The Next Chapter Begins
Chapter 49: The Next Chapter Begins
“Did you miss us?”
Tawan was knelt down before Sammy who was bouncing on his feet as he put his hands on her shoulders for balance. He nodded excitedly, beyond enthused to have his beloved mothers back home, and jumped on her again for another bear hug. This time he wrapped his legs around her middle and Tawan’s hearty laugh made his ears jingle.
Ira was standing next to them holding Star on her hip as she peppered her cheek with kisses that tickled the little girl and made her giggle. She missed that sound so she aimed for more by pretending to eat her cheek which made her laugh. As she pulled back to look at her with all the love she possessed, she grinned motherly and in amusement at her missing front tooth that her brother-in-law joyfully FaceTimed to show them a few days ago.
She got a little sad at how much her precious babies were starting to show the all too telling signs of growing up.
“They both have been talking nonstop all day about how much they couldn’t wait to see you two,” Tawan’s father chimed in, smiling down at his grandson.
Ira smiled at her father-in-law before looking back at her daughter who wrapped her arms around her neck to hold her close. She kissed her cheek again then poked her nose there which made her giggle again. Star had a lot of fun with her uncle and grandma in Hong Kong, and even more when she and her brother arrived back home with their grandma a few days ago, but she missed her mothers terribly.
Tawan stood with Sammy as she squeezed him to her and rubbed up his back. He laid a big kiss on her cheek that made her laugh at how loud and wet it was before hugging her tightly around her neck again. She smiled as she scratched her fingers at the back of his head, something she liked to do when he would stand beside her and cling to her leg, before pressing a long kiss to his cheek.
“Were they good?” Tawan teased, tickling his side.
“They’re always good,” her mother answered, nodding at them.
Sammy was laughing uncontrollably as he squirmed away from Tawan’s quick fingers which made her belly laugh. Ira laughed at them as she walked up to grab her wife’s wrist to stop her so they could exchange kids. Once Tawan had Star on her hip, her little hands grabbed her face to kiss her nose, eliciting a laugh out of her that made her eyes disappear. Sammy hugged Ira’s cheek to his cheek and gave her just as wet of a kiss as he did Tawan which made her giggle then rub their noses together.
“Momma? Did you see the Statue of Liberty?” Star asked curiously. Her missing front tooth made an adorable sound like she whistled when she talked which pricked the adults hearts.
“We did,” Tawan answered then kissed her head. “Mommy took a lot of pictures to show you. Wait until you see the fireworks from New Year's.”
Star clapped excitedly. “Did you eat pizza, too?” She asked just as curiously.
Tawan chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, they were as big as you,” she told her, widening her eyes for added effect.
Star was amazed as she thought about how huge the whole pizza would have to be if just one slice was that big. Tawan smiled at her as she thought about the time they spent together the Saturday before they would leave in a few days. Ira was busy with some last minute meetings for work, so she took the twins with her to the office to finish a few things for the team in her absence.
Sammy was a little sick that day with a tummy ache, and she felt bad for having to drag him outside instead of resting at home, so she laid him down for a nap on her office couch. Star followed her around the office, helping her put papers on certain people's desks and watching her as she wrote notes on the whiteboard. The last thing Tawan needed to do was send some emails, so Star took that moment to ask about her and Ira’s vacation.
Tawan smiled at her as she answered her questions before adding her own things she was excited about. It was how they came about the conversation of food which prompted Tawan to pick her up and place her on her lap so she could show her some pictures on the internet. Star’s jaw dropped at how large the pizza slices could be on top of how hungry the dumplings in Chinatown made her feel.
“Mommy? Did you bring me back a present?” Sammy asked bluntly as he played with her hair.
“Sammy!” Tawan’s mother reprimanded, eyeing him sternly.
Tawan laughed as she reached over to poke his belly. “It’s okay,” she chuckled, winking to her mom.
“We need to work on your build up, son,” Ira laughed before kissing his temple.
“You’ll see when we get home,” Tawan answered and pinched his cheek.
The twins cheered at the thought of more gifts so soon after Christmas and especially after their Uncle Wei took them out almost everyday and got them something. Their grandparents were just as giving a few days ago when they went to the mall for a few items and ended up leaving with a few trinkets for themselves. It seemed that they were always being inundated with presents these days and they could not get enough.
“Did you want to have lunch here before heading home?” Tawan’s mother asked, pointing inside their home. The twins met their mothers at the front door and wasted no time in how much they missed them by climbing on them, so they still had not made it fully inside the house.
Tawan smiled at her mother then looked to Ira who nodded at her as she kissed Sammy’s cheek. Though they were both exhausted from the strenuous traveling back home, they could also smell the delicious aroma coming down the hall. Moreover, Ira knew how much Tawan loved her mother’s cooking and she always used every visit to her in-laws home to both watch her mother-in-law cook to take notes and pick her brain for some more recipes for her family.
