It was like the universe threw me an ultimatum," Tara admitted, reaching over to rub Willow's arm, "Do this or spend your life regretting it."
"The boy ultimatum," Willow mused and looked to Tara with more adoration than each year before, "Happy Mothers' Day, love."
Tara linked their fingers and held on tight.
"Happy Mothers' Day, love."