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Chapter Thirty Three - February 3

For the record, let me just say that leaving Ally was one of the hardest things for me to do. And I thought that I was having a hard time with it, it was nothing compared to Joe.

He was absolutely lost without his quiet little twin sister. He bawled for te first two days straight. Even this morning when I woke up, he was clinging to the side of his crib (he wasn't walking yet, but he was close), whimpering, and looking around hopefully like she might appear.

"Morning champ," I said. He fell back down and looked at me with the most water-logged eyes. My heart broke. I felt like crap.

That was why I was on the phone to my mom in the wee hours of the morning in Malaysia after only two hours of sleep.

"There's a shortcut that says Skype right on the computer mom," I said patiently.

"I've never done this before!"

"I'll walk you through it."

That was easier said than done. By the time I finally saw the screen ome to life, Shelby was awake and hovering over my shoulder.

"Are you watchng a mo---hey that's your house, Mr. J!"

I laughed. The living room came into view for a second and then my mom's face appeared. She seemed to press it right up to the camera.

"Not so close mom!" I said. "Can you get Ally?"

"What time is it there?"

"Early."

I heard her footsteps die away. Joe was chewing on a plastic teething ring. I was hoping more teeth were coming in. He looked like a hillbilly.

A couple minutes later I saw my mom's lower half walk by. She settled down on the couch...

With my Ally bug.

"THAT'S ALLY!" Shelby yelled. My ear began to ring.

Joe looked up at the mention of his sister's name. I pointed to the screen.

"Look Joe! Who's that?"

The moment Joe saw Ally his face broke into a smile. On the other end, Ally was desperately trying to grab at the screen.

"How's she doing mom?" I asked.

"She's doing great. So far, so good."

"Look they're trying to crawl into the computer! Silly babies!"

Shelby was right. Joe's little fingers were opening and closing and he was putting all his weight into my arms in the hope that I would free him.

No such luck.

I spent about twenty minutes chatting with mom and just absorbing the sight of Ally. I had never thought I'd be cut out for this whole 'dad' business, but I was loving every minute.

"Alright, thanks for doing this mom. Love you!"

"I love you too sweetie!"

"Love you Mama J!" Shelby said. Mom's eyes crinkled up.

"Love you too, Shelby."

I shut off the monitor and yawned. Shelby just smiled.

"You look awful tired."

I was tired. I was contemplating a nap when the phone rang. It was Brian.

"Morning. Listen, Nick, Kevin, and Howie are going to the amusement park. I'm keeping my feet on the ground and going to the waterpark with the girls. You in?"

Now, old AJ would have told Brian to have fun wearing his little girly dress at the waterpark with the women. New AJ...

"Yeah, we'll get ready to go. What time should we meet in the lobby?"

"About an hour."

"We'll be there."

----------------------------

The waterpark was bursting to the seams with people. Nick ran off like he was five years old. I think Howie just wanted a day out so bad he was willing to put up with him no matter what.

I was glad that I had chosen to do the waterpark. I couldn't take my eyes of of Molly. She had on this black two piece with one of those sarong thingies and just watching her push Joe in his stroller was making it hard for me to even remember to breath. She reminded me of a juicy apple I just wanted to bite into.

Surprisingly, Shelby had been pretty quiet since we left the hotel. After I forced myself to stop oogling Molly's ass, I glanced down at her. She looked up and slipped her hand in mine.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Mr. J," she whispered. I stopped and knelt down. She looked around as if to make sure no one was going to overhear. She sighed dramatically.

"I can't swim. I don't have webby hands or breathers in my neck. I'll drown."

I smiled and tugged at her ponytail.

"You'll be fine, I promise."

She didn't look so sure but she still followed me. Mason took off to the water cannons and slides with Addy hot on his heels, but for once Shelby didn't follow him. She clung to my hand as the rest of us made our way to Lake Kariba. It was more of just a kid's pool, not very deep and also not very crowded.

Liv had Brian as her pseudo-husband for the day and he helped her take Brooke and Noah in the pool. Molly unhooked Joe from the stroller and found a chair to sprawl out on. Joe curled right up. After not sleeping for a couple days and getting to see his sister, it looked like he was ready for a nap.

Then there was Shelby. She was studying the water like it was going to eat her.

"Okay kiddo, we're going in."

She looked up at me. "Just like that?"

I laughed. "Just like that."

I took her hand and she slowly walked down into the pool with me. One the water got almost to her chest, she stopped.

"This is good," she said. I smiled.

"Nope, I'm going to teach you how to swim."

I put my hands on her and plucked her off the very last step. She screamed.

"I'M GONNA GET WATER IN MY BREATH HOLES!"

"No, you're not! Just relax."

That was easier said than done, but I finally managed to get her to trust me enough to begin to teach her the basics.

"You've got to stretch out like this, tummy down," I said. I held onto her middle.

"Don't let go. I'll be mad," she warned. I smiled.

"Don't worry. Now kick your legs."

It was like a typhoon struck. Big jets of water shot up. Brooke and Noah got hit right in the face.

"Not so hard! Not so hard!"

She slowed down. I smiled.

"There you go. Now move your arms like windmills. Slow windmills."

She did it. I took her arm and showed her how to glide it down into the water. She caught on fast.

