Forever (Epilouge)

185

"Oh sweet girl!!" I called out as I got the stuff ready to make Olivia's birthday cake. "Coming, mommy!" Mia called out as Colby came into the room with Olivia in his arms.

"Mama!" Olivia chirped as I waved at her. "Hi, my little sweet pea!" I said and wiggled my fingers at her as Colby set her on her feet.

"Are you ready to bake a cake?" I asked Colby as Olivia ran over to me and hugged my legs. "More like ready to watch you and Mia bake a cake." He said as Olivia reached up. "Mama." She said as I picked her up and hiked her onto my hip.

"I'm here!!" Mia yelled as she ran down the stairs. "Good, because it's time to make sissy's cake." I said as Colby grabbed the mixer for us.

"Yay!!! Are you excited sissy?!" Mia asked as Olivia giggled and pointed to Mia. "Bia!" She yelled as I grinned and kissed her cheek. "Close enough." Mia said with a shrug then turned to Colby.

"Are you gonna help us, daddy?" She asked then sat down at the island. "Yep. We're all gonna make sissy's cake." He said then kissed her cheek and went to wash his hands.

"Great! So let's get started, huh?" I asked and bounced Olivia on my hip once.

We decided to make her a funfetti cake since it's the most superior cake flavor.

"Okay, put the mix into the bowl." I said to Mia as Colby cut the packaging open for her. "Okay, check!" She said then carefully put it in the bowl. "Next is the water." I said then turned to the sink so I could fill the measuring cup with water.

When I turned back around Mia was reaching into the cake mix, pulling out a sprinkle while Colby chuckled. "Amelia!" I said dramatically as she gasped.

"Daddy! You were supposed to keep watch!" She scolded as I laughed. "Sorry, kid. Mommy scares me." Colby said as I rolled my eyes playfully. "You can have a sprinkle but only it you ask sissy." I said as she perked up.

"Sissy, can I have a sprinkle?!" Mia asked as Olivia looked at her blankly, before reaching her hand out towards the bowl of cake mix.

"I think she wants one." I said as Mia handed her a sprinkle. "Does that mean I can have one?" Mia asked as Olivia put her hand in her mouth. "Yeah I think so." I said then slid the measuring cup of water to Colby.

"Put it in, babe." I said as Mia are her sprinkle. "Okay, check." He said as I grabbed the box. "Okay, time for the eggs. Do you think you can handle it?" I asked as Mia nodded with a serious expression. "Give me the eggs." She said as I laughed and rolled them to her.

Colby and I watched as she carefully cracked the eggs into a separate bowl. "I did it." She said with a small smile as she looked up at us. "I'm proud of you, princess." Colby said as Olivia rested her head on my shoulder.

"Last step." I said then portioned out the oil. Mia poured it in then looked at me. "It looks gross." She said as I chuckled. "We gotta mix it." I said and handed Colby the whisk.

I just watched as the two of them mixed the cake batter up. It made me so happy that this was my life and that I wasn't going to wake up from this dream that I seemed to always be having.

I don't think I would ever know what I did to deserve such an amazing little family, but I wasn't going to complain.

"Can I lick the spoon!?" Mia squealed as Olivia fussed in my arms. "After we portion the cake into the pans." I said and rocked Olivia slowly, trying to soothe her. "I'm gonna bring this one to bed so she can nap." I said as Colby grabbed the two pans we were using so they could portion them out.

"Okay, we got this Mia." He said and kissed her curls before lifting the bowl so she could scrape the batter.

I watched them for just a second before walking down the hallway and to the nursery. I sang a small lullaby to Olivia as I rocked her so she would fall asleep. "I'll see you when you wake up." I whispered then kissed her head and lowered her into the crib.

I watched her for just a second, letting my mind roam off for a second. I couldn't believe that she was going to be a year old tomorrow. It seemed like it was just yesterday that Colby and I were trying to coax her out of the womb.

I couldn't help the small laugh that creeped up at the memory. In the moment it wasn't funny at all but looking back it was hilarious that Olivia was so stubborn.

She was so much like me.

I reached down and brushed her curls from her face before turning to leave the room.

When I got back to the kitchen Mia was licking the spatula with a smile. "This is yummy." She said as I walked over and kissed the top of her head. "What was that for?" She asked as I looked up at Colby and put my hand on his cheek.

"I'm just so lucky." I whispered as Colby smiled at me. "Love you." He said as I patted his cheek gently before turning away.

"I guess it's time to clean up, huh?" I asked as Mia yawned. "It's my bedtime." She said as I squinted at her. "Oh yeah?" I asked and put my hands on my hip. "Yep. Come on, daddy." She said then hopped down from the chair she was in.

"Don't start cleaning, I'll help you." Colby said before following Mia upstairs. I nodded then turned towards the oven to check on the cakes. After a couple minutes Colby came back to the kitchen.

"We raised a smart girl, ya know." Colby said as he walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Yeah, I know." I said with a grin. "I wasn't gonna make her clean the kitchen anyways so actually we win and get to have some time alone." I said and scrunched my nose as he chuckled.

"I can handle that." He said then kissed me. I kissed him back, letting him lift me onto the counter. I loved that even after all this time, whenever we kissed, it felt like the first time.

We kissed for a minute before I pulled away. "We have to clean the kitchen." I said with a laugh as he kissed my neck, pulling me even closer to him. "I know." He mumbled against my neck. "Come on." I said with a laugh and gently pushed him away.

"Fiiiine." He said as I jumped down from the counter. "Can you believe our little Livvy is gonna be one tomorrow?" I asked as we started doing the dishes together. "No, I seriously can't. It's just so crazy how fast they're growing up." He said as I sighed.

"I know..it's really hard to deal with honestly." I said and chewed my lip. "I know, I wish I could just freeze time. I hate seeing you get upset about it." Colby said as I breathed a laugh. "I'm just an emotional mom. I'll be okay." I said and nudged him with my shoulder.

"I just hope they don't hate us when they get older." Colby said with a laugh. "Oh, they will. But only a little bit, we're cool as hell." I said as he nodded. "Oh, 100%. We're gonna be the cool parents." He said as the oven timer went off.

We pulled the cakes out of the oven then cleaned the kitchen before heading to bed. We had an eventful day tomorrow so we needed to get some rest.

"Goodnight, baby girl." Colby said as he pulled me into his embrace. "Goodnight. I love you." I said as he kissed my head. "I love you, too." He said quietly as we drifted off to sleep.

I tried to let myself calm down enough to sleep but I was getting really anxious for tomorrow. I wanted Olivia's first birthday to be special but I also knew that I wasn't ready for her to grow up. I was afraid that I was going to crack again.

I didn't want to go down that road again though. I didn't want to miss anymore of the girls lives. I just wanted to surround myself with the people I loved.

I just wanted to be happy.