“Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy!” the twins shouted, waking up Mikayla and the guys as they ran into the bedroom and jumped on the bed. 

Justin looked at the clock, groaning. “Kids, it’s not even 7:00, you’re supposed to let Mommy sleep in…”

Silas began to cry over the monitor. “Well, that’s all our children now,” Mikayla sighed. 

“You go back to sleep, we’ll take care of the kids,” JC said, kissing her forehead before getting out of bed. “At least they can’t wake up Nana in the guest house.”

“I think she’s already up, I smell coffee,” Joshy said. 

“We have that too much if you know the smell of coffee,” Justin laughed. “Come on, kiddos.  Let’s go get your brother and let Mommy sleep.”

Mikayla knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, but pretended to as they all left the room. She waited until the voices were quietly down the hall before getting up and going into the en-suite bathroom.  She ran a bath with candles and essential oils, sinking into the warmth and relaxed for a while. 

She thought back on the last year, and everything that had led up to it. She thought ahead to the wedding in a month’s time.  That she and JC would be symbolically sealing their commitment to each other. He would be her husband, she would be his wife, even if it was only when no one else was around.  

Her dress hung in a part of her closet, along with her other fancy dresses in garment bags that Justin wouldn’t know which one was which to take a peek.  Barb had a dress they made that was perfect for her, excited to be the flower girl. They’d given Joshy the option of getting a suit like his daddies, Joshy deciding he wanted to be comfortable instead. He’d wear a button down shirt and dark wash jeans, which was kind of perfect for where the wedding was taking place. 

The water cooled, her fingers and toes all pruned.  She got out and wrapped her fluffy towel robe around her, taking her time doing her skincare routine, getting dressed, and doing her hair. 

She went with something simple, just getting ready for breakfast. She picked an off the shoulder tee and dark wash skinny jeans; putting her hair in a loose braid, bits sticking out but still looking nice. 

She looked herself over in the mirror when she heard the door open. 

“Oh,” Justin gasped, expecting her to still be in bed.  “I came to wake you up. You look great, Kay.”

“It’s nothing, I don’t even have makeup on,” she shrugged. 

“Still beautiful.  Especially this little bit of shoulder showing,” he said, stroking her bare shoulder with a light touch.  He kissed her shoulder, working his way to her neck. “Are you wearing a bra?”

“Pull at my shirt and you tell me,” she replied with a naughty smirk. 

He tugged the neckline of her shirt out, his eyes darkening with want at seeing her naked breasts. “Fuck, how do you do that, Kay? How are you so sexy without even trying?”

“Have you looked in the mirror?” she laughed. “You and Josh just roll out of bed that handsome, I swear.”

“Yeah, well.  I’d still rather look at you than myself.”

“Let’s head down for breakfast, I don’t want it getting cold.”

“It’ll be fine for a bit.  I wanna kiss my wife, maybe have time to cop a feel or two…”

“And show the whole house that I’m turned on through my shirt? You’re evil.”

“I know you have reusable nipple shields. Put those babies on before we head down.”

“Are you always going to be this insatiable?” she laughed. 

“God I hope so. You bring it out of me.”

“A little kissing, but you’re not touching my breasts…”

“Straight up torture,” he groaned. 

She rolled her eyes before lifting her head to kiss his lips.  She moaned softly into his mouth as his tongue pressed past her lips, wanting to continue but knowing people were waiting for her. 

“We can finish that later,” she sighed. 

“We’d better,” he smiled before giving her a quick peck and taking her hand in his. 

They walked downstairs, a veritable smorgasbord of food on the kitchen counters. A tray of eggs Benedict, a large bowl of a veggie and meat scramble, a large bowl of hash browns, a bowl of cut fruit, just to name a few. 

“You guys made all this?” Mikayla asked. 

“No, we had it delivered. From your favorite breakfast spot, and they were happy to take the order,” Justin answered. 

“Thank you. It’s too much, we’ll have food for days…”

“You’re worth it, more than worth it, Kay,” JC assured her. 

They sat down to breakfast in the formal dining room, being the only room to fit everyone at the table.  Mikayla loved having all of the family together, even if Justin and JC’s dads were missing from the group.  Jackie had the day off but would join them for dinner.  They ate their fill, Mikayla feeling like she was definitely overindulging with everything there was. 

The moms were all treated to an afternoon at the spa, getting manicures, pedicures, and customized facial treatments.  Mikayla felt so relaxed and pampered, though she always felt that way between Justin and JC.  She had time during pedicures and manicures to connect more with her mother in laws, getting a better picture of what things were like at home.  Things were on the positive side, for now.  Roy was finishing up treatment, and Paul was doing well on a new medication.  Things loomed in the back of her mind, but focusing on the positive for now, only needing to worry about the worst if it actually occurred.  They were positive that the wedding would be beautiful, full of love and family.

…

“Where are we going for dinner?” Mikayla asked as she walked into the house.

“We’re actually cooking for you,” JC answered.

“Better have delivery on speed dial,” Mikayla teased.

“JC’s in charge of setting the table and stuff that he can’t actually mess up,” Justin laughed.  

“We’ll see about that,” Karen smiled.  “I love you, son, but you’ve never been a good cook.”

“One day I’ll show all of you,” he replied with a laugh, trying to think of what he could make that he couldn’t mess up.

“For now, you’re at our mercy.  There's a bar area set up by the pool if you ladies would like to relax by the pool with some drinks, some appetizers, while we cook,” Justin offered.

