"You miss her already, don’t you," he whispered, holding her close to him. "Our baby girl is all grown up. It seems like just yesterday she started Kindergarten, and now she’s starting college." He kissed her forehead and looked down into her eyes. "She’ll be fine, Darlin."
She slowly nodded her head, taking a look around the room. "Seems so empty in here. Did you notice she took her *NSYNC poster with her?" He chuckled, looking at the bare spot on the wall where the poster had once hung. "I can’t believe she kept that thing up for so long," he whispered. "Well, she was almost born at a concert. It was as much a part of her as it was you."
They both smiled, as they turned their attention to the pictures. Each page was filled with memories, each smile captured in not only a photograph but in their hearts. "I still love this picture," she whispered, "Do you remember?"
He awoke to the sounds of a baby crying...his baby...his son. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he glanced at the red glowing numbers on the clock. 3:00 flashed back at him. He glanced to his right, smiling at her sleeping beside him. Being a new mom had worn her out. He kissed her cheek softly as he quietly slipped out of bed. "Daddy’s turn," he whispered, pulling the door closed behind him.
He slipped into the nursery, making his way towards the crib. "What’s the matter with my little man," he whispered as he lifted his son into his strong arms. He held him against his shoulder, gently patting his back as he headed towards the kitchen. "I know it’s not the same, but Mommy is sleeping so you get the bottle this time," he said as he prepared a bottle.
He warmed his milk, testing it to be sure it wasn’t too hot before heading back to the nursery. He sat down in the rocking chair, cradling the baby in his arms as he fed him the bottle. "Well Josh, Daddy didn’t do too bad. Whatcha think?" He smiled as the baby kicked his feet.
"Dancing already, eh?" He chuckled as he tickled his tiny feet. "You wore your Mommy out today, ya know that? Hmm.." he whispered, "she’s all snuggled up asleep." He smiled down at him, looking into his little blue eyes. He watched them flutter closed before opening again.
"You should be sleeping too. Let Daddy teach you a very important lesson. Sleep is very good. Trust me, Daddy knows." He chuckled as the baby cooed up at him. "You’re still gonna wake us up at 3 am, aren’t ya?" The baby cooed again as he leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I thought so," he whispered.
He sat quietly rocking him, just watching. He couldn’t believe that he had been a part of something as wonderful as this beautiful baby, this little miracle. Slowly he stopped sucking the bottle, his eyes getting heavier and heavier before they finally closed. "Night night, Josh," he whispered, gently stroking his dark hair, "Daddy loves you."
He grabbed the blanket off the arm of the chair, draping it over the baby as he snuggled him close to him. He slowly rocked him, humming lightly as he rested his head back against the chair.
He awoke to a flash of light as his wife smiled down at him. "I’m sorry, Sweetie, but that’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen," she whispered, walking towards him. She gently lifted the baby from his arms, laying him down in the crib before turning back towards him. "Thank you," she whispered, kissing his lips softly.
He hugged her tightly, resting his head on his shoulder as he yawned. "You’re welcome, Mama." He lifted his head and smiled down at her. "Hey, now you really are a Mama." She giggled, kissing him again. "Come on, Pop...let’s get you back in bed."
"He was only two weeks old in that picture. It’s hard to believe he’s almost 20 now," he said, smiling down at the picture of this son sleeping in his arms. "They both grew up quick...too quick," she whispered as she flipped the page. Birthday parties, family vacations, the birth of their second child...all the wonderful memories flooded back to them through pictures.
"Aww, do you remember this?" He looked at the picture she pointed to, chuckling happily. She smiled up at him, running her fingers across his cheek. "You always were our Superhero." He kissed the tip of her nose before smiling down at the picture. He shook his head as he laughed. "I never realized how stupid I looked." She giggled, resting her head on his shoulder. "I seem to remember Superdad being a big hit. That was one Halloween I’ll never forget."
"Mommy, where is Daddy," two blue eyes gazed down at her as she pinned the bottom of the frilly dress. "He’s in New York today, Sweetheart. He’ll be home soon." She had been trying desperately to get her to stand still long enough to pin the dress up. "But Mommy. Daddy won’t be here to see me be a princess." One more pin and she would be done. "Jaycee, can you stand still for Mommy, pretty please?" She placed the last pin in the bottom, holding the hem in place. "I want Daddy to go trick-or-treating with us." She smiled up at her daughter, gently helping her down from the chair.
"Daddy has to work, Sweetie. You know he would take you trick-or-treating if he could. He’ll be home soon though, and then you can sing him the new song you learned." She fluffed out the bottom of the dress, making sure it fell just right. She saw the pout that had begun to form on her small lips and her heart melted.
"I miss him too, Baby. You want to call him?" She couldn’t help but smile at the excitement that lit up her little face. She started to run for the phone, but she didn’t make it very far. "Whoa Jaycee...we’ll call Daddy as soon as we get you out of this dress. Mommy has to finish it for tonight."
She couldn’t help but laugh as she watched her 5 year old daughter shed the dress and dash towards the phone. "Jaycee, Baby, can we at least get you dressed first?" She giggled, grabbing her daughter’s clothes from the floor. "Mommy, push the buttons," Jaycee said as she bounced up and down happily.
