MAY 2522

I wake to hear Dani's voice, a singsong in the next room, "Mommy, Mommy. Mommy?" I yawn and look over at Gabriel, who is sleeping like the dead. If I touch him, though, he'll wake up, so I leave him alone.

I shuffle into the living room to see my daughter standing up in her crib, looking out at me with an angel's smile. "Mommy!"

"Hi, baby. Did you sleep well?" I lift the toddler out of her bed and seat her in the high chair. Rifling through the cupboards, I find a pan and start making breakfast. Pancakes sound good. I put one on a plate for Dani and leave the rest in the oven to keep warm. Dani finishes her breakfast quickly; by the time I've finished cooking and putting everything away, she's got bits of food in her blond hair and all over her face. I sigh and wipe her face off with a damp rag.

"Let's go wake Daddy up, sweetie," I whisper as we walk into the bedroom. She's pretty steady on her legs now, and likes to walk by herself.

"Daddy's sleeping," Dani notes as I pick her up and climb back into bed. I nod seriously and set her between me and her father.

"It's okay. Just tell him to wake up for breakfast, Dani." She leans over and pats his chest insistently with her chubby hand.

"Wake up, Daddy. Breffast." Her vocabulary isn't bad, but some of her words come out a little mangled.

He inhales deeply and opens his eyes, smiling when he sees his daughter looking over him.

"Good morning, Danielle. It looks like you've already eaten, though." His fingers find a stray crumb I missed and flick it away. He looks to me as the baby starts tugging on his hand, trying to get him up and out of bed. "Good morning, Claire."

"Happy birthday," I tell him. His smile turns wry as we both remember a time when he would've had to force me to say such a thing. He submits to my baby's demands and allows himself to be tugged into an upright position. He pulls her into his arms and walks with her to the kitchen.

"I hadda pancake," she informs him as he sits at the table with her in his lap. He carries on a conversation with her as I serve him and sit to eat. We take our time with breakfast. He feeds her a bite from his plate every so often, and she ends up a mess again.

I leave them in the kitchen as I get dressed in jeans and my tennis shoes. It's nice out today, and I want to go running later. I finish tying my shoes and look up to see them in the doorway.

"Do you mind going for a walk instead?" His voice is mild and I nod my agreement, reaching for the baby so they can both get dressed.

We walk out into the warm air and Dani giggles. She is content to walk between us, holding our hands, until she gets antsy and toddles ahead.

"Danielle, don't go too far," Gabriel calls. He casually takes my hand in his and I let him.

I'm not sure when I decided that we could play this game, be the perfect little family. Maybe it was when Gabriel started providing birth control, and we resumed our sex life. Or maybe it was when I heard him tell my daughter one night, "I love you." Maybe it was when I heard her say it to him.

Either way, I am reasonably content with our situation right now.

"The word you're looking for, Claire," he says, "is 'happy'." Maybe it is.

Dani stomps back to us, a pout threatening. "Tired. Up."

Gabriel swings her up onto his shoulders. The frown disappears and she grabs his hair, delighted.

We come back from our walk and put Dani down for a nap. He offers me a glass of water and the small pill I take every afternoon. After I swallow it, he puts the glass in the sink, and I stretch up on my toes to kiss him. He purrs deep in his chest, and we retire to the bedroom.

I straddle him as his fingers dig into my thighs, hard enough to bruise. Electricity dances from his hands and I grit my teeth. He pulls me down to kiss him as we finish, and I can smell singed hair as one of his hands grips the back of my head.

The sex is one thing I definitely missed when I only saw him once every ten years. I haven't felt this relaxed for a long time. He cradles me in his arms and I snuggle into his warmth, thinking, It could always be like this.

"You don't believe that," he tells me. I am silent for a long time.

"I don't want to think too far ahead. I just want to be happy," I say, my voice husky. I sit up and try to change the subject, "Don't you want your cake?"

He looks at me for a minute. "Whatever you want, Claire." Somehow I don't think he's just talking about my plans for his birthday dinner.

"Daddy! I'm awake now!" He pulls on his boxers and a pair of jeans before walking out to Dani.

I pull on a bathrobe and throw together some dinner. Dani lets out an infantile gasp when she sees the little birthday cake.

"Mine?" she asks me, her eyes big and inquisitive. I smile and shake my head.

"It's Daddy's birthday, sweetie. He's going to blow out the candles and make a wish, and then we'll all eat some cake," I tell her, "When it's your birthday, you can have your own cake." She seems willing to accept that, and her attention returns to the lit candles.

"Come sit with me, Danielle, and you can help blow out the candles," he entices, holding his arms out for her. She wriggles away from me and runs to him. They blow out his candles together, Dani adding a little saliva to the icing.

He rolls his eyes. "A little spit never hurt anyone." I cut the cake, and we eat it together.

This family, this life….it makes me happier than I ever thought I could be again. What does it say about me, that the fact only makes me wonder when something is going to go horribly wrong?

If you're enjoying what you've read, please remember to comment. We love to hear from you. It makes our day.

Mel and Chuck