two days later
"Alright, so...bedtime is at eight—no later, and I put their pajamas out on their suitcases for you. Uh, let's see." Ally turned to her husband, who was itching to leave Trish's house so they could squeeze in a date during their vacation. "Is there anything else I'm missing?" she asked. "Obviously you guys have our numbers in case of an emergency—"
"Ally."
"What?"
"They're going to be fine," Austin assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's just for a few hours. What could go wrong?"
Ally raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want me to answer that question?"
"It's Trish and Dez. They're the most responsible people we know."
"Are we talking about the same Trish and Dez?" Ally asked.
Austin ignored her. "Can we please get going now?" he put a hand on the small of her back and pushed her out the door. "The kids are going to be fine. They'll have Trish and Dez to watch them, and Darrie and Maggie are here to keep them company, too." He turned to the kids, who were immersed in a show on TV. Dez stood behind the couch, occasionally laughing when one of the cartoon characters would do something funny. Trish, who was standing right behind them, rolled her eyes.
"Go on, get out of here, lovebirds," she said, pushing them both toward the front door.
"But—wait—did I mention that I have a binder with instructions on what to do in every possibly emergency situa—" The door slammed shut and Trish locked it, brushing her hands off.
"Alright, now that they're finally gone, it's time to kick it Aunt Trish style!" Trish exclaimed, reaching for the remote and clicking the TV off. "Who's ready to get this party started?"
"Hey," Darrie spoke up, looking back at her, "We were watching that!"
"Yeah," Dez added, "We were about to get to my favorite part!" He narrowed his eyebrows at Trish. "Meanie."
Trish rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm the worst person ever. But hey, I have a much better idea of what we could do." She turned back to the kids, smirking. "Who wants to listen to Hamilton?"
/
"Wow, this place is nice," Ally mused as they stepped into the restaurant. It was fancier than any restaurant they'd been to in a long time, maybe even ever. Around the room were circular tables with off-white tablecloths, and a grand piano sat in the far right corner. Waiters in tuxes bustled every which way, bringing food and drinks to the tables. Only about half of the tables were occupied, and the atmosphere was fairly quiet except for the faint sound of music in the background.
"Hi," Austin said when they got to the podium at the entrance to the main dining room, "We have a reservation under Austin Moon." The hostess smiled and looked through the reservation book.
"Here you are, Mr. Moon," she replied, grabbing two menus. "Right this way." Austin and Ally followed her to a table in the back right, near the piano. She handed them their menus and told them a waiter would be with them shortly.
"We should come to fancy places like this more often," Austin mused as he took a sip of the ice water they'd just been given by the waiter. He handed them each menus and told them he would be back to take their orders, then disappeared into the kitchen.
"Yeah," Ally agreed. "Though, I'm not sure we could afford to eat at places like this all the time. This chicken parm is, like, thirty dollars." Austin shrugged.
"That's not that bad. Thirty dollars is thirty dollars. We can afford it." He turned the back of the menu over and he frowned. "Aw, how come there's no kids menu? I wanted some chicken nuggets."
"Because, this isn't a place meant for kids, Austin," she replied, grinning a little at her husband's childishness. "I'm sure there's something else on the menu that you'd like." Austin scanned the menu.
"I don't even understand what half this stuff is," he said, probably louder than he should have. "All I want are some chicken nuggets. How hard can it be to put freakin' chicken nuggets on the menu?" A few people turned their heads and Austin's cheeks went pink. "Sorry," he squeaked.
Ally gave him a look. "Austin, people are staring." He nodded then inhaled and exhaled deeply.
"Right. Sorry."
/
"No, no, no, no, no." Trish stared at Dez blankly. He raised an eyebrow. "No."
Trish crossed her arms. "Fine. You can pick the activity now if I get to pick it later." Dez scratched the back of his head, narrowing his eyes at Trish.
"I feel like this is a trick."
"No, dumbo, it's not a trick! I'm just saying, either we listen to Hamilton now or later. Your call."
"Why do we have to listen to it at all?" Dez whined. "Musicals are boring." He paused and his face lit up. "But you know what's not boring?"
