Two Can Play at this Game (Matthew Espinosa)

Epilouge

My dreams are clouded with memories of how Matt and I were before everything, when I hated him and I never actually did. I always dream about how I changed him, for the better he always say. I can feel his arm around me in my sleep and it warms me even more than the thick blanket lying on top of us.

My beautiful sleep and quiet time with Matt are disturbed by his groaning and crying from the room across the hall. "Katherine this is not the time," I mutter to my baby that can't even hear nor understand me. She is only four months after all.

"I'll cover it babe," Matt assures as he kisses my cheek and gets out of bed to calm down or feed or change or do whatever the heck it takes to get Katherine to stop screaming for China to hear. I hear Matt grunt as I watch a little figure run into his legs.

"Really?" I sigh and cover my face with my hands. "Alex too?" I complain at the fact that my two year old has woken up too. He pushes past Matt and I see a teddy bear fly up onto our bed and then a small kid struggle to crawl up and cuddle with me. I grab underneath his armpits and pull him to me.

"Mommy," he says in his small voice.

"Yeah baby?" I ask, stroking his hair that is the same exact color as Matt's.

"Kaferine is loud," he whines and I chuckle at him not being able to pronounce her name correctly.

"I know," I respond as Katherine's cries begin to soften to whimpers until the sound is gone completely.

"She's asleep," Matt yawns as he joins me in bed.

I nod tiredly and slip into sleep once again.

•••••

I wake up with Alex next to me. His full name is Alexander Lee Espinosa and Katherine's is Katherine Louise Espinosa. I love that their last name is Espinosa, and that mine is as well. My love for him hasn't seemed to die down at all since I first fell in love with the supposed "bad boy" who actually turned out to be a total softie.

I climb out of bed, noticing that Matt is already out and in the kitchen. I can smell the bacon he's making for me already. I smile down at Alex and begin to tickle him and he jolts awake in a fit of giggles and squirming. I pick him up and kiss his cheek, keeping him in my arms and carry him to the kitchen. I set him in his chair with a little booster that's not exactly a high-chair. He says he's too old for those.

I place a small bowl of Cheerios without milk or anything in them. He likes to eat them dry and with his fingers. Being a mother I've realized that raising children means excessive amounts of Cheerios.

I walk up to a shirtless Matt and wrap my arms around him, kissing his back gently. I feel his muscles relax beneath my touch.

"Good morning beautiful," he greets without even looking at me. It's what he says to me every single morning, despite me looking like crap every morning when he seems to wake up looking absolutely perfect.

I smile against him and walk to Kat's room to wake her and bring her to breakfast. The moment I open the white door she begins to cry. I sigh loudly and walk to the crib in her light pink room and lightly pick her up and bring her to my chest and walk out of her room that smells Johnson's baby lotion soap and baby powder.

I sit her down in her bright pink high-chair and stare into her eyes that are still crystal blue, and haven't changed to their normal color yet. Alex's turned into a dark color like mine.

After feeding her some kind of Gerber's Apple mush stuff, I let her play with a purple bumpy rubber toy that allows her to chew at it with her pink gums. I stand back and admire the two children that I made myself. They're so beautiful.

I feel Matt appear behind me and wrap his arms around my waist and now stretch-marked stomach with excess fat from two pregnancies, but it was all worth it, and Matt still loves me.

"We should make another sometime soon," he offers cheekily. I lean into his chest and giggle while playfully reaching up to slap his chest. He catches my hand and pulls me into a hug, the top of my hair. It's moments like this I will cherish forever and ever. I know for a fact that Matt and I will grow old together and be the old couple that still holds hands and that young teenagers "aw" at as we go on lunch dates and still kiss. The thought makes my heart warm while also scaring me, knowing that I'm going to grow older, much older soon.

I remind myself to calm down because I'm only 25 and not going anywhere anytime soon.

I jump and turn around as I hear a thump and scattering things on the floor as Alex giggles wildly. He knocked the remains of his Cheerios on the floor like usual.

I sigh loudly. "We need to get those bowls that don't spill things that are on the commercials all the time," I suggest.

"Those things never work," Matt says as he rushes to clean the mess up.

"No!" I shout realizing that I was too slow.

"Dad point for me!" Matt yells as he cleans the remains of the small o's on the ground. I face-palm and shake my head.

I mark his point on the fridge, putting him one point above me. "I thought you were one behind me?" I question.

"Nope I helped Katherine last night." He smiles and puts the Cheerios in the trash and bowl in the sink.

"Crap," I sigh.

When either of us do something to help the kids we get mom and dad points. The winner at the end of each month gets a whole day of not doing any child work, that involves feeding, changing, helping in the night. Matt was a point ahead and the end of the month was in two days. It's just a cute little game we play with many rules to it.

I realized that a lot of our life together has been a game, or a competition with each other, but it's okay. I'm just happy I never had to experience things on my own or play certain games on my own.

I mean, what fun is a game without two players?

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Omfg it's over! I'm so sad but so happy at the same time!!!

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-Lxx