“Claire, Bri said no, she’s their mom. Remember when my mom tried to do that with Carson?” Dad says, and I watch mom’s face completely change, damn, I wonder what happened. “How are you, Princess?” Both mom and dad take a seat next to Livie and me at the breakfast bar.
“I’m okay dad; I thought you were taking mom for lunch today?”
“We were until I got a call from Pastor Lonnergan, he found out about Jaxon and wants to talk.” Dad looks mad, and I know that he thinks of Jaxon as his son and Jaxon’s been through enough and he doesn’t want any more stress in our lives.
“Have you spoken to Jaxon?” I hope so, I don’t want to tell him, but I will go along with whatever he wants to do. The last thing we need right now is for another Ben in his life.
“Yeah, I called him before I told your mom he’s the one that told us to come over here. He and Carson are on their way home.” Dad takes another cookie, and I’m glad that I learnt how to cook them as both Jaxon and dad would devour them all in one sitting.
“I swear Bri, you and Jaxon have more drama than an episode of Maury!” Not only does Livie laugh but so does my dad, his chuckle is so deep that he manages to wake the twins. Their piercing screams have both mom and I up of our seats, as we walk into my room I smile as I see their beautiful faces. I’m so lucky, they are the best things in my life, and I love them with every inch of my heart.
“They’re probably hungry, have you started to express yet?” mom asks as she picks up Phoebe.
“No, I haven’t, why?” I pick up Phoenix and cradle him against my chest.
“Don’t you think you should? You fed them while they were sick but they’re home now.” Mom says not realizing how much she’s making me angry.
“No, I don’t think I should, yes I fed them while they were small and in need of my milk, but what? Because they’re home, I should just stop?” I’m so mad, and I know that the twins feel it as they both start to fuss in our arms.
“Well, it would mean that I could feed them, and they could stay with me.”
What? “Mom, they are my babies, not yours. They don’t need to stay with you at all. I can’t believe you mom; I’m doing what I feel is right for my babies. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem. Now if you don’t mind I need to feed my babies.” I keep saying my babies, so she understands that she has overstepped the mark, I’m a lot more sensitive since the twins have arrived and I cry at the drop of a hat.
“Bri,” She gasps, “I never meant to imply you don’t do what’s right. I’m sorry, I just want to help.” Great now mom looks like he’s about to cry.
“I know mom, but there’s helping, and there’s overstepping. I’m going to feed the twins, why don’t you wait with dad and Livie for Jaxon and Carson.” I take Phoebe out of her hands and turn my back on her, a twin in each of my arms. I walk over to the amazing nursing chair Jaxon bought for me and settled us all in. I don’t hear my mom move, but I also don’t look up at her as I start to get the babies latched on.
“You ready for this?” I ask Jaxon, and I’m wondering who’s more nervous about this, him or I?
“Not really, but I’d rather get it over and done with.” He sighs before giving me a chaste kiss on the lips. “Here goes nothing.” He goes to the front door to let in the Pastor. He agreed to a meeting, but he had a stipulation, we do it here in our house and only Jaxon, and I be in attendance.
I nervously bite my nails as I wait for Jaxon to come back into the kitchen, I try and listen, but all I can hear is muffled voices. I don’t know if I should wait here for them to come in or busy myself with putting the final touches on the table and getting the food ready to be plated? I decide to busy myself; it’s better than the torture of waiting.
As I finish setting the table I can hear their voices get louder until I can hear what they are saying, they must be outside the kitchen door, “I apologize that Mary-Sue isn’t here tonight it’s a difficult time for her.” Pastor explains why his wife didn’t come and I completely forgot about her, the poor woman, finding out her husband not only cheated on her but fathered a child too.
“It’s okay. Bri has cooked dinner for us all.” Jaxon lies to the Pastor, what the hell is wrong with him? None of us cooked, we got takeout that we’re keeping warm.
They come into the kitchen, and I have no idea what to say, this man is our pastor, I’ve known him my whole life, but he’s also my babies grandfather. I feel awkward. “Hilo,” I say as the Pastor smiles at me, I was between saying hi and hello and it came out as Hilo.