“We’re starving, actually,” Tawan said as she set Star down.
“The trip back was more tiring than the trip there,” Ira added in agreement.
“Well, come in and rest for a while,” Tawan’s father smiled warmly as he ushered them in.
“May I watch?” Ira asked her mother-in-law. She pressed one more kiss to Sammy’s cheek as she set him down before raking her fingers over his hair at the top of his head.
“You never have to ask, my daughter,” the older woman smiled motherly and grabbed her elbow.
Ira smiled back as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders to both hug her and so she could listen closely to her tell her what she was cooking. Tawan smiled as she watched them head down the hall and turn the corner just as her children each grabbed a hand to drag her to the living room. Her father chuckled as he watched his grandchildren bombard his daughter with a million and one questions.
Tawan let the twins drag her to the living room couch and force her to sit down so they could sit close on each side, practically sitting on her having missed her so much. She tried to keep up with each question and story they had as they both asked about her trip and caught her up everything during their time apart. Her eyes started to cross and she was getting whiplash bouncing between them as she tried to keep up with them and their energy despite being depleted of all of hers.
“Hey, slow down. Remember we talked about how tired your mothers would be when they got back home,” their grandfather reminded them, a gentle warning on his face.
Star and Sammy looked to their grandfather and nodded obediently before sitting fully in their seats. They did not mean to overwhelm their parents, but they were so excited to have them back to catch them up on their adventures in Hong Kong as well as ask about theirs in New York. Their uncle and grandmother shared pictures with them that their parents had sent and they thought it was so cool they went all the way over to the other side of the world.
“Momma? Uncle Wei said that he used to beat you in karate. Is that true?” Sammy asked as he held her hand.
Tawan scoffed and shook her head profusely. “Your uncle is a liar,” she snorted and rolled her eyes.
“You said don’t call people liars,” Star reminded her, head tilted and eyebrow raised.
Tawan tried to not laugh at the irony thinking about having to reprimand her daughter for calling her brother a liar when he asked Ira when she was coming back home from Paris.
“Oops,” she mumbled to herself before nodding in agreement. “No, you’re right, baby girl. I apologize. You’re uncle…he, uh…he likes to tell stories.”
Star giggled behind her hand. “Momma can shake her coach when she kicks him,” she informed her brother pridefully.
Tawan smiled and nodded proudly. “That’s right, my princess,” she agreed.
“Cool,” Sammy smiled as he played with her wedding band. “Can we go back to Hong Kong with you and Mommy next time?”
“Yeah!” Star chimed in, grabbing her arm. “We had so much fun with Uncle Wei and Maa, but we want to go back with you and Mommy.”
“Actually, me and Mommy were talking about going there with you two this year,” Tawan nodded, smiling to them and their excitement. “I want to take you guys ice skating. Papa and Maa used to take me and Uncle Wei almost every year. Right, Dad?”
Tawan looked up to her father who was smiling at her with nothing but pride and joy as he watched her interact with her children. It never ceased to amaze him how natural and bountiful his daughter’s love and devotion for her family could beam off of her and hit you like the rays of the sun. He still harbored some parental guilt having bounced his children between countries, but it was moments like this that reminded him every time that things worked out how they were supposed to and how much he and his wife did a great job raising two wonderful human beings.
He nodded as he cleared his throat into his fist. “Some of our best memories of you two,” he smiled adoringly, winking to her.
She smiled curiously at him when she noticed the shift in his demeanor, almost catching what he was thinking about through his stare. Just as Tawan opened her mouth to ask if he was okay, her mother came into the living room to let everyone know that lunch was ready before heading back to the kitchen. The twins cheered gleefully knowing that she had made one of their favorite dishes, and the noise tore Tawan’s attention away from her father.
“You two go wash up for lunch,” Ira instructed as she entered the living room.
Star and Sammy shot out of their seats to race to the bathroom to wash their hands. Ira chuckled as she dodged them almost running her over as they rushed past her. She could not really blame them, though, because it took a lot of self restraint to not fall into one of the pots at how delectable it smelled. Ira got excited about the meal they were about to enjoy, but also about some ideas she had for her family dinners next week.
“I’ll go check on them,” Tawan’s father offered as he exited the room.
Tawan watched him go, her mind still on his look earlier, before she made a mental note to ask him about it later. She strived so much to be just like her father in terms of the example he provided in how to love and take care of your family, dote on your wife, and adore your children. The thought crossed her mind about the look he was giving her as something akin to achievement or self fulfillment.
“What’s on your mind?” Ira asked, grabbing her face at her temples and rubbing her thumbs over her forehead. “You’re going to give yourself lines if you keep thinking this hard, my love.”
