Author's Note: Sorry I didn't get this up sooner! I started school two weeks ago, and it was an adjustment trying to get used to everything again. And when I finished this yesterday, it wouldn't let me. Sorry it's late.
Claudia Joy Holden headed towards her car to pick up the kids from school. Her and Michael's youngest children probably couldn't wait to come home.
Her third pregnancy had been hard. It had been a wonder that the car accident hadn't caused her to miscarry. At her first ultrasound, Claudia Joy and Michael had been shocked to learn she was having twins.
Several months later, Keely Grace and Dylan Michael Holden made their appearance into the world. Claudia Joy's friends chipped in to help her and Michael in those first few weeks.
It was still so hard for Claudia Joy to believe that her babies had just started third grade. They were growing up so fast.
She pulled up to the school and waited for Keely and Dylan to come out. "Hi, Mommy!" chirped an excited Keely as she opened the door. Dylan followed his sister into the car.
"What are we having for dinner, Mommy?" Dylan questioned. He was also a hungry little boy, but Claudia Joy didn't mind. She knew what Roxy and Trevor's sons were like as teenagers when it came to food.
"I'm not sure yet, Kiddo." Claudia Joy knew there was a possibility that Emmalin would invite everyone over for a dinner at her house. Emmalin's husband Chris was a master at grilling, and loved having people over. Besides, she and Michael were missing their ten month old granddaughter, Amanda. Mandy was their first grandchild, and she and Michael couldn't help but spoil her.
"Can we go out to eat?" asked Keely. She loved going to restaurants to eat. The little girl also loved to cook. This had convinced Michael that his youngest daughter was going to end up as a chef.
"Maybe." Claudia Joy waved when she saw Roxy in her car. Roxy was waiting for her daughter to come out. A few weeks after she had learned of her pregnancy with Keely and Dylan, Roxy had learned of her own pregnancy.
"I can't wait to have a sleepover at Aunt Roxy and Uncle Trevor's house," Keely commented. She was best friends with Sara Elizabeth Burton and Sophia LeBlanc. Sophia was Roxy and Trevor's oldest daughter. Besides TJ, Finn, and Sophia, they also had five year old Aurora and four month old Alexandra.
Roxy and Trevor had thought they were done having kids upon Aurora's birth. Alexandra had been a surprise, but they didn't care about that. They adored their youngest child. Nobody seemed to mind that the age difference between TJ and Alexandra was nineteen years.
" Stop talking about it," Dylan complained to his twin. He was going over to a friend's house too, but Keely couldn't stop babbling about her sleepover.
"Dylan Michael," Claudia Joy warned. She had to punish her son more than she ever had to punish Amanda, Emmalin, and Keely. It was different raising a son, something she and Michael had learned almost immediately after the twins were born.
"Sorry, Keely." Dylan hated to get in trouble, and knew the use of his middle name meant he had to apologize. He liked Keely, but she annoyed him sometimes. Keely felt the same way about him, but neither of them knew that.
The three Holdens pulled up to their house a few minutes later. Keely and Dylan ran to the door. Claudia Joy tried to hurry up so she could unlock it. "Homework now if you have it," she told her kids as they entered the house.
Both of them headed right towards the kitchen table to get started on their homework. That would keep them busy for a little while. Claudia Joy decided to call Denise. She hadn't talked to her since yesterday morning.
The phone rang a few times before it was picked up. ecided to call Denise. She hadn't talked to her since yesterday morning.
The phone rang a few times before it was picked up. "Sherwood house. Hi, Aunt Claudia Joy!" cried a little voice. It was Denise and Frank's four year old granddaughter, Vivienne. They had adopted her as a baby when her mother had died in a car accident. Unfortunately for Denise and Frank, Jeremy had been killed before his daughter's birth in an Amy related incident. Jeremy had met Vivy's older brother, Jacob, however. Jake was eleven months older than his younger sister, and had also been adopted by Frank and Denise.
"Hi, Vivy. Is your mommy home?" Although Jake and Vivy knew that Denise and Frank were their grandparents, they still referred to them as their parents. Neither cared about that, since they loved their two grandchildren so much.
"Yes. I'll go get her." There was a silence for a few seconds before Denise picked up the phone. The two women talked for awhile, before they got off the phone to start dinner.
"Can we go see Emmalin, Chris, and Mandy tomorrow?" Keely worshipped the ground her sister walked on. She had always been attached to Emmalin. At least the way it seemed to Claudia Joy and Michael.
"Mommy and I will think about it," Michael said, entering the house. Keely and Dylan became instantly excited upon seeing their father, and rushed towards him. Michael hugged them, and then sat down at the table. Claudia Joy smiled at her husband and the two began to kiss.
Pamela Moran called later that night, just as Keely and Dylan went off to bed. "Katie's driving me crazy. I don't know how you got through the teenage years with Amanda and Emmalin," she informed Claudia Joy.
"We made it through eventually. Michael's dreading the day that we have two teenagers in this house again." Claudia Joy didn't want her babies to grow up so fast, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that. She had Mandy, and hopefully more grandchildren, to look forward to.
Pamela laughed. "I have to work tomorrow. Katie thinks this means I'm going to miss her going to her dance. It won't, but she freaked out on me. I promised her that I'd be home on time and if I couldn't, Jack would be, and he'd take a lot of pictures".
Jack was Pamela's second husband. Chase had been killed on a mission only five weeks after Roxy gave birth to Sophia. She had been sent spiraling into a depression. Pamela hadn't left her house for weeks, until the girls had dragged her out. She had decided to become a cop again, but stayed near base. Pamela hadn't wanted to uproot her kids. Two years later she met Jack, a doctor, after being shot on duty. Jack hadn't been her doctor, but the two had instantly clicked. They had married two years after meeting.
"I hope you get off work early," Claudia Joy answered. She knew that it wouldn't end well if Pamela didn't make it.
Pamela and Claudia Joy talked for ten more minutes, and then hung up.
A few days later, the entire group of friends got together to eat a big dinner today. The younger kids played together, while the other kids played video games or talked to the adults.
Claudia Joy couldn't help but smile as she looked around at her family and friends. Life wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good.
She couldn't wait to see what the future brought.
I'm thinking of a sequel that explores the eight years before the epilogue, and maybe go beyond it. What do you think?