Jaxon tries to hide his laughter, who would have thought that I would be the nervous one. “Hello Brianne, congratulations on the birth of your twins.” The pastor tells me with a warm smile.
“Thank you, please take a seat,” I point to the kitchen table and wait for them both to take a seat before I start to serve the dinner.
It's a quiet dinner, mainly just small talk but I know that Jaxon has so many questions he wants to ask. So, I kick him under the table, and as my foot connects with his shin, I nod my head towards the Pastor. Only Jaxon doesn't make a movement; he sits there eating his dinner, so I kick his shin again. “Oww.” Pastor Lonnergan cries.
Oh shit, I kicked the wrong person! “I'm so sorry.” He waves me off and pretends like it doesn't hurt, I know it does as I put a lot of power in that kick, “Umm maybe you two should talk?” I say quietly but look at my dinner plate. I won't make eye contact with Jaxon as he’ll probably want to kill me right now.
“We should. Jaxon, I'm sorry if I had known about you I’d have done…” Pastor Lonnergan says but can't seem to find the right words to finish his sentence.
“Done what?” Jaxon’s on the defensive right now.
“How has Mary-Sue taken the news?” I ask trying to steer the conversation into a different direction.
“She's devastated. Not because of who you are Jaxon but...umm.” He looks around the room almost as if he's searching for guidance. “I cheated on Mary-Sue, and I regret it dearly. We were going through a rough patch. I did the selfish thing I sought solace from someone else,” He looks really apologetic, his eyes full of sadness. “Mary-Sue had suffered multiple miscarriages, and we found out that she was unable to carry children. She was broken, she hid away from the world and from me.”
“Oh, finding out about Jaxon must have brought it all back to her.” My heart goes out to her; I couldn’t imagine what she went through.
“Yes, but Mary-Sue is strong, and she has forgiven me for my sins. She will welcome Jaxon with open arms into our family if that’s what you’d like.” Pastor tells us, and I don’t say anything, this isn’t up to me. This is solely Jaxon’s decision, one that may take a while to make.
The awkward silence that ensues is making me anxious, knowing me I’m going to say something stupid again like Hilo! Thankfully, Jaxon starts talking. “I like you, Pastor; I have a family, one that has been with me through thick and thin. I have no doubt that you and your wife would open your home to me and Bri and our kids. I need time; I need to adjust to this,” He points between himself and the Pastor, “And Bri and I will discuss things.” Wow, he’s being so mature, I don’t think I’d ever been able to be so rational if I were in his situation.
“That is understandable, I won’t push you, but I will tell you that I’d love to get to know you both better and of course those babies of yours. Thank you for a lovely dinner and even better company.” The Pastor stands and shakes Jaxon’s hand “Thank you.” I offer him a smile, he’s so polite, and I feel bad for him. “Bye Brianne.” Jaxon walks him out as I start to clear away the dishes. I’d love for Jaxon to embrace the olive branch that Pastor Lonnergan has offered, but I’m also hesitant, what if Mary-Sue isn’t okay with it, what if she can’t deal with it? Then what? Will Jaxon be pushed to the side?
“What are you in such deep thought about?” Jaxon’s voice scares me causing me to drop the plates on the floor, smashing them. “Sorry, Bri
. I never meant to scare you.” He comes over and helps me pick up the broken pieces scattered on the floor. “Are you okay Baby?”
I laugh, “You’re asking me if I’m okay? You’ve just finished dinner with your dad, how are you feeling?”
“Conflicted but I know what I want, and I want to get to know him more. Before all that, I want Mary-Sue to be okay with it. First, I wouldn’t put her in a position where she either has to choose between her husband or her happiness. That woman has been through enough.” I blink back the tears, when did Jaxon grow up and become so mature and thoughtful?
“I agree, how about we leave it a week or two and then we can go to church and get a feel for how things are?”
