I woke up to the sound of my doorbell ringing, who could it be on an early Saturday morning? I wasn’t going to bother with that right now, the person would eventually go, I thought but I was far from being right. With the reoccurring ringing of the doorbell, the twins woke up.
” Mummy, aren’t you going to get the door?” Aiden asked as he sat up.
” Yes, I will honey. Go back to sleep,” I patted his head before heading out. Who could it be so early in the morning. ” I’m coming!” I yelled as I approached the door.
Unlocking the door, I was met with a bag of groceries. I was relieved it wasn’t who I suspected it would be.
” Good morning,” James revealed his face from behind the grocery bags, not forgetting to beam a smile at me. Sometimes, I wondered how he was always this cheerful. It was like nothing could take his smile away.
” Why did you come this early?” I was actually still perplexed by his presence and why was he this early?
” Oh, that,” he scratched the back of his head as he smiled sheepishly. ” I just thought I would help you cook and look after the kids today. I know I should have asked if that was okay before coming but I totally forgot,”
” You don’t need to apologise, come in,” I stepped out of the way to let him in. It was thoughtful of him to come here early to help me out, Justin was never this thoughtful. Wait, why was I comparing him to Justin? I really need to get him out of my mind.
Heading into the living room, we were met by my little sleepy heads. Aiden rubbed his eyes as he walked across the living room and over to the dining but stopping to analyze who had just come in.
” D-A-D-D…,” Amelia stopped midway in her sentence as it dawned on her that it wasn’t Justin that was standing in front of her. ” James?”
” Did you sleep well?” he asked Amelia.
” Yes,” she muttered. I felt a tug on my dress, looking down, I saw Aiden looking up at me. I got on my knees to properly hear what he had to say.
” What is it, honey?”
” Why is James here?” Aiden was a quiet kid but whenever he talked, he was always so straight forward.
” He just wanted to help me out with chores, cooking and handling you both. It’s very nice of him you know,” I explained and made sure not to leave out the fact that he just wanted to ‘ help out’.
” We don’t need to be handled, we’re big enough to take care of ourselves,” Aiden folded his hands as he pouted. Was he actually sulking?
” I know you’re big enough to do that but it will help more to have an extra eye and hand on my part especially after yesterday’s incident,” I patted his head. I knew even if he didn’t say it, that he would have preferred Justin to be here instead of James.
” What do you kids want for breakfast?” James beamed as he shook the grocery bags in his hand in front of them.
” Pancakes!!!” Amelia was quick to reply. ” And don’t forget the syrup,” she added excitedly. Amelia’s sweet tooth was becoming more and more evident, she didn’t hide her cravings for sweet things anymore. I was going to find a way to break her addiction with sweets and sugary things somehow.
” Is that okay with you, Aiden?” James wanted to make sure that Aiden was also in for having pancakes for breakfast.
” I’m okay with anything, ” he said quietly.
” Let’s go and get your teeth brushed!” I said enthusiastically to make them feel excited from the thought of brushing.
” Let’s brush by ourselves this time, pretty please?!” Aiden gave me does really big cute puppy eyes. Aiden’s love to do things on his own was something worth commending.
” Yes, we can do it by ourselves,” Amelia declared confidently.
” Okay, you can brush by yourselves but I’ll be watching you two,” I wasn’t still sure if I should leave them alone to do this by themselves.
” There’s no need to watch us, we’ll be fine. We’re not kids anymore,” Aiden reminded. me once more of how they weren’t little anymore but to me, they were still the tiny babies I had given birth to. Seeing them grow up was something special but also difficult to watch, I somehow wanted them to remain small, just the way they are and maybe that’s why I always see them as so little and fragile.
” You can help James in the kitchen while we brush our teeth,” Amelia suggested.
” Alright, I’ll do just that,” I patted their heads before letting them go. ” Don’t forget from top to bottom!” I yelled as they walked towards the lobby.
” We know mummy!” They yelled back.
” That’s not all, don’t forget to brush from right to left! Don’t also forget to wait a bit before rinsing your mouth. Do you remember the size of toothpaste you’re to use?! It’s P-E-A S-I-Z-E-D,” I yelled. I wasn’t used to them doing things like this alone, what if they didn’t get it right?
” We know mom!” They yelled in frustrated unison. My tips were becoming annoying, I knew but you couldn’t blame me, I was worried. Finally letting them have their space, I got up and headed into the kitchen. James was already there, unpacking the bags.
” You don’t need to worry about them too much, you need to learn to let them do things on their own,” he advised.
Relaxing on the counter, ” I know I should but I can’t help but worry at times. I think it’s a sort of motherly thing,” that was the best way I could explain my behaviour. James giggled in delight.
” I don’t doubt that for even a second but I’m quite surprised that the almighty Isabella could be this…,” he looked for the right words.
” This soft,” I completed, it was actually a bit funny given my attitude at work. ” You can say my kids are my Achilles’ heel,”
” It’s really obvious, you don’t even have to say,” we laughed. It was nice having someone who you could laugh with once in a while, it was surprisingly relieving.
” What can I help you with, Chef James?” I joked.
” I like the ring to the name, actually,” he nodded. ” You can…,” he looked around the kitchen searching for what I could do to help out.
” I can?” I urged him.
” You can beat the eggs, that’s pretty easy and basic,” he finally made up his mind.
” Will do,” I saluted as I quickly got to the beating of the eggs. Beating and frying, tossing and flipping, the pancakes were done faster than I had expected. I actually enjoyed cooking with James.
” Breakfast is ready!” James announced as we served. The kids quickly rushed down to the dining table, taking our respective seats, we prepared to eat.
Ding dong the door bell went, who could it be this time? ” Should I get it?” James asked.
” Don’t worry, I’ll answer the door. I’ll be right back,” I excused myself as I went towards the door. Opening it, I saw Justin and his secretary by the door, their hands full of gift bags.
” Good morning darling,” he greeted with a smile and my heart ceased to beat for a moment. He was back and that only spelt trouble.