MARK"I really wish that I had the opportunity to be there." I tell Alyanna over the phone as I am driving to my first appointment and we are having a conversation about something else."It's ok. I have Maddy and my dad. I'll be ok." She is attempting to reassure me by her actions right now."I am certain that you will, and all that I wish for is to be present when it takes place." I say it in a manner that gives the impression that I am expressing dissatisfaction."Mark, I'm ok. Do not panic." A mumbled voice is just barely audible to me. "I truly apologize, but I have to leave right now. I'll call you after." She says. I'm sorry I won't be able to say goodbye in the traditional sense. I put down my phone and continue driving in the direction that my appointment is supposed to be.After sitting through such a boring conference, the only thing I will want to do when I go back to my hotel room is to go to bed and sleep for the rest of the day. According to Jack, a buddy of mine from th
As I make my way down the hallway, I stop to look at some of the artwork. There is the one with my dad and his parents, a picture of Alyanna and me on our wedding day, a picture of what I believe to be the birth of our child even though I have no idea what her name is, and a picture of Alyanna, the young girl, and me with another baby."Do you have a second child?" I ask out loud."Daddy?" I overhear a weak and worn-out voice saying.I look around and notice a little boy standing there. I keel down. "What's up, Landon?" I make another effort to open my eyes wider. What if it's not even his real name? I ask myself."Where is mommy?" he yelled. He questions it while scratching his eyes."You can find her in the kitchen." I say freezing.What about Milly?"In her room with Lexi," the text reads. Lexi just snuck out. It's possible that we don't call each other that, but I can't say for sure. Nonetheless, I was finally able to discover the name of my child."Can you bring me to mama?" He q
"Mark, everything is fantastic, my wife and I have been married for more than six years now," said the man. The following explains her line of thinking: When I do this, it looks a little strange because I'm pressing the side of my cheek on the base of my neck."Sorry." I say again.She moves closer to me in the distance that separates us. "I love you." She breathes a sigh of relief into my arms before she envelops me in a bear embrace and wraps her arms around me."I adore you too." I start by taking a few steps back from her, and then I go in for a passionate kiss on the lips. Since quite some time ago, I have been giving serious consideration to carrying out the aforementioned action with regard to my Alyanna. at least the Alyanna that I can remember from when I was younger."Let's go." Her voice can be heard uttering the phrases as she shows us the way out of the room.Although everyone else is in the same room, Charlie and Chris and I are watching the football game in the living r
I spring to my feet and immediately set Landon down on the chair before regaining my standing position. "Are you serious?" This is a question that I ask with my eyes starting to well up. I can't even begin to express how happy I am, yet at the same time, I have no idea what to make of this. It's been so long since I've experienced these emotions that I can't even remember the last time they came over me. If they ever did."Yeah, I am." "I'm sorry," she continues, grinning through the tears that are streaming down her face.I hear a lot of people praising one another and clapping their hands, in addition to a few other things, but all that I can think about is the beautiful woman who is standing in front of me. The transformation from a pleased to a sad countenance is so palpable that I can feel it happening to my face."What exactly is it that's bothering you?" Alyanna expresses her concern by asking the question. "Are you certain that you do not wish to have any more children?" She c
I spring to my feet and immediately set Landon down on the chair before regaining my standing position. "Are you serious?" This is a question that I ask with my eyes starting to well up. I can't even begin to express how happy I am, yet at the same time, I have no idea what to make of this. It's been so long since I've experienced these emotions that I can't even remember the last time they came over me. If they ever did."Yeah, I am." "I'm sorry," she continues, grinning through the tears that are streaming down her face.I hear a lot of people praising one another and clapping their hands, in addition to a few other things, but all that I can think about is the beautiful woman who is standing in front of me. The transformation from a pleased to a sad countenance is so palpable that I can feel it happening to my face."What exactly is it that's bothering you?" Alyanna expresses her concern by asking the question. "Are you certain that you do not wish to have any more children?" She c
Before picking me up and placing me on his lap, my dad walks over to the chair I was sitting in and takes a seat there himself. "I'm afraid, dad." I need some time to regain my composure, so please excuse me while I go get it."I know." While he does so, he rubs his fingers in a circular motion all over my back. It is beyond my ability to fathom how anything like that could ever be comforting, but it is."I love him." I would suggest standing up and walking over to where he is sleeping as soon as possible."You do?" My dad asks. "At what point did you grasp the significance of that?" As he gets up from his seat, he requests that I take it so that he can have more space."After the wedding, there followed a brief period of time. Maybe even far earlier than that" I recite it to myself while putting on an act of embarrassment by dropping my head."Is he aware that this is happening?" In the midst of him kneeling in front of me, he poses the question. I can only nod my head. Why wouldn't
