Wild Valentine-Bonus Scene

Eight years later…

 “Where’s lamby?” Tamara’s chubby little hands reach out for me as her face contorts in agony. “I don’t have lamby!”

“You’re on my seatbelt,” Jenson wails at his little sister.

I take a deep breath and turn to Marcus. He’s carrying a unicorn overnight bag over one arm and a Spiderman backpack in the other.

“Did you get Lamby?”

He frowns and slings the bag off his shoulder. “Let me check.”

Danni bends down and gives Tamara a wide smile.

“You can pat the real lambs when we visit Aunty Trish.”

The little girl quiets. Danni has this effect on kids. I’m not sure if it’s the red lipstick or the perfect hairdo, but there’s something about her that makes the kids hush.

Maria’s sitting patiently in the front seat reading the latest Amelia Badelia book. She’ll be no trouble for the weekend, but it’s the little ones I’m worried about.

“Are you sure you’re okay with all of them?”

The baby is sleeping in the car seat and already strapped in. It’s the first time we’ve had a night without her, and even though she’s almost a year old, my mother’s instincts find it hard to accept that she’ll be fine without me.

“Of course.” Danni straightens up and gives me the same reassuring smile. “You two enjoy yourselves, and I’ll call if there are any problems. But there won’t be.”

Her confidence eases the knot in my stomach a little.

We take it in turns with the other parents at the club to babysit their kids for a night every once in a while. The kids love it because they stay with their cousins. They might not be blood relations, but everyone at the club is like family.

This weekend, it’s our turn to have a night to ourselves. The first one without the baby.

Marcus holds up a scraggly stuffed lamb that’s missing one eye and half its stuffing. The once white fur is a discolored dull grey.

But Tamara smiles like it’s her prized treasure.

“Lamby!” She holds her chubby hands out, and Marcus gives her the stuffed toy. She embraces it with the vigor of a three-year-old.

Jensen finally gets his belt on, and Danni climbs into the driver’s seat.

“Everyone buckle up!” Danni turns on the engine and the Cadillac purrs to life, making the kids whoop with excitement.

Going for a drive in the huge Caddy is like a fairground ride for them. Even Maria puts her books away and smiles as they take off down the driveway.

They’re happy, and they’ll have a fun night without us and not need us at all.

Marcus slides his arm around my waist like he can read my thoughts.

“They’ll be fine, Mrs. Wild.”

I lean into him and fight the sting at the corner of my eyes. I won’t let my kids see me cry. They’ll have a fun night and never know how it breaks a mother’s heart to find out that her kids don’t need her.

We wave them off in a flurry of dust and laughter. Then the silence of the forest closes in around us.

I lean against Marcus, listening to the sounds of the woods. I loved the silence when we first moved here, but over time it got filled with kids’ laughter and chaos. Now the silence feels empty without them.

“Come on.”

Marcus kisses the top of my forehead. He knows exactly what’s going through my mind, the bittersweet emotions of having a night to ourselves without the kids.

He takes my hand, and his thumb rubs against my wrist. The sensation and warmth of his touch has the same effect on me as it did when we first met ten years ago.

As we walk slowly to the cabin, he leans down and kisses my neck.

“I’ve got plans for you, wifey.”

His hot breath tickles my ear, sending a shimmer of heat through my body.

By the time we reach the cabin, I’m wet with anticipation and all thoughts of the kids have gone. There’s only one thing I’m thinking about now: my husband and what we both need from each other.

We don’t even make it through the door before our clothes are in a pile on the floor and our bodies are entwined.

As we make love, I look into Marcus’s dark eyes. His kind eyes are full of as much passion now as they were ten years ago, only there are more lines around them now. But these days they’re happy lines, lines of a life full of laughter and happiness. There’s no trace of the demons that haunted my husband when we first met.

I believe that once our souls met in this life we healed each other. That’s what soul mates do, in this realm and the next.