"Mama! Daddy! Watch, watch!"
"I'm watching, buddy!" I call back as Andrew waves happily from the swingset.
"Are you watching, Danny?" I ask with mock sterness.
Danny smiles and shades his eyes from the sun. "I never get tired of watching him."
The early fall sun is beginning to set and, despite what a pretty day it is, the park is relatively empty.
Danny and I are sitting on a wrought iron bench while Andrew is playing with a little blond boy whom he calls, "My new bestest fwiend."
I watch Danny watch our son and feel that odd tugging in my chest again.
"You really love him, don't you?" I ask softly, causing him to turn and look sharply at me.
"You sound surprised."
I shrug and lean back a little. "I guess I am surprised. I mean, two months ago, you didn't even know Andrew existed and now..."
"Now he's my everything," Danny finishes.
I nod. "Yes."
Danny sighs. "I didn't know I could feel like this about anyone until that little boy came into my life."
I smile. "I know what you mean."
Danny and I have been married now for a little over a month. It's strange, the familiar pattern we've fallen into. Every day, I wake up and go get Andrew ready for the day. Sometimes, Danny comes in and helps out and then the three of us all go down to breakfast together. The Danny goes to SanCorp.'s main office downtown and I play with Andrew and study. My transfer from med school is supposed to go through in the next few weeks, so I'll be heading back to that soon..
When I get home at night, Andrew, Danny, Pilar, Carmen, Ray, Kathleen, and I all have dinner. It still feels odd to eat with that many people when you're used to TV dinners alone in the kitchen.
Then, Danny and I tuck Andrew in and go to our separate bedrooms and close the door.
But we're a family.
Andrew comes running over then, and Danny hoists him up on the bench so that he's nestled between us.
"Are you all tuckered out?" Danny asks Andrew, who shakes his head and yawns all at once.
Danny and I share a secret, and oh-so parental, smile over our baby's dark head.
"You've got sand all over you, baby," I say as I begin dusting off Andrew's red overalls.
"Sandbox," he replies succinctly.
"And here we thought you'd jetted off to the beach," Danny says as he ruffles Andrew's hair.
"Oh, I knew better than that," I say off-handedly, "Andrew's never been to the beach."
Danny actually looks shocked at that. "He's never been to the beach?"
I shake my head. "We've never had a chance to go. I'm sure he'd love it. He's gotten so enamored with sharks lately-"
"Shauks!" Andrew interjects enthusiastically, happy to finally understand part of the conversation.
Danny and I both smile again and we both go to rest a hand on Andrew's head.
And end up with his hand covering mine.
We pull our hands back quickly and I look down at my feet, hoping the heat I feel in my face isn't showing.
"Any-anyway," I stammer, "I plan on taking him to the beach as soon -ahem- as soon as I get a chance."
"How does tomorrow sound?"
I raise surprised eyes to Danny. "Tomorrow?"
He shrugs. "Why not? I have some vacation time built up, you aren't supposed to go back to school for another two weeks...let's take advantage of it."
"Where...um...where will we go?"
Danny sits Andrew in his lap and rests his chin on the top of Andrew's head.
"My family has a yacht docked in Florida. I figure we can fly down there tomorrow and we can either stay in the Sunshine State or sail out to places unknown." He looks down at Andrew. "How's that sound, son? You want to ride on a big boat?"
Andrew nods energetically. "Uh-huh. Can Gwamma come? And Kafween? And Way?"
Danny laughs. "You got it. We'll make it a family event."
His eyes are soft when he looks back at me. Not like they were before, but close. "What do you say, Michelle?"
I look at my two men, who are regarding me with imploring gazes.
I know when I'm beat.
So, with a laugh, I answer, "Yes! I say yes!"