(Anj’s POV)“Are you sure you’ll be fine here with the kids?” I asked Anya as she massaged her legs. She complained about her muscles feeling stiff and her feet sore after walking for almost two hours. Well, at most times, we walked, but sometimes it was more like running after my kids, being their first time in the amusement park.“Yeah! Go!” She winced as she looked up at the Ferris Wheel. I knew how much she liked riding it, loved seeing everything on the ground from the top, but something seemed to stop her.Sitting on the wooden bench, my three girls enjoyed their cotton candy, not minding if their mother was riding the Ferris Wheel.“If I have to walk again, I’ll die early, Anj,” She chuckled. “Enjoy the ride.” She smiled, glancing at Dylan as he bought tickets for us.“That’ll be a few minutes,” I said worriedly, looking at the kids.“They’ll be fine with me, Anj. Don’t worry, and please, don’t kill the romance up there,” She reminded me, moaning as she leaned on the bench’s ba
(Anj’s POV)“What did you do to Angela?” Anya growled at him, hitting Dylan again in his arm, maybe harder this time because I saw him cringe. “You were supposed to have a good time, not scare her.”“Stop it, Anya,” I said as my eyes looked at the doctor putting a bandage on my sprained ankle. Good thing, it was only mild, but the bad side of it was I ruined Dylan’s plans and ended the fun for my children.Their eyelashes were still wet after wailing almost endlessly when they saw me fall and cry in pain. “He didn’t do anything to scare me. I just missed that step, that’s all,” I lied, opening my arms so my kids would come to me. Only Lyra Helene and Selene came to me, but Leyanne remained at the foot of the bed, watching the doctor and asking him many questions.“You have one future doctor here,” The old doctor smiled gently at me as he finished wrapping an elastic bandage to my foot.I smiled back, seeing myself in Leyanne, but that upward shape on my lips disappeared when I saw S
(Sky’s POV)I wish I knew what was going on in Angela’s mind.She was quiet the entire drive from the amusement park to the nursing home. With three girls at the back telling me how their day went, I could imagine the fun but the horror of seeing their mother falling and getting hurt.“Uncle Dylan kept saying I’m sorry to Mommy,” Selene said.“But Mommy was just crying, and then Uncle Dylan carried her to the clinic.” Lyra Helene continued.“Then Aunt Anya cried too because Mommy was hurt,” Leyanne added.“What did Uncle Dylan do to Mommy?” My hand gripped the car steering wheel, but I could not dare look at her or the kids in the rearview mirror.“We don’t know,” Selene answered. “Maybe he took back the candy because Mommy ate his candy.”“Interesting.” I sighed, hating that I was getting angry as I imagined Dylan kissing Angela.We reached the nursing home, and like the first time I came here, I stopped in the same spot Angela parked the car and watched my kids unfasten their seatbe
(Sky’s POV)I walked Angela to the dresser and helped her dry her hair.“You used to have long hair,” I glanced at the picture. “Why did you cut your hair?”She scoffed. “With three girls to tend to, even drying my hair is a luxury for me.” She looked at our reflection in the mirror after I turned off the hairdryer. I took the hairbrush from the table, but she shook her head as I was about to pull her hair in a ponytail, her usual hairstyle. She took her hairclip from the box and put it in her hair, making her look more like a teenager than a mother of three.“Sister Grace was looking for this. She thought I lost this,” Angela widened her eyes as she moved her head from side to side, checking on her hair.“It must be precious for her,” I said.“Maybe,” she chuckled as she raised her head to look at me. “She has been putting this in my hair since I was two? Maybe…” She squinted her eyes. “Anya said she has been putting this in my hair since my head started growing hair.”I only nodded,
(Anj’s POV)Sky left an hour ago after he successfully resisted my children’s pleading to stay for the night. He promised to return on Saturday and looked at the calendar on the wall, and we will all have to wait for two days.My forehead creased.Not we… They! They needed two forty-winks before that day to come. I lifted the cup and sipped coffee. After Sky’s conversation with Sister Grace, he was quiet that I was afraid he would just flee the nursing home without saying goodbye to me, but after staying alone in the garden for more than fifteen minutes talking to someone on the phone, he went back inside, surprised me with a searing kiss that I almost beg him to make love to me in the small office.“Dinner!” Dylan raised the paper bags in his hands, smiling at me.I smiled at him and put down the cup on the table. “Did you have to catch the chicken yourself?” I joked, hoping it would help us all lighten the mood after what happened today.“No. Anya and I had to argue for long minutes
(Anj’s POV)My eyes were glued to my children as they packed their own backpacks with their toys and books, the things they wanted to bring to the island. If only I could tell them I hadn’t heard of him since he left the nursing home.This is what I wanted, for him not to show up and for us not to see each other anymore, but this would be the first time I wished I didn’t have to say something terrible or morbid to my girls.“Mommy, what time will Daddy come?” Selene turned to me.I blinked.If my daughter asked what chemicals made up the sky, I could answer her right away, but as to what time or whether Sky would come, I do not know the answer.“Daddy said to ask Aunt Anya and Uncle Dylan to come, and we should bring only our favorite toys,” Leyanne said. “But Mommy, we also bring some books.”I smiled nervously. “You can bring anything you want, baby.”Lyra Helene went to the window, propped her elbows, and pressed her cheeks in her arms. “Why aren’t you preparing, Mommy?” she asked
(Anj’s POV)Finn was drinking champagne as he sat comfortably in his seat.Anya was busy taking pictures, and maybe before we reached our destination, she would be done covering all parts of the plane, with different poses in her camera except sitting on the pilot’s seat while we were still on the flight. Dylan pretended to be busy reading a magazine he found on the seat but constantly stole glances and checked on me. After that kiss on the Ferris Wheel, we never got the chance to talk again because, first off, I made sure I never stayed in one place alone with him, and second, I hardly went home to Aunt Rose’s home.My kids were on the bed, playing with Nitro, short for nitrogen, the name they gave the puppy. The dog was a ‘she’, and the entire drive to the airport, they argued many times about what her name should be. In the end, they settled on the largest chemical composition of the sky. When they finally had the name, there was a bit of argy-bargy on how she should be called. Si
(Anj’s POV)“This is life!” Anya exclaimed as she sat on the oversized hanging swing on the porch. She propped a pillow to the edge of the swing and lay down. I sat on the other swing, just across from her. I imagined the waves crashing into the ocean by just listening to their sound.Dylan joined us. “This place is so big, the kids could get lost,” he said, sitting beside me.Anya raised her eyebrows. “Relax, Dylan. You’re not the dad. No offense, dude!”He sighed. “Don’t dude me, Anya. I have lots of work, but you dragged me here.”She got up. “Dylan, let’s relax for a while, okay? Even if we work our asses off, we won’t get to own this place. So please…” She pouted when Dylan shook his head.“Anya’s right. Let’s just relax, okay?” I said, putting my feet up and hugging my knees. I tilted my head to check on my kids playing with Nitro. It must be Sky’s idea to give them the puppy so they won’t remember him.Maybe it was for the best.“Ohhh….” Anya moaned as she closed her eyes. “P