Trish put a hand on her hip. "What?"
"Having a Zalien movie marathon!" Dez flashed a smile and did jazz hands. Trish shrugged.
"I don't know. Don't you think those movies are kind of violent for our kids, who are between the ages of three and five? I think Ally would literally kill us if we let Alex watch a PG-13 movie."
"Why not? The Zaliens movies are classics. Besides, they're not that violent," Dez argued.
"I can't count on both my hands the number of people get their brains sucked in every movie. Need I say more?"
"Fine," Dez huffed, "Whatever. Play your stupid musical." He glared at her and Trish grinned as she connected her phone to the Bluetooth speaker and pressed play.
/
"We should do something special for our anniversary this year," Ally mused as she cut her chicken and took a bite of it with her fork. "Every year we always end up staying in, ordering pizza, and watching a movie because of something work or kid-related."
"What's wrong with that?" Austin asked, his mouth full. "I've liked our last few anniversary celebrations."
"It's not special if it's something we pretty much do every week," Ally said. "Every Saturday is 'stay in, order pizza, and watch a movie' day, remember? We should actually go out and do something to celebrate. What is this, year nine? That's a pretty big accomplishment, if you ask me. Especially being married to you." She smirked.
Austin broke out into a smile, somehow missing her sarcastic comment. "Ooh, I got it. What if we go out for a movie, and then go out and get pizza?"
Ally put her knife down and sighed. "You're missing the point, Austin. We haven't done something special for our anniversary since year...what, three?"
"No, I think it was two, because that was before Ava was born," said Austin, taking a sip of his water.
"Which would be...six years ago this December," Ally finished. His eyes widened.
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe we should do something special."
Ally raised an eyebrow. "I told you." They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both eating their meals until Ally spoke up again. "I wonder what Trish, Dez, and the kids are up to?"
/
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, and I when I meet Thomas Jefferson, imma compel him to include women in the sequel. WORK!" Dez, Ava, Alex, and Darrie watched as both Trish and Maggie did every action and sang every word perfectly. Dez raised an eyebrow.
"Is this almost done yet? I wanna watch the Zalien movies!"
"Who's gonna tell him there are, like, forty more songs?" Ava whispered to her brother. Alex's eyes widened.
"Forty? That's a lot!"
"Wait, did you say forty more songs?" Dez shrieked.
"Yup," Trish said proudly. "Get comfortable, Dez, because this is your entertainment for the next two and a half hours—whether you like it or not."
"But...I don't want to!" Dez complained, throwing himself back on the couch. "I say we vote on it. Those who want to keep listening to this, say I."
"If I may," Darrie interjected, pushing the rim of his glasses up his nose, "While Hamilton the musical in and of itself is full of historical inaccuracies—like the Schuylers, for example, who had way more than three children, as it as stated in the musical— I must say, the songs are quite catchy. Plus, with me in your presence, it will be like one big history lesson rolled into one." He grinned. "Therefore, I vote that we keep it on."
"So...what are you saying?" Dez asked. Trish rolled her eyes.
"We've got one vote for Hamilton. Obviously Maggie and I are voting for it too, because it's clearly the superior form of entertainment. Ava, Alex? What about you?"
"Um, I like musicals better than alien zombies," Ava replied, "Sorry uncle Dez."
"Uh, they're zombie aliens not alien zombies. Gosh, Ava, get it right."
"Me too," Alex piped up, "This musical is about an Alex, and I'm an Alex!" Dez scoffed.
Darrie leaned in closer to Ava, whispering, "Wait 'til he finds out how it ends," into her ear. The two burst into a fit of giggles.
"Well, that's just not fair," Dez grumbled, "These two," he gestured to Ava and Alex, "are the kids of two of the most musical people we know. Of course they're gonna side with you."
Trish smirked. "Exactly. Now, if you'd excuse us, we have to get back to performing our two-woman show."
"Yeah!" Maggie yelled, jumping up and down as Trish hit play again.
