4.41 - Empty Nest

Logan snuggled Layla thinking about how quickly her birthday came up. It seemed like only last week the babies were brought home from the hospital, though it had been a full year. He knew that kids growing up, and it being hard to bear, was part of parenting and was dealing with it as much as he could. He wanted to hold onto their infancy for as long as possible, but the girls were getting too big to be confined so much, they wanted freedom, room to crawl, new toys to play with and learn from.

Everyone was outside watching Adelaide golf when the party guests arrived. They instantly came out back searching for the hosts. Velina walked up to greet them, as did Logan. Adelaide went upstairs to get the girls. It was their birthday after all, they should be part of it.

Adelaide was so happy that Logan and Velina had decided to stay so she could be with the twins everyday. She knew that she really didn't have the parental rights to make life decisions, such as where they live, but was glad to have a tiny bit of influence anyway. As she carried little Olivia down the stairs, she nearly cried thinking about how big she and her sister were getting.

Everyone gathered around for the cake and to watch the girls grow. Olivia went first - as she was a minute and a half older than Layla. Their grandma held both babies for presentation. Adelaide had asked if she could, so the parents could have their hands free for clapping and cheering their babies on. They were happy to let Adelaide hold the girls for their party.

The party guests consisted of Carla, Jennifer, Lauren and Lauren's brother Douglas. Logan and Velina wanted to keep it casual, but made sure to invite a few people. No one Velina knew would be interested in coming, but Logan invited Lauren who had also brought her brother along. David had invited Laquita, but she was too busy to come, and of course Brian had invited Jennifer and Carla.

Lauren had been having a hard time adjusting to the fact that her best friend, and secret love, was married. Now he had two children with the woman. She had come to the party because she was invited and she would do anything for Logan, but it hurt her heart to see what she could have had.

Cheering, whooping and hollering brought the girls into their next age of toddler hood.

Olivia

Olivia mostly favored Logan, she had his hair and eyes, also it appeared, his nose. Many features carried over from her father. Velina dressed her in a yellow and orange outfit she had purchased on one of her many baby shopping sprees.

Layla

Layla inherited her mother's hair color, and eye color. Layla had her mother's nose as well as the other features. She was put in a red outfit,though Velina would find an outfit to better match Layla's pretty eyes as soon as possible.

Everyone sat down for cake, including the twins. With only eleven guests and two cakes, there was much leftover. Jennifer stayed to help clean up the mess for a few minutes after Lauren and Douglas had gone home. Before leaving she congratulated the girls on their birthday, even though they didn't quite understand yet.

Logan could see how tired the girls were getting and suggested to Velina that they take them to bed. She nodded and picked up Olivia while Logan got Layla. The four of them went up the stairs to their bedroom. Velina pulled out a book to read to Olivia.

"Want me to read Livvy? Of course you do, okay here we go. You just relax and mommy will read you to sleep."

Logan snuggled Layla before setting her in the crib. Instantly, the toddler pulled herself onto her feet using the railings on the crib. She looked up at Logan with the most pitiful pout he had ever seen. Naturally he gave in to her and picked her back up for some more snuggling.
The two girls already knew how to work both of their parents. How to get them to do their bidding, even without knowing how to talk.

While Logan was at work, Velina asked David to babysit for a few hours while she went out to the store. They needed some more snacks for the girls and Velina needed a few things for herself as well. David was more than happy to watch the little ones while she was away. He picked Layla up from her crib and attacked her with his 'claw' until she squealed with giggles. He did the same for Olivia after her sister was put on the floor to explore.

The three of them played for three hours before Logan came home and found them saying that it was time for dinner.

"Velina called me, she said sorry she was running late." Logan told David.

"No probs. We were just having fun." He picked up Layla again and carried her down to her highchair, while Logan carried Olivia.

Logan fed both of the girls their dinner, Layla was done first and cried to be let out of the chair. Of course, Logan obliged her and picked her up instantly. He gave her a cuddle before setting her on the floor to find some toys. Right about then, Olivia finished her own dinner, but she didn't cry. She rarely cried, a complete opposite of Layla. Logan picked up Livvy and brought her to the potty chair in the front bathroom where they had their first potty training lesson.

Logan figured he was getting the hang of this parenting thing. It all seemed pretty simple when everyone was on a schedule. He wondered how long this smoothness of a routine would continue. Probably only until the girls started walking. He made a mental note to teach them that last, maybe that would keep them young for longer. Something else crept into his mind then, they really did need more space. He and Velina had talked about it, she said she was fine either way -whether they moved or stayed, that she wanted him to make the decision. He had, but he was having a hard time telling his mother and father.

Finally one day, a few months after the girls' birthday, he worked up enough courage to inform Adelaide and his dad of what they were going to do.

