IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END ABOUT A NEW BOOK PLEASE READ!
15 Years Later
I was sitting at my kitchen table, making a grocery list for the birthday party this afternoon. It was about ten in the morning, on a Saturday. I rubbed my swollen stomach, feeling slight kicking from inside.
I had been thinking about my mother all morning, very few tears leaking out every now and then.
I heard two sets of pounding footsteps running down the stairs, and quickly wiped away and stray tears.
Two boys appeared, spitting images of each other; same shade of light-brown hair, same greenish-brown eyes. The only difference between them was their age and height.
Charlie was chasing our five-year-old son around the kitchen table, his hands outstretched. "The tickle monster is gonna get you!" Charlie yelled.
"NO! Not the tickle monster!" Chase screamed, giggling and running away from his father.
"I'm gonna get you!" Charlie yelled again, wiggling his fingers for effect.
I rolled my eyes, smiling at them. "Boys!" I exclaimed.
They stopped running, and looked at me. "Yeah?" Charlie asked.
"Can you go to the store to get food for tonight?" I asked him.
Charlie nodded. "Sure, what time are people coming over?"
"I told everyone four," I answered.
"Okay, when do you want the food by?"
"Be back by two? I need enough time to get it all prepared."
"Okay, I'll go get ready," Charlie told me. He turned to Chase and said in a deep voice, "You have been saved from the tickle monster today. But one day, the tickle monster will get you."
"No! Mommy save me!" Chase yelled, scrambling over to me and pulling on my arm.
I pushed my chair back, and pulled Chase onto my lap. "Don't worry sweetheart, I won't let the big bad tickle monster get you."
"Yay! I wuv you Mommy!" Chase exclaimed, throwing his arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around his body, hugging him back.
"I love you too Chase," I replied, chuckling at his enthusiasm.
I grinned at Charlie, who returned my smile. I thought about how far we've come since high school.
After high school, Charlie and I both went to college. He went to Stanford, with a soccer scholarship, majoring in history, with a minor in teaching. I, on the other hand, went to Berkeley, also with a soccer scholarship. I majored in Journalism, with a minor in business. Even though we weren't at the same college, we were only an hour away from each other, both being in San Francisco.
During our last year of college, Charlie was asked to play professionally for the New York Red Bulls. He played with them for four years, before retiring from the team. I was also asked to play professionally, but with Portland Thorns FC. I only played three years though.
That same year, specifically at my last game with Portland, Charlie proposed to me. We were married a year in a half later, on June 27th.
A year and a half after being married, we had just bought our first house in a small town just outside of San Francisco. I had just gotten pregnant with Chase.
Five years later here we were, having Chase's fifth birthday party.
I looked back to my son and asked, "Chase, do you want to go to the store with Daddy?"
He nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"
I chuckled. "Okay, go upstairs and get dressed then."
"Can't I go in my pwajamas?" He whined.
"Sorry bud, but pajamas aren't allowed at the store," Charlie interjected, coming over to pick Chase up, holding him up on his hip.
"Okay," Chase sighed sadly.
"Don't be sad bud, it's your birthday! And you want to know what happens on your birthday?" Charlie asked him.
"What?" Chase gasped.
"The tickle monster comes out to get you!" He exclaimed, moving his fingers across Chase's sides.
Chase started laughing uncontrollably, squirming to try to get out of Charlie's grip. "No more tickle monster! No more tickle monster!" He screamed.
"Okay, you two, that's enough. Go get ready," I laughed.
Charlie carried a shrieking Chase upstairs, still tickling him. I shook my head at them, smiling.
By the time I finished the grocery list, Charlie and Chase appeared, both dressed and ready to go.
"Have the list done?" Charlie asked.
"Yep, just finished it," I replied. I ripped the sheet of paper out of the notebook and held it out for Charlie, who took it and folded it, sticking it into his pocket.
He kissed my cheek, saying, "We'll be back in an hour. I love you."
"I love you too. See you." I turned to Chase. "Come say goodbye to your Momma."
Charlie ran to me, and hugged me tightly. "Bye Momma. I wuv you!"
"I love you too Chase. Listen to Daddy while your at the store okay?"
"I will Momma," Chase answered.
I kissed his forehead, and said, "I'll see you soon sweetie. Happy birthday."
"Tanks Momma," Chase grinned.
