Kiss Me Tenderly

The next morning, I woke up to Alex’s head resting on my bare chest, his leg hitched up around my waist, snoring softly.
Not a bad way to wake up, if I might say so myself.
Smiling to myself and moving softly so as not to jostle Alex out of his pastel colored dreamland, I reached with the arm that wasn’t tucked around his shoulders to move a few strands out of his face. His nose crinkled and a sleepy hand moved to bat my hand away from his face before he exhaled a short puff of air and nuzzled his face deeper into my collarbone. My laugh at this was soft and gentle and I pressed little kisses into his hair.
I lay back against the pillows and smiled the biggest, stupidest grin to the ceiling. Last night was the best night I’ve had in a while. It was completely magical, like finding a part of me I lost and reacquainting myself with the lost piece once again.
…So I guess this is what Ven meant when she said she wanted me to move on.
Another sudden realization struck me.
I was in love again.
And Alex found he loved me.
Did you gain a future telling sense when you died or something?
I could feel a sudden bubble of happiness in the air. But it wasn’t coming from me.
What?
There it was again! You know that feeling you get when you laugh? That feeling of mirth that kind of just explodes from your chest, shivering across your cheekbones, tugging on the corners of your mouth? It was just like that, except spread out in the air. That was weird.
I frowned. I normally don’t believe in this supernatural hocus pocus but if I was right, Venetia was here, acting as guardian angel for us, making sure we were okay.
Does she just pop in every so often to check up on us?
My cheeks burned. Hopefully, she didn’t stick around for the show last night.
A feeling of disgruntled mock disgust.
A short peal of laughter rumbled from my chest. My arm tightened around Alex’s shoulders again, tugging him closer, the heat of our bodies intermingling.
You were right, Ven. Thank you for being there for me, honey. I love you.
There was a short burst of love and just general sweetness and the presence that was my late wife was gone. Somehow, I knew that she was gone for good this time, waiting for me to arrive at the pearly gates when it really was my time. But at the same time, I knew, I just knew that she’d always be there, watching over me and her two little girls, Alex and Owen too.
The door slapped open and three little bodies hurtled into the room, snapping me out of my reverie.
“Daddy, Daddy, you’re home!” within seconds, our bed was filled with small wriggling bodies, little hands attaching themselves to my cheeks and hair in an attempt to hug me first. I hushed them to try and preserve Alex’s sleep, a futile attempt because they were all chattering and grasping, each wanting to be held.
“Hey, hey, inside voices guys, Alex is still sleeping,” I whispered to them but it was too late; the damage had been done. Alex stirred in my arms, his eyes opening to meet mine with sleepy confusion.
“What’s happenin’?” he murmured, attempting to slot his head back in the juncture where my neck met my shoulder to chase a few more minutes of sleep.
“Didja have fun last night, Dad?” Owen asked seriously, leaping from my side of the bed and plopping straight onto Alex’s bare chest. All of the air in Alex’s lungs was knocked out of him and he coughed a few times before gathering Owen in his arms and snuggling him.
“Sure did, buddy,” he grinned, before leaning in and kissing the slightly chubby cheeked child on the forehead.
Alex then proceeded to do something completely unexpected. He held out an arm to Missy and Sassy and said, “Well? What’re you waiting for? Don’t you want a hug too?” Sassy and Missy eagerly clambered over my stomach, kneeing and kicked at my belly to tumble into the embrace of Alex’s arms.
My heart melted in my chest, a nearly indescribable feeling welling up inside me. It was like.. I don’t know how to describe it. Like my soul stretching inside my body, like a gossamer touch, a kiss to my eyelids, the taste of chocolate silk on my tongue. It was like seeing Sassy and -almost immediately after- Missy’s first smiles, it was like holding onto a steadfast hand and refusing to ever let go. It was like laughter that dances across your eardrums, seeing Alex and seeing every inch of how amazing he was that it hurt my eyes to look at him. It was love.
With this, I gathered them all into my arms, a squealing, yelling pile of limbs and happiness. I crushed them all against my chest and rocked them from side to side, playfully growling at them all when they laughed at me to stop. My arms relaxed and all three children scrambled out of my embrace, laughing and shouting at each other, leaving Alex reclined comfortably against my chest. Quickly, I pecked his lips, whispering a quick, “I love you.” against them. I barely had any time to hear his his quiet response before the kids were interrupting each other again.
“…already ate cereal but we couldn’t find the milk so we just ate it with our hands,” Missy finished, looking up at us imploringly.
Sassy and Owen both chimed in, begging for different breakfast items, French toast and pancakes and scrambled eggs and Sassy insisted that ‘if we get eggs, I wanna scramble ‘em.’
Alex and I just turned to each other and laughed.
This was our life now, whether we liked it or not.
And to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.