Slipping Through My Fingers

Bonus Chapter Two

"I'm a happily married man with children. I have no life."

I dismissed his comment and watched as people walked around my house in a rush. I had a full house today. And when I mean full-house, I mean I had every person I knew running around in a hurry, all seeming to epitomize madmen as they dressed themselves and whatnot.

Unfortunately, when I told people that they could use my house as a place to get ready for today, they all took my invite seriously and brought their children along, too. I'm kidding, I love that they were all here with me.

But I was glad I was almost finished, and the kids were all dressed too and waiting in their rooms.

"Jace!"

"Yeah?!"

"Can you come and dress your daughter?!"

"I'm coming!"

And that was the way communication worked around here. But I absolutely loved the rush. Jace stood up from the couch and sought his wife and daughter.

I sat alone on the couch and watched as people from stages of my life walked to and from a variety of places, organising their hair and make-up and dresses and so on.

Cam and Chloe saw me and emerged from their husbands as they sat.

"Are you sad?"

"No."

"But he's your little brother."

"I know. Should I be sad? I mean, I haven't felt anything yet."

"Then you're probably sad." They grinned simultaneously.

I laughed along with them and shrugged, making sure not to lean all the way back so I wouldn't wreck the hair design I was currently sporting.

"I'm happy for them, but my little brother is officially going to become a married man. And the other one is following his footsteps in six months! I can't just not feel nostalgic. This is a big deal."

They stayed silent for a few moments before Cam nodded her head in agreement.

"That's true. He is your first brother getting married."

"Um, hello? Who am I then?" Jace frowned as he walked past us carrying his daughter.

We laughed at the offence he took and dismissed him away.

The girls were summoned for their last touch up for makeup before I had to leave to the kids' rooms to make sure they were all dressed. My eldest boys, Daniel and Andy were playing on their Xbox dressed in their tuxedos. They looked very dashing and of course today they would be exploring their options with all the girls that would be coming. I couldn't believe they were already thirteen.

They looked beyond their age, with growth hitting them quite early as they already towered over me. They were spitting images of their father; however bits of my personality seemed to weave into them. The triplets after them – Isaac, Savannah and Arielle were eight years old already. And then there was Damon who was seven, Flynn who was six and my youngest, Layla, who was four.

You could definitely say Nate and I had been very, very busy. But that was it – we had eight replicates of ourselves and we vowed to stop the babies because the stress levels were unbelievable. But I thank God every day at how well-behaved they turned out.

Isaac and Damon were hanging around with Adam's sons just as he approached me.

"How are you going?"

"Why does everyone think I'm going to breakdown or something?"

"Remember when Jace graduated high school? Or when he graduated college? Or when he announced his engagement? Or when he got married? Or when his wife fell pregnant? Or when Liam and Mike graduated? Or Liam proposed to Sienna? Or Mike announcing his-"