803 Wishing Lane by Shaw Hart
Eighteen
Heath
One Year Later…
“I’ll grab that,”I tell Caroline but she just rolls her eyes, grabbing the bag of chips and heading into the cabin.
I might be going a little overboard, but she’s so far along now and I get worried about her overdoing things.
Turns out, she wasn’t pregnant when we got back together. It had just been stress throwing off her cycle, but we found out that we were expecting five months later.
By then, we were married and had moved in together. I moved into their place since we didn’t want to disrupt Charlotte’s routine too much.
Charlotte was Caroline’s maid of honor at the wedding and she got to walk down the aisle with her pet bunny, Mudslide. I had caved and bought her one for her fifth birthday. The thing is cute and loves Charlotte.
“Rooney, can you grab the cooler?” Sayler calls to her husband.
We’re all up at my cabin for the weekend. I’ve met Caroline’s friends a few times now. We went up to Pittsburgh for Sayler’s and Coraline’s weddings, and they came to Cherry Falls for ours. This is the first trip we’ve taken with them, though, and I’m a little nervous.
I actually like Rooney and Harvey, but I’m also a little terrified of Rooney. The guy is wild, and while he’s hilarious and a good time to hang out with, he’s also clumsy.
I follow my wife inside, making sure that Charlotte is okay playing with the dogs and Mudslide.
“Having fun?” I ask as I crouch down to see what she’s coloring.
“Yeah. Are we going to make s’mores soon?”
“Sure, we can do that right after we eat dinner. Are you hungry?”
She nods, going back to coloring the picture of Caroline, me, Mudslide, and her in front of our house. I kiss her head before I start to stand.
“Maybe we should start a fire?” Sayler calls and I move to head out back to do it when I hear Rooney yell.
“I’ll get it going.”
“Oh my God, no!” I shout, running through the kitchen and out the back door.
I can hear my wife and her friends laughing but I’m dead serious. Rooney is liable to set himself or the cabin on fire before he gets it going.
“I’ll get it,” I tell Rooney and he shrugs, but I can see the grin. He likes scaring the crap out of me.
“Food’s almost done!” Coraline calls, and he and Harvey head inside as I stack the logs to start the campfire.
It’s getting dark and I know we’ll probably eat out here since there isn’t enough chairs or room inside. If these camping trips become a regular thing, we’re going to have to buy a new cabin or build onto this one.
“I made you a plate,” Caroline says as she comes outside and I kiss her, taking the plate and smiling as Charlotte takes the chair next to me.
“S’mores,” Charlotte whispers as she shoves a huge bite of hot dog into her mouth and I laugh.
“Soon,” I promise her and she smiles.
Charlotte and I have grown closer over the last year. She loves to be outdoors, so I try to pick her up from school at least twice a week so that we can go hiking or sledding in the winter. I think she likes that she gets time alone with me and I like that I get to share something special with her.
Caroline takes a seat on my other side and I smile, passing her the water bottle I grabbed for her earlier.
“Thanks.”
She leans over and kisses my cheek and I finish my food, leaving her the chips that I know she’s been craving lately.
“You’re the best,” she says when I put them on her plate and I laugh.
I rub her neck as she eats and look around at our friends. I was always a bit of a loner, but now I have friends, a daughter, and another kid on the way, as well as the woman of my dreams. I have this whole family and it’s more than I could have ever hoped for, but it’s exactly what I need.
“Ready for s’mores?” I ask, and I can’t help but laugh when Rooney and Charlotte both shout yes.
Life with my girls is perfect.