/
the next day
1:00 p.m. (ish)
"Alright, guys, say goodbye to aunt Trish and uncle Dez," Ally said to her kids as they all stood out on the curb outside the airport. "Give them hugs." Trish gave Ava a side hug and Dez picked Alex up, tickling his belly.
"I'll miss you, you little he-devil." Alex giggled and Dez set him down as they switched kids. Ally then pulled her best friend in for a hug, and Austin did the same with Dez. They clapped each other on the back a few times before puling away.
"So, uh, let us know when you'll be in Miami next," Ally said after a few seconds of silence. "Your guest rooms will be waiting for you."
"Absolutely," Trish replied. "We'll be sure to take you up on that offer."
"Oh," Dez piped up, "I call the bigger one, on the top level. It's got a better view."
Ally raised an eyebrow. "Of what? It just looks out into the backyard."
"Exactly." She rolled her eyes.
"Well, we'd better get inside," Ally said after a few moments of silence. "Our flight leaves in about two hours. I'll miss you guys."
"I'll miss you more," Trish replied, bringing her in for yet another hug. When Ally pulled away there was a tear running down her cheek.
"Ugh, I hate goodbyes," Ally laughed, wiping it away.
"Hey, don't think of this as a goodbye," Trish said, "Goodbyes are sad. This is just a...see you later." Ally nodded.
"You're right. Uh, see you later, Trish." She turned to Dez and he pulled her in for a hug.
"See you later, Dez." Austin gave a quick hug to Trish, and she and Dez quickly gave another one to each of the kids, just for good measure. Once everyone had hugged everyone else at least once, Austin, Ally, Ava, and Alex headed inside the airport, dragging their suitcases behind them.
/
september 2028
two months later
"Say 'cheese'!" Ally exclaimed. She held up her camera and aimed it at her two kids, who were standing on the steps with big smiles on their faces. Today was the first day of school for both of them: preschool for Alex and kindergarten for Ava. And although Ally didn't want to admit it, she knew that she would be a wreck the second they both stepped on that bus.
So, naturally, she was putting all her energy into first day of school pictures.
"Alright, Austin, you get in there." Austin stood off to the side, still in his pajamas. His messy hair stuck out from all directions and his teeth were still unbrushed.
"Wha—me?" he asked. "No way!" He reached up to touch his hair and tried to smooth it down, then grabbed his phone and looked at himself in the front-facing camera. "I haven't even had a chance to do my hair yet!"
"C'mon," Ally said, going over to where he was standing and grabbing his arm. She pushed him over by the kids and he groaned as she snapped another picture. "Perfect! Now let's get a family selfie." She stood over by her husband and kids and smiled, hitting Austin playfully when he refused to do so. His tired, bored expression soon turned into a smile and she snapped the picture.
"Awesome. These are going in the scrapbook." She put her phone away and turned back to her family. "Now, you'd better go get dressed, mister. The bus will be here in like ten minutes."
Austin frowned. "Alex is already dressed."
"I know. I was talking to you." Austin rolled his eyes and disappeared into the house, coming back out approximately seven and a half minutes later, just as the golden yellow bus was rolling up to the curb. Ally grabbed him by his arm and dragged him out to the driveway, where they watched both Ava and Alex, along with a few of their neighborhood friends, step onto the bus. It drove away, leaving a cloud of smoke in its path and Ally stood there for a few seconds, not saying anything.
The second Austin put his arm around her, she broke down. He pulled her into his chest and held her for a few minutes until she stopped crying. She sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. Austin grinned.
"I knew you'd be a mess." She punched him lightly, let out a laugh and turned around.
"Come on, let's go back inside. We have some work to get done."
"For our music, or for A&A Records? Or for the factory?" he asked as he followed her inside.
"Yes." Ally shut the door behind them. "All of the above. We need to decide what our next step is as far as the singing career...and one of us should go into A&A Records today. Also, today is the day I usually go in and check on how things are going at the factory. It's been about a month since I've been there last." Austin plopped down on the couch.
"Wow. That's a lot."
"Eh," she said, sitting down next to him. "That's the life of a rockstar for ya."
