(Eric's POV)
It is currently June 2, 2026. Which means summer time. Our pool opened on Memorial Day so EJ and I have been in there 3 times so far. Carley is 5 months pregnant now. She will be 6 months around June 27. But she doesn't go in the pool. Because it's not exactly safe for her or the baby.
I heard our door being knocked on. I try to sleep but I hear the knocking still
"Daddy?" EJ said from outside.
"He's asking for you Eric" Carley said.
"I know" I said and got out of bed. I opened the bedroom door and saw EJ. He held a book up. And it was diary of wimpy kid. "EJ your mom said no diary of a wimpy kid" I said
"But daddy" He said with a pout
Carley comes and sees EJ. "EJ what did I say about that book?" She asked with her arms crossed
"But mommy, I don't understand what daddy reads!" He said
"You don't?" She asked our son
"No mommy. I just laugh because daddy does funny voices!" He said with a smile
"Well I do, do funny voices" I said to my wife. Yes she is my wife finally!
"Ok fine. If you are telling the truth EJ then your daddy can read it to you" She said
"Yay! Come on daddy!" EJ said and took me to his room
I sat on his bed with him and started to read chapter 2. I read it in a funny voice only when it was truly needed.
"Dada" Skylar yelled for me
"Hey bud I'll be right back. I'm gonna see what Sky wants ok?" I said to him
"But daddy" He said
"I'll be right back" I said and kissed my boys head
I walked into Sky and Ems room. I go over to Sky.
"Dada" Sky said lifting her arms up
"Do you wanna come read with EJ and I?" I asked my daughter
She looks and touches my face. I take that as a yes. But before going back into EJs room I go over to Carley's and I's room.
"Hey" She said. "Why are you holding Sky?" She asked after seeing me hold her
"She called for me. So I stopped reading to EJ. But told him I would be back. So can you go get Emma?" I asked
"Yeah I can" She said slowly getting up
"I'm gonna bring Sky in with EJ and I" I said
"Ok" She said and walked to Emma.
"Let's go to your big brother Sky" I said to my daughter. We walked into EJ's room and saw he was on his own game. "Hey buddy I'm back" I said. "And I brought Sky" I said
He looks at us then looks away
"Do you want me to read more of diary of a wimpy kid" I asked
"No" He said and continued to play on his game
"Oh.....Well can Sky and I play with you then?" I asked
"No" He said
"EJ whats wrong?" I asked him. He usually doesn't act this way
"Nothing dad" He said with a sad voice
"Well I know something is wrong now. You just called me dad, not daddy" I said going over. I sat near him. "What's going on buddy?" I asked him
"I was enjoying you and me time" He said
I realized he just wanted to spend time with him. And only him.
"EJ we spend time together all the time" I said to him
"Not like we used to dad" He said sadly
I sigh. "Look EJ I know it's hard to have siblings. I mean your Aunt Michelle, I'm pretty sure she wasn't happy with me coming into her life. But she warmed up to me after a while. Then I had to get use to your Uncle James because he was the new favorite. The point is just because you're the oldest doesn't mean your mom and I don't love you the same as Emma and Sky" I said to him. "Do you understand?" I asked him
He shakes his head yes.
"So now that you know that, do you want me to read to you again?" I asked him
"No..." He said. "I want to just play my game, alone" He said
I sigh and kiss his head. "I love you EJ. I always will. So will your mom" I said then walked to the door.
(EJ's POV)
Daddy just told me that him and mommy will love me the same as my sisters. But it doesn't seem like it. Like Skylar just called for daddy and he just left me. So how do I know that won't happen again? Maybe with Emma next time? I just need to play my game. That makes me happy.
Daddy and mommy got me an xbox in my room just because my daddy, Uncle Arthur, Uncle James, Uncle Mikey and Uncle Alex all come over and play on the one downstairs.
I played the wwe game until I heard a knock on the door. I stopped my game and go over to the door. I saw my mommy. She wasn't with one of my sisters. So that's nice.
"Hi mommy" I said with a smile
"Hi EJ. Can we talk?" She asked me
"Sure" I said smiling
We sit on my bed. She sighs.
"EJ...." She started
"Yes mommy?" I asked
"Your daddy and I talked" She said
"Oh" I said
"Why do you think we would love you less?" She asked me
"You guys have been spending so much time with them. And not with me anymore" I said sadly
"EJ they are 2 years old" She said
"But mommy, daddy was reading me a story and he just left" I said
"But he came back" She said
"With Skylar" I said
"EJ because Skylar and Emma aren't old enough to take care of themselves. Yes we take care of them. But we also make time for you" She said bringing me in closer to her
"It just doesn't seem that way" I said hugging her
"Well we can make more time with you. But you will have to deal with them with us" She said
I nod. Since daddy's right I have to start getting use to having two sisters.
"Should I go apologize to daddy?" I asked her
"I think that would be the right thing to do" She said nodding
I got off my bed and run downstairs to my daddy. I gave him a hug on his legs
(Eric's POV)
I was making food when I felt a body collide with my leg. I look and EJ
"Hey buddy. What's this for?" I asked confused
"I'm sorry daddy" He said
I stopped cooking and picked up my son.