Tawan laughed and grabbed her wrists. “Nothing except you like always,” she answered, bringing her hands down.
Ira winked and leaned over to peck her lips. “You look so tired, babe,” she pouted some and palmed her cheeks.
“That was the most difficult travel back I’ve ever done. It was rough,” Tawan sighed tiredly, wrapping her arms around her waist and trying to not yawn. “But, we are back home with our babies and that’s all that matters.”
“We’ll sleep in as long as you want,” she promised, nodding as her eyes glanced to her ring. “Oh! Your mom said you did a really good job with the ring.”
Tawan smiled at her grinning proudly at her. “You still have to show Star,” she reminded, scratching lazily at her lower back.
“Oh, she’ll love it,” Ira said excitedly, flashing it to her. “I love it so much. I know I tell you this almost every hour, but I really do. You did such a good job, babe.”
“The feeling is mutual for my watch, my love,” she nodded, her fingers grazing it at her lower back.
Ira grabbed her face again to pull her in for a kiss in thanks. At the sound of their children running back down the hall to them to head to the dining room to eat, they smiled against each other’s lips. They were so happy to be back home with their children, fully recharged and ready to tackle everything the new year would bring.
“Let’s go eat!” Star cheered as she grabbed Tawan’s hand and pulled on it.
Both women chuckled at them as Sammy also grabbed Ira’s arm to pull her, as well. They looked to each other and smiled, so happy to be back with their bundles of joy.
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“I need a nap,” Ira groaned, plopping down on the couch. She scooted over to her's and Tawan’s corner to lay down and rest.
“Me, too,” Sammy said as he hopped up next to her.
Ira smiled at him as he crawled over to rest between her and the couch, laying his head on her shoulder. She snuggled him close and kissed the top of his head just as Star walked up and pointed at the other side in asking. Ira opened her arm up to her and she climbed up to take up residence on her other shoulder as she kissed her forehead. It seemed that everyone needed a nap all of a sudden and Ira closed her eyes and smiled as she snuggled them close to herself.
Tawan rolled in the last of her family’s luggage to the entrance of their home before locking up the front door. She kicked her shoes off and yawned, stretching her back and arm muscles as high as she could while she made her way to her family. They were all half asleep on the couch and she smiled at how comfortable they looked knowing how tired they were.
Everyone would definitely be sleeping in tomorrow to let their bodies rest and relax.
“You guys take a nap,” Tawan said as she walked up to them. She leaned over the back of the couch to grab her wife’s face to kiss her upside down then the heads of their children.
“You come here, too,” Ira instructed around a yawn.
“In a minute,” Tawan replied, smiling and pecking her lips this time.
“Babe,” Ira half whined and yawned. “Rest.”
Tawan chuckled, rubbing her thumbs over her cheeks then kissed her forehead. “I promise I will in a minute. Go to sleep,” she said, massaging her fingers in her hair.
Ira pouted, but her eyes drooped tiredly. “What are you about to go do?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing,” she answered, laughing as she kissed her lips one more time then stood back straight. “Go to sleep. I’ll join you guys in a few minutes.”
“Pinky promise?” Ira demanded and raised her pinky to her. Something told her that her wife was about to do everything but rest now that they were back home.
Tawan laughed again and linked their pinkies. “I love you,” she told her and kissed her pinky.
Ira smiled sleepily up at her then kissed her lips at her before snuggling their children back close to her again. She turned her head and rested her nose between Sammy’s forehead and hairline as she rubbed Star’s arm to coax them into a nap that they were slowly drifting towards. Tawan covered them with one of the couch blankets then leaned on her hands onto the back of the couch again to smile at them before pushing off to quietly pick up their luggage to put away.
She wanted to have all of their things put away and the laundry started by the time they woke up from their late afternoon nap. Ira was always putting everyone's things away when they got back from trips, so she wanted to pull her weight and help get it done now rather than later. Besides, it gave her the opportunity to to set out the gifts they had got the twins on their beds as a surprise when they woke up.
It took almost an hour for Tawan to put everyone's things away and start some laundry. She put her hands on her hips and smiled in accomplishment at the laundry going in the machine before she headed back to the living room. After checking on her family, she went to grab them some water to set on the coffee table once they woke up then fixed the blanket over them having noticed it moved some in their sleep before heading to her office.
Tawan knew she should be resting, but her new CEO brain was begging her to check some emails and go over some ideas she had been working on. After their discussion in their bathtub about Ira’s ideas for FleurDe beyond just the magazine and writing, she started planning and structuring how it all could work. Meena was definitely on board with it when she told her about it a few days later at work.
She also had to go over the final contract for their bodyguard, Han, that Ira had selected weeks ago.
