It was the perfect ice-cold-glass-of-lemonade afternoon.  The sun sat high in the sky, there was just the slightest breeze, and the air was thick with heat.  It was a Southern summer day and Adah basked in the sizzling heat.  She knew she was in jeopardy of scalding her completely fair skin, but after the rainy, overcast summer in L.A., she couldn’t get enough of the beautiful, perfect Tennessee sunshine.

The distinct slap of the basketball created a rhythm that was just loud enough to keep Adah from falling asleep in her lounge chair.  Playful banter and cursing could be heard from the men on the court and occasionally the shrill laughter of Emma soared over everything else.  Adah had happily handed her daughter over to Lynn and Paul who were eager to spend time with their granddaughter.  Currently, they were all sitting by the court, watching the boys play a very intense pick up game.  The three-year-old was Justin’s biggest cheerleader.

Adah shifted in her chair, sitting up to squint over at the game when a particularly harsh “fuck” came flying from Justin’s mouth.  Lynn had a chastising look on her face and both hands pressed over Emma’s ears.

“Justin Randall!”  She scolded and he was smart enough to apologize quickly.

“Sorry, Momma.”  A break was declared by everyone and Justin plodded over to Adah, setting himself on the edge of her lounge and swallowing the rest of her lemonade in one long gulp.

“Thirsty?”  She eyed the glass, pouting slightly.

“It’s fucking hot out here.”  He griped, wiping at his sweat soaked brow with the hem of his t-shirt.  “And I am getting way too old for this.”  The pout that adorned his features reminded Adah of what Emma looked like when she couldn’t have another cookie.

“Thirty-two is not old.” 

“Tell that to my knees.”  He rubbed the offensive joint, grumbling, “I blame the dancing.” 

Adah though for a second before giving him a cheeky grin and replying, “Well, all of that dancing has made you enough money so you could get new knees, if you wanted.”

Justin let out a loud laugh, leaning over to give Adah a quick kiss.  “You have a point.”  The couple sat for a while longer before they were interrupted by Emma throwing herself into Justin.  She wrapped her tiny little arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, yawing sleepily.  “Looks like my baby girl needs a nap.”

“Mmm, I think it’s all the sun.”  Adah and Justin stood, heading into the house and upstairs so they could lay Emma down.  The toddler’s eyes were already closed and her body hung limp in Justin’s arms.  Settling Emma into the crib, Justin and Adah stood over their daughter, smiles on both of their faces.

“I can’t believe she’s going to be four in a month.”  Awe filled his voice as he watched his daughter sleep.  Four years ago he was scared shitless about the impending birth of this little angel.  Time must have sped up.  “She’s getting so big.  I want her to stop growing.” 

As scared as he’d been when she was born, he was even more afraid of her growing up.  Soon it was going to be make-up and boys; dating and heart breaks.  He wanted his little girl to stay a baby forever.  He was good at this part.  He could have tea parties and puppet shows.  He knew how to accessorize Barbie and sing along with Handy Manny.  Those things were easy and simple.  But what if, when she grew up, she didn’t think he was funny anymore?  What if she didn’t want him to sing her to sleep anymore?  What if she stopped thinking he was the coolest, most amazing Dad on the planet?

He was getting ahead of himself, he knew, but those were the niggling fears at the back of his mind. 

“I’d love to freeze time, but we can’t.  She’s going to grow up whether we’re ready or not.”  Adah squeezed Justin’s arm, resting her head on his shoulder.  “But we’ll be ready.  We’ll do the best we can and she’ll be just fine.”

“You think so?”  His voice was a whisper.

“I know so.”  Adah felt confident that together, they would be able to give Emma everything she needed to be successful and happy.  Justin wouldn’t settle for anything less.

“I’ve just gotten used to the baby stuff.  I kind of enjoy it and I think I’ll miss it.”  He took a deep breath, “I almost want to do it again.”  His voice was distant, but his words made Adah give him a long, searching look. 

“Again?”

“Yeah, again.  Except this time I wouldn’t get you drunk and leave you to handle the pregnancy on your own.  And I wouldn’t let Rachel bitch you out.”  His white teeth gleamed as he grinned.

“Gee, thanks.”  Adah laughed, but her pulse was racing.  “You really want to have another baby?”  She held her breath, afraid to think about the possibility incase he was just pulling her leg.

“Why not?  We made it through Emma, and we weren’t even together then.  This time, I’ll be by your side the whole way.”  He turned his head and glanced down at her, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.  “Besides, it’d be really fun to try.”

A puff of air left Adah’s mouth as the thought of another baby rolled around in hear head.  “Do you think we’re ready?”

Justin thought on that for a moment.  “Were we ready to have Emma?”  He answered with his own question.

“Well, no.” 

He shrugged, “So, who says we have to be ready this time?”  He fully turned, facing her and making sure he had her full attention.  “I want to have more babies with you, Adah.  I want to love you and know that we created something together out of that love, and this time, I want to be there every step of the way.”  He licked his lips, dropping his eyes to the floor.  “I missed so much with Emma.  I want to make that up to you and do it all right this time.”

Shock raced through Adah’s veins as his words sank in.  It was a comfortably weighted thought, though, and Adah liked the feel of it on her tongue.  “Another baby?”

Justin’s head bobbed up and down.  “Yeah.”

Slowly, their smiles grew to stretch across both of their faces.  It was involuntary and unstoppable.  Together, they turned to watch Emma some more, the little girl sleeping soundly in front of them.

“Jesus, are we really going to do this?”  It was Adah that spoke, surprised that Justin had been the one to suggest it.  She had figured that she would be the one to talk him into it sometime later in life.  Things had been going so well between them, she was afraid that a new baby would add more stress, but the look on Justin’s face melted her heart.  “Ah, hell, let’s get started.”

Justin’s laughter was mirthful and he picked Adah up in his arms, spinning her around the room.   She giggled, shushing him as best she could so he didn’t wake Emma. 

“Can we start now?”  As odd as it sounded, the thought of creating a baby with Adah made Justin incredibly turned on.  Now that he knew they would be trying, he wanted to get started right away.

“Your mother and father and friends are all down stairs.”  She was all for trying for another baby, but she didn’t think that now was the right time to start.  “We should head back outside.”

Justin waved her protest away with his hand, picking her up into his arms and carrying her toward their room.  “They’ve got bar-b-q and beer.  We won’t be missed.”  His excitement was contagious and Adah found herself agreeing, happiness flooding from her head to her toes.