Mikayla turned to face him.  “I was so nervous once they started to come in.  Then Johnny came in, and I found my flow.  It couldn’t have gone better.”

“How much?”

“25.”

“Wait, you got them to give $25 MILLION?”

“We originally were just going for 5, then Johnny said to double it.  Johnny’s giving us 5 on his own for this…”

“Ok, let me get this straight.  You asked them for 10, they gave you 25, and Johnny is giving an additional 5?  That’s incredible, baby.  This is really going to help reach those kids.  You did this. I know Johnny is giving you money, but he wouldn’t if he wasn;t sure about it.  He sees your passion for it, and I bet he probably has people that can help you really get this off the ground.  You have funding, which was the big part. Use any and all connections to get this going, you need manpower now, hiring people to getting instruments…”

“They’re donating equipment.  We got $25 million and some instruments.  Not enough for what we need, between paying for enough staff once we get to every school and buying enough instruments, but enough for a couple schools to start and will give me a bigger discount than I got at the school.”

Her phone rang on the nightstand, seeing it was from Brent.  “Hey Brent,” she said as she answered.

“So, we continued the day as usual, took our first students of the day.  Lisa just brought me something from the equipment vendors.”

“They were there at the meeting…”

“We got another 10, Kayla.  Staring at paperwork saying they are making the donation.  This is really happening, you did all of this.”

“That’s great, Brent.  I gotta go, I need to be at school for the twins’ birthday soon. Thank you.”

She hung up.  “Got another 10 from our equipment vendors… I guess the 25 was from just the instrument vendors.  Justin, this is crazy. Thios gives us enough to start small for a couple years, or maybe just start off big, I'll have to look at the numbers again...”

“You’re making this happen, Kay.  I’m so damn proud of you.  I was gonna surprise you, but now I think you should know as a reward for all of this.”

“What?”

“The house is ready, in Montana.  We’re going on vacation to get away for a bit, JC will come too.  We can finalize stuff for the kids’ rooms as far as placement and such.  Furniture and stuff is in so it won’t be empty.  We can go over stuff for the wedding, meet with vendors and stuff there, give JC a feel for things for the ceremony.”

“Does HE know about this?”

Justin gave her a look. “You really need to ask?”

“Already planning how we’re going to christen the bedroom?” she laughed. 

“Planning? No. We got that shit locked down.”

“I want to believe you, but…”

“As much as we love you, we don’t normally talk about that between ourselves.  Not really.  I might tell him I’m thinking of something for a certain night, so he can be on board ot not.”

“Are there any times he hasn’t been on board with?”

“Not yet.  I doubt there’s much you haven’t done, between the two of us, that he wouldn’t want to be part of.”

“You know my hard nos.  It’s funny.  I guess I’d say we have a routine, I almost always know what’s coming, in some way, usually an order to how things go.  It works, gives a buildup to everything.  I guess it’s good to know I know what’s coming, and that involves an orgasm or two.”

“Or 5 is more like it.  Hopefully more.”

“Usually more, yes," she smiled.  "Most people would be bored of that routine, but I find comfort in it, knowing what’s going to happen, just not necessarily the how and finer details.  Especially when it’s both of you.”

“We should probably get dressed and go to the school.  The pizzas are waiting for us,” Justin reminded her.

“I like being in celebration mode, though,” she pouted.

“Hey, I can arrange for a special celebration tonight…”

“I just might take you up on that,” she smiled.  “Just us, or…?”

“Whatever you want, baby.  Let’s get through the rest of the day first.”

They got dressed, choosing more casual looks of jeans and shirts before heading out to pick up the pizza and then to the school.  Mikayla smiled as they waited in line to get their pizzas, laughing at the sight.  People definitely recognized Justin, but given the setting weren’t sure if this was somehow part of a movie scene.  No cameras around, but a strange sight to see Justin Timberlake at Costco picking up pizzas.  Mikayla already had the juice and sides in a cooler, along with a box of favors for each classmate.  Being in two different classes, they would divide and conquer, switching rooms about halfway through.  They drove to the school, people acting as if it was no big deal that he was on campus.  She loved the privacy they had, not being mobbed by people wanting a glimpse.  