"Buddy. Just because you have siblings now. We love you all the same. And we will work harder to spend time with you" I said to him
"I know" He said nodding his head
"I love you buddy" I said to him
"I love you too daddy" He said and gave me a giant huge
Carley came down with Sky and Emma each in a arm.
"Look at your big brother and daddy hugging" She said to the twins
"Dada!" Sky said and reaches for me
"EJ do you mind if I pick your sister up?" I asked my son
"I wanna be in your arms too" He said
"Lucky for you I can hold you both then" I said smiling at him
Carley gave Sky to me on my right arm while I also hold EJ on my left.
"Here I'll take over cooking" Carley said
"Alright. Hey EJ wanna play 2k?" I asked my son
"Yay! I call Devin Booker!" He said and tried moving out of my arms.
I put him down then went to the living room with him. Sky was on my lap so she was still close to me. I keep telling you she's a daddy's girl.
EJ and I started to play 2K27 NBA. I played as Steph Curry while EJ did play as Devin Booker. I actually got EJ a Devin Booker jersey for his birthday. So when we go see the golden state warriors, and they are playing against the suns. He is always cheering for the Suns.
EJ was winning like always.
"Boys time for food!" Carley yelled for EJ and I
I pause the game. "Lets go EJ. We can play more after" I said patting his head
"I kind of want to go in the water next daddy" he said
"We can do that instead" I said giving him a smile
"Yay. Should i get the bathing suit on now?" He asked
"Lets eat first then we can change" I said
"Ok" He said then ran into the kitchen to Carley and Emma.
I picked up Sky and brought her with me to the kitchen. I saw Carley made a lot of food.
"Why is there so much food?" I asked confused
"Well your brother is coming" She said setting a plate in front of me
"Which one?" I asked confused since i didn't hear about this.
"James" She said
"Uncle James is coming!" EJ said with a smile
"Yes he is EJ. So is Devon" She said rubbing her son's head
"Yay! He can come in the pool with us!" EJ said looking at me
"Yeah he can if he wants to buddy" I said. "So when is James coming?" I asked
"He's 5 minutes away" she said
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked
"Because you would have said no" She said shrugging
"No" I said shaking my head
"Eric be serious" She said giving me a glare
"Ok maybe I would have said no, but it's just because i wanna spend time with my family" I said to her
"Well now you have extra family" She said coming over and pecking my lips.
I started to eat while Sky and Emma have their food.
Once we were done eating I heard the front door ringing.
"I guess i'll get it" i said. I walked to our front door and looked to make sure it was James and Devon. Once I saw it was them and Taylor I opened the door. "Welcome" I said
"Thanks bro" James said walking in
"Hey! Shoes dummy" I said pointing to his dirty sneakers
"Oh right" He said then took them off.
"Hi Uncle Eric" Devon said coming in and giving me a hug
"Hey little dude. How are you doing?" I asked him as I hugged him
"Good!" He said then took his shoes off. "Where's EJ?" He asked
"In the kitchen with Aunt Carley" I said
"EJ!" Devon said running to the kitchen
"Don't run Dev!" Taylor said and sighed deeply. She looks at me. "Hey brother in law" She said giving me a hug
"Hey sister in law. How are you doing?" I asked after giving her a hug
"Alright" She said nodding
"Makes sense you are married to James" I said joking
"Hey I'm not that bad" James said
"Uh huh" Taylor and i said joking
"Jerks" He said in a mumble
"Oh bro we were just kidding" I said patting my brother's back
"Ok" He said and went over with Devon and EJ's.
"I think we hurt his feelings" Taylor said sighing
"Maybe. But he knows how I am" I said shrugging
"I'm gonna go apologize to him" She said and walked off
I follow her since everyone was in the living room. I saw EJ and Devon playing NBA like always.
I go over to Carley and wrapped my arms around her.
"Did you apologize to your brother?" She asked laying her head on me
"Not yet. I will after Taylor does" I said
"Good. Because he was really upset" She said to me
"Why? He knows I joke all the time" I said confused why he thought I meant what I said.
"Well you did say something about being a bad husband" She said
"Car, it was a joke. I know James is the best husband and father. You know after me of course" I said shrugging
"Well like I said he thought you were serious" She said pulling away from me
"Why are you moving?" I asked confused
"I'm gonna go find James" She said
"Car..." I said
"Not now Eric" She said and walked away to find my brother.
I sigh as I watch the boys playing the game.
"Hey EJ how are you playing?" I asked my son
"Good daddy! I'm beating Devon" He said with a smirk
"No you're not. I'm beating you" Devon said
"Can you two pause that game for a minute. I want to talk to you both" I said
EJ turned the game off and came over to me. Since he was sitting on the floor in front of the tv. Devon quickly follows after him.
"What's up daddy?" EJ said sitting on my lap
"Well buddy. As you can see your uncle James and I are having a fight right now" I said
"You are?" They both asked confused
"Yeah we are. I was joking with him but apparently he didn't take it that way. But anyways I want you to be best friends. Even if you fight. EJ you're older so you have to watch over Devon" I said
"Daddy, Devon and I love each other. Like cousins do" He said with a smile
"Good. Always think that way ok?" I asked my son and nephew
"Don't worry Uncle Eric. We will" Devon said smiling
"I really hope so Dev" I said touching his back
James comes down and sits next to me.
