Part 45
Four years later
Sarah 11y, Gracie 10y, Ellie 6 (almost 7), Sophie and Claire 4y, Ben 2y
What a beautiful day for a day spent at the beach with your family. It’s our first day in La Jolla and I can’t wait to get out. The house is still quiet this early morning but I know that with six kids around the house this is going to change very soon.
Sydney still sleeping cozily next to me. One last sweet kiss onto her forehead and I decide to get out off the covers enjoying some early sunstrays. I stretch my old body watching my eight years younger wife sleeping for another while, loosing myself in her as so many other times. Then I finally proceed to the living room, opening the french doors open, letting the fresh breeze of the ocean float into the room.
I walk out onto the patio taking a deep breath of the fresh air. Some joggers are running along the beach already. It’s 6am and I’m on vacation, finally. With all of my beloved ones. I have a quick glance at my cell phone. One missed call from Sharon. I’ll call her back later although I decide against it. We’re in California and it’s already 10 in New York.
Half an hour later, I’m still sitting here, sipping on a cup of coffee, eyes closed enjoying the moment.
I feel a certain presence next to me, opening one eye to look up, I see Sarah standing next to me, clad in a pair of shorts and strap shirt that reads ANGEL on it. A word that fits her so well.
“Hey” I greet her, closing my eyes again “Did you sleep ok?”
“Hm…” she mumbles as I feel the weight of her slender body sitting on me. Unconsciously my arms wrap themselves around her waist, cuddling her close to me.
“Dad?”
“Hmmm?”
“Can we go to the beach today?”
“Of course…that’s why we’re here in California”
“I like it here… it’s so beautiful and sunny…” she sighs leaning up against my chest. I briefly open my eyes to look at her closed eyes while she dreamingly says “I love to feel the warm sun shine onto my skin. It gives me this certain tingling feel like there’s nothing else in the world. Just me, the sun and the soft breeze that would occasionally raise goose bumps all over my skin. I can hear the waves of the water splash against the big rocks. It’s going to be a wonderful holiday. I love you dad, you’re the greatest dad in the world”
She outs as if it would be coming out of her mouth every day. It’s something more than special she’s telling me there.
“Sarah” I mumble her name, opening my eyes to the blue sky. My hand fingers with her long hair, smelling in her shampoo she used last night at our arrival. “I love you too, I hope you know that… so so much”
We still have fifteen minutes on our own before the rest of the whole crowd appears on the patio. Each one requesting the same amount of love and hugs. Gracie bounces up at down listening to her music in her headphones, Ellie is up to no good in the kitchen together with the twins. Sometimes I feel sorry for Sarah. She’s such a smart girl and much more grown-up than her younger siblings. She doesn’t know what to do with her sisters when all they want to do is play.
“What are you up to?” With Sarah’s help I manage to get out of the lound chair, heading inside right to the kitchen to interrupt those tiny busy fingers of six year old Ellie rummaging in the fridge.
Caught in the middle Ellie babbles, “I’m hungry! I wanna eat!” That’s so like her… always eating something and usually the twins aren’t far away from her side.
“You’re always hungry… Come on get out of there… I’m gonna make you some pancakes if you want”
“Daddy I want krispy kreme” Claire exclaims.
“Me too” Sophie parrots.
I sigh heavily, thinking about my wife sleeping peacefully at the end of the hallway. Looking that direction, flashing it one last stern which says something like leave daddy to take care of the five hungry girls’ mouths.
Grabbing two large pans from the lower cupboard and squeezing some butter into them, while Sarah works on the dough, I’m getting myself ready to cook at least 20 pancakes. Believe me these mouths can take a lot…
“Who else wants some pancakes?” turning on my heels I tell four year old Claire “Claire, you’ll get your krispy kreme once mummy’s out of bed… wanna settle for a pancake in the meantime?” she fervently nods her head.
Immediately 6 pair of fingers are busy preparing breakfast.
+++++++++++
Two hours later
I’m sitting at the bar sipping on my alcohol free fruit c***tail, taking a little break from the children. Even though I need a break every now and then I’m still looking over at them towards where they are. I constantly need to know that they are doing fine.
Sarah helps Claire into her swim ring, holding her hand to guide her to the water. Sophie is digging in the sand with a shovel while Gracie keeps her busy pushing the sand back into the whole, which leads them up into a fight. A smile grows on my face when I spot Ellie right under the umbrella munching on a sandwich.
Knowing my family in security and well up, I casually glance around the beach area and return to the bar. Two guys sit opposite of me, giving Sydney a look over. It just wants me to jump right up and smack their faces. They better look somewhere else!
“See her… over there”
“Hmm…yeah… nice body”
“Too bad she’s pregnant… have you seen those long legs? God I would know what to do to these!”
One chuckles the other one going along.
