Page 104 of Warwick
I don’t know about Jayden, but it helps.
Trip once told me that he didn’t know if they could have done it without us. I simply reminded him that this place has always been about family, and we've always been the proverbial village that took care of each other. There was no way in hell any of us were going to stop doing that, especially in regard to the children. All of us are aunties and uncles who’ll give our lives for these two little ones.
Anja and Georg Bash, with Trip and Sam’s permission, have anointed themselves Jayden and Renée’s honorary grandparents. Along with Wyatt, they’ve been instrumental in helping Trip and Sam understand these two little ones as they grow into people.
Desi’s approach to grandparenthood cracks me up. He complains that it’s unfairly aging to him, but nobody’s buying it. Jayden pretty much calls everyone by their first names, but he calls DesiYayo, and I know for a fact that Desi eats that shit up. He’d spoil them rotten if Trip and Sam let him.
I refocus on our little family, smiling at Colt and Joaquin as they take the kids into the living room to play with toys. Trip and Sam join me in the kitchen. They look at me, then look at each other, and seconds later, Trip leans into Sam and bursts into tears.
“What happened at the doctor’s office?” I ask, terrified that it might be bad news.
Trip lifts his head, his eyes red and face tear-streaked, and there’s a smile the size of the Grand Canyon on his face.
“I’m sorry. Everything’s fine, really. It’s just…Jayden just called me Daddy when we pulled up to the house right now. I was helping him get out of his car seat, and he surprised me with a graham cracker kiss on my cheek. I started laughing, and he yelled, ‘Gotcha, Daddy.’”
Trip’s voice gives way on those words, and Sam looks up at me with big eyes. “And then he hops down and hugs my leg, informing me that Trip is Daddy and I’m Papa, like Papa Bash next door. And he kind of just nods to himself like he’s made a decision and then walks off with his fire truck. So we’re both kind of a mess right now.”
I gather my dear friends up into a huge hug and shed a few tears with them, so proud of what they're doing. I’m leaving the kitchen with a beer and a huge smile when Colt meets me in the living room.
He pulls me to him. “Have you been crying?”
I laugh to myself. “Jayden just called Trip and SamDaddyandPapa. And they’re crying, so now I'm crying.”
Colt’s eyes light up, and his smile brightens the entire room. He pulls me in for a hard hug, and I hear Joaquin's boots clack along the wooden floor.
“What's going on here?” he asks, baby Renée on his hip like it’s the most natural spot for her to be. “And can I join in?”
Colt and I laugh and open our arms to him. Colt explains the happy tears, and Joaquin’s smile is as broad as Colt’s, the creases around his eyes making him even more handsome.
“Jayden knows that he's safe with a family who loves him.”
I grin, first kissing Colt and then Joaquin.
“I know exactly how he feels.”
* * *
