STILL | NH |

BLACK AND WHITE

Niall

"Pop Pop! Can I have an ice cream cone?"

How could I deny the face of the three year old standing in front of me?

"Come on Mae." Reaching down, I pick her up and hold her close to me as I look around the living room and out to the patio before walking into the kitchen. "You can't tell your mom I gave you this alright?"

Big green eyes look back at me as I unwrap the frozen treat and hand it to her. "I won't tell, promise."

Once her tiny hands grip onto the bottom of it, I sit her down on the ground only for her to tear off across the house and out into the backyard, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Momma! Look what Pop Pop gave me!"

"Jesus Christ." I run my hand over my face, shaking my head as I follow her out into the backyard.

"Dad!" Rory sits in one of the adirondack chairs with Mae's baby brother, Patrick, sound asleep from the exhaustion of his first time going in the pool. "I told you no sugar before she eats dinner!"

"Listen, I told her not to tell you —"

"Niall James!" I cringe as I hear my name, turning behind me to see Rigby coming out of the house with Collins trailing right behind her. "You know Mae can't keep a secret! We've talked about this... You have to give her what she wants and then distract her with something else."

I smile as I look at her.

All of these years have done her so well.

Her long hair was still a beautiful shade of brown, although there was evidence of time highlighted throughout the lighter strands of hair. As captivating as ever, her green eyes still made the butterflies come alive when I'm anywhere near her.

The love of my fucking life.

"Mamó! Look what I got! It's yummy!" Mae runs up and wraps herself around Rigby's legs, laughing as she picks her up and tickles her against her ribs — making her shrieks of laughter echo around the backyard.

Hearing Mae use the Gaelic pronunciation of grandmother makes me smile, knowing something I've taught all my kids was passed down to their own.

"Hey, Pop!" Collins makes his way towards me in his soccer uniform, his socks pushed down around his ankles as he reaches around my waist for a hug. "What's up?"

"Well, I was trying to sneak your cousin some ice cream...." Looking down into his blue eyes, I smile. "But as you can see... It did not go as planned. How was practice? Where's your brother?"

I listen as he tells me about his club team and how Lewis, his older brother, was in the bathroom. Collins tells me all the ins and outs of how he thinks his season will go with both of them playing on the same team and what his plans are for his eighth birthday coming up.

Just as he finishes talking to me about practice, Lewis comes out of the back door after giving Rigby a hug.

With his hockey jersey on, he looks like he's much older than he is. Only ten years old but so incredibly wise beyond his years.

Never in my life did I think I'd be standing here in my backyard, celebrating thirty eight years of marriage with my best friend and the mother to all three of my children.

Our family felt so complete with just Rory and Finn.

Truly, it was perfect.

But the night that Rigby said she didn't want pineapple on her pizza and said the thought of it made her want to throw up, we both knew.