Divya
"Mama is sleeping on Andy." I heard Amar giggle.
"I know, Let's go, play ball," Alex replied and I heard their footsteps recede.
I tried to get up and stop them, but the bed was clutching me tight not letting me get up. I immediately opened my eyes and lifted my head up and saw Andrew's face.
Did we sleep all night like this? His heartbeat was the best lullaby to sleep off. My head is on his chest, his arms around me helping him to not fall off the couch at the same time comforting me.
I wiggled myself out of his hold and got out the couch without disturbing him and moved his legs completely on the couch, so he can sleep in a better position.
I stood there looking at his face, He looks angry in his sleep, eyes scrunching and a scowl on his face. I want to wake him up and end his bad dream, but he didn't sleep properly, so I set his eyebrows to normal with my fingers and left him to sleep.
I got out of the bathroom, went to Amar's room, and found Alex and Amar playing with Danny who was wide awake, giggling with his brothers.
"MAMA!"
"Diya!"
Amar and Alex came to me as soon as they saw me. Aunty Divya is really long for Alex, so he calls me Diya.
I bent down and kissed them good morning and sent them to the bathroom to brush their teeth. In the meanwhile, I picked up Danny, cleaned him up and gave him his milk bottle, and placed him on the kitchen counter.
I started preparing breakfast, and Saturday is our pancake day. Alex and Amar came in and sat on the breakfast stools waiting for their pancakes talking about random stuff.
"I would love to wake up to this smell and sound every day," Andrew said in a raspy and sexy morning voice.
I turned around from the stove to look at him, His voice made 3 people smile and one just babbled at him.
He looks like he just walked out of a photo shoot with his messy hair and a sleepy look. Amar and Alex yelled his name in excitement and he picked both of them in his arms and started talking to them animatedly.
"Andrew, Why don't you go and freshen up while I make some food," I told him and he left.
I fed all the boys and sent them to the backyard to play for some time, Danny is napping on the kitchen island.
I started making some pancakes for Andrew after drinking some coffee.
"Those smell really good!" Andrew said.
I could smell the musky citrus scent and fresh minty breath coming from behind. He changed into normal clothes, he is wearing a Khaki Jogger with a black shirt.
I just smiled at his compliment and gave him a plate with a Nutella stuffed pancake, topped with strawberries and Banana.
"Did you eat?" He asked me taking the plate from my hand and I nodded horizontally.
"You eat that, and teach me how to make these pancakes for you." He said and moved me away from the stove, hovering over it not giving me any space to get in.
I've always been taught to eat after all the men in the house, My mom never sat and ate along with my dad. And Andrew wants to learn how to make food for me and on top of that he wants me to eat first. Was I brought up wrong or Is Andrew different?
I am standing beside him teaching him how to flip a pancake. So far he burnt 2 of them and broke 4.
"I did it! My first pancake. Whohoo! Let me decorate it for you." He yelled in happiness and added some strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream.
"There you go, my lady! Bon appetit." He said placing the plate in front of me and bowed.
I felt happy and proud of the respect he gave me. No one in my life ever treated me like this.
Men cooking and cleaning should be normalized, It's their house and their food too, they are not doing any favor by helping out. It's their responsibility, not a choice.
"What are we doing next?" Andrew asked me after we were done eating, I just shrugged at him not being able to answer after such a heavy breakfast.
I called out the kids, so they can give input on what to do.
"What do you guys wanna do today?" I asked them, taking away the ball from their hands to grab their attention. Both of them glared at me.
"Maaa" My son whined.
"You so mean Diya, just like Papa!" Alex stomped his foot which made Andrew chuckle and I gasped at his accusation.
Andrew made them sit on his lap and started tickling Alex till he said sorry to me.
"Where should we go, Andy?" Amar asked standing on Andrew's thighs balancing himself by pulling his hair. Alex repeated the same thing on the other leg.
Does he ever get mad? These two are trying to climb on him like he is a freaking wall and he is cooperating with them, pushing them to climb on him.
"Let's go to a zoo or a trampoline park or biking. " Andrew announced and they cheered at his words jumping on his shoulders.
"Zoo, Mama!" Amar told me clapping
"Get off him, he is not a wall," I told and helped them get off his shoulders into his lap.
"You! Stop encouraging them, you are turning them into a bunch of brats. How will they learn if you keep on encouraging them to do whatever they want.." I yelled at Andrew with a stern face.