/
later that day
a&a records
"Hey, Hailey!" Ally greeted as she walked into the recording studio to meet one of their newest clients. Although it had already almost been a year since the trial, Austin and Ally weren't able to actually sign Hailey until a month or two later. They had later learned that Jimmy had talked her into waiting to see if another record company would make her an offer, and though she had gotten a few more she had still chosen to sign with A&A Records. Ally had made the spur-of-the-moment decision to pull up the footage from the Helen Show the first time, when she had destroyed Helen's set, to show her client that it was possible to make it as a recording artist, even if you had stage fright. Hailey had thought it was hilarious and had said, right then and there, "Where do I sign?"
"Hey, Ally," she replied. Her dark brown, curly hair just barely reached her shoulders and her skin tone was lighter brown, similar to Jimmy's. Her deep brown eyes darted straight to the floor as soon as Ally walked in.
"So, how's that new song coming?" Ally asked. "It's been a while since I've seen you. Did you finish it?"
"Uh, good," Hailey said. Ally sat behind the soundboard and pulled up the demo that she'd helped Hailey record a few months earlier. "I just... have a few more things to get figured out and then it'll be done."
Ally looked over at her, giving a small grin. "If it's not ready, you can just say that. I know how hard writers' block can be sometimes. It's okay if your first song takes a while."
"Okay, then it's not done," she looked up at Ally and ran a hand through her hair. "It's not even close." She paused and Ally swiveled toward her in the chair. Hailey let out a deep sigh. "You know, I've been thinking lately that...maybe I'm not cut out for this singing career thing, after all." Ally narrowed her eyebrows. "It's just...I had such an easy time coming up with lyrics when I first started out. But now? Now my brain won't cooperate with me anymore."
"Alright," Ally replied, "We've got a good starting point here. Why don't I help you toss around some ideas, and we can see what sticks?" she smiled. "That's what always used to help me when I'd write with Austin."
Hailey smiled. "Sounds great."
/
two hours later
"Wow, Hailey...this sounds great!" Ally exclaimed as soon as Hailey had exited the recording booth. "I think this is your next big hit...your claim to fame, if you will."
"I'm so excited to release it!" Hailey squealed. "Thanks for all your help, Ally. I couldn't have done it without you." Ally grinned as she walked her client to the front doors of A&A Records.
"So, are your parents coming to pick you up?" Ally asked.
"No, my cousin Kira is. She's coming with her son, Ben. He's almost two now, and he's so adorable!" Hailey pulled out her phone to call Kira. "Me and Kira have always been close, so I'm like Ben's really cool aunt."
"Wow," Ally mused, "I didn't even know she got married." Though she and Kira had since grown apart, Ally couldn't help but wonder why Kira hadn't invited her and Austin to her wedding. She liked to think that they were still friends, but apparently not anymore.
"She'll be here in two minutes," Hailey informed her. Ally snapped out of her thoughts and grinned.
"Great."
/
A few seconds later, Ally got a text from Austin.
How's it going with Hailey? Wrapping up a meeting now. Want 2 meet in my office 4 lunch? I'm gonna order takeout :-)
Ally grinned. Sure, but come down here first. An old friend of ours is dropping by.
Austin frowned. Who could Ally possibly be talking about? Trish and Dez are both in LA. Do we even have any friends that live in Miami anymore?
His jaw dropped when he walked out into the main lobby area and saw Kira. It's Kira? The old friend she was talking about... is Kira?
When he approached the three girls, Ally was gushing about how cute Ben was. The two-year-old had a skin tone similar to Kira's and a head full of curls, just like Alex's, Austin noted. "He's so adorable," she said, touching the tight curls on the top of his head. "I remember when Ava and Alex were this little. Austin, isn't this kid just the cutest?"
"Um, y-yeah," Austin stammered as he came up beside his wife and put an arm around her, leaning on her and crossing his legs. "Oh, hey, Kira, almost didn't see you there. What's...new?"
"Hey, Austin," Kira replied, "Um, not much. I haven't seen you guys since the trial, how are you?"
"We're good," Ally said, "how are y—"
"Fantastic," Austin interrupted. "Yeah, not sure if you heard, but...we own this place." Ally's eyes shot daggers at her husband.
