“Go get the bottle and come back.” I move Maya off my nipple and sit up, switching her to the other nipple. Propping the pillow beside me. “Come here, baby boy,” I say, and he walks over to the bed and grabs the cover in his hands, pulling himself up on the bed. He crawls over with his smile, showing his two bottom teeth. “Gentle,” I say when he comes beside me and lies down.
“Baby,” he says, pointing at Maya.
“Yeah,” I say and look over at Dylan, who smiles and goes to make a bottle. I take Maya off my boob, and she looks around, blinking her eyes as she takes in whatever it is she is seeing. I lay my head back, trying to wake up as she kicks and punches between my legs lying on the bed.
“Here we are,” Dylan says, coming in with a tray, and I see a bottle and two cups of coffee. He hands Maverick the bottle, who smiles and grabs it. “For my love,” he says, leaning down and kissing me. Even after all this time, he always makes my belly flutter when he kisses me. I keep waiting for the day when it feels old. I keep waiting for the day that I don’t get so giddy when he comes home. Every single day with him by my side is better than the last. He walks over to the other side of the bed and lies down on his side.
We hear Maddox’s bedroom door open and hear his feet coming down the hall. His brown hair is all over the place, and he wipes the sleep from his eyes. “Morning,” he mumbles as he comes into the room.
“Happy gotcha day,” I say with a smile and hold out my hand for him. He comes over to my side of the bed and lays his head on my shoulder. He’s taller than I am, and from the looks of it, he might even be taller than Dylan. I kiss his shoulder as he walks to the end of the bed and lies down across it.
“Maddy,” Maverick says with the nipple of the bottle still in his mouth. He sits up and crawls over to him and lies down beside him. He might love us, but Maddox is his best friend. I didn’t know how Maddox would feel about having a baby come into the house, but he embraced the role of big brother with all the maturity I knew was in him. He turns around and lays his head on his arm, and Maverick follows. He wraps his arm around him as they cuddle.
“Happy gotcha day, son,” Dylan says, and Maddox opens his eyes and smiles at him.
“Why do we do this every year?” he asks us, and I just smile.
“That is one of the best days of my life,” I say, and he just shakes his head. “I became a mom that day.” He just shrugs. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he asks me.
“For saying yes.” I wipe the tear away from my eye. “And for choosing me to be your mom.”
“Dad,” Maddox says, “time for you to kiss her tears away,” making us laugh.
The doorbell rings, and then the front door opens. “Why would you ring the doorbell if you are going to walk in anyway?” I hear my mother ask my father.
“It’s gotcha day,” he says. “We have to be here when he wakes up.”
“I think you ringing the doorbell will wake them up,” my mother argues with him, and we all laugh on the bed.
“Up here,” I say, looking at Maya just taking in all the noise around her. We can hear my father running up the stairs, and when he gets to the bedroom door, we all laugh.
“Happy gotcha day,” he says, and his shirt has the words:
Gotcha Day. I’m the Grandfather.
“Oh my God,” Maddox says, getting up. “What are you wearing?”
“Don’t feel left out,” my mother says, holding up two bags in her hands. “We got shirts for everyone.”
“Great,” Maddox says, walking to her. She holds her arms open, and he hugs her. He came out of his shell a year in.
“Your shirt is the best,” my father says, taking it out, and we see that it’s red. “And it’s a different color.”
“This is the same color as the balloon in IT,” Maddox says, making us all laugh as he opens up the shirt. He puts it on, and I read the front.