"Okay, now do both at the same time."

She did and, after making sure that everything was moving at the right time, I let her go. She swam about three strokes before she realized my hand wasn't on her anymore. She stopped and her arms began to flail.

"MR. J, YOU LET GO!"

I swam back over and twirled her around.

"That's because you just swam!"

She looked surprised.

"I did?"

"You sure did!"

"That was great sweetheart!" Molly called. Shelby looked back at her mom and grinned. Joe was face down in boob and fast asleep.

Lucky guy.

Once Shelby realized she could do it, there was no getting her out of the water. She didn't let me go very far. She told me she wanted me in 'grabby distance' at all times.

I had applied sunblock, but it can only last so long when you're in the water almost all day. By the time we got back to the hotel, I was feeling pretty sore.

"I SWAMMED ALL BY MYSELF! AND THEN I SWAMMED SOME MORE!" Shelby told Mason.

"I SHOT ADDY IN THE BUTT WITH A WATER CANNON!" Mason told her excitedly.

"Noah pooped in his swim shorts and I got to change it," Brian said in mock excitement.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that," Liv said. Bri just grinned.

"Nick owes me, not you."

The rest of the evening was left to shower, eat dinner, and crash. The combination of sun and water was enough to wipe everyone out. I crawled into bed, glad that I'd finally get a full night's sleep.

I was just drifting off when I felt a tug on my bedsheet. I opened one eye. It was Shelby. She was holding Joe.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked groggily. Shelby smiled.

"We want to come to a sleepover!" she said happily.

"Where's your mommy?" I asked.

"She's sleeping in the other room. But she already got a sleepover. It was Joe's idea."

I laughed. "Alright, c'mon."

I took Joe as Shelby scrambled over to the empty side of bed. I put Joe down and he snuggled up to me. I doubt he found it quite as comfortable as laying on Molly, but I seemed to do. Shelby smacked the pillow five times and then plopped down.

"Night, Mr. J," she whispered. I yawned and smiled.

"Night Shel."

------------------------------

February 4

"AJ. AJ."

I slowly opened my eyes. Molly was hovering over me. It was a beautiful sight to wake up to.

"You had a sleepover and I wasn't invited," she teased. I looked over. Joe had soaked my ratty old t-shirt with drool. Shelby was laying diagionally across the bed and one arm was flopped off the side. She was kicking her leg in her sleep.

"Sorry, Shelby and Joe said it was their turn," I whispered back. We both smiled. Molly went to get up off the bed, but I wrapped an arm around her waist. I sat up and pressed a kiss onto her shoulder.

"Happy Birthday," I whispered.

"Thank you."

"How's it feel to be thirty?"

She smiled at me. "Not too bad."

It was late morning by the time everyone woke up, washed up, and headed downstairs. The kids all started a mutiny to go back to the waterpark but they were vetoed.

"We're going to have a fun day here at the hotel," Nick announced. Mason and Shelby groaned.

"They have a pool," Kevin added.

"POOL!"

Howie pulled me aside before the kids made a beeline for swimsuits.

"I'm giving you express permission to sneak out for a few hours," he said with a grin.

"Are you passing the torch Senor Erotico?"

Howie made a face. "Hey, you're going to lose your privileges if you ever call me that again."

I grinned. "Well, thank you. Nick's insanity must be rubbing off on you. It takes a strong person to watch Shelby for the day.

Howie laughed. "That's why I'm sticking her with Kevin. Y'know since she's buddy's with Mason and all."

I grinned. "Good plan."

Molly was hanging back a little when I finally caught up to her. I tugged at her hand.

"What's up?"

"You're coming with me."

She laughed. "I think we're all going to the pool."

I shook my head. "Nope, Howie's taking baby patrol and Kevin's taking Shelby watch. You're coming with me."

"Where are we going?"

I grinned. "The last place anyone's going to look for us."

-------------------------

"Your bedroom?"

I closed the blinds and locked the door. I let two solitary candles beside the bed.

I had a bottle of champagne, strawberries, and some light fluffy cake fresh from the kitchen. I wheeled it up to the bed.

"It's your birthday dessert."

I picked up a strawberry and dangled it down to her lips. With agonizingly slow movements, she took it. She grazed my fingertips with her teeth.

"So what are we going to do in here for three hours?" she asked innocently. I slipped off my shoes. I heard them bounce against the wall. I crawled up on the bed.

"I have a couple ideas."

Molly reached over. "What do they involve?"

"Well...the two main ingredients are you and me."

"I have a third."

I couldn't see what she had reached for, but I assumed it was a strawberry.

"Mmm, hit me."

I opened my mouth ready to taste the sweet red fruit. Instead I got a faceful of cake smashed into my face.

"What the--"

She started to laugh hysterically. I reached for another chunk of cake. After a little wrestling she was helplessly pinned down and laughing.

"Don't, don't you dare, don't you---"

I smashed the cake in with gusto. After she stopped laughing I leaned down for a kiss.

"You taste like cake," she whispered.

"So do you."

Her hands wrapped around the back of my head and my lips were on hers again. My head filled with sweet aromas of sugar and vanilla and her. The bed was quickly becoming a mess and I had a feeling we were going to do a lot more with the strawberries than just eat them.

After all, what's cake without strawberries?