"Um, yeah...I kinda got that from the name. It is called A&A Records." She shifted Ben from one hip to the other. "Hailey, are you ready to go?"
"Yep," Hailey chirped, giving Ally a quick hug. "Thanks again, Ally. It's awesome getting to work with you!"
"You too, Hailey," Ally replied with a grin. "I'll see you on Friday. Keep working hard on those songs!" The couple waved at Hailey, Kira, and Ben as they exited the building. As soon as they were out of sight, Ally turned around.
"What was that about?" she asked as they started walking up to Austin's office.
"I...don't know what you mean," Austin mumbled. "Hey, for lunch, do you feel more like Italian or Chinese?"
"Austin, you're completely ignoring my question. You were acting super weird down there when we were talking to Kira." She paused. "And also, Italian. Why do you even have to ask?"
He sighed. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. It's just—when I saw her down there, I kinda freaked out. She was the reason we didn't get together in the first place, she was the one who stole me away from you. And I don't want that to ever happen again." He sat down in his desk chair, spun around once, and turned to face her again. "Ever."
Ally grinned. "Are you sure? It sounded like you were acting...jealous."
Austin raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? She should be the one that's jealous of me. I'm the one who ended up with you." Ally blushed.
"Oh, stop it." Austin cracked a smile.
"So, what did you want for lunch?"
/
an hour later
"So, we've come up with a pretty solid idea of what we want Chance's album cover to look like," said Marty, the head of the art department at the company. They'd been in a big meeting for about a half an hour now, and Marty was taking his sweet time talking about what they'd been working on. Ally leaned her head into her hand and watched as he went on and on about the different colors and designs that would surely persuade people to download and stream music from their newest client.
As she listened (or tried to, anyway), Ally felt herself slip into a daydream. All of a sudden, she wasn't at this boring meeting, she was on a tour bus with Austin and the kids.
Ally gaped at the sights of the city out the bus window as they passed by, grinning so big that her face hurt. Austin sat next to her on the couch, strumming chords on his guitar. Alex was sitting at the kitchen table, playing on his iPad, and Ava sat next to him, working on her homework. Austin stopped strumming and put his arm around her, planting a kiss on her head. She looked up and him and smiled.
"Like what you see?" he asked, setting his guitar aside.
"It's beautiful," she replied. "I can't believe we're actually in Venice. I was sad that we didn't get to go there on our last tour, but I kind of like this better." She snuggled into his shoulder and inhaled deeply. "I always wanted to give Ava and Alex the world, but when I realized I couldn't do that, I figured showing them the world would be the next best thing."
Austin nodded. "Yeah, they seem to be really loving it." Ally reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Happy ten-year anniversary, babe."
"Happy anniversary, Ally." He reached over and kissed her on the lips this time, and Ally ignored the sounds of disgust coming from the kids as she deepened it.
"Here's to many, many more." she rested her head in the crook of his neck and they watched the city go by together out the bus window.
/
"Ally...Ally..." Austin shook his wife's shoulder lightly. "Ally!"
Ally jumped and immediately composed herself, forcing herself back to reality. "Sorry, I...must've drifted off briefly." She looked at Austin, then back at Marty. "I really like that cover, Marty. Great job."
Marty forced a smile. "Awesome. I'll keep in touch with you guys about our next steps for the album cover."
"Sounds good. Thanks," Austin said. He leaned forward in his chair and glanced over the list of things they had to talk about during the meeting. "Um, okay. Next up is...Linda. How's our budget looking?"
Ally slumped over in her seat, silently wishing for this meeting to be over. She tried her best to pay attention for the rest of the meeting, but she knew that, now that she'd allowed herself to start daydreaming about going on tour again, she wouldn't be able to stop.
/
later that day
around 4 p.m.
Ava and Alex both ran excitedly up to their mom when she came to pick them up from Mike and Mimi's place, each grabbing one of her legs and hugging it tightly. Since neither of the kids were in school full-time yet, Mimi had wholeheartedly agreed to pick them up from school when the day ended and bring them back to their house.
