Mikayla woke up the next morning, Justin by her side. She heard the door to their bedroom open, the twins’ faces peeking through. Mikayla sat up, gently patting the bed next to her.

“Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy,” Barb said quietly, seeing Justin was still asleep.  Joshy gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

“I see another guy got to kiss you first this morning,” Justin said sleepily, his eyes blinking open. 

“Jealous of your own son?” Mikayla teased, Justin giving her a look.

“What are we doing today, Daddy?” Joshy asked. 

“That is up to Mommy.  I imagine starting with breakfast and having some family time, some time on the beach.”

“We have leftovers from yesterday for lunch, and I never got my pasta carbonara…”

“Noted for dinner. I was thinking an omelet and pancakes for breakfast?”

“You spoil me…” Mikayla hummed. “Justin, do we have a coffee machine on a timer?”

“No, it’s a Keurig, you just make it when you want it…”

“So why do I smell coffee?”

Justin sniffed the air.  “Damn good coffee, too… Let me go see what’s going on.”

“We’ll all go, I’m sure there’s an explanation.  Ok, now I’m smelling vanilla…”

The family walked downstairs, hearing sounds from the kitchen. “Jackie… JC, what are you doing here?” Justin wondered. 

“Did you two…?” Mikayla started. 

“No. Different clothes,” JC replied. “We got to talking and thought we’d surprise you. Do something nice.”

“Jackie, you have the day off…”

“I already called my mother and sent her flowers.  Blame JC, he’s very persuasive,” Jackie smiled. 

Mikayla saw the table.  “You didn’t cook any of this, did you JC?”

“Have SOME faith in me.  I can make toast and follow directions to make pancakes.”

“Five years ago you couldn’t boil water.  Guessing Jackie did the eggs?” Mikayla wondered, seeing eggs benedict on the table for her.

“Guilty as charged. JC told me your favorite, I made scrambled eggs for everyone else, cheese on top optional.  Vanilla blueberry pancakes for the grownups, chocolate chip for the twins.”

Justin’s face sank a little.  “There’s plenty of extra, Justin,” Jackie assured him. 

“You’d think it was Father’s Day by the way you’re reacting,” Mikayla chuckled. “Thank you, both of you. This looks and smells delicious.”

“I figured I have a lot to make up for,” JC sighed with a soft smile. 

“This is definitely a good start. Let’s eat.”

They enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, sharing stories of the twins with JC, JC and Justin sharing stories and memories together with the twins.

“Why did you stop being friends?” Barb asked. 

“That’s a complicated answer, little girl,” Justin said.

“JC and I both had things happen on accident, and we got mad at each other. Daddy tried his hardest to get us back together, because we both loved each other very much. We were too angry to stay friends and then Daddy and I fell in love, and then I had you two.”

“Wow, that’s a very simplified version of the story,” JC said, shocked at its truth but how simply she explained it without pointing blame at one person over another.  It was said with an even tone, calmly and without anger or sadness.  The twins accepted the answer and moved on. 

“You’re friends again, now, right Mommy?” Joshy asked. 

“Yes, we are.”

“Do you still love each other?” Barb asked. 

“I’m gonna tell you a secret about grownups and being in love,” Mikayla started.  “You’ll always love them, even if you aren’t in love with them anymore.  As mad as we were at each other, we both still cared at each other, and were sad that we weren’t friends.  Daddy had a girl he was in love with before me, and a lot of people still try to bring it up with him.  You never stop loving someone, but you stop being in love with them.  You still want them to be happy, even if you can’t help them be happy anymore.”

“Wow…” JC said.  “The way you explained that…”

“It’s the teacher in me. You get thrown a lot of hard questions sometimes, especially when it’s kids asking the questions.  I’ve had a lot of practice over the years.  I’m just glad I can answer them honestly and that we were able to fix things.”

“Mommy’s really smart,” Joshy said.

“Yeah buddy, she really is,” Justin sighed. 

…

They played in the backyard and the sand before having lunch.  The kids played so hard that they crashed during the movie after lunch. 

“Not a bad idea, taking a nap.  Kids don’t know what they’re missing out on, I’d love time to take a nap on a regular basis,” JC yawned. 

