CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Charlotte sprawls her things across the dining room table and plonks onto the chair. Kyle wanders into the lounge room and places a couple of boxes on the ground and retreats to the front door.
"Where are your speakers? We need some good music to get us through this."
"On the bench somewhere or it could be in the junk drawer." I smile.
"Probably in the drawer then." She chuckles.
Charlotte rummages through the drawer while Kyle lugs more boxes into the lounge room. I grab a washing basket from the laundry and plonk onto the chair.
Boxes cover the room and pop music thuds from the speakers. I'm tired just looking at the boxes; I should have waited for Blake.
"Do you want some help sorting through these?" Kyle raises an eyebrow.
"Um." I sigh. "No, but thank you."
London wanders out of the hallway and rubs her eyes.
"Uncle Kyle." She smiles.
"Taking London outside would be much appreciated, though."
"Do you want to play outside?" Kyle grins.
Lo quickly nods, a smile spreading across her lips. She races down the hallway and appears with a pair of shoes.
Kyle swoops London into the air and screams with delight. He twirls her around and charges outside. London's dangled in the air by her arms and placed on the ground. I'd love to play, but these boxes aren't going to sort themselves.
Taking a deep breath, I open a box and dump the content onto the ground. London's baby clothing tumbles onto the ground and I sigh. I toss the older clothes into the box to be donated and nice ones into the washing basket.
There's boxes filled with blankets and toys, and eventually, Ivan's clothes turn up. I hold up a tiny blue jumpsuit and sink into the chair. He would have been adorable in this. 'I love my dad' is written on the centre of it.
I toss the jumpsuit into the box for storage and continue. Anything gender neutral is tossed into the washing basket, the rest for storage.
London and Kyle wander into the house, cheeks bright red. She swings Kyle's hand and she leads him into the kitchen.
Kyle pours drinks and London brings it into the lounge room. I upend another box of London's clothing and take a deep breathe.
"Thank you so much." I grin.
I take a sip and slide the cup onto the table. She sits beside me and rests her warm head against my arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Sorting through your old clothes."
"These aren't mine, they're too small." She frowns.
"You wore them when you were a tiny baby." I chuckle.
London holds up a pink jumpsuit with white hearts and gasps.
"Can you put that in the washing basket?"
"Mm, okay." She nods.
London tosses it into the washing basket and peers into the other boxes.
"What about these?" She holds up a blue onesie with red cars.
"Those were Ivan's." I tug on a smile.
"Oh." She frowns.
"Those boxes are going back to storage."
She drops the outfit and sits on the ground.
"Can you help me put the clothes into the washing machine?"
"Yes." She grins.
London takes an armful of clothes and wanders away. I pile the remainder of the clothes into the basket and drag it into the laundry. We dump the clothes into the machine and return to the main room.
There's so many more boxes to sort through, but I detour and nab a seat beside Charlotte. London pulls a chair out beside Kyle and climbs onto it.
"How's the party coming along?"
"Just a few things to do today and it should be done."
"That's amazing." I smile.
"Do you need me to do anything?" Kyle bites his lip.
"No, I've got it under control." Char grins.
"Can we watch ponies then?" London pokes Kyle's shoulder and smiles.
"If Ava's done with the lounge room?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Go for it, I need a break." I sigh.
Kyle grabs London and tosses her over the side of the couch, then leaps over. London erupts into laughter which makes us smile.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"What do you think about these flowers? I can't decide between lilies or roses. If I change my mind, I need to race to the flower shop now to let her know."
Charlotte holds up her phone and flicks between two images. There's stunning pink lilies with white flowers, and a bouquet of red and white roses in the second image.
"The pink lilies look beautiful." I smile.
"I need to race to the florist then."
"Why don't you call?"
"She's terrible at answering the phone." She sighs.
"Oh." I frown.
"Thankfully, it's just a short drive from her." Char packs her things into her bag and swings it over her shoulder. We wander to the couch but she stops and smiles.
"They're adorable."
London's snuggled under Kyle's arm, the pair both passed out. Charlotte leans over the couch and brushes her fingers through his hair. Kyle moves his face to her hand and she sighs.
"Can I leave Kyle here?"
"Of course." I laugh.
"Once I'm done, I'll swing back. I shouldn't be longer than an hour or so."
"Do you want to come back for dinner?"
"That would be awesome, actually."
"Great, I'll see you soon!"
Charlotte races out of the house and I wander into the kitchen. I take food out of the fridge and start preparing the meat for the slow cooker.
The front door opens and boots clunk against the ground. I drop the knife on the chopping board and slide into the hallway. Blake removes his shoes and smiles.
"You're home early." I gasp.
"We got everything done early."
"That's awesome." I bounce on my toes.
"How did the clothes go?"
"I've done some boxes, but London and Kyle are asleep on the couch, so now I'm making dinner." I grin.
"We can do the rest after dinner, then I can take the boxes away tomorrow."
"Sounds good." I nod.
"Do you want help with dinner?"
"Just some company would be nice." I grin.
"Okay." He nods.
As I wander away, Blake grabs my arm and pulls me back. He kisses the side of my head, my cheek, then my lips.
"I love you," he whispers.
"And you."
I slide my arms around his waist and nuzzle against his chest. He pushes my shirt up and showers my belly with kisses.
"And I love this little one too."
"What about me? Do you love me?"
Lo peers around the doorframe with sleepy eyes.
"Of course I love you."
Blake slips past and swings London into the air. London wraps her arms around Blake's neck and giggles. He wanders into the kitchen and places her at the end of the bench.
"Did you tire Uncle Kyle out?"
"Yes." She proudly nods.
Kyle bounces up and shakes his head.
"I'm awake." He rapidly blinks.
"Charlotte's gone out, but she'll be back for dinner," I say.
"Okay." He nods.
"Do you want a blanket?"
"No." Kyle shakes his head. "Can I help with dinner?"
"Sure." I nod.
Blake and Lo stand at the end of the bench, while Kyle and I chop the food to cook.
"We need some music." Blake smiles.
"Can I pick the song?" Lo flutters her eyelashes.
"Maybe later."
"Please." She pouts.
"No." He boops her nose and she frowns.
Blake syncs his phone to the speakers and plays a classic rap song which earns him a nod of approval.
"I don't like this song." London crosses her arms.
"A daughter of mine who doesn't like rap? That can't be." He gasps.
Blake crosses his arms and shakes his head.
"What are we going to do to her?" Kyle raises an eyebrow.
"We need to educate her on good music."
Blake returns to London and flicks through images and songs of his favourite artists while Kyle rocks out to the music. I shake my head and sigh, I suppose I knew this day would arrive at some point.
Once dinner is cooked, Blake sets the table while Kyle and I dish up the food. Charlotte arrives and slumps into a chair.
"Everything is done." She sighs.
"Congratulations." I beam.
Kyle wanders around the bench and places a bowl of salad on the dining table. He kisses her head and squeezes Char's shoulder.
"Thank you for handling it."
"You're welcome." She smiles.
"C'mon, let's eat."
We gather around the table and dive into the food.