Someone is banging on the door, and I can hear it. You know, you really ought to get outside and get some fresh air. It was the nurse who had been there earlier once more."What?" I enquire about it while simultaneously picking myself up off the ground and drying my eyes with a tissue.You need to get out of the hospital and eat something different from the meals that are provided for you there. According to her, she is growing more prepared.I ask Mark this question as soon as I turn back to face him: "Where would I go?""There is a restaurant a little further down the street, in addition to a coffee shop that is just across the street from it. To get your thoughts organized, you need only to go for a walk outside." She instructed me to come over here so that you can provide me some consolation in my time of need."Have you ever been there before?" "Are you familiar with the name of the restaurant?" I ask standing up. Whenever Mark and I go to our favorite cafe, I seem to recall bein
Instantaneously, my look shifts from one of surprise to one of wrath. "What in the name of all that is holy are you hoping to achieve by being here?" I enquire in a tone that is authoritative."I come to see my son," the mother remarked as she entered the room. According to him, he is getting closer."It is imperative that you have been a part of this community from the very beginning. This happened place twenty-four hours ago to the minute. When did that take place, and where were you?" I've had it up to here with the way that he treats Mark, so I decided to inquire about it."I was working." He says this without exhibiting any sorrow in his comments at all, which is surprising.Do you consider the importance of your job to be higher than the importance of your son? I ask stern again. That catches him off guard completely."Of course not." He makes an effort to deceive you."Liar." As I feel tears welling up in my eyes, I murmur something under my breath. I can't help it."I am not l
"Mommy!" I hear yelling as well as loud running footsteps. Kara, Kyle and Willow come running into the kitchen. "Can you finish the story?""Not yet, we gotta wait for daddy and Milly." I dry my hands and lean down to pick up Willow. "Where's Landon?" I ask to go into the living room. I sigh when I see him sitting in front of the TV playing video games. Just like he's been doing with every minute of free time he gets."Come on, go outside and run around, get dirty." I put Willow down next to Landon."But this level is really hard and I can't-" I cut him off by turning off the TV and giving him a no arguing look. "Fine, I'll go outside.""Be a good brother and take your sister to the swing set." I say handing him Willow."Really? It's bad enough I can't finish my game." I put my hands on my hips. "You know what? I have a sudden urge to push my little sister on the swing." He says picking up Willow and walking to the front door."Smart." I call out with a chuckle.Kyle and Kara follow t
"At this same time in 2018, on July 18th, we exchanged our vows and became husband and wife." I'm saying that while Mark is cooking, I should be strolling around the island in our brand-new kitchen and bugging him."I am familiar with the functioning of the calendar." Mark is using his smart mouth in an attempt to convince me to take a seat."Yeah, but today marks our anniversary of being together for a year." I would recommend coming to a complete halt right next to him and displaying him some images from the wedding.I want to reiterate that I am familiar with the operation of the calendar. This time, however, he lets out a chuckle. "OK, go ahead and have a seat. After supper, I'd want to take you somewhere special." Mark tells me that he is putting a plate in the seat next to mine.I get up and make my way over there before sitting down. "Oh, I'm so excited to find out where you've planned our anniversary celebration!" I smirk."This comes as a complete shock to me." He appears to
My birthday is on the first of June, which means that it is only a day away at this point. My hair has now grown out to be almost one inch long. Although there isn't enough to show just yet, it's still there. Mark and I have become even more close recently, and in light of this, we have increased the number of dates we go on that take place outside of the venues we previously attended.We packed a lunch and had a picnic at the highest point of our hike. We went to a community pool with Abby and Charlie, where they gave Lexi her first swim lesson when she was six months old. It was adorable to see how she reacted when she got into the water. We've had a lot of quality time together, both with just the two of us and with our respective friends and families.I've already told Mark that I don't want a party, so instead we're just going to go on a short bike ride around the area and eat lunch somewhere along the way. I instructed him not to get me anything, but he insisted on getting me at
