Summer Love Potion

14 years later

**14 years later**

Dree was sitting outside watching the sun come up, he does that a lot actually. We had just got into a fight and he was trying to cool off. Hanna and Beth were in their rooms sleeping, they are our twin girls, and I was standing at the door watching Dree. I loved him with all my heart but recently he seemed really stressed I mean I would too if I just got promoted to manager, and he is actually younger than most of the people he bosses around. I walked inside and the clock said 7am. I knew that William and Thomas would be up running like they do every morning so I picked up the phone and called their house phone hoping to catch them before they headed out. It rang forever and I was beginning to believe that maybe they had already left until the phone was answered. "Hello?"

"Oh hey Mickey"

"Hey Aunt Polly" Mickey was Thomas and William's adopted son and he was fifteen now they adopted him when he was five. "Has your Dads left yet?"

"Yupp just missed them"

"Oh..."

"You have another fight with Dree?"

"Yeah....he is really stressed sweetie"

"I know...how are Hanna and Beth?"

"Good...well I guess I better go talk to him love you bye"

"Bye Aunt Polly"

I slowly made my way outside. Dree turned to look at me and I smiled, mentally sighing when he smiled back. I grabbed his hand and rested my head on his shoulder. "Polly I think I am going to quit my job"

"Why?"

"It stresses me out and....I just I don't want to fight with you anymore baby"

"Okay if that is really what you want"

"I mean maybe I could ask for my old job back I really loved it"

"I am sure they will let you....better that than lose the best worker they have"

Dree laughed "I am not the best"

"So are"

We kissed and walked back inside to see Beth reaching into the fridge. I walked over to help her get a glass and poured her milk for her. Our girls were eight years old, Mickey was fifteen. Maya and Chris's daughter Rosie was twelve. Kate had a son too his name was Jonas and he was twelve, Kate had him when she was sixteen. I was so proud of my family. All of the kids were close mostly Rosie and Mickey and Jonas since they were really close in age. Kate and I joked that Rosie and Jonas would end up together but I kind of sensed that maybe Rosie...didn't like guys....If you understand. Maya worked at the high school as a librarian and Chris worked as a kindergarden teacher at the elementray school. William and Thomas owned their own gym and Dree worked at a car dealership as the manager...well ex manager and I babysat kids on my free time and Kate was a nurse at the local hospital. We were all happy and even though we were happy it didnt mean we weren't having problems. Mom had a heart attack a few months ago and Beth has asthma. We all have daily struggles like when William and Thomas almost got a divorce because they argued all the time about money but they talked it out and worked harder at making the gym sucessful and it worked. I was home most of time since I didn't have an actual job...so after school Rosie, Jonas, and Mickey would come home with Beth and Hanna. Kate, Maya, and Thomas also paid me to tutor them if they needed it. So they would come home and have a snack and then start on homework so I was literally busy with homework until Rosie left at 5, when Dree would come home, and then Mickey left at 5:30 and then at 6 I would start cooking food while Jonas and the girls watched tv or most times fought over the tv. 6:30 would come and Kate would come get Jonas and then I would have food on the table around 7. We ate and then the girls started getting ready for bed and finishing up any homework they had left and be in bed by 9 or 9:30. Dree and I sat up until 10 and then went to bed. I loved the way everything worked out and I was really thankful of my kids and when I say kids I mean all of them not just the ones that live under our roof. Morning would come and I would wake up at 5 with Dree and pack his lunch and then he would get ready for work and leave. I would get the girls up at exactly 6 so I would lay back down until then. They would be gone at 7 and would be home at 3. I would usually have two kids over until 2 and then I would relax. Weekends were different. Fridays when the kids came home everyone would come over and just hang out at our house until 9 and then go home. Most of the time the girls had friends stay the night or Rosie would stay. Saturdays well they were always different and then sundays were like that too. Summer time was everyones favorite because I was always home so they stayed over here all day swimming or sometimes I would buy them ice cream. I loved being everyones mom. Anyway after I helped Beth get her drink she went back upstairs. It was saturday and that meant that Dree didn't have work and the girls didn't have school. "Hey lets go to the zoo!" I said grabbing Dree's hand tightly. He laughed "Why?"

"To see the lions, and monkeys"

"You and the girls are monkeys....why do I need to go then"

I shoved him and he laughed "Seriously can we go?"

"I don't see why not"

I went to Beth's room and woke her up and then went to Hanna's room and woke her up too. I put on some tights and a white shirt and tennis shoes. Beth came downstairs her red hair pulled up into a bun she was wearing a black shirt and white shorts with white flipflops. Hanna had her curly black hair lose around her shoulders. She was in a blue dress with boots on. Dree was in a regular shirt and pants and shoes nothing too big for him. As we drove to the zoo the radio was on and Hanna was singing like always "Life's a tangled web of cell phone calls and hash tag I dont knows and you your so caught up in blinking lights and dial tones!"

Beth was tapping her foot and I could see the wheels turning in her head of a new dance to go with this song. Hanna loves boy bands, singing, and reading and being with a group of people at all times. Beth loves dancing, reading, writing, more of the emo type bands and she likes being alone most of the time. My girls were so so very different but yet best friends.

***

After we finished hanging out at the zoo we ate ice cream and went to the park. Hanna and Beth were both active, because of there Uncle Thomas and William. I was bored watching the girls run around so I called them over. "Want to preform?"

They nodded excitedly. I turned on the music on my phone and Hanna started singing "Your secret tattoo the way you change moods the songs that you sing when youre all along he knows how you dance in front of your friends but baby baby does he know you can move it like that" Beth started out with slow turns and ballet but switched and started dancing faster. People stopped to watch them and when it was over they were tired and ready to go home. It was 3pm now and I was tired as well.

***

Later that night I was reading to Hanna while Dree was reading to Beth. I kissed Hanna's head and then headed to Beth's room to tuck her in. Dree was leaving her room and heading toward Hanna's room. We stopped and he kissed my cheek "I love you"

"I love you too"

I could spend the rest of forever saying that.