You & Me

Four Months Later

Our backyard was crowded, and I needed a minute away, out of the sun and in the quiet of the living room. I leaned against the couch and sipped my wine—a sparkling red blend, something I’d found for Landon for today—and watched our friends and families mix and mingle in the backyard.

My family was small. My dad had flown in from Arizona, and he’d discovered a new best friend in Landon’s father. They’d spent the past three hours talking, lost in each other at the far end of our patio table. Like father, like son, I supposed. Our families were destined to be close.

Landon’s whole family was here. His mom and dad, and all his brothers and his sister, came down from Utah. For months, Landon and his siblings had been working on their relationship, trying to mend what had broken between them.

It had been a long, hard road, but they were here, and they were happy for us today.

Bowen and Emmet were in the pool, of course, and surrounded by all their cousins. Landon’s siblings had sixteen kids spread amongst them, ranging from one to fifteen years old. Bowen was the eldest of the bunch, and now Emmet was the second eldest.

As the big kids, they were in charge of the pool. All day, we’d watched our sons hurl their cousins into the water in cannonball contests, lead splash wars, be the base for games of war, and play endless rounds of Marco Polo.

Bethany, Lakshmaan, and Aarti had hit it off, and the three of them—along with Bethany’s boyfriend, Dallen—sat on the chaise loungers by the rosebushes, well outside the gargantuan splash zone.

Annie and Landon’s mom were talking up a storm as well, shading themselves beneath the umbrella as they sipped lemonade.

The patio door opened, and Landon slipped into the house. He smiled and came to join me.

“Hey, husband.”

Landon was rosy from the sun and the sparkling wine. “Hey, husband.” He kissed me on the lips. “You okay?”

I nodded. “I’m great.”

How could I not be? This was my wedding day.

We’d married in our backyard that morning with our family and friends surrounding us. Bowen and Emmet were at our sides when we vowed to love each other for all time.

After I’d proposed, Landon and Bowen moved Emmet and I in almost overnight. We spent the holidays as a family setting up our home together. Emmet took the bedroom across the hall from Bowen’s. They painted his room, and when they were done moving Emmet’s furniture in, Bowen brought his TV over and gave it to Emmet. “Let’s put this here,” he said. “I like your room better.”

We heard their voices and their laughs above us every day, along with the sound of their feet and their desk chairs moving back and forth—and back and forth—across the upstairs hallway.

Downstairs, Landon’s bedroom was now our bedroom and my clothes shared space with his in the dresser. My toothpaste, toothbrush, and deodorant lived on the empty sink in his bathroom. No, not empty. Mine.

Pictures of Emmet and me hung on the walls, though, most of the time, we framed and hung photos of the four of us.

We were inseparable. With football over, the weekends were ours again, and Landon, Bowen, Emmet, and I did everything together. We kayaked and fished and camped, went to the farmer’s market and to the monthly art walks, went to galleries and exhibitions and museums. We drove to tour college campuses for both boys, and Bowen settled on a school he could commute to while still living at home. Emmet eyed the same college, and I took him to both the art and science departments to check out their programs.

This was our life, and none of us were in any hurry to move on from the perfection we’d found. Emmet had one more year of high school, and Bowen was going to stay at home at least until Emmet graduated. Then maybe they would go to college together, or maybe their paths would split.

They would always be brothers.

I threaded my fingers through Landon’s and kissed the back of his hand. Outside, Emmet and Bowen were balancing two of their cousins on their shoulders in the pool, the younger kids squaring off with water guns in a super-soaking splash contest. I would need to draw this later. Maybe Emmet and I could work on some sketches together, capture today and these moments between us.

I smiled at my husband. Had I ever imagined a life this joyous, this wonderful? A year ago, did I have any idea this was possible? Everything had changed, and all for the better.

All because of him. “I love you.”

Landon beamed. “I love you, too.” He rested his forehead against mine.

“I love this. I love our life.” I nuzzled Landon as the sounds of the backyard rolled over us. Children shrieked, and I heard Emmet and Bowen’s voices calling out points and fouls from the super-soak game. My dad’s laughter, and Landon’s siblings. There was Bethany, too, and Lakshmaan, and Annie’s twang in the middle of it all.

“Bowen and Emmet are amazing with their cousins, aren’t they?”

“They are.” Landon’s eyes sparkled as he watched our boys.

I watched him. “What do you think about making them both big brothers for real?”

He stilled, and then turned to me with a held breath. “Really?”

I wanted everything. Landon and Bowen, Emmet and me, and more. We had so much love between the four of us, more than enough to grow our family. I’d dreamed of Landon and me raising more children in this home, and of Bowen and Emmet with younger brothers and sisters.

Maybe Bowen would stay at home for longer if he had younger siblings. I could picture him as the eldest of our children, guiding them all, mentoring each one. Emmet, too, would be an amazing brother. He would cherish his brothers and sisters and all the quiet moments, the day-to-day affections, and be the cornerstone for his siblings’ lives.

“Really.” I kissed his nose. “I want to raise more kids with you, Landon.”

Landon’s shoulders trembled, and he clung to my hand. “You want to do it all again?”

Another round of bedtimes and baths, terrible twos and the temper tantrums, fighting to eat vegetables, and endless nights of elementary school homework. More teenage attitude, teenage appetites, and teenage stench.

I smiled. “I do, with you, and with our sons.”

“You and me,” Landon breathed. “And our family.”

“Sounds like perfection.”