"Come on, pumpkin. You need to clean your room for tonight. Sierra doesn't want to spend the night in a messy room."
"Autumn clean, Daddy."
"Say, I will clean, Daddy."
"I…will clean, Daddy."
"Very good."
Jack left her and went to check on Elizabeth and say goodbye before he left for work.
She was cleaning the kitchen and dancing to Old Dominion's "Make it Sweet" as the twins were beating on pots and pans on the floor with wooden spoons.
'Cause I'm stuck on you, you're stuck on me
I never gotta wonder where my honey be
I ain't saving all my sugar for a Saturday night
Seven days a week I got an appetite
Sunsets like a tangerine, let's find a road we've never seen
Don't waste another mile or a minute not kissing me
Life is short, make it sweet
Open sky, glimpse of heaven, take the top off the CJ-7
Let that surfside Santa Ana wind mess up your hair
And let that windshield frame the ocean
Radio keep coast-to-coasting
If we don't get where we're going baby I don't care
I'm already there…"
He watched her dance around and sing, falling even more in love with her. Who knew that was even possible?
When she turned around she froze, a wooden spoon poised to be her microphone. "Hey."
"Hey. I love watching you."
She blushed and walked over to him. "Is that right?"
"Mm yeah." The song switched to a slower one so they swayed as the twins continued to beat on the pots. "I asked Autumn to clean her room, just so you know."
"Thank you." She leaned into him and kissed him, slow, matching the song's music. "I love you, Jack."
"I love you too."
They felt two little people staring up at them, their hands on Jack and Elizabeth's legs. So they each picked one up and the four of them danced until the song was done. "I need to go," he told her. He gave her another kiss and each of the kids before dashing upstairs to kiss Autumn. "Pumpkin, I need to go to work. Give me a hug and kiss."
She stood up from her toy box and dashed over to him. "Bye…Daddy!"
"Bye, honey. I love you. Be good for Mama."
"Autumn good."
"Say, I'm good."
"I'm good."
"Good job. Love you."
"Love, Daddy."
…..
While the twins slept after lunch, Autumn and Elizabeth set up the new pink tent and sleeping bags in Autumn's room.
"Hey, do you want to make cookies with Sierra tonight?"
"Yeah! Autumn…I want make cookies."
Elizabeth smiled at her excitement and that she switched to using "I" instead of her name. "Alright. Chocolate chip and sprinkles?"
"Yeah. Ice cream?"
"We don't have any but maybe I can ask Daddy to pick up some ice cream at the store on his way home from work."
"I ask…Daddy?"
"Okay. You can ask him. We will call him on his break."
About three hours later, Elizabeth showed Autumn which button to push so she could call him.
She had a huge grin on her face as she heard it ring.
"Hello?"
"Daddy!"
"Hi, pumpkin. Does Mommy know you called me?"
"Yes. I…want ice cream….please."
"Ice cream, huh? For your slumber party with Sierra?"
"Yeah!"
"What flavor do you want?"
"Mmmm. Pink?"
"Well, pink isn't a flavor but strawberries are red. Will that work?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. I'll get strawberry ice cream for my pumpkin."
"Thank you, Daddy."
"You are most welcome. I'll see you soon."
"Ok."
"Bye."
"Bye bye."
Autumn put the phone down and headed to the kitchen to find Elizabeth.
"Mommy? Daddy say yes!"
"Oh good. I'm glad. Should we make little pizzas with Sierra for supper?"
"And for….babies?"
"Of course. Yes, for Addy and Aiden too."
….
Sierra and her mom Rosemary came around three o'clock in the afternoon. Elizabeth had put the twins down and heard Annie bark.
"Annie, shush," she scolded as she followed Autumn over to the door.
"Who is it?" Autumn called through the door.
"Its Sierra!"
"Yay!" Autumn opened the door and smiled. "Hi!"
Sierra smiled and walked in the door expertly with her hand crutches. "Hi."
Rosemary put Sierra's pink backpack on the floor. "I'm Rosie."
"I'm Elizabeth. Did you want to come in for a cup of coffee before you go?"
"Oh thank you. But my husband and I are having date night tonight. Thank you so much for inviting Sierra. She's so excited."
"You're most welcome. We are happy to have her. Is there anything she's allergic to or any medicine she is on?"
Rosemary handed her a small bag. "She isn't allergic to anything. This is her medicine. She just needs to take a pill around nine PM and another at nine am. It's to help prevent seizures."
"Alright."
"If you have questions or need us, we are only going to be in Portland so we are close."
"I'm sure we will be just fine. Enjoy your date night."
"Thank you." Rosemary smiled and headed out the door.
Elizabeth smiled and put Sierra's medicine in the cupboard where the other medicines were and locked it.
"Alright girls. This is a party. What do you want to do first?"
….
First thing they did was cajole her into painting their fingernails and toenails.
After that was done, with lots of giggles and smudges, she heard the twins yelling through the monitor.
"Babies up!" Autumn told her.
"Thanks, Autumn. Why don't you play a game? Daddy will be home in about an hour and then we can make our pizzas."
"I want….watch movie with….Sierra."
"Okay. Let Sierra pick and go ahead and start it."
When Elizabeth and the twins came back down, she heard that the girls had picked Frozen. The twins scrambled in to watch too so Elizabeth grabbed her phone to take a few pictures.