“You’re telling me.  Soon it’ll be sleepless nights again…” Mikayla sighed.

“I can take the twins for a while once Silas is born, if that’s ok.  Either for like a week or just on certain days.  I feel like I need to make up for what I missed out on.”

“We’ll have Jackie, but that could be really helpful. Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.  I’m sure grandparents will be in to help, too.  It might help them bond with you though, I definitely want them to know you’re Dad before then.”

“How are you gonna explain that to them?” JC wondered.

“I told them Mommies and Daddies wish really hard for a baby, and sometimes the wish gets answered. I’ll tell them our wish got answered right when we got mad at each other. That Justin and I were just friends when I found out, and that we got married before I had them so everyone would think they were his.  That we were so mad at each other it kept us from being Mommy and Daddy together.  You would’ve been their Daddy if we hadn’t been so mad at each other, and now that we’re not mad anymore, you want to be their Dad, as much as you can.  You’re not replacing Justin, but adding another person to love them and take care of them.”

“Damn, you’re good,” JC sighed. 

“She’s the best. It’s like she was meant to be their mom, knowing just how to answer the tough questions in a way that answers but is relatable.  She doesn’t exactly sugar coat things, but puts it in a way they can understand while still being open and honest,” Justin replied.

“I should get going, thank you for letting me crash today.”

“It was very thoughtful, Josh. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he smiled, knowing what was planned for the night.

“Unless…” Justin started.

“What?” Mikayla wondered, JC raising an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing,” Justin sighed. “Forget it.”

Mikayla shrugged, knowing not to press the issue, whatever it was. They walked JC to the door, hugging him goodbye. “Text me when you get home,” Mikayla insisted.  JC nodded before closing the door behind him.

“I say we join the twins for a nap on the couch, it’s been a crazy day even just being here. I’ll get started on dinner once we wake up.”

Mikayla was glad they’d bought a large sectional that allowed for all four of them to sleep. The TV was off, the sound of the ocean in the distance pulling Mikayla into a deep sleep, Justin not far behind. 

Justin woke up first, checking the time. The twins woke up next, Justin quietly getting them to pay in their rooms upstairs.  

Justin started on dinner, glancing at Mikayla as she slept while he cooked. He picked up his phone, snapping a picture and sending it to JC.  The two exchanged texts, a smile spreading across his face. 

He looked at Mikayla one more time before returning to cooking.  Sleep well, Kay. You’re gonna need energy and strength for tonight…

…

Mikayla was woken up by a gentle nudge and a gentler voice. “Mommy, dinner is ready…” Joshy said softly. Justin knew he was the better of the twins to wake her up while he finished getting everything ready.

She got up from the couch, smiling as she saw chicken breasts, the pasta, broccoli, and green beans.  The twins had pasta without the sauce just in case.  

“Justin, this looks incredible…”

“I think I did alright. I’ve made this for you a couple times before, followed your recipe, so to say, seeing as you just have it in your head.”

“It’s been a while, though.”

He walked up to her, wrapping his arm around her waist before settling his hands just above her ass.  “I guess I need to step up my game,” he growled low, kissing her deeply but only for an instant. 

They sat down to dinner, Mikayla pleased by the taste as well as the presentation he’d put into everything.  The food on the plate, the flowers in the center of the table, the view of the ocean in front of them. You couldn’t get more picturesque while also in the comfort of home. It had almost any restaurant beat. Her mind flitted to the grand dining room of the Ahwahnee in Yosemite. It had been a while since she’d been there, still not having taken the twins, just her and Justin.  They needed to plan a trip, but it was too short notice for anything that summer.

Jackie had left after lunch, leaving Justin and Mikayla to give the twins their baths and get ready for bed. Not that they minded, but they also knew the window on when they could still do that without invading privacy was running short. They bathed themselves, Justin or Mikayla there for supervision purposes. 

Bedtime pushed right against the ending of sunset, the orange in the sky fading as the blue sky faded into black of night. 

“Pick a movie baby, I’ll be right back,” Justin said, leaving her on the couch.  She cued up her choice, a smile across her face of how this would be received. It wasn’t a new movie, but it was one she hasn’t seen yet for almost obvious reasons. 

Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Justin come back into view.  “Josh, what are you doing here?”