"A new year is like a new book, with nothing written in any of its 365 pages. Make the next one good. Fill it with opportunities, courage, hope, inspiration and lots of happiness."
∞Bonus Chapter: New Year's Eve∞
Time: 2 years after Ash and Austin's marriage.
~Austin~
As I turn onto my left side, a light hits the back of my eyes. Groaning, I sit up to find the light turned on. I yawn, rubbing my eyes. Looking over to my side, I find it empty. I get up wondering where she had gone.
"Ash?" I called out as I walked down the stairs.
"Ash-" I cut myself short as I find her sitting at the dining table with her head on the counter. She fell asleep while writing her article again, I think to myself as I pick her and head upstairs.
I find myself smiling as Ash cuddles up to me in her sleep. I pull close to me, wrapping my arms around her waist. I fall asleep with her head on my chest and her leg on top of my mine.
~Ash~
"Mommy!" a voice cried out making my eyes snap open. Loosening Austin's grip on my waist, I tumble out of bed, running to Hunter's room. I pick him up and pat his back, whispering soothing words in his ear to calm him down.
"What happened baby?" I ask softly as he looks up at me. He starts to whimper and I knew then that he had a nightmare again. Hunter had been having a lot of nightmares lately and sometimes he wouldn't calm down when I held him, so he sleeps in between Austin and me.
I smile as I hear his soft snores. He had set all of his weight on me and was resting his little head on my shoulder. Just as I softly set him down in his crib, he wakes up again. Picking him up again, I take him to our bedroom. Just as I pull a blanket on top of us, he hugs my stomach. I fall asleep with a smile and my son sleeping on my stomach with his arms wrapped around me.
I sigh resting my chin in the palm of my hands. I do a couple of stretches in hopes to relive the kinks in my upper back from sitingin a slouched position. The New Year was only half a day away and I had to finish up this piece for Marco. If this one is good, it could be my big break. Looking up at the clock on the shelf beside my computer, I see the time was Five o'clock PM.
Come on Ash, you can do this, the sooner you finish, the sooner you can go home to your family, I tell myself as I type away at my desk. One of the office girls drops by to give me a cup of coffee, which I thank her for and get back to working.
"I'm done!" I gasp out as I put the folder on Marco's desk. I had ran all way the way from the printer after proofreading and printing out my piece.
"Good work Harper, now hurry home" he says and I thank him before heading down to the parking garage on the elevator.
On the way home, I stop at the bakery two blocks away from our house.
"Ash dear, here is your cake and your cupcakes" the kind woman says handing me my boxes.
"Thank you Angie, happy new year" I say.
"You too dear, drive safely" she says winking and I blush.
"Will do, bye!" I call out waving as I step out the door. She waves back before I head back to my car.
"Mommy!" Hunter squeals hugging my legs as I walk into the living room.
"Hi baby" I say kissing his cheek and giving him a hug. I set him down and he goes back to playing with his blocks.
"Austin?" I call out.
"In the office!" he calls back. Taking off my coat, I hang it in the closet by the door. I sigh in relief as my bare feet hit the soft carpet. Man I really hate heels, I'm going to stop wearing heels to the office starting next year, I tell myself as I walk over to the office. Austin's office was right beside the living room so it was convenient as he could work and keep an eye on Hunter.
"Hey" he says getting up and giving me a quick hug.
"What are you doing?" I ask taking off my scarf. I take my laptop out from my bag and plug it in to charge its low battery.
"Just looking over yesterday's profits" he says not looking up from his laptop and I roll my eyes. Typical boring stuff.
"Alright no more work, we are going to eat dinner and watch a movie" I tell him as I tug him out of the office.
"I'll go get the movie box" he says referring to the box full of movies we kept in the cabinet above the washing machine in the laundry room.
Picking up Hunter, I place him on his high chair in the kitchen and pull out a pack of elbow macaroni from the cabinet.
"Are you making mac and cheese?" Austin asks hugging me from behind.
"Yes, shred the cheese for me?" I ask pointing to the block of cheddar cheese on the counter to my right.
"Sure" he says getting to work. Austin helps me prepare the mac and cheese I had started to make as well as the garlic bread and apple pie for dessert.
"Alright, do we want to watch the three stooges or dumb and dumber?" I ask Austin as I make myself comfortable on the sofa beside him.
"Dumb and dumber" he says. I already knew he chose it because his favourite actor, Jim Carrey, was in it.
~Austin~
Halfway through the movie, Ash goes to the room to take a phone call from work. I roll my eyes, always on the phone. Switching on my own phone, I see the photo I set as my background. It was a picture of Hunter and Ash asleep with Hunter laying on her chest with his arms around her. I smile at the memory of it. I woke up to find them like that and I just had to take a picture. And I realize that I was starting to sound cheesy but you know what? I don't mind, I love my wife and I love my son, and I'm not ashamed of being cheesier than cheese wiz for them.
Ash walks back into the room just as I put away my phone. In her hands she was holding a white bakery box.
"What's in there?" I ask curiously.
"Cake" she says shrugging, sitting back down beside me.
"Should I put some in a plate for us then?" I ask and she nods yawning. Take the box from her and walk into the kitchen. I cut the tape off the box with a knife and it open it. Before opening the box, I grab two plates and forks. Opening the box, I freeze as I see the cake.
My vision becomes blurry as I look at the cake. It was a baby rattle with the word congratulations on it. Forgetting everything, I run into the living room and pick Ash up, spinning her around. Setting her down, I hug her, laughing and smiling like a lunatic.
"So I'm guessing you saw the cake?" she says giggling and I nod smiling widely.
"Are you serious?" I ask in a whisper.
"Of course I am" she says wrapping her arms around my neck. My gaze falls on her stomach as I delicately wrap my arms around her waist.
"When did you find out?" I ask looking down at her.
"I found out two days ago" she says touching my cheek.
Grabbing the hand she was resting on my cheek, I kiss the palm of it, "Thank you so much."
"No, thank you... for believing in me" She says looking up at me. I just kiss her cheek in response. A loud noise comes from outside and Ash laughs.
"Fireworks! Hunter wanna see the fireworks?" She asks picking up Hunter as he giggles.
The three of us stand outside on the patio at the front of the house, watching fireworks burst into many different colours in the sky.
"Happy New Year!" Ash says kissing Hunter and I on the cheeks.
"Happy New Year" I say kissing Hunter and Ash on the top of their heads, as I wrap my arms around them from the back.
© sandeep_xoxo All Rights Reserved
A/N: Those who wanted more of Austin's point of view, here you go. If you haven't noticed, there are more of Austin POVs in the bonus chapters. Also Happy New Year even though theres still a few days left :P There's an adorable pic of Austin and Hunter on the side :)
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