I stare at Sydney as she bends down to help our youngest into his swimsuit, his naked body running around while she tries to get him to stand still. “Ben! Stop it!” I hear her exclaim.
She’s clad in a very beautiful bathing suit for mothers to be. I really had to talk her into it. She’s looking gorgeous even like this, expecting our child. The day Ben was born was one of the greatest in my life. It’s hard to figure out which one is the best. Between Sarah always surprising us with how smart she is, Gracie performing her dance classes, Ellie fooling around, Sophie and Claire making their explorations, their birth, the day I married Sydney, the day I showed her our house, the day she told me we were going to have a baby, the day Ben was born…then again the day she told me we were expecting again.
There are simply too many days for me to choose and each one I love it more than the previous one.
“See all the kids around her?”
“Yeah… How many? You think they’re all hers?”
“I counted 6, mostly girls… one boy… Plus she’s knocked up again! Damn it! She must be good!”
“Who could resist her with such pair of legs anyway, ain’t I right”
It’s simply disgusting what those guys are talking about but I try to stay calm and enjoy my vacation. I don’t know them and the day we’ll leave I’ll never see them ever again. Neither will they see Sydney so I just let them have their fun ‘cause Sydney’s all mine.
I follow her every move, she stands up straight looking over to the beach having a look out on our progeniture as every mother would do. “Sophie don’t push your sister!” she shouts. I follow her stare thus, seeing Sophie push Claire around. Now she’s pulling her hair and I know it’s not going to take long and the girls will have a very angry mother on their backs.
Sure enough she lifts Ben up into her arms, strolling over to the fighting pair, breaking them apart. She then pulls a crying Sophie up to the lounge chair but Sophie’s stubborn little head wouldn’t give in as she hits her food against the chair.
“I want daddy!”
“I hate to tell you this missy, but I think that your daddy wouldn’t either appreciate the idea very much of you pushing your sister around! That’s enough for today… you’ll sit here until you’ve thought about your actions. I don’t let you behave like this! Is that understood?”
Sophie sits pouting, her elbows on her knees and her head lying on her chin. Her gaze goes to her siblings down at the sea and then drifts around until she has spotted me.
She gets up, running away from her mother “Sophie Marie Vaughn, will you get back here!”
Sophie’s out of breath when she reaches me, throwing herself into my legs “Daddy, daddy, mummy’s not nice to me. She won’t let me go play with Ellie!”
God she’s driving me insane… as if I wouldn’t know what has just happened. I hug her real close, looking sideways to the two guys. Their mouths wide open, I lift my glass up, taking my last sip. “Have a nice day” I tell them, lifting Sophie up into my arms, making my way back to my pregnant wife.
I wrap my arms around her large middle, feeling our girl’s kicks against my palm “Hey beautiful”
I sense Sydney’s still mad at Sophie “She’s…” But I shush her, agreeing silently with her so I repeat my words to Sophie. She’s usually only listening to me and obeys sitting on her lounge chair for the next ten minutes not outing a word until she’s free of her punishment.
We spent the entire day at the beach, having lunch at one of the restaurants along the beach side. The hosts are an old couple amazed by our big family. We’re the only ones in the little restaurant and the girls are a little free to do what they want to do, much to their own pleasure.
“What a sweet family… Do you want me to take a picture with all of you?” the old lady asks flashing a few with all of us and then Sarah runs around the table taking different pictures of each one of us. She loves photography and is pretty talented.
She takes several pictures before we pay our bill and say our goodbye thanking her for the nice lunch.
Along side the beach the girls climb up a post. It’s the perfect timing for me to flash that one picture of my girls reunited. Sydney gives them orders to be careful and not fall off. She’s standing right behind me, her growing belly pressed into back and Ben’s pulling at my leg. “Daddy”
Far away into the distance
“What a lovely pair Jonathan… Look at how happy they are… and these girls….”
Hand in hand Jonathan and Martha follow the pair disappear into the distance, probably never seeing them again.
“Hmmm… love is a wonderful thing…” Jonathan tells Martha “And I love you” The pair shares a chaste kiss and then the nice family they’ve had the chance to get to know was gone, but they’ll always remain in their memory.
THE END
I know I might be disappointing some of you with this ending... I know I could have done much more with this, but unfortunately I don't have the time...
So I tried to find a nice way of ending this, much to my own dislike 'cause all of the girls really grew to my heart since last year December!!!!
I hope you aren't too mad at me (I hardly got reviews from the previous chapter)... I've already started working on two new fics... It's crazy what kind of ideas sometimes pop into my head...
Anyway... last but not least I wanted to post you a picture of what Vaughn's five girls might look like... I just surfed through the net the other day and found one... I wasn't actually looking for a pic for one so... :lol:
Thanks for staying faithful to this fic and supporting me with your kind reviews! I know I'll see many of you back in one of my next fics... so always watch out...
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