It hadn’t always been that way, mainly when he would come on campus while she was with JC.  Once they got together, even once the twins were old enough to go there, the interest had already waned.  Here, he was just another dad, and that felt normal and safe.

Mikayla went to Joshy’s class, Justin going to Barb’s, which were right next door to each other.  Each had pizza for the class, juice boxes, applesauce pouches, and cookies for the end.  They started off by singing happy birthday so they could enjoy the lunch before moving on to outdoor play time.  The twins would leave at play time, after passing out bagged favors with little toys inside.  

The twins were all smiles as they ate and talked with friends, both parents getting pictures and videos to share with grandparents.  The big party would be the next day, Mikayla wishing Justin and JC’s parents were coming for the occasion.  She understood, it was long flights with their dads' health issues, doing treatments, but it would have been more special.  Five feels like such a big age, it only happens once.

Mikayla sighed, realizing next fall the twins would be starting kindergarten, and didn’t that just make her feel old somehow.  To have children officially starting school. Time moved by all too quickly.  Silas was four months old already, Mikayla already waiting for those first signs to try giving him solid foods.  

As lunch finished, they helped pack up the twins and headed to the car. It was cloudy, threatening to rain as the clouds darkened overhead.  “Daddy, is this going to ruin our plans?” Barb asked.

“It shouldn’t, no.  It’ll take us a bit to get there, though.  It’s LA, there’s traffic somewhere,” Justin chuckled.   

They got into the car, Justin heading south and getting on the freeway.  He was thankful for the 24 hour carpool lanes, getting in to avoid most of the traffic along the way.  It was a cool day, so it wasn’t going to be anything the kids might think as they got closer. He and Mikayla had decided together where they would take the kids, planning a surprise for them.

“Daddy, are we almost there?” Joshy asked some time later.

“Almost, bud.  Getting off the freeway now.  We’ll be there soon.”

They saw a big building, Justin parking in the large parking lot.  As much as he wanted to have his kids experience things, he couldn’t give them complete privacy.  Sometimes it meant risking being seen in a public parking lot so they could do something as a family.

“There’s my favorite almost 5 year olds!” a voice called out from within the parking lot.

“DADDY!” the twins shouted, checking for cars before running to JC.

“Next time, I do that on sidewalk where it’s safer,” JC reminded himself aloud.  “Hi.  How was school?”

“It was good.  We had a pizza party for lunch!” Joshy said excitedly.

“Yeah, I was supposed to be there, but something came up.  I’m glad you had fun though. You ready for more fun?”

“Where are we?” Barb wondered, squishing her face as she tried to figure out what the building was.

“We’ll have to go in and see, won’t we?” Mikayla smiled.

They grabbed adult hands as they crossed through the parking lot.  Justin on high alert that they might be spotted.  “I’m glad we left Silas with Jackie, give our full attention to the twins, but keep him out of the spotlight.  No one has pictures of him yet that we haven’t carefully taken and posted.”

“You worry too much, though I agree that him being at home lets us focus on the twins,” Mikayla agreed.

They walked in, Justin having their tickets already with him.  “Where are we?” Joshy asked the woman taking their tickets.

“The Aquarium of the Pacific,” she replied with a smile.  “Enjoy your day!”

“Aquarium?!” Barb gasped.  “Like fish and turtles and stuff?”

“Otters?” Joshy asked.

“PENGUINS!” Barb shouted, seeing a sign for the exhibit.  

“The otters are that way, too, do we wanna go together or divide and conquer?” Mikayla asked.

“Let’s see the penguins first,” Joshy replied.