"Hey, guys," Ally laughed, attempting to walk inside with both kids attached to her legs, "how was school?"
"It was great!" Ava exclaimed, letting go and grabbing something off the table to show to her mom. "We sang songs and did math today. And we learned how to write the letter A!" She showed Ally the piece of paper that had lowercase and uppercase As on it. Ally grabbed the paper and smiled.
"Wow, great job, Ava!" She turned to her son. "And what about you, Alex? What did you learn in preschool today?"
"I runned around outside and...and we eated lunch," Alex replied, letting go of her leg and grabbing a cracker from the table. He shoved it in his mouth and said, "I like lunch time." Cracker crumbs spewed every which way and Ally sighed, using both hands to clean up the mess he'd made. Ally turned to Mimi, who'd just entered the room.
"Sorry about him," she said, throwing the crumbs away in the trash. "He takes after his dad by making a mess everywhere he goes."
"Completely fine," Mimi replied, chuckling. She grabbed a washcloth and started to wipe the table as Ally told the kids to get their shoes on. "So, how are things going at work?"
"Uh, well, you know..." Ally murmured, "It's fine, I guess."
"It doesn't sound like things are fine." Mimi went over to the sink and wrung out the rag. "What's the matter? Is business down?"
"No, no, things are going great business-wise," Ally insisted. "It's just—as I'm working with these new clients, I really find myself missing being an artist myself. Going on tours, playing concerts...that kind of stuff. Sure, running a record company is fine, but it just gets so repetitive, sitting in meetings day after day after day..." She paused. "Wait, why am I telling you this? You probably don't care anyways." Ally started to grab her purse from the table.
"Ally, honey, of course I care! Where would you get that idea?" Mimi put a hand on her shoulder.
"I don't know... I guess back in high school when Jimmy forbid Austin from performing because he wanted to be with me, it almost seemed like you were disappointed—like you thought he made the wrong choice. And he chose to be with me over performing, of course, but when everybody was assigning blame for what had happened, all fingers seemed to point to me." Mimi pulled out a chair and gestured for Ally to sit down. She did, and Mimi sat across from her.
"Ally, I'm going to be straight with you: when Austin wasn't allowed to perform, he was a wreck. He'd mope around the house and we'd find him strumming his guitar in his room, just staring at the wall." Ally looked down at her hands and fiddled with them a bit. "But you were the one keeping him sane that whole time. Ally, he chose you over music. He chose you over what was his whole entire world, and suddenly, you were his whole world." Ally grinned.
"Wow. Wasn't expecting this when I came to pick up the kids today." Mimi laughed and stood up, pulling Ally in for a quick hug.
"My point in all of that was, Austin absolutely adores you. And if you had something to say to him, just say it. He won't be disappointed, I promise."
"Thanks, Mimi. I really needed that."
"No problem, sweetheart." Mimi waved goodbye to Ally and the kids, and shut her front door, the smile still on her face. When Austin and Ally had first started dating, she'd had her doubts about their relationship. But when he'd sacrificed his career for her, that's when she knew that he was serious. That's when she knew they were each other's world.
/
later that night
around 9:00 p.m.
"Well, you've been awfully quiet tonight," Austin observed as he came back down the stairs from putting the kids to bed. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Ally responded, only half-listening as she did some work on her laptop. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You didn't say a word the entire ride home." Ally finally closed her laptop, sighing.
"I'm fine, Austin, I promise."
"But...you were daydreaming during the meeting today. That's not like you."
Ally shook her head, throwing it back as she exhaled deeply. She knew now that there was no way out of this conversation, and although she wasn't dreading it, she knew what Mimi had said about being honest with Austin was true. "I was daydreaming about going on tour again."
Austin perked up a bit. "Y-you were? I thought you were fine with just staying here and running the company."
"I was," Ally said, "like a year or two ago. But now...I'm not quite sure. I didn't think I'd ever miss being an artist—all the tours and interviews and concerts and press and paparazzi following you everywhere—"
"Ally," he interrupted, putting a hand on her leg. "I get it. You miss not having to sit in meetings all day." She nodded. "If I'm being honest...I miss that, too."