Then she sent them to Jack. Just as she was sending them, Abigail called. She headed into the kitchen to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Elizabeth. How are things going?"
"Fine, just fine. Autumn has a friend from school over so they are watching Frozen with the twins."
"That sounds fun."
"Yeah. Do you have news?"
"Yeah. Addy and Aiden's mom is out of jail and has also been clean for five months. She can't have full custody yet but her mom lives in Bangor and is willing to have all three of them live with her."
Elizabeth wiped the tears from her eyes and let out a breath. "How long?"
"She wants them on Monday morning."
"Three days."
"Yeah. I will come over and get them so you don't need to take them."
"Alright. Thank you."
"Are you okay, Elizabeth?"
"No, but I knew this was a possibility."
"Do you want me to keep you in mind for future placements?"
"Yes, of course. Keep us in mind."
"Alright. Will do."
"Thank you. See you Monday."
"Mommy?" Elizabeth wiped her cheeks and turned, forcing a smile.
"Yes, sweetie."
"Why crying?"
"I'm okay. What did you need?"
"Sierra….hungry."
Elizabeth poked her belly, receiving a giggle. "What about you? Are you hungry too?"
"Yes. I hungry….too."
"Well, why don't we make pizza now then?"
"Yay!"
Elizabeth put the twins in their high chairs and gave them crackers and cheese and then placed bowls of toppings and two little personal size pizza dough rounds on the table in front of the girls.
"Okay, what do we need to do first?"
"Say prayers?" Autumn asked.
"Not yet. Actually, we need to wash our hands. Let's go to the bathroom and do that alright?"
After that was done, she walked them through spooning sauce on their pizzas and choosing toppings. "What meat do you want, Sierra? Chicken or pepperoni?"
"Chicken, please," she said quietly.
Autumn wanted pepperoni. Then they added white and yellow cheese to the pizzas.
"I made a smile," Sierra said looking at her pizza.
She had taken black olives and made eyes, a nose, and a mouth. "You sure did."
"I want smile too," Autumn told her.
"Go ahead, sweetie."
Elizabeth made another pizza for the twins with only cheese and two more for herself and Jack.
Jack walked in just as the pizzas were done.
"Anybody here want ice cream?" he called as he walked in the door.
He gave everybody a hug and kisses, even Sierra and then found Elizabeth in the kitchen.
"Babe?"
She turned around and immediately started crying. "Jack."
"Oh, baby, what's wrong?" She fell into his arms and cried. She hadn't done this since they gave Mercy… "She wants them back?"
"Yes. They leave Monday."
He felt his nose burn as his eyes filled with tears. He knew this could happen, but he loved them as his own and now his heart hurt. Aiden had been his son for almost six weeks and their precious little Addy had been his daughter.
"I don't know if I can do this again, Elizabeth." He stepped back and blew his nose. "It hurts so much more than I thought it would."
It did hurt. More than with Mercy. She now regretted telling Abigail to keep them open for placements.
"Dada!" Aiden walked in and stepped in front of Jack, arms raised.
"Hi, buddy. I love you so much."
That night, they kept their tears hidden so that Autumn would have the fun she deserved. After eating pizza, they got in their pajamas and watched another movie while eating miniature sundaes with strawberry ice cream, cherries, and pink sprinkles.
Bedtime went smoothly and before ten, the girls were asleep in their pink tent and sleeping bags.
Jack and Elizabeth lay in their own bed, listening to the two little blessings in their crib across the room.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"I am going to tell Abigail that we need a break."
"Okay."
"I mean, what if we had my mom watch Autumn for a weekend and then when we got back, we took a road trip with Autumn to Augusta to see your parents?"
"Yeah. That sounds good."
She sat up and looked over at him. "And what if our second child was ours? Part you. Part me. One that we could keep forever?"
….
The next morning, after pancakes and more silliness, Rosemary picked up Sierra, promising to have Autumn over to their house the next time.
Once the twins were busy playing, Elizabeth and Jack sat her down to prepare her.
"No!" she yelled, tears streaming down their face. "Babies…live here! No!"
"Pumpkin," Jack said, trying to capture her but she ran out of the room.
Elizabeth smiled at the twins as Jack got up to find Autumn. He found her in the office, curled up on the loveseat, sobbing.
He grabbed a few tissues and sat next to her, unsure of what to say. "God, give me some help here. I don't know what to say to make it better," he whispered. He knew that really only time would really heal their hearts but it hurt to watch his daughter cry.
He gently picked her up and removed her little pink glasses. Then he dried her tears and rocked her back and forth. "Its going to be alright, Autumn. It's just like with Mercy. We need to love them and keep them safe for when their Mama can take care of them again."
"I….I…sad, Daddy," she stuttered, wetting his shirt with more tears.
"I know. So am I. I love them too."
As Elizabeth rocked the twins that night, she shed some tears, but she also prayed for them. Prayed that their mom and grandmother would keep them safe. That they would love them deeply and that they would grow up to be caring, strong, independent people. Then she thanked Him for the opportunity to be a blessing and a safe haven for them even though it was painful to lose them. Finally she prayed that Jack's, Autumn's, and her own heart would heal and that a new little one would come in to fill the void that was there now.
"Amen."