Ira stirred awake when Star’s knee connected with her thigh rather hard and made her groan some. She yawned as she looked at her children still sleeping peacefully for a moment then carefully kissed their foreheads. Just as she decided to go back to sleep with them, she remembered that a certain someone was not present as pinky promised.
“That woman, I swear,” Ira mumbled and rolled her eyes. She carefully disentangled herself from the twins then scooted them close together to cover them up.
Ira stretched her arms high above her head to work out her kinks, and her eyes landed on the water on the coffee table. She smiled, knowing how it got there, as she grabbed the bottle to unscrew the cap and take a long drink after such a successful nap. Her wife loved to brag about how she was always so thoughtful and steps ahead to their needs, but Tawan was always steps ahead of her steps.
She set the bottle back down half full for her children in case they woke up and got thirsty. Ira kissed their heads softly then pulled the covers up around them more to tuck around them before heading down the hall in search of Tawan. It did not take a rocket scientist to know where her wife was, and she thought about reprimanding her before she smelled the laundry detergent and heard the dryer going.
“That woman,” she whispered to herself, smiling and shaking her head. She finally figured out what Tawan’s “nothing” was while they napped.
Tawan had just answered her last email when she heard a knock at her door and it opened just a crack. She looked up and smiled just as Ira’s head poked around it in search, making her laugh at the way her face fell in both knowing and annoyed amusement. Tawan chuckled as she closed her laptop and sat back in her chair before looking to Ira who was walking towards her rolling her eyes in amusement.
Ira sat in her lap and wrapped her arms around her shoulders to press a kiss to her head. As irritated as she was with her wife for not resting when they got home after a long trip traveling back and then some family time at her parents, she also knew this is just who she was and how she functioned. So, she decided she was just take advantage of the situation by doing one of her favorite acts of love by babying her and taking care of her for the next few days.
“You broke your pinky promise,” Ira told her, resting her cheek on her head and raking her fingers through her hair.
“I promise I didn’t meant to,” Tawan defended quickly, rubbing her hand up her back. “I didn’t realize how fast time had passed. I had a few things to do before we left for New York that I ran out of time for. I’m sorry, darling.”
“Mmhmm,” Ira hummed and massaged the back of her neck. “Why was laundry one of those things?”
Tawan chuckled and looked up to her. “That was just me getting my chore out of the way. All of our bags are unpacked and put away, too,” she informed, scratching at her lower back.
Ira smiled as she shook her head. “You did that on purpose. How can I be mad at you for breaking a pinky promise when you just completed the worst task of traveling when you get back home?” She laughed as she grabbed under her jaw with one hand.
“We can rest easy now,” Tawan winked, puckering her lips up at her.
Ira looked down at her, her eyes staring at her lips as she smiled and leaned down to oblige with a kiss of thanks. She pulled back some to look at her, rubbing her thumb along her jaw, then pulled her back up to her so she could turn her head and give her a deeper kiss. Tawan tried to keep up pace with her as she raked her lips across hers, but she was the one that did not have a recharging nap.
“You need to rest some before dinner,” Ira instructed, pecking her lips softly. She could feel how tired Tawan was just from kissing her.
Tawan, everything catching up to her and her wife’s tender touch lulling her more, looked up to her with a very sleepy smile. She did not even bother arguing and simply nodded at her before a large, loud yawn escaped her and rocked her. Ira, still holding her under her jaw, chuckled before leaning down to slowly nip at her lips to further put her in the mood for a nap. Tawan slid her hand up her back to tangle her hand in her hair so she could reach up and slowly kiss her.
“Nope!” Ira laughed, flushed as she shot from her seat. “Bed. Now. Let’s go.”
Ira grabbed Tawan’s hand and pulled her up from her seat, laughing at the pout and furrowed brow she had on. She rolled her eyes at her shenanigans as she pulled her out of her office to the few steps towards their bedroom. Tawan let out another yawn just as Ira turned her around and pushed her onto the bed, making her yelp then laugh at how serious she was about her resting.
“I’ll wake you when dinner is ready if you are not up by then,” Ira stated, grabbing her face for a quick kiss. She watched her get comfortable on her side of the bed then smiled satisfied at her snuggling into her pillow.
“I love you,” Tawan mumbled sleepily into the pillow.
“I love you more. Sweet dreams,” Ira whispered, smiling at her for a moment.
Tawan almost immediately was out cold in dreamland as everything caught up to her. Ira grabbed the throw blanket from the sofa chair by their door to cover her with, then kissed her temple before heading out of their bedroom. She smiled knowing that all she had to do now was prepare their dinner, thankful that her wife was always thinking of others before herself.
Ira let out a relaxed breath as the feeling of a new chapter happening now that they were back at home, settled, and prepared for what the year was to bring for them as individuals, as a couple, and as a family.