“Sounds good baby, it will give us a chance to show off the twins too. Let me get the brush, and I’ll sweep this up, and then we can go to bed.” He winks at me before going to the utility room, “Go to bed, and I’ll meet you there, the twins will want to feed soon.” He shouts, and he’s right it's been about three hours since they last fed.
I do as he says and go to our bedroom, I strip down and put on my nursing nightie and settle in bed as I wait for Jaxon to come. Of course, as soon as my head hits the pillow I start to fall asleep, no matter how hard I try and fight it. I don’t know how long I’m asleep, but I’m not in my deep sleep yet as I feel Jaxon getting into bed beside me and place a kiss on my head. “I love you Bri, you are my dream girl, and I’m so fucking lucky that I found you on the beach that night. That’s all it took, one night and my entire world became so much clearer.” He throws his arm around me, and we both fall asleep, it won’t be long until the twins will wake up wanting a feed.
One night and I found the love of my life, one night and the twins were conceived, one night and I’m happier than I’ve ever been.
Epilogue
Five Months Later
Brianne
Today is the second biggest day of my life, the first of course being the birth of my two beautiful twins who are now six months old. It’s my wedding day, and I’m a nervous wreck. I have waited so long for this day to come and now that it’s here, I’m so excited, nervous and scared that I have no clue what the hell to do with myself.
“Calm your tits, will you? Everything is going to be just perfect,” Livie says as she pins the last of the million pins in my hair, finally finishing what she’s been calling a masterpiece. “And you look absolutely gorgeous!” She continues when my nervous eyes meet hers in the mirror.
“I don’t even have my dress on yet,” I give a nervous laugh as I fight hard not to bite my nails. Livie did them this morning, and she will murder me where I sit if I do anything to mess them up.
“You mean this dress?” I turn in my seat when I hear my mother’s voice. She’s standing in the doorway of my room with what I assume is my wedding dress in one of those bag things they use to cover clothes with. This one is a light pink shade with a dark pink zipper which I’m itching to just zip down and finally see my dress.
Believe it or not but I trust Livie and my mother so much that they convinced me that they found the perfect dress for me and I wasn’t even allowed to see it. I literally let them blindfold me every time I went for a fitting. So, this will be the first time I actually see my own wedding gown. God be with them if that dress is hideous because I will kill them both.
“Come on honey we have about an hour and a half left before we have to go. Great, now they are gonna rush me like it's my fault that my mother got here late with the damn dress that I’ve yet to see.
I roll my eyes at my mother’s impatience and stand from my seat. I hear the twins start crying from their room and I hold up a finger, indicating that mom should just give me a minute as I’ll need to feed the babies before even thinking of getting dressed.
“Where the hell are you going?” This from Livie who comes and stands right in front of me, blocking my way out.
“To feed the twins,” I try and sidestep her, but she stops me.
“No, Jaxon and Carson are still here, and it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding,” Livie has her don’t you even dare try arguing with me look on her face, but I really don’t care, I need to go feed my babies.
“Olivia is right Brianne, and one of those men out there can give the babies bottles,” Mom says.
“By the way, didn’t you say you are thinking of stopping to breastfeed?” Livie asks, folding her arms on her chest.
“Yeah but I can’t seem to get them off, I’ve tried almost everything, and nothing has worked,” I answered sadly. I really have tried almost everything, tried giving them a bottle instead of the breast but when those kids want to latch on momma they want to freaking latch on momma, the lungs on those two are out of this world, and I can’t stand it when they start crying too much. My heart breaks a little, and I cave and just give them what they want. Those two only drink bottle when their dad feeds them.
“I have an idea!” Livie exclaims before rushing toward the door. Where the hell is she going? “Momma B, make sure she doesn’t get out of this room!” She shouts as she slams the door closed behind her.
“Mom?” I look to my mother, hoping that she has a clue of what the hell just happened.
“Don’t look at me honey, she’s your best friend,” she shrugs. Jeez mother, helpful much?