"Time to go buddy," Charlie announced, holding out his hand.
Chase took it, and followed Charlie to the car. I heard the engine start, and the fading sound of it as they drove away.
I went upstairs and started to get ready. I showered, and then dressed in jean capri's and a white v-neck t-shirt. I dried my hair, and braided it to the side.
I walked downstairs to the laundry room, and pulled out all the birthday decorations. I set them all on the table; streamers, balloons, and banners.
I sat down at the table, and, opening a package of balloons, started blowing them up.
I had gotten through one package of balloons, when Charlie and Chase walked through the door, plastic grocery bags in their hands.
Charlie set the bags down on the counter, and then did the same with the ones Chase was carrying, except for one. Charlie walked back out, grabbing more bags, while Chase came to my side.
"Look at what Daddy got me Mommy!" Chase exclaimed, holding up the bag.
"What?" I asked.
"He got me a new soccer ball!" He pulled out a small neon green soccer ball.
"Wow! Do you like it?" I asked him.
"I wuv it!"
"Did you tell Daddy thank you?"
"No..." Chase mumbled, looking at the floor.
"Go tell him thank you sweetie," I told him.
"Okay!" Chase smiled. Charlie walked in, and Chase ran towards him, wrapping his arms around Charlie's legs. "Tank you Daddy for the soccer ball!"
Charlie chuckled, ruffling Chase's hair. "You're welcome buddy. Happy Birthday."
"Chase, do you want to help Daddy with the decorations? Or do you want to help me bake your cake?" I asked him.
"Cake!" He yelled in delight.
I smiled, "Okay, come on. Into the kitchen."
I stood up, and Chase followed me into the kitchen, while Charlie took the decorations and started hanging the streamers, banners, and balloons all around the house.
When Chase and I had gotten the batter finished, Charlie entered the kitchen, with two balloons in his hand.
"Hey Chase, wanna see something cool?" Charlie questioned.
"Yeah!"
"Watch this then," Charlie grinned.
Charlie stood in front of me, a devious smirk forming.
I raised my eyebrows at him, as if warning him not to do what he was about to.
He took the balloon and started rubbing it on the top of my head, creating static electricity.
"Charlie!" I shrieked, laughing, trying to push him away.
"You're gonna ruin it Anna!" Charlie replied, laughing at me.
Charlie finally pulled away, leaving my hair staticky, and then stuck the balloon onto the wall.
"Ain't that cool buddy?" Charlie asked Chase.
He nodded eagerly. "My turn! My turn!"
Charlie rubbed the balloon on Chase's head, making him giggle and squirm. Charlie took the balloon and stuck it to the wall, and Chase clapped in delight.
"Alright you two. Chase, why don't you go help Daddy with the balloons? I'm sure he could use your help," I suggested.
"Okay! C'mon Daddy, let's go!" Chase declared, grabbing Charlie's hand and trying to drag him towards the rest of the balloons.
I turned back to the cake batter, and poured it into a pan, sticking it the oven. I absentmindedly started getting the rest of the food ready for later tonight.
Just as I finished decorating the cake, the doorbell rang. I grabbed a towel, walking towards the front door.
I wiped my hands off and opened the front door. "Hi Dad," I greeted, hugging him.
"Hey kiddo," he replied.
I turned to the person next to him. "Hey Karen," I smiled, hugging my stepmother.
"Hello Anna," she responded.
After I had gone off to college, my father met Karen at a small cafe in New York, when he went there for a work related meeting. They had kept in touch, and Karen ended up moving closer to my father in Illinois. They started dating shortly after that, and then two years later, they were married. The two then moved out to San Francisco by Charlie and I, having no need to stay in Illinois. My father was currently working as a gym teacher and school counselor at one of the local high schools, at where Karen was teaching French as a foreign language.
"Where's the birthday boy?" My father asked, stepping into the house, followed by Karen.
"Probably upstairs," I replied. I turned towards the stairs and shouted, "Chase, Pops is here! Come down here!"
Pounding footsteps resounded throughout the house. Charlie and Chase appeared at the bottom of the staircase suddenly, both breathing heavily.
"Pops!" Chase yelled, running to him and hugging him. My father picked him up and returned his hug.
"Hey kid. Happy birthday!"
"Tanks Pops. Hi Grandma Karen," Chase waved.