"I’ll make a deal with you. You put on your clothes while I dial the number. Then you can talk to Daddy." She grabbed the phone, holding out the small pair of shorts and T-shirt. She watched Jaycee’s efforts to get dressed, trying to stick her head through the arm hole.
She dialed the familiar number, hearing an echoed ring. She adjusted the shirt for Jaycee, her small head poking through the hole instantly as she turned around. The ringing sounded again in her ear, once again echoing. She stepped towards the livingroom, peeking around the wall.
"Hello." His voice sounded in her ear, but not just on the phone. She turned around, diving into his arms as Jaycee squealed happily. "Baby, what are you doing home?" He kissed her slowly as Jaycee attached herself to his leg. "I missed you," he whispered, hugging her before reaching down to pick Jaycee up, "and you..."
Her little arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he hugged her close to him. "Daddy, now we can go trick-or-treating and I can be your princess," she cooed in his ear as she kissed his cheek. "You’ll always be my little princess," he whispered, giving her butterfly kisses. "Where’s your brother," he asked as he sat her back on her feet.
"Maw Maw is turning him into a Dinosaur," she giggled, putting a hand over her mouth. "She is," he gasped, his eyes widening, "I guess we’re gonna have to change his name to Dino." Jaycee giggled as he poked at her sides. "You’re funny, Daddy," she giggled as she hugged him again, "I’ll go get Josh."
He watched as she darted off up the stairs before turning back to his wife. "I don’t believe I got enough of this," he whispered, as he leaned towards her...softly kissing her lips. Her fingers moved into his hair, tugging lightly on his curls. It wasn’t long before she could hear two sets of little feet thundering down the stairs, but at the moment she wasn’t ready to let him go.
Suddenly the impact of two children hit their legs, pulling their lips apart. "Daddy, eww...if you kiss girls you get cooties," Josh whined. He chuckled before reaching down to ruffle his dark hair. "I love Mommy’s cooties," he chuckled as he squatted down in front of his son, "One day you’ll understand, Buddy. Now, give me a hug."
"Daddy, will you take us trick-or-treating," Jaycee asked, bouncing happily. "Sure, Baby. Can I have some candy too?" She giggled as she snuggled up close to him. "You have to wear a costume to get candy." He chuckled, looking up at his wife smiling down at him. "I think we can find something to dress you up as," she said.
"Alright, we trick-or-treat in two hours. Last minute touch ups on costumes. T-Rex are you ready?" Josh looked up at his mom, nodding his head. He smiled, revealing his missing front teeth. "Good, now Princess grab your gown and head to see your Maw Maw. Daddy, you come with me and we’ll fix you up."
Everyone scattered, Jaycee headed up stairs with her gown while Josh emptied bags of candy into a large bowl. "Come on Daddy. We’ve got two hours," she cooed at him, jogging up the stairs with him on her heels.
Almost two hours later everyone was dressed, Jaycee’s glittering make up shined on her naturally rosy cheeks while Josh tried to figure out how to hold his tail and his candy bag together. "Where’s Daddy," Jaycee asked, looking up at her mom with twinkling blue eyes. "He’s umm...transforming," she giggled, grabbing her camera just as he stepped down the stairs.
"Dum duh duh duh...I give you...Superdad," he called as he ran down the stairs, the satin sheet he used as a cape flying behind him. Jaycee and Josh laughed happily, bouncing up and down and clapping their hands. He stopped in front of his children, beaming down at them.
The sight was humorous, but the delight he brought to his children was worth it. An old Superman T-shirt...some bright yellow shorts...and a red satin sheet may have lent a hand in making him appear as a superhero, but in the eyes of his family he always had been.
"Mommy, can we take a picture with Daddy," Jaycee asked. "Of course you can. Everybody smile." The flash of light captured the moment in a photograph, but the happy smiles and delighted giggles locked away in their hearts.
They both laughed, remembering the events of that night. "That was fun though. The guys still have never let me live it down, but it was fun." She snuggled deeper into his arms as they turned the page.
More holidays, more family vacations, more birthdays...with each picture the years unfolded before them. He flipped the page one last time, looking down at the newest picture in the album. The two of them were smiling proudly next to Jaycee in her graduation cap and gown as Josh hugged her from behind.
"I miss her too," he whispered, "my little princess isn’t so little anymore." She smiled up at him, snuggling deeper into his arms. "A very wise man once said...she’ll be fine, Darlin." He chuckled as he hugged her tighter. She smiled, lifting her head to kiss his lips gently as he closed the album.
"Just the two of us again," she whispered as he stood up in front of her, offering her his hand. "If I remember correctly we did pretty good before," he whispered, watching the slow smile that spread across her face as she stood up in front of him. "We’ve still got it," she whispered in reply, giggling before pressing her lips to his.
He kissed her softly, holding her the way he had for so many years. It still had the same effect on her. She had always heard that after a few years the magic faded away, but now over twenty years later the magic was still there. He was still as amazing as ever. "And I still love you, Faith," he whispered, pulling her closer. She smiled, touching his cheek softly. "I still love you too, Joshie."
She slipped her hand down into his as they took one more look around the room. As she led him out, he pulled the door closed behind him...also closing the chapter of their first twenty years together. In the same instant a new chapter began, though they were older now the youthful spark of their love still burned...brighter than ever before.
