Opposite of Close(short story)

Chapter 2

           

The nightmare was a memory of my birthday many years before. It was a nice dream, but what made it a nightmare is because it left a searing pain in my heart.

I feel some weight and on me and a pair of lips touch my check, neck, and chest. I open my eyes and see his beautiful ones. He never needed to lay on top of me to take my breath away.

"Happy Birthday," he whispers and with his eyes it was pure love.

I smile, "Thank you." He lowers his lips onto mine and I hug him close as he kisses me.

It was a small moment, but it left me gasping in pain. There were a few things I knew.

I missed him. He probably had someone else now. And birthday's sucked.

My doorknob started to jiggle and all the sudden I hear a body fall onto the floor. And it started the crying. I quickly get out of bed and open the door to see Carlos had slipped and Wendy was sitting next to him with wide eyes. I scoop Carlos up just as Jose ran up the stairs.

"Tia," Carlos tiredly says all the sudden. I kiss his cheek and he rests his head onto my shoulder as I sway him back and forth.

Wendy looks up at me and smiles, "Food."

I throw my head back and laugh and nod. I hold her hand as we head down the stairs and she rushes into the kitchen.

I follow after her and see Leila cooking she smiles warmly, "Happy Birthday."

I blush and thank her. The kid's eyes widen and Carlos wiggles out of my arms. I let him down and watch him and Wendy dance around trying to sing happy birthday. It was a mix of English and Spanish.  I laugh and give them both a bunch of kisses.

I help feed the kids and eat a little bit myself.

"We going to see the toro?" Carlos asks. Leila smiles gently at him and nods.

She leans down and whispers into his ears, "Well, Tia Maya is probably going to take a nap first. Why don't you both go to the store and get some food with papa?"

They both nod their heads and start heading into their rooms. Leila starts to follow them out and looks at me, "Those three shopping will take a while so don't be afraid of how much you sleep for."

I nod my head and head back to bed. It was ten already and I felt like I've been awake for multiple hours.

The nap was nice and when I woke up around one Leila was cleaning the living room.

"Hey, they still aren't back yet?" I ask. She smiles and then I hear the small voices from outside.

She smiles, "You can probably go back to sleep. They probably are needing a nap."

I laugh and shake my head, "No I need to stay awake. I need sleep tonight." I sit next to her and look at my phone. My heart wanted to call him, but I knew better than to give into that. Face to face would be better if I wanted to confess my still undying love for him. And to also see if he was seeing anyone.

The two little kids rush into the house and run over to me, "Are we going to see the toro?"

Leila smiles as do I and I nod my head, "Not right now. But we will leave after you two take naps."

Their eyes widen and they look at their mother, "I'm ready to nap." She widens her eyes at them with a raised eyebrow.

She takes them to their rooms and then after a few moments she comes back, "They were exhausted somehow."

Jose comes into the room, "Because they had a blast with me at the store." He sits on my lap and hugs me.

We sit there and talk and I show them pictures of Norway and some of Europe. They both enjoy the pictures and I tell them all about my adventure there. Soon it was three and Leila looks towards me, "I'd go get ready because once when they are awake. They are going to be quick."

I nod my head and head up to my room. I put on some jeans, an old t-shirt, and some tennis shoes. I walk down to see Jose frowning at my outfit, "Where are your boots?"

I don't answer and avoid his eyes. I left them when I left.

He nods slowly understanding and I hear the little clunking of the two kids walking in cowboy boots down the hall. They both had on jeans and button up western shirts. They were cute.

Jose smiles and starts to cover them in kisses which makes them giggle.  He looks at me and warmly says, "Take care of them. They will help you with their car seats and watch out for Carlos because he knows how to unbuckle himself. Carlos, no unbuckling yourself okay?"

He nods proudly and I smile, "Come on!"

They both run to my side and we head to the car. Jose buckles Carlos while I figure out Wendy's.

"Tia, where's your hat?" Wendy asks.

I look up at her and smile, "I lost it." Her eyes widen and she frowns. "But that's okay."

She nods her head and smiles. I finish buckling her in and then hug Jose and he smirks while saying, "Good luck. They are monsters."

I roll my eyes and shake my head, "I'll be fine. I'm a teacher."

He gives me a pointed look, "For high schoolers.

I laugh and nod my head, "I worked at the daycare remember? I'll be fine. If I'm not I'll call for backup. You guys should join us for bull riding. I can text you when it starts and save a few seats."

He nods his head agreeing, "Yeah we should. It's been a while."

I smile and kiss his cheek, "See you in a bit."

He smiles softly and nods his head, "Bye go. The kids are too excited for this."

I laugh then drive off. Carlos and Wendy sang on the way there and my heart was threatening to burst because of how cute they were. I park the car and Carlos unbuckles his seat belt and starts trying to unbuckle Wendy's.

I give Carlos a serious look, "Thank you for waiting until the car stopped, but next time wait for me to tell you that you can unbuckle okay?"

He nods his head with a frown and I lean forward to kiss his cheek then help him down. I held the two's hands and paid for my entrance and we started to look at all of the animals. They loved being able to pet some of them and then I took some pictures of them with the animals. I send a quick text to Jose telling them that the rodeo part was about to start.

I quickly wash the kid's hands and buy some waters and put them in my backpack. When Jose came I was going to tell him to get food before he sat down for the kids. I wanted to get it now, but the kids were ready to go sit in the stands to watch.