A Melwood Story

/chapter seventeen/

A Melwood Story
Chapter 17

It's September 2018
-the twins are almost two years old
-Nya is four and a half

Melissa

I can't get to sleep. I've been sick for a few days, so I've had to keep distance from the kids so they didn't get sick.

Chris is holding me close to stop me from shaking and it's been quiet for almost fifteen minutes.

"Marry me," Chris whispers against my neck.
I tilt my head up to look at him. "What?"
"Marry me," he repeats.
I just stare at him.

He smiles. "I don't expect an answer right now. But I love you. You're the love of my life and I can't imagine another life without you in it, Melissa."
I smile faintly, then look back to where I was looking before.

Chris wants me to marry him. I mean, of course I want to marry him. I just can't give an answer that quickly. I've been married before and I know how that ended, not to say that Chris will leave me while I'm pregnant with his twins. Which I'm not, by the way. The twins are about to enter the terrible twos, so we don't need a newborn on our hands as well. Not to say I even want to be pregnant for awhile, thanks.

We're sitting at breakfast after dropping Nya off at school and the twins at daycare.

"I have an answer for you," I say.
He looks at me. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," I whisper. "I want to marry you."
His face lights up.
I smile.

He stands and walks over to my side of the table to kiss me. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Chris

Melissa agreed to marry me. We're getting married.

"Do you want a big wedding?" she asks as we lay in bed the night after I asked her to marry me.
"Do you?" I ask.
"No, I want a small one."
"Then we'll have a small one."
"Okay."
"Okay." I smile at her.

She laughs. "That smile."
"What smile?" I ask, trying not to smile anymore.
She holds my chin in her hand. I smile again. "That one."
"What about it?"
"I love everything about it."
"It only looks that good, because I'm looking at you."
She laughs, covering her face.

"It's true," I say. "You make me the happiest."
"What about the kids?" she laughs.
"Them too," I say. "Speaking of kids..."
"What?"
"You are okay with having more later on, right?" I ask, trying not to push it.

She thinks for a second. "Yes, yeah, I would like more, just not right now. In the future."
"Of course."
"Good."

It's the next morning at breakfast. The twins are eating waffles that I heated up and Nya has reluctantly decided to eat Cheerios, which she's now throwing at her brother.

"Nya," I say. "Keep your Cheerios to yourself, please."
"Okay, daddy," she laughs as she throws one more at Max.
"Nya," I repeat.
"Sorry!" she says with another laugh.

Melissa sits next to me. "Hey, Nya. I have a question for you."
Nya stops throwing Cheerios and looks over. "Yes?" she asks, looking over at Melissa.
"What do you think about mommy and daddy getting married?" Melissa asks her.
"Really?" Nya asks.
"Yeah," I say.
Nya jumps up and down in her seat. "Yay!"

I smile at Melissa.

Melissa

I wake to a violent screaming coming from one of the kids bedrooms.

I shake Chris awake, then dash down the hallway to find Maxwell out of bed, trying to reach the doorknob to Lulu's room.

"Max? What are you doing out of bed?" I ask as I pick him up, then open the door to see my daughter, sprawled on the ground, holding her arm.

I set Max down and squat down to see Eloise better. "What's the matter?" I ask.
"My arm!" she squeals, between sobs, then moves a little bit, but enough for me to see that her arm is most likely broken.
"Oh, Lulu," I say as Chris enters the room.

"What's the matter—" he starts then stops when he sees her arm. "Should we call?"
"Could we just take her in the car? The hospital isn't that far." I suggest.
"I guess," he says. "I'll get her in the car. Get Nya up."
"Okay." I kiss Lulu on the head gently, then go over to Nya's room to wake her up.

"Nya," I say as I touch her shoulder lightly. "Wake up, sweetheart."
"It can't be time for school already," she whines as she rubs her eyes.
"It's not. We have to go to the hospital." I pick her up out of her bed, then leave the room.

Max is standing by the stairs watching Chris slowly take Lulu down to the car.
"Come on, Max," I say.
I can't pick him up while I have Nya in my arms, so I hold his hand as we go down the stairs.

I grab some shoes for Nya and Max, slip on my own, then head out to the car where Chris is still trying to get a screaming Lulu in the car.

I've been up for about twenty minutes when we arrive at the hospital.

They take us in right away. I'm now holding Max, and Nya is walking next to me. Chris is trying to Lulu still, but it's barely working.

"What's her name?" asks the doctor when we get into the room.
"Eloise Benoist," Chris answers.

"How did this happen?" the doctor asks.
"She must've fallen out of her bed," I say.

Chris sets Lulu down on the table gently. She starts crying harder.

"Shh, Lulu, it's okay," Chris whispers as he brushes her hair slightly.

"What's wrong with Lulu's arm?" Nya asks me quietly.
I say nothing, but hold her hand tighter.

"Melissa," Chris says. "I'll stay with Lulu."
"Okay," I say. "Let's go Nya."

I take Nya and Max to the waiting room and distract them with a youtube video on my phone until Chris comes back with Lulu.