A small smile crept onto her face. "You do?"
"Of course, I do, Ally. Performing was my entire life." He sighed. "I've been feeling this way for a while, too. I didn't want to bring it up to you, because I thought that you liked where we were and what we were doing."
Ally nodded. "I do," she replied, scootching closer to him, "I like where we live, and I like what we've got going on here," she gestured between them, and he grinned, "...I like that your parents are so close, because that means free babysitters."
"That part is pretty awesome."
"But I just want a bit more...freedom, y'know? Flexibility so we can go on tours every once in a while, and bring the kids along." She paused. "I wanted to give Ava and Alex the world, but since I can't do that...why not show them the world?" Austin grinned.
"I completely agree." He absentmindedly stroked her hair. "How are we gonna do that, though? We're so busy all the time."
"Why don't we just...figure that out later?" Ally suggested. "For now, I'm content with the idea of it. Hashing out the details can wait."
Austin nodded. "Yeah. Sounds great."
/
one month later
mid-october
"Hey, Ava," Ally greeted as she came into the kitchen one afternoon after bringing the kids back home from Mike and Mimi's place. "What are you working on?"
"Um, homework," Ava responded, going back to tracing the letters on her worksheet. Ally had been hovering a bit more lately, constantly asking what her daughter was up to, whether she needed help on her homework, etc. Ava was only five, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't annoyed by her mom's constant badgering. After all, this was kindergarten, and Ava was quite smart for her age. She hardly ever needed help with anything, whether school-related or not.
"Ooh, that's fun," Ally observed, sitting down next to her at the table. "Do you need any help?"
"No, mom," Ava replied, "It's really easy." Ally frowned, but stayed put in her spot, watching Ava trace the letters.
When Austin came in the door and greeted them, Ally barely glanced his way. He frowned, went over to the girls, and placed a kiss on each of their heads.
"Where's Alex?" he asked, patting Paris on the head when she came up to meet him, panting excitedly.
"At a friend's house," Ally said absentmindedly. "He said he doesn't even have any homework. I mean, what are they even doing at preschool if it's not learning?"
Austin raised an eyebrow. "Do you even hear yourself? It's preschool. They learn how to share and clean up after themselves." He paused. "I think. I don't really remember preschool." Austin shook his head. "Anyway, why do you even care so much? Just let him be a kid. Think about it. Before we know it, he's going to be learning how to drive." The two of them sat for a few seconds in silence. Austin shuddered. "Actually, don't think about it. The idea of that is terrifying." Ally nodded.
"I know. But I'm their mom! I'm supposed to help them with stuff."
"I know you're just trying to help, Als. But if you ask me, you've been a little too helpful lately."
"How?" she asked. "What's wrong with constantly asking your family what they need help with and offering to do things for them 24/7?" Austin raised an eyebrow. "Oh."
"Yeah." He paused, suddenly remembering what time of the year it was and looked at his phone. Ohhh, that's why. "Um, I think maybe we should talk. In private." Ally nodded and the two of them went into the laundry room, shutting the door behind them but not all the way. It was still open about an inch.
Austin exhaled slowly, leaning up against the dryer. Just bring it up subtly, he told himself. Don't upset her. "This is about the miscarriage, isn't it?" Ally's eyes widened. You idiot. That was not subtle!
"Um..." Ally stuttered, racking her brain for something, anything to say in response to that. "Yeah... how'd you know?"
"Ally," he said gently, "It's October. That's when we moved into the house. We both know that." She sighed and threw her hands up.
"Alright, you got me. I was putting all my effort into helping you guys so it wouldn't be brought up. There, are you happy?" Ally's eyes watered as Austin pulled her into a silent hug, both wrapping their arms around the other.
"No," he replied after a minute of silence, "Ally, I'm never happy when you're upset. It makes me sad to see you that way. You know that." They pulled away, both attempting to compose themselves.
"Gah, I don't even know why I'm like this." Ally sniffled. "It happened so long ago, you know? I wish it didn't still hurt." Austin nodded slightly and reached for her hand.