I’m about to ask mom to show me the dress seeing that the babies are now quiet, and I’m not allowed to leave this room yet when Livie comes storming back into the room holding something in her hand.
“Oh, my Jaxon is looking seriously fine in that suit of his and Carson just looks goo-” Livie cuts herself off when she realizes what she was about to say.
“Carson just looks what Livie?” I smile at her blushing face. Can you believe this, neither she nor my brother has come clean about what the hell is going on between them, so mine and Jaxon’s bet is still on.
“Nothing, look what I got,” she says lifting her hand to show me the little bottle of Tabasco sauce in her hand.
“O...kay,” I say, looking at her like she just sprouted horns. “What am I supposed to do with that?” I ask.
“Well, I thought that maybe if you smeared a bit of this on your nipples, the babies wouldn’t want you to be their milk dispenser anymore. I mean if you don’t do something now, your boobs are going to start looking like cow tits. You know. Long ass nipples from all that sucking.” The horrified look in Livie’s eyes when she said cow tits was just comical.
“Olivia!” Mom scolds.
“What, it’s totally true!” Livie counters.
I look at the little bottle in her hand, the wheels in my head spinning a mile a minute as I consider doing it. I mean, what harm will it do to try? It’ll only be a little of the stuff, just enough for the twins to think that my nipples taste bad right? No harm no foul.
“Brianne honey, that’s a bad idea,” Mom says, but I ignore her.
“I’ll think about it,” I tell Livie as I grab the bottle from her hand and place it on the chest of drawers. “Now show me my dress,” I point at the said dress that my mother is still holding.
“Fine,” Livie says as she walks over to where mom as standing and slowly starts unzipping the bag.
“Oh my God!” I gasp when I finally see my wedding dress and tears fill my eyes. That is the dress I fell in love with when I was seventeen but a bit more modern. I remember Livie promising me that when I marry Zac Efron, she’ll make sure that that’s the dress I’ll be wearing.
I can’t wait to put it on; I put on my shoes first. They’re ivory kitten heels and as soon as I have them on both mom and Livie help me get into my dress. I don’t look at myself until it’s fastened, I’m excited to see myself in this dress. I’ve been waiting a long time to wear it. Livie puts her hands on my shoulders and turns me around to face the mirror as soon as I see myself I gasp, that isn’t me. I look so different, so happy.
My dress is beautiful; it’s a strapless A
-line sweetheart dress, that is fitted to the waist and flows out, the skirt and the bodice have lace to make it look elegant, it has a diamond sash around the waist to add just a small amount of bling. It’s simplistic yet beautiful, and I love it.
“Oh, baby! You look so beautiful.” I turn and see both mom and Livie have tears in their eyes.
“No, no crying, you’ll set me off, and then Livie will have my ass for ruining my makeup.” I point the finger at them when I feel my own tears stinging my eyes.
“Princess, you ready? It’s time to go,” dad knocks softly on the door.
“Oh my God Forrester, get in here and see how beautiful your daughter looks,” Mom says, rushing to open the door.
“Oh Brianne,” Dad gasps when he sees me. “You look, beautiful princess; I can’t believe my little girl is getting married.” He pulls me into his arms and gives me a tight hug.
“Thanks, dad,” I’m getting even more emotional than I was a moment before.
“I have something for you, honey,” mom grabs my attention, and I look at her expectantly as my dad lets me go. “This…” she goes and opens one of my drawers and pulls out something shiny.
“I know we are not really into all that something new, something old stuff but I would love to give you this,” she tells me handing me a small elegant diamond tiara that actually matches my dress perfectly. “My grandmother gave it to me on my wedding day, and I feel that it’s only right that I pass it on to you.” This time the tears I’ve been trying to hold back fall.
“It’s beautiful mom; I love it. Thank you so much.” I give her a quick hug before handing it to Livie to put it on me.
“Okay, we need to get going if we don’t want to be late,” dad says, and I catch him wiping away some of his own tears.
A few minutes later and Livie, mom, dad and I are seated at the back of the limo on the way to church, to my forever after.
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