"Hi Chase. Happy birthday," she smiled at him.
"Tanks!" Chase turned back to his grandfather. "Guess what Daddy got me at the store today!"
"What?!"
"A soccer ball!" Chase exclaimed.
"That's awesome! Why don't you go get it, and you and I can go outside with it?" My father proposed.
"Okay!" Chase agreed. My father set him down and he ran upstairs, to where he had left his new toy.
Chase came back, and led his grandfather outside, babbling about anything that came to his mind.
Karen turned to me. "Do you need any help in the kitchen?"
"No, thankfully I finished everything," I replied.
"Okay," she smiled, "I'm just going to go watch those two outside then. Keep them out of trouble for you."
I chuckled. "Thanks."
Karen left, leaving Charlie and I in the entrance of our home.
He stepped in front of me, and laid his arms lazily around my arms. "Are you sure you're okay with Chase calling Karen grandma?" He asked, concerned.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers playing with the ends of hair. "Yeah. I want him to be able to have two grandmas. Not one grandma, and one 'Karen.' I don't want him to be confused about this right now. When he's older, we can tell him about my mom," I explained.
"Okay. And how are you feeling today?" He asked.
"Happy. A little sad. I wish she could have been here. Then we could have celebrating two birthdays instead of one," I commented. A tear escaped, falling down my cheek.
Charlie wiped it away, kissed my forehead, and said, "Think of it this way: Chase is your mom's birthday present. And you know she's looking down on you now. It's as if she's saying, 'I know I had to leave, so here's Chase on my birthday.'"
I smiled. "You always know what to say."
"That's what I do best," he grinned. He gently kissed me.
The doorbell rang again, and Charlie pulled away. "Wonder who's here."
"Your parents probably," I answered, opening the door.
I was right; Charlie's parents stood in front of me.
"Hey Dad, Mom," Charlie greeted, hugging both of them.
"Hi Jason, Monica," I welcomed, hugging them both also.
"Hi kids. Where's Chase?" Charlie's father asked.
"He's outside with Joseph and Karen," Charlie answered.
"Well, I'm going to go say hello to him. Coming Mon?" Jason asked his wife.
"I'll be right there," she smiled at him.
Charlie's father nodded, and left, heading towards the backyard.
"How's everything going?" Monica asked.
"We're good," I replied happily. "This little ones due in about four months." I rubbed my swollen stomach.
"That's great," she responded, smiling. "I better go say happy birthday to Chase now."
"They're in the backyard," Charlie reminded her.
"Got it."
I turned to my husband. "Everything is still okay between your mom and Dani right?" I questioned.
"As far as I know," he returned.
After I had exposed Mrs. Baker's secret, she had gone to anger management classes, while going to therapy sessions with her husband and sometimes Charlie. His parents had rebuilt their relationship, thankfully. Mrs. Baker and Dani's relationship was better than it was, but Dani had never forgotten what she had done, and had been wary of her mother ever since, putting a strain between them. Jasper had been told what had happened a few years after everything had happened, when he could understand what had actually happened. That had injured his and his mother's relationship, but that had been fixed after a few years, when Jasper was positive that Dani was okay, and not being abused anymore.
After Jasper and Dani had finished middle school, the Bakers had decided to move back to San Francisco, reestablishing their photography business here. Throughout Jasper and Dani's high school years, I kept my promise to Dani, letting her come live with me for a few days at a time, when things at home were tough; verbal fights with her family.
During high school, Dani had met a boy, and they had been together since high school, even while they are in the middle of college. I think his name was Devin.
"I wonder why Jasper and Dani didn't come with my parents," Charlie wondered.
"Dani had texted me and asked me if her boyfriend Devin could come. I told her it wasn't a problem, so I think she was picking him up from the airport earlier, and Jasper probably went with her," I explained.
"I still don't like him," Charlie muttered.
"That's just because she's your younger sister and has a boyfriend. I bet you that if he was Jasper's friend and wasn't dating Dani, you would get along with him just fine," I argued playfully.
Before Charlie could respond, the doorbell rang, signalling another arrival.
I smirked at Charlie, and opened the door, with Henry and his fiancee in the doorway.
"Hey Henry!" I grinned, hugging him.
"Hi Anna!" Henry replied. "Where's my little man?"