"Ooh look a fortune teller." I can't help but crack a grin as I take a seat with the stuffed elephant I'm holding in my arms.It is not necessary for us to get our horoscopes read at this time. While he is saying this to me and attempting to drag me away from him, he grabs my hand."Yeah, we are now seated." I issue this command. He acquiesces with a rolled eye expression and does what he is told."Get your fortune told for just five dollars," the ad read. The fortune teller cracks a wry smile as she circles her hands around the crystal ball in her possession. Mark removes a five dollar bill from his pocket and places it in the container that she is using. "Each." The female contributor continues. Mark makes an expression of rolling his eyes before adding another five. "Well, right...," the speaker said."There's a chance that we shouldn't even go in there." Turning around is something that Mark objects to."Nope! We didn't drive all the way here simply to turn around and head back ho
"I've made up my mind about what course of action I want to take." When it's time to clean up after supper, Sophie is the one who makes the announcement.The question then was, "And what is that?" I put the plate I'm washing down and turn my attention to her, asking her to pay attention to me instead."I am aware that winter is in full swing, but despite this, I have the urge to participate in some sort of carnival." She withdraws her presence gradually. "I am aware that it is somewhat childish, but I would really like to do it before I become a teenager.""It does not have an infantile quality. I have a feeling that we are going to have a lot of laughs." I'm heading towards the desk where my computer is located right now. I'll investigate whether there are any indoor carnivals in our area. This is what I am saying while I type."Really?" She asks with a grin as she makes her way over to me to keep an eye on what I'm looking for."Absolutely, we're looking forward to the fun. We are a
"Mark?" I stammer out while turning my head to look at him."Alyanna, you have to make sure that you get enough rest. It is currently two o'clock in the morning." Mark utters these words while setting his book down to the side."I just can't shut my brain off. It is imperative that I convey the following information to you." I say blinking slowly.The question is, "What is it?" He requests that you move in a little bit closer."I had a dream about Maya being in this place," the narrator said. When I make an effort to swallow, however, it causes more discomfort than it solves. It had been ten years since I had from high school, and my wife and I were taking our four children with us to attend the reunion. I smile."Really? Were Milly and Landon two of the names that you were considering?" He inquires while straining his eyes slightly to the sides."Yeah, and the other two were a set of twins by the names of Kara and Kyle," she replied. I pause for a moment before asking, "Are you fond
I am roused from my sleep by the soundtrack of a motion picture. I've only made it through one round, but I'm already so exhausted that I can hardly move. Mark has started playing Sweet Home Alabama, and I believe it is approximately halfway through at this point. I turn my head to look at the man I love, who is hiding his identity behind a mask so that he can be here with me.Because he turns to face me and smiles when he sees me looking at him, I believe that he is aware that I am staring at him. At the very least, I believe he's putting on a happy face. "Hi love." While he is doing so, he says while leaning closer to me.I smile. When you speak in that manner, you have a decidedly British accent. I stutter out the phrase.I can make out in the corner of his eye a slight crinkle, which is a clear indication that he's smiling. "Do you like it?" He questions it while cocking his head to the side. I nod. "Then I'll keep doing it love," she replied. He appears to be smiling once more fr
"Explain it to me in detail," I requested. I think to myself as I roll over onto my stomach and hold myself up on my elbows."It had been six or seven years since Thanksgiving when it finally arrived..." It all begins with him."It all makes perfect sense that your car accident had place the day before Thanksgiving." I said nodding along."Anyways. As soon as I went in the door, you walked over to me and introduced yourself. Your hair was about shoulder length. After some time had passed, Charlie and his two young companions entered the room. One was given the name Alexis, and the other was given the name Milly." When her name was mentioned, a big smile spread across my face. She was my grandmother. How does this real-life situation relate to this dream?"Was it the reason you mentioned that you loved the names Milly and Landon?" I inquire while drawing in a bit closer to him in order to get a better look at the emotion that is currently on his face.A very small nod is all that is gi
Sleeping is the last thing I want to be doing right now, but I just can't muster the energy to do anything else because I was up all night last night. We were forced to delay our arrival at the hospital, but this is not a significant issue because nothing will take place until the afternoon of tomorrow. We ended up staying longer.After we got back to the house, we changed into our pajamas and went to bed immediately. Well, I did, and then Mark put on a movie and lied down on his back while I lied on his chest while he watched it. I haven't been able to get around to doing that just yet. I think that a regular drum beat or even the sound of a heartbeat can be soothing when one is trying to fall or stay asleep. I am all for it. When he turns off the light and the television, that's when I open my eyes. Also, when he turns off the TV, I open my eyes. I inquire as to whether or not he requires my presence to be elsewhere. According to everything I've read and seen on the subject, your ar