"Mean!" Amar, Andrew, and Alex sang in unison as soon as I was done.
"Unbelievable," I said and stormed off to my room.
I kept walking from one side to the other not knowing what to do next. What do people do after storming off? My phone is in the kitchen and there is nothing in this room to entertain me. I should prepare better next time.
I heard a commotion behind the door deciding who's gonna knock on the door first and I knew the so-called ACES are here to apologize. They better!
I opened the door for them as it was taking too long to decide.
"Sorry Mama!"
"Sorry Divya"
"Sorry Diya"
I don't want to raise a disrespectful child, and be all proud and happy at his actions. I glared at them for a minute and after that, I gave up looking at their cute pouts and tears in my boy's eyes.
"Get ready! we are going to the zoo." I announced and the boys ran away.
"I love that you are comfortable enough to get mad at me!" Andrew said leaning to the door frame and smiling at me.
How does this man turn my every action into something positive for him?
I rolled my eyes at him and moved towards the kitchen while he followed me.
"Why are you so optimistic about my actions?"
"Because I am in love with you. When you are in love, you always see the good." He said drinking the water while I stared at him.
Every single time he says I love you, my heart jumps and my ears grow an inch wider to hear it better. He is not afraid to say it out loud and make me feel like the luckiest person in this world.
Danny's cries bought me out of my happy bubble, and we all packed everything and drove to the zoo. Everyone was really happy looking at the cows, bears and all the birds in here.
I went into the bathroom to change Danny's soiled diaper. When I came out I saw Amar so engrossed in conversation with Andrew and Alex happily clapping and getting ready for their horse ride. Just the sight of it made me happy.
Andrew is the cheerleader in my life, he helped me study, he helped raise my kid, he made sure that I was on the right track, and always cheered for me most of all he helped me love myself by constantly telling me how amazing I am. He is the champion of being there for me.
"They are having fun!" Andrew said standing beside me looking at the boys on a horse.
"Thank you!" I told him feeling really grateful for their presence in my life.
"Are they your boys?" An old lady who stood beside me asked me and I nodded.
"So cute, You should have a girl next time. 4 boys are too much to handle." She told me and Andrew.
She thinks Danny, Amar, and Alex are my kids from Andrew.
"Sure Maam! We will do that. " Andrew replied to her circling his arms over my shoulder and letting her imagine that we are a family before I could tell the truth.
"Such a charming boy, you've got. Look at mine over there, sitting like a lump of coal. He hates crowds." She said pointing to an old man on a bench.
"He looks tired!" I said to her while she was lost in her husband.
"That he is, I am Nadia by the way." She said.
"I am Divya, this is Andrew and the little boy here is Danny." I introduced all of us with a smile looking at her warm face.
Danny smiled at his name and started making baby sounds playing with Nadia.
She reminded me of my mother, if she was here she would've done the same thing. She loves babies. I wish I bought her with me, life would've been so much better with her in it. I hope she is doing well.
I am really sorry Maa, I had to run away to protect myself.
"Divya!" Andrew whispered in my ear pulling my mind away from the pain. I looked at him with my blurry vision because of the tears.
He pulled me into his arms, and I buried my face in his chest not wanting to cry in public.
"It's okay!" He said rubbing my back and consoling me.
"You reminded her of her mother, and she misses her," Andrew explained to the old lady, about my distraught pulling me closer
How did he know that? It's just a waste of time questioning that to myself. Andrew knows!
"It's okay dear, I am glad you think of me as a mother." She said holding my arm.
The big loud horn indicated that the horse ride ended, Andrew went into the kids of the horse while Nadia, Danny, and I were outside the fence looking at them.
"He seems like a great man. Men like that are hard to find, just hold on to him." Nadia said looking at Andrew carefully placing Amar back on the floor and I nodded agreeing with her.
We spent the rest of the day in the zoo with Nadia and her husband Peter. Peter used to work in construction and they have been married for 54 years. They are here with their granddaughter Emma who is the same age as Amar.
The next day flew by, and we all went to the trampoline park and biked at the nearby lake. It felt so good having all of them here. There was no quiet moment and brain-numbing silence in this house. It was filled with laughter, it felt like the home I always dreamed of having in my life.
Like all good things, the laughter in my house was about to end too. In 30 min Amaya and Jameson are going to stop by to pick up Alex and Danny, Andrew's going to leave and it's going to be Amar and me all alone again.