"He's in the backyard, with both of our parents. My dad's teaching him to play soccer I think, considering Charlie bought him a new soccer ball today," I answered.
"Well, I better go give him some pointers," Henry winked, leaving.
"I better go with him, keep him out of trouble," Charlie mumbled, following behind Henry.
"Same old Henry," Amber, his fiancee commented.
"Definitely," I agreed. "How have you two been? When's the wedding?"
"We're good! I think Henry might be retiring after this year though. He said he had been thinking about it, and that he had wanted to start a family right away. It's in six months. January 19," Amber told me.
"That's exciting! I'm so happy for you! Are you wanting a family right away?" I asked her.
"Oh yes! I've been waiting for the day we get married so we can have a family," she gushed.
"I can imagine. He waited so long! I told him once that if he didn't propose to you soon, that I would propose to you for him. It was unbelievable," I told her, laughing.
She chuckled, and asked, "When did you tell him that?"
I smirked, answering, "The day before he asked you. I guess he didin't want to share you. I assumed he already had the ring and was just waiting for the right moment," I thought aloud.
Amber smiled, saying, "He always was extremely protective of me."
"That's Henry. He's a goof, but when it comes to the people in his life... He's loving and smart."
She nodded. "I'm going to go tell Chase happy birthday."
"Okay," I smiled.
After high school, Henry went to college at the University of Pennsylvania, and played soccer in college, with a half scholarship to play. He ended up majoring in Pre-Med, studying to become a pediatrician. He met Amber there, in one of his classes. They started dating, and now they're about to get married. They had been looking for houses in the San Francisco area, trying to stay close to our friends.
After college Henry got drafted to play Major League Soccer for Philadelphia Union. He's still playing for them, but, with what Amber had said, might be retiring after this season.
Ben, Jasper, Dani, and Dani's boyfriend Devin all arrived then.
Jasper and Dani, along with Devin, are all in college. Dani stayed in California, going to Berkeley, like me. Jasper went to school in Washington, at Seattle University.
"Hey Anna!" Jasper exclaimed, his twenty year old self still as rambunctious as his five year old self.
"Jas, seriously, do you still have to be told to use your 'inside voice?' You're not five anymore," Dani complained.
"Hey, Chase is turning five, I'm pretty sure I can be five again for today," Jasper argued.
"I'm not just talking about today," Dani muttered, making Devin snicker.
"Everyone's out back," I informed.
"Awesome," Jasper grinned, heading there. Dani and Devin followed.
I spun my body to face Ben.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey Anna," Ben returned, giving me a small hug. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm good! How about you? Any girls on your mind?" I questioned, wiggling my eyebrows. Ben was the only one who was still single. He had had a few girlfriend's when he was in college at the University of Illinois, but hadn't been with anybody for awhile. Ben had gotten a scholarship there to play soccer, and majored in architecture.
After college, Ben played for DC United professionally, and is still playing. He's currently renting an apartment in San Francisco, and trying to find a job, fitting in his degree.
"Well... There is this one girl," Ben replied, smiling.
I grinned. "Seriously? Where'd you meet her?"
"She works at that small cafe across from my apartment building. I've been going there a lot recently, sketching. Her name's Rachel. I've asked her on a few dates now, and have been thinking about asking her to be my girlfriend."
"Well hurry up then!" I joked. "I want to meet her."
"Patience Anna. You'll meet her soon enough."
"If I don't meet her soon, I will go to that cafe and specifically ask for her just so that I can meet her," I informed him.
"I don't doubt that you will," Ben chuckled.
We heard knocks on the door, and Ben left to the backyard, as I opened the door to Alex and Haley.
"Anna! Oh my gosh, look at you! You're glowing!" Haley exclaimed, hugging me tightly.
"Thanks Haley, they've been kicking all morning," I told her.
"Ouch," Alex commented.
"Alex!" Haley gasped, hitting him.
"What? I know what it's like to be kicked and it's painful," he explained.
"This kicking isn't painful Alex," I laughed. "This is just more like a flick."
"Well those can still be painful," he retorted.
Haley and I rolled our eyes simultaneously.
"I'm going now, before you two start saying the same things at the same time. I assume they're in the back?" Alex asked.
I looked at Haley, grinning, and quickly nodded my head once.
"Yep," the two of us replied at the same time.
"Okay, you two are just getting creepy now. Maybe it's a pregnancy thing," Alex mentioned.
