The Way Home

Filling the purple and green sippy cups with unsweet tea, I glanced over my sholder to see my husband placing the kids in their strollers and Makiah holding the diaper bag. I shoved the cups into a thermal lunch box and walked over to my family. "Ready babe?" I asked Garrett, taking the diaper bag from the small girl.

"All good," he leaned in and pressed a small kiss on my cheek. "Let's go."

Taking Jasey's stroller, and Garrett taking Dillan's, we started out of the house and down the street to the small diner where we were meeting my family.

"Mommy," Makiah, my 6 year old step-daughter, started. "Who all is going to be there? Do They Have cookies? Oh, I want spagetti!"

Garrett Chuckled, "Honey, calm down."

"Oh hush it Garrett, let her get it out before we get to the restraunt at least," I reached over and smacked his arm. "Baby it's gonna be Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Gerard, Auntie Lyn, Uncle Frank, Auntie Jamia, Tori, Kyle, Cherry and Lily. I don't know if they'll have cookies, and they don't have spagetti." I reached down and ruffled the little girl's hair.

"But I want spagetti, Mommy," she stuck her bottom lip out. She shoved her hands into her heavy winter coat that Winter in New Jersey proclaimed neccesary.

"Baby girl, you can have spagetti tomorrow," Garrett told his daughter. "But this is for Jasey and Dillan's birthday, and Grampa's buying."

"Makiah can you-" I gasped as the door was opened by a black haired Munchkin. "Oh, thank you Frank, I was about to have Makiah get that." I pushed the stroller into the cozy diner and around to the back room, Garrett, Frank, and Dillan falling in behind Me, Makiah, and Jasey.

"Hey Lizzy!" everyone greeted as I entered the closed off area of the restraunt. I greeted them back as I took my seat at the table. I looked around seeing who had arrived.

"Where are Tori and Kyle?" I questioned looking away from the seat belt latch. Alicia was the first to answer.

"They're suppoed to be getting the cakes, but knowing them they could be participating in some games of their own." my step-mom raised her eye-brows at the mention of Tori and Kyle's 'games'.

"I wanna play a game with Kyle and Tori!" Makiah cheered. We all looked at each other before laughing and glancinging at the first grader. "What?" she sqealed, stomping her foot.

"Nothing baby," I laughed as Kyle and Tori walked in, each holding a small cake box. Their eyes roamed our faces as we bursted into another round of laughter.

"I'm not gonna ask, you Way's are weird," Kyle shook his head, setting the cakes on the table.

"Same to you Burns," Uncle Gerard spoke up. "And you Iero." he turned to a once chuckling Frank.

"So have you heard from Ray and Christa yet?" I asked, latching Jasey into a toddler seat. Shoving the chair up to the table, Garrett did the same. Finally sitting I sighed.

"Yeah, they said that tey' would love to come," Dad stated. "But they're in New York for their anniversary. They said to tell everyone hi, and give the little one's their presents." He pointed to the stack of wrapped gifts in the corner.

"Aw man, well at least everybody else is here," I shrugged. Uncle Ray not being there was gonna be sad but we'd live.

~

We had eaten our burgers, fries and Cake, and the twins had unwrapped their gifts, Dad and Alicia's Penguin Pillow Pet being Jasey's favorite, and Uncle Gerard and Aunt Lyn-Z's dinosaur coloring book and crayons being Dillan's.

" Momma," Dillan cooed from my arms, "I wuv you." I teared up at his small voice as he ran his fingers through my choppy hair. He hadn't said that before, he was barely making sentences, Jasey was the talkative one.

"I love you too, Dill Pickle," I sang into his ear. He giggled at his nickname when Jasey and Makiah walked up and tugged on my shirt.

"We love you too, Mommy," they said together. My babies. What would I do without them?

"Yeah," Garrett got down on his knee's behind the girls. "We love you too, Mommy!"

"Lizzy," Alicia spoke up. "We've got a present for you too." she handed me a slim box.
After asingle questioning look, I untied the bow, and lifted the lid from the lilac box. Inside, i pulled out several sheets of glittering, gold, tissue paper, and found a manilla envelope. I looked up at my dad and tilted my head to the side. He just smiled and nodded for me to open it. Releasing the brad, I slid out a transparent sheet of plastic tat had a black print on it.

My eyes widened as I looked up at my parents, along with everyone else in the room, excluding the children, "You're pregnant?"