“Can I swim while you’re out there, Mommy?” Barb asked.  “I haven’t seen you much today…”

“Sure, honey.  You both can, if you want.”

“I’m helping the men make dinner,” Joshy said proudly, Mikayla smiling at how proud he was to be included.

“Then let’s go get you ready for the pool, Barb,” Mikayla replied.  She led her daughter upstairs to get into her swimsuit.  Mikayla got into a stunning blue one piece and put on the cover up she’d bought in the Bahamas back when everything first started.  She felt those butterflies of getting ready to have dinner with Justin, nervous about being seen together so soon after her breakup with JC, that no one even knew about.  Now she was his wife, they had Silas along with the twins.  Yet she still felt those same butterflies thinking of Justin.  She knew she would always feel this way about him, about both of them.  Men like them didn’t come around every day, and she wasn’t going to give them up unless she absolutely had to.

The moms sipped on lemonade and cocktails at their leisure, Mikayla wondering when Jackie would arrive, wishing she could be part of this since the guys were cooking.  Barb was having a ball swimming and splashing around in the pool, demonstrating she was clearly part fish.  She pretended to be Ariel, swimming around and dancing in the water.

They got ready for dinner, nothing too fancy, but Mikayla changed into a flowy maxi dress to be comfortable and a little dressed up.  Mikayla began to worry as Jackie still wasn’t there.  She got out her phone and sent a text.

Everything ok?  We’re almost ready for dinner.

A few minutes later, she got a reply.  I’ll be late, but it’ll be worth it.

Mikayla was curious, but headed to the dining room for dinner.  The table was beautifully set, JC doing a surprisingly good job at putting everything out, including flowers and candles in the center of the table.

“Where’s the food?” Mikayla teased with a giggle.  “I smell it, but I’m not seeing it…” she said from her seat at the table.

“We wanted to surprise you with what we made.  Yes, we made this, feel free to check the credit card, the sink full of dishes, and the trash,” Justin answered.

They brought out large plates of pasta, Justin carrying two pans full of something covered in sauce, placing one at either end of the table.  Mikayla raised her eyes curiously.

“We have pasta primavera, spaghetti carbonara, and prosciutto stuffed chicken covered in a pesto cream sauce, with a little tomato sauce added in for flavor,” Justin announced.

“Can you make this all the time?  This looks delicious.  Thank you.  I’m curious, how did my boys do on helping with things?” Mikayla asked.

“I helped Daddy make the sauces,” Joshy said proudly.

“Mostly stirring it with me, but yes,” JC said.

“Wait, JC made the sauces and they came out ok?”

“They had supervision,” Justin chuckled.  “Is Jackie still coming for dinner?” he asked, noting the empty seat at the table.

“She texted that she’ll be late, but that it’ll be worth it.  Not sure what that means, but I have a feeling one or both of you are behind it.”

Justin and JC looked at each other in confusion.  “Nope, not anything for me,” Justin said.

“Me either,” JC added.

“Now I’m REALLY curious,” Mikayla concluded.

They served themselves to the food, everything being deliciously perfect.  About halfway through the meal, they heard the front door open.  Jackie stepped into the dining room, trying to hide the smile that was plastered across her face.

“OK, something’s up,” MIkayla noted.  “What’s got you smiling so big?  Oh my god, are you pregnant?”

“No, definitely not.  So, we had plans for lunch with his parents for Mother’s Day.  We get to the restaurant, and my parents flew in from Florida, a huge surprise.  Well, he flew them in because during the lunch he proposed!”

She pulled her left hand from behind her back, showing off her ring.  Compared to what Justin had bought her, it was tiny, but the realist in Mikayla knew that it wasn’t the size of the ring that mattered, and would’ve been happy with whatever Justin gave her.  She stood up and hugged Jackie, almost bouncing with excitement.  “You are letting me help you plan this wedding, after all you’ve done for us with the kids…”

“Well, I’d hope so, because I want you to be my matron of honor,” Jackie said, almost crying.  “I know you’re my boss, but I’ve gotten to know you so well over the years, you're more than that at this point.  You’re a friend, a sister I never had.”

“I’d be honored to,” Mikayla said, holding back tears of joy.  “Come, sit, and tell us everything!”

Jackie sat down, getting a small plate of food, and began to tell the story of the proposal.  Everyone was enamored with the story, even Joshy.  “I’d love them to be my flower girl and ring bearer, they’ll have had practice by then,” Jackie gushed.

They finished dinner, being led to the living room couches.  Justin turned on the TV, JC putting something in the DVD player.

“This is our gift to you, Mikayla,” Justin said softly, the video beginning to play.

She smiled as she recognized the music, hearing “God Must Have Spent” as baby pictures of her appeared on the screen.  It was a timeline of her life, including pictures at *NSYNC concerts and her college graduation.  Then it went into “Lose Myself”, showing pictures of her and JC during their relationship.  It went into “Mirrors” and her relationship with Justin, including the twins as they grew up.  It ended with an acoustic guitar playing a song she didn’t recognize, but was still lovely in the background of the photo montage.  Her whole life in one video, sharing precious memories with everyone in the room in some way.

“That was beautiful, thank you,” Mikayla said softly, wiping tears from her cheeks.  “I’m very blessed to be part of the family.”

“Not just part of this family, but the rock, the glue that holds us together.  Thank you for letting us be part of your life, creating our family together,” Justin smiled.

That day was one of the best Mother’s Days she would ever have, one she held tightly to in her memories forever.