"What!?" I gasped, turning to Haley.
"Shoot," Alex grumbled. "I'm definitely leaving now." And leave he did.
"I swear, sometimes I'm going to kill him," Haley muttered.
"You're pregnant?!" I questioned.
Haley nodded, grinning.
"Oh my gosh!" I squealed, hugging her. "I'm finally going to be an aunt!"
"Shh! We don't want everyone to know yet," Haley replied, putting her hand over my mouth. I nodded, and she lifted her hand away.
"When did you find out?" I asked quietly.
"Just last week," she answered.
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe it," I told her.
"Me neither. When I told Alex, he was shocked. But anyways, what did you mean when you said, 'thye've been kicking'?" Haley questioned.
"Well... We're having twins!" I revealed.
"Seriously? Anna, that's fantastic!"
"Shh! I haven't told Charlie yet," I informed her.
She nodded. "Maybe being pregnant at the same time, makes us do the same things," Haley joked.
I laughed. "Maybe. Let's go join everyone else, make sure they're not getting in trouble. You know something always happens when the four boys are in the same room."
"Oh, trust me, I know. I still have Alex cleaning the house from when they decided to start a food fight last month. He isn't getting off of that so easily," Haley explained.
Looking back on Alex and Haley's relationship, they got together right around Christmas time of our junior year. They've been together since then, even while going to college. Alex and Haley ended up going to the same college; University of Michigan. Alex received a full ride scholarship for soccer. Alex majored in Law Enforcement, and Haley in Special Education and Teaching.
The two were married right after college, and moved to San Francisco, renting an apartment. Alex was then asked to play soccer professionally for the Chicago Fire. He is currently still playing, but has been thinking about taking up the Portland Timber's offer to be on their team, so he can be closer Haley, and now the baby.
We entered the backyard, to find Charlie, Alex, Henry, Ben, Jasper, Devin, and Chase, all shirtless, and in the pool.
"What is going on?" I questioned, trying to hide my smile.
"Anna- oh hey babe. We just went for a swim," Charlie offered, smiling innocently.
"Oh really? Then why are all of your shirts soaking wet?" I smirked.
"Um... Big splash?"
"Nice try Charlie," I retorted.
"What can I say? You know me so well," Charlie replied.
"I would hope so; you two have been together for over ten years," Henry interrupted.
I was about to respond, but Charlie pushed Henry under the water, ultimately starting another fight between the boys.
I turned to my father and asked, "Will you start cooking the burgers and hot dogs on the grill for me? My husband seems to be preoccupied."
He chuckled and nodded. "Sure."
My father followed me into the house, into the kitchen.
"How's the baby?" My father asked.
I contemplated whether or not I should tell my father about having twins. "Good. Been kicking a lot this morning," I answered, not mentioning the twins.
My father sent me a sad smile. "I remember when your mother was pregnant with you, and you were always kicking up a storm for her. She used to get so annoyed with you. We would sit on the couch, and she would always say, 'Would you just stop kicking me? I want you out just as much as you want out' and I would just laugh and tell her that she would start kicking soccer balls soon enough. And you did."
"I miss her too Dad." I hugged him tightly, letting a few tears slip out.
I pulled away, and wiped at the stray tears. "I'm really glad you found Karen Dad. I was afraid you were going to be lonely once I was permanently out of the house."
"You don't have to worry about me Anna," my father told me.
"Yes I do. No arguing," I objected. He held his hands up in a surrender. "Let's go make some burgers."
"After you," my dad said, picking up a plate of raw hamburgers, while I grabbed the hot dogs.
Back outside, the girls were clustered around our picnic table, chatting away. The boys were still in the pool, now having a 'who can have the biggest splash?' contest.
I led my father to the grill, and set the hot dogs on the small table next to it.
"You got it from here right?" I asked my father.
"Yeah, I got it kiddo. It's not the first time I've ever worked a grill," my father joked.
"Okay Captain Sarcasm," I snorted.
"It's Sergeant Sarcasm," he retorted. "I'm pretty sure the four guys in the pool are all fighting for captain."
I laughed, shaking my head at him.
I walked back inside, and started bringing out the rest of the food, and setting it on the picnic table. The other girls ended up helping me, except for Dani, who had gotten pushed into the pool, and was currently sitting on top of Devin's shoulders, in a chicken fight against Henry and Ben.
