Save the Date (Modern Arrangements, #1)

"Walsh is really having a hard time with Ales. I think that maybe you should do something with him, have some one on one time. And, perhaps, I’ll take him out as well, just one on one."

Aidan nodded. "That sounds like a good idea but, honestly, I think he’s just a little jealous. Deep down, he loves her." He kissed the top of my head and the kissed the top of Ales, before turning back to the bassinet and making sure that it was secure.

Three days later, Aidan arranged a ‘boy’s day out’, taking Walsh and Cole to a place called ‘Fun Unleashed’. The place had indoor slides, tunnels, ball pits, video games, and other things for young kids. He had completely worn them out by the time they had gotten home. Both of them passed out on the way home and wouldn’t even wake for a bath. We ended up putting them to bed after stripping their dirty clothes from them.

The following week I decided to take Walsh out by himself. Walsh loved dinosaurs, so I was going to take him to the museum to see the dinosaurs. He must have been too used to me having Alesandra all the time because panic filled his face as we got our coats on.

"Mommy?" I could hear the slight worry.

"What’s up?" I started to zip up his jacket.

"Where’s Ales?"

"She’s staying here?"

"By herself?" He said a little loudly.

"Honey, Kimberly and daddy are here." I tried to calm him.

"You can’t just leave her all alone, Mommy!" He stormed toward the stairs, starting to climb them.

"Walsh." I yelled, following after him. He turned around. "Honey, she won’t be alone. Kimberly is going to take care of her while we go on our little trip."

"Um…" He paused. "Can we take her with us, just to be safe?"

A smile spread across my face.

"Of course." Taking his hand, we got Ales ready.

Aidan grinned watching his son finally walk out the door, Ales joining us on our day out.





Chapter Twelve


Ten Years Later


Aidan

Today marked fifteen years my son and daughter had been alive. The awe of it was still so amazing. Even more amazing was the story of how everything came to be. My grandfather’s death and the conditions of his last will and testament set forth an arrangement with a woman I barely knew, but had been immediately intrigued. That woman became the love of my life. Being married for almost sixteen years, she still has the same effect on me as when I first met her.

Our lives were filled with so much happiness. Walsh and Olivia celebrating their fifteenth birthday, the house is currently filled with family and friends. As I look at each family member here, I remember every crazy moment since Alesandra had been born.

Elora and James welcomed little Anne into the world almost six months after Ales was born. Three years later, Karah followed. Two years after, Henry was born. Finally, little Eliza, who was just a year old, arrived. Elora put her foot down, immediately scheduling James for a vasectomy.

James had the vasectomy roughly four months ago. The panic of surgery day was something I liked to make fun of. Dixon’s jokes about having been neutered were icing on the cake.

Celia and Dixon had gone through a lot. Dixon became the head RN at the hospital. And, after Celia gave birth to their second daughter, she decided to open her own import car garage. It didn’t take long for the garage to do well and they soon invested in a larger home when Celia found out she was pregnant number three.

Pulling up to Celia’s garage and seeing an eight month pregnant women in grease covered overalls under a car, was something else. She always had a pony tail and usually a ball cap. Her business was slow to start which I assumed was because she was a woman, but after a few clients and some word of mouth, especially from my family, given our obsession for foreign cars, she was doing quite well.

Celia gave birth to Emily just two months after Elora had Anne. Two years later, Bailey arrived, and then one year after that came Coraline. The most recent addition was four year old Mary. I remember being at the hospital to visit Celia the day she had Mary.

Lilli and I walked in to see Emily, Bailey and Cora sitting around Celia and Dixon on the hospital bed. Mary was cradled in Celia’s arms.

"Well, Dixon, it seems like your lifelong dream finally came true?" Lilli smiled innocently as she leaned over Bailey to see baby Mary.

"And what is that?" He raised a brow.

"To be surrounded by beautiful women, of course." She smirked.

He bellowed with laughter. I noticed not one of his girls flinched at his loudness, each of them used to it.

"True, very true." He nodded.

Dixon often got asked if they were going to try for a boy, in answer he would look at these people as if they were crazy. One day, when we took the kids out to the park, he was asked about trying for a boy by an old college friend we ran into.

"I don’t understand why people think that the only reason we keeping have kids is to try for a boy."

We sat on a bench after saying goodbye to our old classmate, watching the kids run around.

I patted his shoulder.

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