Addison rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you?”
“I did meet Princess Leia once.”
“I know. Still jealous about that.”
“Yeah, well, your daughter isn’t.”
“She hasn’t seen Star Wars yet, give it time.”
Emma yawned.
“Next time we’ll have three,” Addison commented.
“I told you to stop talking.”
“Regrets?
“About having this baby? No. My feet, however, disagree.”
“Well, you won’t be pregnant next time we come.”
“I know because we’ll be grandparents then.”
“We could come alone, you know?”
Emma clasped the hand holding her. “Addy, we don’t need to come to Florida for amusement.”
“True. But think of the possibilities on—”
Emma finally started laughing. “Go to sleep.”
“Night, Em.”
“Goodnight, love. Ten years,” Emma mumbled. “Maybe in ten when they can all walk by themselves.”
Addison chuckled. She’ll never wait that long to give in.
***
AUGUST
Addison stepped out of the car and waved to Emma in the window. Emma waved back and whispered something into Noah’s ear. Addison wondered what secret her wife might have imparted to their son.
“Momma!” Vicki burst through the back door and sprinted for Addison.
“Hey, Sprout.”
“Guess what?”
“I don’t know,” Addison confessed.
“Noah asked for his bottle.”
Addison looked back to the window where Emma still stood with Noah. Vicki was obsessed with her baby brother just as she had been with Hannah. She was convinced that every sound Noah made was meant to be a word. She was equally convinced that she was the only person who could decode the infant’s logic. It brought Addison and Emma hours of amusement. Vicki would explain to everyone what Noah was trying to tell them. A few days earlier, Vicki had explained that Noah wanted to go to Disneyworld with his sisters. Addison thought Emma might choke to death. Then, she thought Emma might choke her when she couldn’t stop laughing.
“Not happening any time soon,” Emma said.
“Aw, think about it like this, you won’t have to chase Noah. You can just push him.”
“I can just push him? I think you might be missing something, Addy.”
“I was just—”
“You’re worse than Vicki,” Emma said. “You two will have to be content to dress up like princesses in Kansas for a few years.”
“I don’t dress like a princess.”
“We’ll see.”
“Emma?”
Emma shrugged. “Keep pushing, Addy. Halloween isn’t far off. Your hair can pass for red—Ariel.”
“Ariel is a mermaid.”
“Have fun trick or treating with the girls in a tail,” Emma quipped.
“You wouldn’t—"
Emma shrugged, picked up Noah, and left the room.
Addison sniggered at the memory. She looked forward to Halloween in their new home. A week later, Emma would leave to shoot a film in New York. She would be gone for two weeks. It would be another new adventure for their family. Addison would stay in Kansas with the girls. Sherry would accompany Emma, who planned to take Noah with her. Addison looked forward to that experiment too. The move to Kansas might prove to provide the balance that both she and Emma required. And, Addison would not deny that she looked forward to a little time with her daughters.
“Momma,” Vicki called for Addison’s attention.
“Did you hear me?”
“What? I’m sorry, Sprout. I was just thinking about something.”
Vicki shook her head. “Mommy got me a backpack!”
“She did?”
“Yep. Come on!” Vicki pulled on Addison’s hand and led her in through the kitchen door. “I’ll get it!” She scampered off through the house.
“Where are you off to?” Emma called after her.
“Gotta get something!”
Emma sighed. “Just watching her makes me tired.”
Addison kissed Emma tenderly and then kissed Noah’s head. “I missed you.”
“We missed you too. How’s Tam?”
“Good—I think. She misses you. But I think she’s excited about the company. And, Em? Daniel is huge! I swear to God, I don’t know who their donor is, but I’m betting it was the Hulk or something.”
Emma giggled. “She did mention that he likes to eat.”
“Yeah, well, if he grows much more, she’ll be feeding him steak dinners before he has teeth!”
Emma laughed. “Don’t give her any ideas.”
“Good point.”
Addison gently took Noah from Emma’s embrace. “Hey, bud—Vicki tells me you asked for your bottle?”
Noah gurgled and grabbed Addy’s hair.
“Oh, I see,” Addison said. “Me too.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Two of a kind.”
“Me and Noah?”
“You and Vicki.”
“Hey, where’s Hannah?” Addison asked.
“Mom took her for a few hours. She should be back soon.”
“Needed a break?”
“Not me,” Emma said. “Hannah did. I think Vicki’s constant baby translation is starting to annoy her.”
“She’s two.”
“Approaching three,” Emma reminded Addison. “Vicki told Hannah that Noah wanted to watch Ariel.”
“And?”
“And Hannah wanted to watch Cars. She doesn’t seem to share Vicki’s obsession with princesses. She prefers action.”
“What are you talking about?” Addison asked.
“Cars. Hannah wants cars. Vicki wants princesses.”
“I wonder what Noah will want.”
Emma shrugged. “If he’s like most boys—both.”
Addison shuddered. “I don’t want to think about it—ever.”
“Momma!” Vicki slid back into the kitchen. “Look!” Vicki held up the backpack Emma purchased.
Addison shook her head. She expected to see any host of colors of characters: purple, Ariel, Jasmine, Frozen, maybe even Mickey Mouse.
“See!”
“Oh, I see. Do you know who that is?”
“Yep. She’s a princess!” Vicki declared. “Mommy even met her!”
“Uh-huh. She’s a princess who lived in a galaxy far, far away.”
“Yep! Like R2D2.”