With all the food set up outside, I stepped back inside and grabbed eight towels, and brought them outside. I called out, "Boys, the food is ready. I brought some towels for you guys."
The seven boys instantly got out of the pool and snatched the towels out of my hand, already getting plates full of food.
Dani was last to take a towel. "Thanks," she said.
"You're welcome. Now go eat, before the boys eat everything," I told her.
She nodded and joined the end of the formed line.
After everyone had filled their plates, we all sat down at our picnic table to eat. Everyone was talking and laughing, having a good time.
Once everyone finished eating, the boys all cleaned up, while the girls and I continued to talk, relaxing. Later on, everyone had gathered back outside. The sun was setting, and I started lighting some candles, and turning on the outside lights. The boys and Dani were throwing Frisbees around the backyard. The women were sitting around the edge of the pool, their feet floating in the water, chatting.
I had just come back outside from using the bathroom, when Chase appeared in front of me.
"Hey sweetie. How has your birthday been?" I asked him, picking him up.
"Awesome! Daddy and Uncle Jas and Uncle Ben and Uncle Henry and Uncle Alex and Pops were all showing me how to pway soccer! And we went swimmin'! And now we're 'frowing Frisbees! It's so much fun!" Chase exclaimed excitedly.
"That's great buddy!" I told him, truly happy for my son.
"Mommy, I have a question."
"What's that?"
"When's cake?" He asked, pouting his lips.
"We can have it right now," I answered.
"Really?" Chase wondered, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes sweetheart. But first I want to tell you a secret."
"A secret!?"
"Yeah, but you can't tell anybody, except for Daddy, understand?"
Chase nodded his head eagerly.
"You gotta promise me you won't tell anybody except Daddy," I said.
Chase stuck out his pinky. "I promise!" He whispered.
I smiled, and wrapped my pinkie around his. "Okay. So do you remember when Daddy and I told you that you were going to have a younger brother or sister?"
"Yeah! I'm so happy! I'm gonna have someone to pway with!"
"You're not just going to have one brother or sister, you're going to have two!" I whispered in his ear.
"Woah! Really? Two?" He murmured.
"Yeah! So what I want you to do, is go over to Daddy, and tell him you've got to tell him a secret. And then you're gonna tell him that there's two babies, not one. Okay?" I instructed him.
"Got it Momma! And then cake right?" Chase asked again.
I chuckled. "Yes Chase, and then cake."
"Yay!" He squealed in delight. I kissed the side of his head and let him down. He ran over to Charlie, who picked him up after Chase had told him something.
Chase whispered something in his ear, and I saw Charlie's jaw drop and eyes widen. Charlie whispered something back, to which Chase nodded. Charlie put him down, and Chase ran over to Ben and Henry and started throwing the Frisbee with them.
Charlie looked over to me and held up two of his fingers. I nodded, grinning, and rubbed my stomach. Charlie's jaw dropped again in shock, and I laughed. After recovering over the shock, we grinned, and sent me two thumbs up. I shook my head at him, and turned around, heading into the kitchen to bring out the cake.
I pulled the cake out of the fridge and set it down on the counter. I found the pack of candles I had Charlie buy earlier today, and started sticking them into the cake.
"Need any help with that?"
"Delia!" I squealed, hugging her.
"Hey Anna! Oh wow, look at you! You look amazing! How's the baby? How's everyone else?" She bombarded me with questions.
"The babies are good. Everyone is good! Gosh, when did you get here?" I asked.
"Babies!?"
"Yeah, we're having twins!" I told her. "So when did you get here?"
"Well our flight was supposed to arrive at three, but it ended up getting delayed for a snowstorm, so we got in an hour ago, and drove here right away! We're so sorry we're late!" Delia rambled.
"It's okay, Delia, don't worry. Chase will be glad that you were here for a little bit. So where's Steven?"
"Oh, he's outside with everyone else."
"Okay. Will you get everyone together around the picnic table, so we can sing to Chase?" I asked her.
"Sure! I'll be able to say happy birthday to my favorite godson," she answered.
"He's you're only godson Delia," I retorted.
"Only, favorite; they're interchangeable," she replied, grinning.
"I don't think so," I smirked.
"And how would you know smartypants?"
"Who's the journalist that writes for the paper? I think that's me," I responded.