Andrew is out playing with Amar, Alex, and Danny one last time while I am packing all their stuff. But the memories this trip gave me will last forever.
I let out a big sigh and slopped my shoulders down in disappointment as I heard the doorbell ring. I walked to the door and opened it for Amaya and Jameson to come in.
"Wow! you look really happy to see me," Amaya commented as soon as she saw my sad face.
They all look really tired, Amaya is wearing a sweatshirt with leggings whereas Jameson is in a polo shirt and black jeans with Elena in his arms sleeping.
"Ignore her, How are you, did the boys trouble you?" Jameson asked me and Amaya rolled her eyes at him.
"I am good, they were a pleasure. I am sad that they will be leaving." I told both of them as they walked into the house.
"Is Andrew here?" Amaya asked me with her eyes wide in excitement as we could hear all of them yelling and laughing.
"Yeah! He helped me with kids." I told them walking out to the backyard.
They are playing tag, with Danny in the middle who's crawling on the grass around them.
"MAMA!" Alex yelled out loud and ran towards Amaya.
Amaya picked him up and kissed him all over his face and he repeated the same thing. Danny babbled and shrieked looking at the mother and son duo.
"I am here too, you mama's boy." Jameson snickered in jealousy looking at them to which Alex and Amaya stuck their tongues out.
After the reunion, we all settled on the couches. Amaya with Danny, Andrew with Amar, and Jameson with Alex in their laps. Elena was sleeping in my room.
"What did Laura say?" Andrew asked them, and they looked at each other with a pale look on their faces.
"Laura said Lena has been traumatized by the loss and it's going to take a lot of time for her to get accustomed to this situation. She still remembers her parents and it's hard for her to accept the new change." Amaya said with tears in her eyes.
I could see regret in Andrew's face for asking her that question. Jameson held her close, while Alex looked angry at his mother's tears.
Alex got out of Jameson's hold and took Amar with him to their room and they both came out after a few minutes hiding something in their hands.
"Mama! " Alex called her, Amaya looked at Alex and Amar standing in front of them.
"Amar and I saved this for you." They said and gave her a completely smushed-up Twix bar.
Andrew gave them each one bar as a reward for being good yesterday, they saved one for her by sharing one.
"No cry Amy! ACES no cry" Amar brushed her tears off with his small little fingers.
That small gesture made all our hearts heavy, I am so freaking proud of my son.
She pulled them both closer and kissed them.
"When are you guys going to New York?" Amaya asked me and Andrew after sending the boys out to play with Jameson.
Why am I going to New York with Andrew?
"In 2 weeks, The event got postponed because of some scheduling error," Andrew replied and laid back on the couch.
And then it hit me, I told him that I would go to his mother's cancer foundation event. I completely forgot about that.
"Give me the date, I have to inform the hospital. And Ammu please come with us, I don't want to go alone this time. I can't talk to people and that too New York, I don't know anyone there. You know I've never been outside of this please.." I told Andrew and pleaded with Amaya, not wanting to go alone with Andrew.
They both chuckled at my pleading earning a glare from me.
"Jameson and Amy are coming!" Andrew replied, I felt a wave of relief pass through me at his words.
We talked with each other for some more time and they left with all the kids, leaving Amar, Andrew, and me in this house.
Amar is watching cartoons on TV. Andrew and I are in the kitchen.
"Don't worry Divya, No one is gonna eat you in New York. We will take Amar with us and have a mini vacation. I am so excited to show you my place." He said with excitement leaning on the counter.
A vacation with Amar and Andrew sounds good, this is the first step to finding happiness for myself in my life. I can't fret over my past anymore, I deserve to be happy more than anyone else in this world. Andrew is the good part of my life I was waiting for to happen and it's happening.
"We will come with you," I told and hugged him pouring my emotions into it.
This is the second time I initiated a hug with him or any man in my life. His arms are the place where I feel safe and protected.
"Can I stay here tonight? I don't wanna go back to an empty house." He asked me while hugging me and I said yes by holding him tighter.
Did you feel bored reading this chapter? I hope not.
Does anyone want Andrew's POV next?
I am so excited for them to go to NewYork. It's going to get interesting from here in my mind. Let's see how it's gonna be when I write it.
Don't forget to vote and comment.
Love,
Sneha