"Mom, I know you love having us and the girls living here with you, but they are getting bigger. We are all going to need more room. What if Velina wants another child? Try for a boy maybe? I've found a house, actually right in town. The opposite side of the park than you are here. It's a four bedroom. Really nice. I've put the deposit down and we'll be moving in in a few days." He spilled it all at once before she had a chance to try and change his mind.

"I knew this was coming." Adelaide looked at her feet, then very dramatically put the back of her hand to her forehead and sighed. "I guess I can't stop you. I'll miss you for sure, just make sure you leave your address so we can find you okay?" She had to get away from him, she was going to cry and didn't want to. Logan was leaving home and taking his wife and babies with him. It was a sad thing. She was expecting it, but that still didn't make it easier. Just a few days too. She would make sure to spend as much time with the girls as possible.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Logan chuckled. "You could if you wanted to, if you tried hard, but I know you won't because you know it's better for the girls. They're going to be an age where they want their own rooms eventually. We just don't have that kind of room here."

Those few days flew by fast and before anyone knew it, moving day had arrived. The girls were sitting in the living room floor playing with Velina, and even Emma, while Logan was at work. When he got home they were all leaving. The house they had purchased came with most of the furniture they would need. They only had to buy a few cribs for the girls to sleep in, to replace the twin beds that were there originally.

Velina had been sitting on the floor with the playing toddlers most of the morning. Even Emma joined in the fun. While she sat there she talked to the girls, telling them all about moving, and that it would be different but that they would get used to it. When Emma came around, Velina was happy to tell her that they were taking her to the new place too.

Out the front window, Velina saw Logan coming across the street, so she pulled out her phone to call a taxi.

Logan came in and asked if they were ready. Velina told him that they were, everything they needed was at the house already. Adelaide had packed them a food basket, all fresh foods from the garden, fruits, vegetables and even some seeds - just in case Velina wanted to start her own garden. Tears flooded her eyes as she handed the basket over and helped them pack other things. Brian helped move things as well, most of the day that's what he had been doing.

Everyone said goodbye to one another, even David came out of his book to tell them to treat his little cousins greatly. He had come to love those twins as much as anyone could. It was late by the time they gave out all the kisses and hugs, when they stepped outside it was near dark.

For the next few days, Brian and Adelaide fought the quiet of the house. It was completely different here without the rest of the family. Adelaide missed them more than anything. She threw herself into her writing, since she was so close to fulfilling her life's dream, she figured she'd hit it hard to get there the rest of the way and get her mind of the little ones.

Brian spent most of his time on the small driving range in their backyard. Thankfully there was nothing in the direction that he was hitting the balls. No houses, just a small pond. For a brief moment he thought of the fish in the pond and how they were probably startled every time a ball hit the water.

Brian visited Logan one day at work, because he had seen Logan's carpool arrive. Though it had only been a week, Brian felt it had been forever since he had seen his boy.

"How are you Logan, how's Velina and how are the girls?" Brian ran it all into one question, though it should have been three.

Logan smiled. "What are you doing here dad? We're fine, we're settling into the house well, it's very nice. I can't wait for you to see it. Maybe you could come by in a couple days?"

"Yes yes. We'd love to, your mom and I. I don't know about David, he spends a lot of his free time in his room, or with his girlfriend. Hey look! I put some of the girls' pictures in my wallet. Look at them, aren't they cute? I just want to pinch their cheeks. I miss them you know. Addy does too, she's done nothing but write her books since you left. She's trying to keep herself busy I think." Brian realised that he was really babbling.

Logan looked at the pictures, some of which he remembered taking. "Yes, those are great pictures, I'm glad you have some in your wallet. Mom will be okay, she'll get used to it soon enough."

That night Brian, Adelaide and David had Autumn salad, fresh from the garden, for dinner. Adelaide was done first.

"I'm going to go upstairs and finish rearranging our room. We've put our stuff back in the master bedroom. Now we have an empty room too. I wonder what we'll do with it. I hope you liked the salad. David, I know you haven't done your homework yet, do it before bed."

Brian laughed. "I'm sure he will, the salad was great honey, thank you for making it. Thanks for growing it too." She smiled at his words before walking away.

The two guys finished up their meal together and Brian cleared away the dishes. David went and got his homework, then sat back down to work on it. Only a few minutes in he was rolling his eyes. "Gah, I don't want to do this right now." He complained to himself.

Brian came out of the kitchen, having finished loading up the dishwasher. "Good night David, just get it done, you'll feel better about it."

Brian walked in the master bedroom and was automatically greeted by his wife. Adelaide stepped up and kissed him as soon as he appeared in the doorway. While her arms were around him she reached behind him and closed the door.

"I've missed your touch you know, we haven't had any fun in a while, it's almost like we're the ones who had babies." She suggested.

Brian smiled, "You're right, maybe we should remedy that."




To be continued...