“Mom! Dad! Tyson and Lauren are fighting! I think they’re going to break something,” cries Jenny. The eight-year-old stands just outside the door with her hands on her hips, looking like a thirty-year-old manager at a coffee shop talking about a pair of unruly customers. Our youngest has always been the most grown-up of our three children.
Sunny slides off the bed and catches the robe I toss her. After shrugging it on, she clasps Jenny’s hand, and together the two go down the hall toward the two eldest, who have moved on from bickering about diaries and space stations to whether pancakes or waffles are the superior breakfast food.
I get dressed in a hurry and join the squad downstairs. Sunny has everyone seated at the table with a piece of buttered toast and a small glass of orange juice.
“Ready?” I ask, swinging my keys around my finger.
The three kids jump up and race for the door. I slip my arm over Sunny’s shoulders, and we follow slowly behind.
“My boobs are bigger,” she whispers. “My bra is extra tight.”
“You know we’re going to a family restaurant, right? You can’t be whispering shit like that in my ear. I’ve got no control where you are concerned, and we can’t get banned from the Sky Café. I fucking love that pecan pie.”
Sunny giggles. “You know what it means, right?”
I stop and turn her in my arms. “Yeah. You’re pregnant.”
“Are you okay with that?” She searches my eyes. “We said Jenny would be our last.”
“It just worked out that way, Sunshine. If you wanted to have a dozen, I’d have been happy to fill you up, but I was also great with the family we have. I didn’t need more, but I’m not sorry we’re getting bigger. The question is whether you’re okay with it because you’re the one who has to carry the burden—literally.”
She gives me a slightly watery smile. “I’m so happy I could explode.”
“Well, wait a few months before doing that.” I cup her small head in my larger palm and bend down to press a kiss on her forehead and then her sweet mouth. “I love you, Sunshine. There’s never been a moment in my life that I haven’t been on my knees grateful that you decided to love me back.”
“How could I not?”
“There are plenty of reasons, but I’m glad you’re blind to them.”
“Dad! Mom! Stop kissing and let’s go. We’re hungry!” Tyson yells.
Sunny and I laugh. I kiss her once more for good measure as our kids groan in the background. Some things are predestined, I think. Like the moon setting in the west and the sun rising in the east, Sunshine and I were meant to be.
* * *