“I thought you said you had gotten a pool for the kids.” Callie stopped by the huge circular inflatable pool set in the middle of the Hunt’s backyard. “This is not a kiddy pool.” She pointed at it, looking at Ava while the blonde moved swiftly in the water, little Aidan on his baby floaty loving every minute of his pool time, all wet and splashing water on his mom.
“Have you seen the size of my husband?” Ava pointed out with a confused frown. Why would she buy a pool that the kid’s father could barely even sit inside? Aidan was only ten months, he was not swimming alone. Besides... It was a Hunt household. Every single one of them benefited from a pool, it was just who they were. Hunt were water people, period. So she went and got a pool big enough to fit them both comfortably and Aidan and a couple more adults and kids.
“I asked the same thing.” Vivian waved it off, holding Danny in her arms as he had insisted he’d be the one to apply sunscreen on his parents. He’d finished her already and now he was applying it on Wesley’s face. Sometimes Callie forgot Danny was only a month from turning two. The boy was huge, he barely fit Vivian’s arms anymore and his hair was wild, he had a full on Danny Zukko toupee brushed back and everything.
“Where’s the British army?” Andrew asked as he came from the kitchen with a couple beers in hand, leaving one by the table next to Wes. “It’s right at your left, man, a bit far from the edge.” He let the man know with a pat on his shoulder and brought his bottle to the pool as he climbed in and Aidan squealed, splashing water on his dad now.
“Thank you.” Wesley called out to Andrew, laughing lightly when Danny spread sunscreen on his eyebrows.
“Athena got barricaded by the dogs.” Callie chuckled, leaving her bag on one of the empty chairs and kicking off her flip flops. Athena was definitely a cat child, she was a Hughes after all, but when she saw dogs, she went nuts. Colin was with her while she gave kisses on all four dogs. Athena was turning one in a month, only a month older than Aidan, and she had just started walking on her own with her wobbly baby steps, so they had to keep an eye out or she’d disappear inside a dog house.
“And how’s the baby?” Viv asked with a smile on her lips. One that Callie mirrored.
She gently rubbed her tiny three months bump and shrugged. The second pregnancy was simply easier, people did not lie about that. They hadn’t been able to find out the gender yet and she was shaking with curiosity. “Athena sometimes touches the bump and gurgles like she’s sharing secrets with the baby.” She chuckled. “I have been ten times hungrier tough and I will say, my Colin is a saint for putting up with the mood swings.” She added.
Ava glanced at Andrew now that he had one hand on Aidan’s floaty, swooshing the laughing baby around, and gave him a look. “We’re good with just one, right?” She whispered to him and he nodded firmly.
“When will you know the gender?” Wesley asked, his eyes closed to allow Danny to thoroughly cover his face in sunscreen before he could put his sunglasses back on.
“Hopefully soon.” Colin answered as he finally came out with a crazy mass of redhead on his arms, still waving at the dogs that followed them, cooing in her baby language. She looked at Callie and smiled like she hadn’t seen her mom in days. She cooed pointing at Callie and looking at Colin like she needed to let him know her mom was there, their quest to find her had come an end.
“Tee!” Danny cheered happily at the sight of the little girl and wiggled from his mom’s lap, ignoring his father’s half sunscreened face and running to Colin so he could greet his friend. Viv chuckled and moved closer, kissing Wesley’s lips before she finished what Danny had started and gently pulled his sunglasses back down to his nose. “The pool!” Danny pointed to show Athena and Viv smiled.
“I’ll take the first pool round.” She let Wesley know and he smiled, kissing her softly and giving her waist a squeeze before she stepped back to go grab their son. “Let’s go, buddy, pool time.” Danny already knew how to swim, they’d made sure to enroll him in swimming lessons early because it helped his lungs develop and both Viv and Wes to exercise more when they went with him. She grabbed him playfully and held him up as he laughed all the way to the pool as Viv climbed him with him and sat down, letting him swim towards baby Aidan.
“Where can I get one of those beers?” Colin asked as Athena leaned onto her mother and Callie picked her up.
“There’s a bunch in the freezer.” Ava let him know and he nodded.
“Where are the Knights?” Callie asked while she kissed Athena’s baby hands on her face.
“Camping again.” Ava chuckled. “Something about a star that only shows up every thousands of years and they had to see it. Weird Moira and Oliver stuff.” Ava waved it off.
“Like bringing your baby on a shark diving trip weird?” Vivian arched an eyebrow at her and Ava shrugged.
“He needs to know his keen from an early age.” Ava teased and Aidan gurgled loudly, clearly agreeing with his mom.
“It was a short trip to California and Aidan even had his little baby safety vest, he was fine”, Andrew protested.
“You want to go in, my love?” Callie talked to her daughter and Athena stared at her with those big hazel eyes, still light but she knew they’d be dark as her father’s. Athena’s lips trembled for a second and she squeezed Callie’s breast, making her chuckle. “You hungry, baby? Okay, let’s eat some before you go in.” She kissed Athena’s cheeks before she could start crying and was quick to turn her back to them all just so she could pull her bikini down on one side and hold Athena properly until she found what she wanted and latched onto her mom’s breast. Her eyes flickered shut instantly as she started eating, tiny little hands one holding onto her mom’s face, the other onto the boob.
Callie was just about to sit when she felt those arms she loved to dearly around her waist and was being pulled into Colin’s lap. He had his beer in one hand now and his wife in the other, leaning back so Callie could do the same against his chest and be comfortable while their daughter ate.
“It’ll be a boy.” Colin whispered in her ear and she looked at him with a dubious smile. “I know it. It’s a boy.” He insisted and there was so much certainty in his voice that Calista shivered, enough that little Athena blinked and looked up, first at her and then Colin. Callie hoped it would be a boy, a boy for Athena to teach the ways of the world she’d quickly learn. A boy so that she’d have a mini Colin, just like Viv had her mini Wes and even Ava got her mini Andrew. A little boy they’d read to and dance with and sing for.
She just smiled at Colin and then looked around. Everything she saw in there, Ava and Andrew moving their baby boy around the water; Danny swimming happily while Viv sunbathed and Wes joined her from the edge of the pool, kissing her forehead; Athena peacefully having her meal before she could go have fun with her friends, Colin sitting back and relaxing with his beer, every once in a while leaning in to kiss her on the cheek or kiss Athena’s ginger head. All of that she had written in her childhood diary, begging the universe to one day give her. A love that would be everlasting, children to carry her family’s history, and friends that would love her unconditionally, whether she had a dumb accent or not.
She got it all. She simply got it all.
