One String Attached

2.

.James.

Waking up on Saturday mornings were always the same. The kids would enter the room and jump onto the bed one at a time and most of the time, Aaliyah would crawl on top of me whilst Asher would crawl towards Riley, cuddling her tightly. But this time both the children seemed to be drawn to me and I had no idea why.
"Daddy, wake uppp!" I hear Asher's small, child-like voice sing into my ear. 

Aaliyah giggles, moving her fingers towards my eyes before pulling at my bags and eyelids, forcing me to open my eyes.
Eventually, I blink several times before waking up properly and then groaning. Aaliyah was sat on top of my body as Asher was sat by my side, so I had to keep my hands on her back securely to stop her from rolling off the top of me and falling onto the floor.

"Babeee," I groan, turning my head to the side and stretching my arm out to wrap around Ri's shoulders, except my arm merely just drops onto the mattress.
I frown and then slowly and attentively sit myself up properly before looking at the other side of the bed to find that my wife wasn't laying by my side. "Li, where's Mummy?" I ask my daughter gently, causing her to look at me and shrug her shoulders.
"I don't know," she tells me, making me sigh.
"Right, well let me get up and then we can go and look for her, okay."

Heading out of the bedroom with Aaliyah holding onto my hand and Asher against my hip as I held him on my side, I looked around the living room and kitchen for Ri but she wasn't in there.
It was when I realised our cat was perched by the door to head outside towards the balcony that I also acknowledged the fact that the door was unlocked and had been kept open, so I chuckle softly as Aaliyah lets go of my hand to go and pet Sauble.
While she does that, I head outdoors with Asher to find Riley sat on the corner couch with the Chromebook in her hands.

 She looks up at the sound of my footsteps and then smiles and sets the device aside before spreading her arms out in front of her to get me to pass our son onto her.
"Morning," I chuckle softly, heading over to her and placing Asher in her arms before pecking her cheek softly. She smiles at me as I take a seat beside her and wrap my arm around her body, causing her to lean in towards me and rest her head on my shoulder. "You got up early."

"Yeah, I just wanted to sort a few things out for the studio," she tells me.
Ever since two or three years ago, Ri and I had started up our own dance studios which went by the name of 'Flying Whirlwind Dance Studios'. Riley was studio head and I was head choreographer and things seemed to be going well but there are times when she'll get way too in on her head and stress over the littlest things or set herself impossible goals which I know for a fact aren't achievable.

She smiles down at our son as he cuddles into her, setting himself between our bodies. He hugs onto the side of her body tightly, holding himself against her like a koala which makes me chuckle as she reaches down to kiss the top of his precious, round head.
Just like the little toddler he was, he moves his thumb towards his mouth, beginning to suck on it to demonstrate that he was hungry. 

Riley sighs and lifts her head up to face me, her chin hovering against my shoulder.
"Could you maybe make pancakes for them? I'm meeting Em at eleven for a coffee because we need to discuss something for both our dance studios," she tells me, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her. 
"Can't she just come here?"
"No because we also need to have a private chat about something."

"SNS?" I chuckle, moving my hand towards her own to hold it. She looks down at our hands for a moment before nodding her head, chuckling softly as she intertwines our fingers together.
"Yeah. I promise I won't be long, I just really need to talk to her." She stops to look at me, taking in the expression on my face then she sighs. "It's not about you, okay," she tells me, making me nod my head. 

I knew Riley extremely well. If something about the two of us was bothering her, I know she wouldn't hesitate to tell me. And I trust her. Sometimes she can't confide in me with every piece of information so if she feels talking to her older sister about it is what will help best, then that's that.
"Okay, it's alright."

"So you'll make the kids pancakes?" she inquires, causing me to laugh softly, nodding.
"Yes, I'll make them pancakes. Have you eaten though?"
"I just said I was going to get a coffee with Em," she says, only answering my question. Knowing her, she had probably been up for the past two or three hours. 
"So you haven't eaten?"
"Not yet, but I will," she tells me, causing me to sigh, nodding once again. 

"Okay. Make sure you eat something though, alright. And text me if there's a change of plans," I tell her. She smiles and pecks my lips softly before pulling away, moving Asher onto my lap for her to lean down and pull her shoes onto her feet.

"Mumma," Asher calls to her, spreading his arms. Ri ties the laces of her trainers before looking towards our child and then she sighs, moving her hand to the back of his head to softly stroke his small, light brown tufts of hair.
"I'll be back soon, baby," she tells him, making him pout.

"Don' weave," he whispers, causing her to shake her head and reach forward to hug him, to which he hugs her back like usual.
"I'll never leave you, sweetie," she whispers to him. 

As her head rested lightly against Asher's shoulder, Riley looks up at me after opening her eyes and then she smiles softly, to which I reciprocate.
"Once you've eaten and taken a bath, Daddy can take you and Liyah to the park, then I'll see you there, sweetheart," she says to him, and though he could hardly understand, he smiles at the sound of 'Daddy', 'Liyah' and 'park'.

"I wuv you, Mummy," he says to her, making her chuckle.
"I love you more, bubba," she responds before pressing her lips against the tip of his round nose for a brief moment, then continuing to stroke his hair gently. "Right, where's little Madam gotten to?" she asks, making me laugh as I crane my neck upwards to find Aaliyah chasing Sauble around the house.
"Terrifying Sauble apparently," I smirk, making Riley roll her eyes.

"Well, I guess I'll leave then, since she's way too preoccupied with that," she says, making her voice loud enough for Aaliyah to hear then before we know it, the six-year-old comes running over to us then wraps her arms tight around my wife's legs.
"No, Mummy! Don't gooo!" she says whilst laughing, making the rest of us all laugh as I continued to hold Asher on my lap, occasionally bopping him up and down to keep him entertained. 

Ri turns around and then crouches down to our daughter's height before kissing her head.
"Daddy's making pancakes, angel. Why don't you help him, yeah?" she says, combing our girl's long ombre hair, making her giggle.
"Okay!" she shrieks, being the hyper one. Without another word, she escapes Ri's grasp and then hurries off into the kitchen to start grabbing the ingredients and then Riley laughs, looking towards me.

It's the small moments like this that I appreciate the most. Those two children were definitely the light of both mine and Riley's lives, there's no doubt in that.