Mikayla wished that Joshy wouldn’t placate his sister quite so much, be his own person and want to do things for himself sometimes. She felt like he was a pushover when it came to his sister.  He’d do anything and everything for her, which sometimes was great, but it was very often not reciprocated.  She was trying to help Barb change that, but it hadn’t been easy. Mikayla had been that sister to Miranda, and sometimes it still hurt that she felt her sister didn't love her the way she loved her sister.

They began to walk towards the exhibits, Joshy sighing as they walked past the otter exhibit.

“Joshy, we can see the otters first, then go see the penguins,” Barb said, turning towards the exhibit.  Joshy’s eyes lit up, and Mikayla’s heart melted at Barb being selfless.  Not that she was completely selfish, but with big things like this, she’d get so excited she would lose focus of anything but what she wanted to do.  Normally they would split up to do what each of them wanted to do, so to see Barb let Joshy see his exhibit first and stay together was a pretty big deal.  Maybe she was growing up in more ways than Mikayla could see physically.  They had always seemed a little more mature for their age, but this was a different step for Barb.  Mikayla sighed happily at the gesture.

She watched them as they followed some of the otters swimming against the glass, squealing at their antics in the water.  You’d almost think Barb had wanted to see them and not Joshy, the way she was reacting in comparison to her brother.  She was almost hyper in watching them, Joshy seeming like they had a calming effect.

“I like how they swim,” Joshy said quietly.

“They’re so CUTE!” Barb squealed.

‘We’re gonna be here all day now, aren’t we?” JC laughed.

“Come on, Barb.  Let’s go see the penguins,” Justin guided.  

Something snapped inside of Barb. “PENGUINS!” she shouted, and suddenly she was dragging Justin halfway down the hall towards the exhibit.  She chanted the word over and over until they arrived at the big glass wall.

“What do you like about penguins?” JC asked Barb as they stood by the glass.

“They’re just so funny.  They look silly, they walk silly, they make me laugh,” she replied honestly.

The sea otters and penguins were on the second floor of the aquarium, so they made a loop of the exhibits they could do upstairs, going to the touch pool and seeing the ocean birds, seals, and sea lions before going downstairs.  

They reached downstairs, wanting to see the sharks and the touchpool there, when Barb saw something.  “Daddy, an ocean animal hospital…”

Barb walked closer, the sign reading “Molina Animal Care Center”.  She looked in with wide, curious eyes.  A young woman in her early twenties approached barb.  “Can I help you?”

“What do you do here?”

“Well, we help take care of the animals here that are sick, along with any that are found in the wild.

“Like in Finding Dory?” Barb asked.

‘Yes, like that.  Except our animals don’t escape like they do in the movie.  Sometimes they are scared, but we help them get better and then release them into the wild if that’s where they were found.  The animals that were born here will stay here, they can’t survive in the wild on their own. Like really big or special pets.”

“I wanna help animals when I grow up.  Maybe I could work here…”

“We have volunteer positions once you’re a little older, so hopefully keep us in mind. Here,” the woman said, taking a business card and handing it to Barb.  “Keep this and we’ll be waiting for whenever you’re ready.”

Justin took the card from Barb, putting it in his wallet.  “I think that’s a great idea, Barb.  We need to get going, but thank you,” he said, looking at the woman.  She smiled, Mikayla noting the look of recognition on her face.  This had made that woman’s day in more ways than one.

They stopped by the moon jelly touch lab before finishing their trip at the gift shop.  Each of the twins of course wanted stuffed animals or some kind of toy, the adults of course giving in as the trip was for their birthday.

“You guys gonna go home and get Silas before coming over for movie night?” JC asked.

“Yeah,” Justin replied, running his fingers through his hair.  “Kay, you and the kids stay there tonight, I think JC needs to hear all about your meeting today…” he said with a knowing smile.

“Shit, right, how did that go?” JC asked.

‘Let’s just say you’ll want to celebrate,” Justin said with a smirk.