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Now Allison was teary-eyed in earnest.
Annie was looking at me in confusion, and then she noticed Allison’s tears. “Why are you sad, Auntie Allison?”
“I’m not sad at all. These are tears of happiness,” Allison said quickly, but Annie reached out to give her a hug anyway. “All right, guys, take the waffles outside, please. Uncle Nick, can you go ahead with them?” She helped them down from their chairs and handed them some plates. Jack managed the waffle plate.
“Sure!” I grabbed the syrups and spreads and ushered the little ones out back.
I realized Allison wanted a moment alone, probably to compose herself. After they sat down at the table, I hurried back inside the house to check on her.
“Allison, you okay?”
She was leaning against the kitchen counter. Her eyes were a bit red.
“Yes. It truly hit me that Jim and Nora will never experience this—their firsts, you know? When they learn to tie their shoes, when they first go to school, and so on.”
“I had a similar moment this morning. That’s why it’s so important that they have stability and have us now.” She nodded, and I asked, “Are you ready to come out?” I grabbed two more plates.
“Are my eyes still red?”
“A bit.”
“Then I’ll wait a few more minutes. I don’t want to confuse them. I want to be strong for them.”
“Allison, you are strong, and they know that. Trust me.”
“How would you know?” she whispered.
I set the plates back down and stood in front of her, cupping her face with both hands.
“Because they do. Kids have good instincts. Just because you get emotional doesn’t mean you’re not strong. Take all the time you need. I’ll entertain them.”
“It’s okay. I’m good. I’ll come outside,” she said. “Let me just grab pomegranate juice. We all love it.”
I took the plates, and she came out a minute later with the juice and glasses. The twins had already gobbled down their waffles by the time we sat down. They were going to ask for seconds soon. Luckily, we’d made enough to feed a small army.
Glancing around the table, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we looked like a real family. I’d truly never envisioned myself as a dad, and I still didn’t, but did you ever, really? As far as this morning went, I hadn’t done such a bad job—except for the fact that I hadn’t changed their clothes.
“After you eat, we should go and put all your clothes in the wash, okay? And dress you two in something new,” Allison said, as if reading my thoughts.
“Noooo! I am a princess today,” Annie protested.
Jack just shrugged.
“Fine, then,” Allison gave in. “You’ll be a princess for as long as you want.”
As we ate the rest of the waffles, she turned and asked, “How come you woke up so early? You said you always like to sleep in on weekends.”
“Not possible.”
“Why not?”
I decided to fess up. “I’m bringing my own couch. I’ll see how I can get that done today.”
Allison gasped. “It was really that bad?”
“Absolutely awful. I don’t know how I ever fooled myself into thinking it was comfortable, but it was not.”
She winced. “I’m truly sorry, Nick. But don’t stress about it. If we can’t find a way to bring it today, I’ll sleep there, or we can find a way to share the bed.”