"Yeah yeah, you always use that one," Delia whined.
"You always use you're photography schooling against me."
"Yeah, I guess I do," she smirked.
"Just go get everyone together please," I reminded her. "Oh, and can you take these plates and forks out there?" I asked, holding them out to her.
"I'm on it, I'm on it," she replied, leaving the kitchen, taking the plates and forks with her.
While Charlie and I were off at college, Delia had still been in the hospital fighting off her cancer. Those years, it was the worst. We almost lost her during my second year of college. But she survived, and things only got better from there. Two years later, she was in remission. Steven had stuck by her the whole time, finishing his business degree at U.C.L.A., and then going to aviation school to become a pilot. Delia had also finished at U.C.L.A. by the time she was finished with her remission treatments, with a degree in Photography. Since then, Steven and Delia had been traveling around the world, with Delia taking photographs to sell to magazines. They had come straight from Iceland, where Delia had been photographing the major volcanoes of the country.
Putting the last candle in the cake, I picked it up. I carried it outside where I sat it down in front of Chase, and lit the candles. And we all started to sing.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to Chase,
Happy birthday to you!"
"And many more!" Henry and Jasper bellowed, in deep voices.
Chase blew out all five candles.
We all laughed as Jasper, sitting across from Chase, blew right back into Chase's face, causing him to shriek in laughter.
"I've got something I've got to tell all of you," my father announced.
"What's up Mr. Mason?" Jasper asked.
"Well, I got an offer to be head coach of Berkeley's soccer program," he shared with us.
"Seriously?"
"Holy cow!"
"Coach that's awesome!"
"That's amazing Dad," I told him.
"No offense or anything, but, why did they pick you?" Dani questioned.
"I guess they saw how successful all you guys were on the field, and saw that you were all coached under me," he answered.
"So you should be thanking us huh?" Henry smirked.
"That I should Henry," my father chuckled.
"At I finally thought I would be able to get rid of saying that I was the coach's daughter," I remarked.
"Sorry kiddo, but I don't think you can ever lose that nickname."
"I guess not," I smiled at my father.
"Can I have a piece of cake now Momma?" Chase asked. Everyone laughed.
"Sure thing sweetie, let me just go get a knife," I answered, leaving to the kitchen.
Charlie followed me, and wrapped his arms around me, stopping me from doing anything.
"Twins huh?"
"Yeah," I sighed happily.
Looking back on everything that happneed, I knew that, for the rest of our lives, even with all the bad things that had occurred and that will occur, that everything will turn out okay in the end. I had my Charlie, Chase, and the twins, to care for me, and I them. I had Dad and Karen, Charlie's parents, Jasper, and Dani to support me with everything. I had Alex, Haley, Ben, and Henry to turn to when I need them. I may not know what the future will hold, but I have everyone I need to help me through it.
"I love you."
"I love you too Charlie."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am proud to say that this is the end of The Coach's Daughter. :D
Thank you all for reading, commenting, voting, and supporting me through this book. When I first start writing it, I didn't think that anyone would read it. I was suprised that I had started getting reads and votes, with people commenting, "This is amazing, please update!" I didn't think that my story would be any good, but you guys proved me wrong. You all are amazing for sticking with my story, whether you were there from the beginning, or halfway, or towards the end. You all helped to show me that my writing was actually decent, so thank you all of you.
Do you guys have any questions that weren't answered in the epilogue? Please comment them if you do, and I will answer them :).
Please tell me what you think! :) I still love to hear from you guys about the chapters.
Feel free to message me wheneer by the way!! :)
GOALS:
VOTES: 30
COMMENTS: 10
Question of the chapter!:
Who are you rooting for during March Madness? I probably will say Michigan, because that's who my boyfriend wants to win XD. He always tells me the colors are blue and maize, but really it's yellow ;D
I will be writing another story. I will have the summaries up in a couple of days, and I would really appreciate if you guys would tell me which story you would like to read more. Don't worry, they all get written in the future. There will probably be around two to five summaries you guys can choose from. :)
Thanks for reading everyone! I love each and everyone of you. :)
VOTE COMMENT SHARE. TELL YOUR FRIENDS YOU LOVE DEARLY ABOUT MY STORY. :)
I recently have had an obsession with country music, so if you have any good songs, please comment them below!! :)