Three years later

“Mom!” I heard a child call. I rushed to the bedroom where I had heard it from, the bedroom of Ellie and Lizzie.

“Yes?” I asked, coming into their bedroom.

“Lizzie stole my clothes again,” Ellie complained.

“Elizabeth, you need to stop stealing your sister’s clothes,” I said to Lizzie. Then I turned to Ellie. “But don’t pretend you’re not guilty of it too,” I said, before leaving the room. I walked down the stairs of our house, a new one Asa had bought right before we were married. It had four bedrooms and three bathrooms, perfect for our growing family.

I placed a hand on my growing stomach as I walked downstairs, careful not to fall. But I stopped in the middle of the stairs when I heard another call of my name.

“Mommy!” I heard my two-year-old daughter, Eloise, call.

“Just a second, Lou!” I said, turning around and walking back up the stairs. I was stopped on the way by Ethan, Eloise’s twin.

“Mummy, before you go in there, I just want you to know that I didn’t do anything that she accuses me of,” Ethan said seriously. I laughed at him, ruffling his hair.

“Okay little man, will do,” I said, before walking into Eloise’s room. “What wrong, Lou?” I asked.

“Ethan stole my toys and pulled my hair,” she sniffled. I sighed. She told me this every day, without fail.

“Are you sure, honey? Because he seems to do this an awful lot,” I said. She nodded. “Okay, I’ll take care of it.” I left knowing full well that I would just leave her be, she would ‘forgive’ her brother in a few hours’ time. I walked back down the stairs, plopping on the couch. It was the same couch that we had bought nine years ago to furnish the first apartment Asa owned.

The door opened and I looked at it, seeing that Asa had come in and that he was loosening his tie and setting his briefcase down on the end table. After Asa had worked hard, earning his diploma, he had decided to go to law school and he was now one of the best lawyers in Pennsylvania.

“How was work?” I asked him, coming up and kissing his cheek.

“You know, the usual,” he said, shrugging. He smiled at me. “But my day’s better now that I’m home with you.”I smiled and wrapped my arm around his waist, giving him a side hug, as a normal hug was almost impossible with my 7-month baby bump in the way. He wrapped one arm around my waist and one hand came and rested on my bump. The baby kicked, seemingly feeling his dad’s presence.

“Our son’s going to be a feisty one,” Asa said, chuckling.

“What are you talking about?” I joked. “All of our kids are feisty.” Asa chuckled again.

“Right you are, my love, right you are.”