"James...." I said to my brother
"Hmm?" He asked me
"I'm sorry" I said being sincere
"Ok" He said
"Bro I'm saying I'm sorry. You know how I am" I said
"Yeah but you said I wasn't a good husband Eric. I try, so hard not to be like dad. But you saying that hurt a lot. I've never left my wife or kid. And I don't ever plan to either. So I would think that makes me better than Billy" He said
I sigh because I didn't think he took it so personal. I mean Carley said he did but I never thought he would think I meant he was like Billy. Because he's not. Not even a little bit
"James.....I never meant for you to think your like Billy. When I said you weren't the greatest husband it was really just a joke. I mean you and me joke all the time" I said to him
"I know Eric. It just the way you said it didn't really sound like you were joking. And that's why it hurt so much" He said as his voiced crack
I saw him having tears in his eyes. I can't believe I made my brother cry.
I brought him into a hug. "I love you bro. And I didn't mean to compare you to Billy. You are an amazing father to Devon and a amazing husband to Taylor" I said as I hugged him
"Thanks bro" He said then slowly pulled away from the hug. He coughs. "Sorry....I didn't mean to cry" He said trying to push his feelings down
"James don't apologize for having feelings. I mean when I was in 8th grade and broke my foot. Do you remember what Billy said to me?" I asked him. He shook his head no. "He said, "Eric man up no man cries and I won't have a son who cries. Crying is for babies". And since that time I really don't cry. Or I try not to at least" I said. "Billy was a dick" I said with a chuckle
"Yeah he was" He said nodding
"Daddy you owe money in the jar!" EJ said
"Crap I thought you two went to your moms?" I asked my son and Devon
"We have been here the whole time daddy" He said with a smile
"Alright well here's 2 dollars" I said giving them both 1 dollar. "Don't tell your mommy i cussed ok?" I asked my son
He zips his lips. They run off to Carley and Taylor I think
"You know they might just be like you and Arthur were" James said
"How do you know how Arthur and I were? You were only 2 years old" I said
"Well when I grew up I saw how close you and Arthur were. I was jealous of that" He said
"Why?" I asked confused
"Because you were bonding with Arthur and Alex more than me" He said
"James why didn't you talk to me?" I asked him
"I tried but you always were with them if we visited them" He said
"I was a jerk growing up wasn't I?" I asked him
"Yeah you were. But then you started to be nicer. Especially when mom and dad left us" He said
"Mom left us but she came back" I said to him
"Yeah. I'm glad she came back into our lives" He said with a smile
"Yeah me too bro" I said with a smile
EJ and Devon come back over to us
"Daddy can we go in the pool now?" EJ asked
I looked over at my brother. "What do you say little bro wanna go in the pool?" I asked patting my brother's back
"Yeah daddy come in with us!" Devon said to James
"Ok yeah. Sure let's go in the pool" James said smiling at his son.
Devon, EJ, James and I all head outside to our pool. I put my stuff that was in my short's pockets. I set it on the chairs outside. And jumped into our pool.
"Daddy catch me!" EJ said then jumped in
I did in fact catch him. Then we swim a little. James and Devon swam with us
We did a chicken fight. EJ and I won. Like usual.
After a couple hours in the pool. We all headed inside
(Carley's POV)
While the boys were outside in the pool. Taylor and I were with Sky and Emma. Taylor and I were making dinner together.
"So I was thinking we make shells" I said
"Ohhh yeah those are good" She said
"Alright. Lets start making it then" I said smiling at Taylor
As we were cooking we talked about stuff
"Do you guys remember you and Eric are the reasons why I met James" Taylor said
"Yeah I do. Eric was the one who wanted to find someone for James" I said remembering the beach day
"Well I can't stop saying thank you for that. Because James and I found love at a young age" She said
"I'm glad. And I'm very glad you guys got married" I said with a smile
"Well if it wasn't for you and Eric I would have never met James" She said
"I think you would have" I said
"Well we ended up going to the same high school. But I mean when you guys brought me with you to that restaurant, I was still living near the beach. Luckily i moved closer to you guys" She said
"Yeah that is good that you moved" I said nodding
After making dinner. Taylor, Devon and James left right after. We put the girls down for bed. And then brought EJ to his bed since he fell asleep.
Now it's just Eric and I in our room. We were watching tv. He turns off the tv
"What's wrong?" I asked him
"Can we just have a talk?" He asked
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" I asked confused
"I just wanna say thank you for staying with me for the last 4 or so years" He said
"Thank you for staying with me too" I said smiling
He kisses me and rubs my stomach.
"I love this little guy" He said smiling
Yes we are having another boy. And we have a name for him. I can't wait to meet him. After he rubbed my stomach. He kissed me one more time. Then we both went to sleep. Today was a long day. But it was fun hanging with Taylor. I do miss Ellie though. I need to call her tomorrow. I just got to remember.