“Just like him—yes,” Addison agreed. Emma had let Vicki start watching a few Star Wars cartoons. Now, Addison understood the reason. “That’s terrific, Sprout!”
“Braaa… Brrrr… Booo,” Noah made a few sounds and drooled happily onto Addison’s shoulder.
Vicki ran off again.
“Now, where are you going?” Emma called after her daughter.
“Noah wants to watch Nemo!”
Emma covered her face and shook her head. “It never ends.”
“Star Wars?” Addison asked.
“It’s a princess—a princess who likes action. Consider it a compromise.”
“Your mother is crazy,” she told Noah.
“You haven’t spent the last three days with the world’s only baby interpreter, Hannah, a husky, and brraa, boo, bah, there in your arms.”
“Need a break?” Addison asked.
Emma shook her head. “No.” She leaned in and kissed Addison tenderly.
“Gross,” Vicki’s voice complained.
“Why is that gross?” Addison wondered.
Vicki shrugged. “Just is. Can me and Noah watch the movie now?”
“Why don’t we wait for Hannah to come home, and then we can all watch it together?” Addison suggested.
Vicki shrugged. “She wants to watch Cars all the time. Right, Noah?”
Noah grinned.
“See?” Vicki said.
“In a little while,” Addison said.<
br />
Vicki shook her head and grabbed her backpack. She looked at her baby brother. “Told you,” she said before running off.
Emma and Addison looked at each other. “What did you suppose she told him?” Addison asked.
“It’s probably safer not to ask.” Emma took Noah back and kissed Addison on the cheek. “Why don’t you go watch something with the sprout? Noah and I will fix dinner.”
“Got him cooking already, huh?”
“Well, I have kept him away from the knives.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Go spend some time with Vicki.” Emma looked at Noah and sighed. “So? What did your big sister have to say?”
***
“Hey.” Addison climbed into the bed beside Emma. “Long day, huh?”
“Good day.”
“Was it?”
“Mm. I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me too,” Addison said.
“Tam was really okay?”
“Yeah. Better than I expected. Motherhood agrees with her,” Addison said. “It’s funny, though.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s still Tam, but kinda, I don’t know—Tam-light?”
“I think she’s just finding her footing, love.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you wish we stayed?” Emma asked.
“No.”
“Not even a little?”
“Nope. Don’t get me wrong; I love visiting. That’s the thing; I was ready to come home.”
“It does feel like home,” Emma agreed.
“I can’t believe Hannah told Vicki that Noah said, no.”
Emma giggled. “Oh, I think Hannah is starting to discover the joys of being the middle child. I think Vicki might be in for a few surprises.”
“Safe bet. I can’t believe she’s starting school.”
“I know. I was thinking today that it seems like yesterday she was booing and bahhing like Noah. Now, she’s translating. Quite the jump.”
Addison laughed.
“She reminds me so much of you,” Emma said.
“Me?”
“Yes. She has so many stories. She sees a story in everything,” Emma said. “And she has a knack for telling them just like you.”
“Mm. I think Noah is the most like me at the moment.”
“How so?”
“Pretty sure I drooled during that movie too.”
Emma smacked Addison lightly. “You are a goofball sometimes, Addy.”
“I missed you, Em.” Addison pulled Emma closer. “All of you.”
Emma understood that Addison’s statement pertained to something more than a few days in Los Angeles. “I know, love.”
“Thanks, Em.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
“Oh, I think you know. If you need me to say it—everything.”
“You’re welcome. But you know that goes both ways.”
“I visited the set before I came home.”
“Oh?”
“Mm. I started to think about when I wrote Off Screen. I never imagined that this is where we would be now. I don’t want to give any of it up, Em. I love my work. I know you do too.”
“I do.”
“But I could,” Addison said. “I could never miss that as much as I miss you when we’re apart.”
“Addy—”
“It’s the truth.”
“I know that. I’ve always known that. We don’t have to give anything up, love. We just have to learn when to change the scene.”
“Spoken like a writer.”
“No. Spoken like someone who loves a writer.”
“Did you?”
“Did I what?” Emma wondered.
“Picture this.”
“Let me think about that. Did I imagine being married to a beautiful woman, living in Kansas near my parents, and raising three kids with her? Depends. If you mean when we met—no. I did imagine it, though. The first time I brought you here, in fact.”
“Really? You thought about us living here when you brought me to meet your folks?”
“I thought about being with you forever,” Emma corrected Addison. “I pictured Vicki, and Hannah, and Noah. Yes. Here. I guess I did picture it here. Lots of times when I watched you chase Andrew and Evan or even when you would kiss me goodnight.”
“Is it what you imagined?”
“Much better than what I imagined, Addy. Not easier. But so much more than I knew it could be.”
Addison swept a strand of hair off Emma’s forehead. “Better than Disney?” she teased.
Emma rolled her eyes. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“Which ride are we taking?”
Addison grinned and pinned Emma beneath her. “Given your recent purchases, I vote Space Mountain.”
Emma flipped them around. “Only single riders, Addy.”
Addison wiggled her eyebrows. “Hop on.”
Emma stared at Addison for a minute and then erupted with laughter. “Nice try, Addy. Vicki has you trained. No Disney any time soon.”
“You don’t want to ride in the dark?”
“Stop.”
“Come on, I’ll—”
Emma silenced Addison with a kiss. “I love you.”
Addison stopped her silliness and smiled. “I love you too, Mrs. Blake.”
“Good. Now, show me.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Addy—”
Addison giggled. It never gets old.
THE END
Scene Change Page 11