"I think it'll always hurt a little bit," he said. "It hurts for me, too. But Als, you've gotta stop blaming yourself. That'll only make it worse."
Alex burst in the house, his curly blond hair shiny and sticking to his forehead. He ran over to Ava, who made a face and pushed him away. "Where's mommy and daddy?" he asked, looking around.
"They're in the laundry room, Alex," Ava replied, annoyance in her tone. "Talking about stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" he pressed, glancing over at the door.
"I don't know," Ava huffed, "Go shower. You're smelly!"
"No, you're smelly!" Alex mocked, stepping toward the laundry room. Ava looked back at him.
"Alex, they're talking about adulty stuff," she said, "Stay over here."
Alex crept closer to the door and stood against the wall, grinning mischievously.
"Who said I was blaming myself?" Ally was asking. "We lost a baby at twelve weeks, one of the most common times that miscarriages happen, like the doctor said. It was...it was completely coincidental." Alex's eyes widened, and he ran back over to his sister.
"Ava, they're talking about a baby!" he whispered, but it was really more of a whisper-yell because he wasn't yet capable of talking softly.
Ava narrowed her eyebrows. "What?" she asked. Alex beckoned her over to where he'd been standing before, and they both stood, backs pressed to the wall and ears eagerly listening.
"I think you're in denial," Austin said. Ally stared down at the floor and watched a tear land squarely in the middle of one of the tiles. "Maybe you should...see someone about it."
"I..I don't know, Austin. It's kind of a sore subject for me. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable sharing my deepest regrets with a stranger."
Austin shrugged. "I dunno. Just a suggestion." He pushed himself out from the dryer and headed towards the laundry room door. "Might be something to think about."
Ava's eyes widened and she pulled her brother away as Austin stepped out of the laundry room. "Tag, you're it!" she yelled. Alex started to chase after her and they ran out the back door, down the steps, and into the yard, where they circled the perimeter a few times before she stopped short. "Whew, that was close."
Alex, though, didn't stop and ran right into her, knocking them both to the ground. Ava stood and helped him up as she stared back at the house. "Mom and dad have a secret," she said. Alex touched his head, whimpering a little in pain.
"Ow," he mumbled, ignoring what his sister was saying. Ava shook her head, rolling her eyes at her brother.
"We need to find out what it is." Alex nodded, but Ava knew that what she'd said had gone in one ear and out the other. "Come on, let's go back inside."
/
later that night
"Hey," Austin said as he climbed into bed beside Ally that night. She gave him a knowing grin, but he could tell that it was fake. "Have you thought any more about...what I said earlier?"
Ally put her book down and took her glasses off. "A little."
"And?"
"I think that...it might be worth trying."
Austin felt a grin creep onto his face. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He put an arm around her. "I realized that I was dwelling on it too much and that's what made me go all crazy like that." She sighed. "This whole thing has been hard, don't get me wrong, but acceptance has been the hardest part of it. And I think I need some help with that." She leaned into him and he kissed her forehead. After a pause, she added, "I think some of it also may have to do with the fact that my own mom was never around, you know? My dad was at the store a lot too, and I was just..." she sighed. "Alone a lot. I don't want that for my kids."
Austin nodded knowingly. "Yeah. Well, I'm proud of you for telling me all that. Being honest is hard sometimes." She nodded and yawned, letting herself nod off to sleep in the comfort of his arms. A minute or so later, Austin felt his eyes start to get heavy, too. He lay her down gently, covered her with the blanket, shut off the lamp on the bedside table, and drifted off to sleep a few minutes later.
/
lol sorry this last part was a bit of a downer but I felt like it was important to say. Never be afraid to get help if you're struggling with something, no matter how scared you think you are. It can actually help a lot to talk to someone about it!
All that aside, I am sad to say that the next chapter will unfortunately be the last :( I wanted to again say thank you to everyone who has read this book, and also commented and voted because it means the world to me. When I got the idea for this, I hadn't written in a couple of months and this kept me motivated and excited about writing. That's all because of you guys, and I'm honestly proud of what I've created here. Remember to vote, comment, etc. It always makes my day! -Ej