Brett McAllister arrived before noon on Friday. Eve, myself and Brett sat down over sandwiches and poured over every single line of all the paperwork. It took two hours to go over it all and really understand the legal jargon and when we were finished, Eve and I signed where we needed to and Brett said he would send the copies to wherever they needed to go. There wasn’t anything sneaky or tricky in them; just basic paperwork the courts required and I felt much better once it was all completed.

Then it was time to head on over to where the girls were staying. David appeared again with his town car and we took the five minute drive across town to Cedar Bay Drive. The house was two stories and a grayish blue color with black shutters and a wide porch. The yard had two big trees that shaded it and a few children’s toys were scattered about; a tricycle, a scooter and a basketball.

Once parked along the curb, David opened the door, but I didn’t budge.

Eve reached and took my hand. “You can do this,” she spoke quietly with conviction in her voice. She fully believed I could, but I wasn’t so sure.

“What if they don’t like me?”

I knew my wife could see the fear in my eyes. She pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. “They’re going to love you. How can they not? You’re sweet and caring, have the biggest heart and I know you’re going to do everything in your power to take care of them. They may not love you immediately, but they’re going to fall in love with you. And when they see how much you love them…they won’t be able to help themselves.”

I smiled at her words. “You always know just what to say.”

She kissed me softly. “Just trust me, baby. It’s going to be okay.”

And with that, we slipped from the car and met up with Mr. Jeffries. He led us to the front door where a slender woman with blonde hair pulled back into a bun and friendly green eyes greeted us. She introduced herself as Mona Lock and welcomed us into her home.

I could tell immediately that she had children of her own. Not just because pictures of a smiling baby and a little toe headed boy adorned the living room, but toys were scattered about, the TV was playing some children’s television show and remnants of carrots and celery littered the coffee table. The house was definitely lived in and I shared a smile with Eve at how homey it felt.

Mona Lock swiped up the remote and muted the television and the young boy who couldn’t be any older than five gave a protest. But his mother shushed him and told him that the grown ups needed to talk and he ran off to play Monster Destroyers in his room. I chuckled at that and had visions of him with a towel tied around his neck like a cape as he jumped from his bed with a plastic sword killing all the evil monsters.

“Sorry about Charlie,” Mona apologized as she set the remote down next to a baby monitor.

“No need to apologize,” Eve spoke, glancing in the direction he’d disappeared. “He’s adorable.”

“Don’t tell him that,” she arched a brow and chuckled low, “he says he’s tough as nails and all boy and anyone tries to call him cute or sweet or adorable, better look out.”

I laughed. “I remember those days.”

Her green eyes met mine and she smiled. “I’m sure you do.” Then she looked between Eve, Mr. Jeffries and myself. “Would anyone like anything to drink?”

We all politely declined and Mona invited us to have a seat. Eve and I took the love seat while she and Mr. Jeffries perched on the couch.

“So, you’re here to meet the girls?”

I nodded and felt myself reaching for my wife’s hand. “Right. And um…we’re going to take them to California. That’s where we live,” I added as if she would have wondered why we were going to California.

Mona smiled some. “As much as I’ll miss having them around, I think that’s the best thing for them right now. They,” she hesitated and I saw her exchange a look with Mr. Jeffries.

“What?” I questioned, suddenly feeling like I was on alert.

Mona’s eyes settled on my face again. “Well, it’s only been a bit over a month since Melody passed. You have to understand that’s very hard for little ones. They have their ups and downs and they miss her so badly.”

Next to me, Eve nodded in sympathy. “We can understand that. This is probably going to be so scary for them.”

“It really is. From the moment they first saw their mother in the hospital to today they’ve been frightened and worried. But I think,” a smile touched her mouth, “that having their father around is going to help so much. They ask me a lot if their dad is going to come get them now that mommy is gone.”

And then I wanted nothing more than to go into whatever room they were in and wrap them in my arms forever. I was never going to let these girls go and I was going to do my damndest to fulfill the promise I’d made after reading Melody’s letter. They were already my heart and I hadn’t even met them yet.

“Well,” Eve spoke up for me, “they aren’t going to have to worry about that any longer.”

Mona smiled. “I’m so glad. Alright, shall we go meet them?”

We agreed and she led us from the living room, up a flight of stairs and down a narrow hallway with light gray carpeting. Stopping outside a closed bedroom door done up in a rich mahogany color, she turned to us. “Mr. Jeffries and I thought that we would go in first and explain that you have come to see them. Then we’ll bring you in.”

I nodded wordlessly and she and the attorney slipped into the room.

“You’re doing great,” Eve said low from beside me. She reached and smoothed a hand over my back. “Are you feeling okay? You’re not gonna pass out on me again, are you?”

I chuckled low and shook my head. “No, no, I’m okay. Just….just a little nervous. I feel like my heart is on speed or something; it’s racing so fast I feel like it’s gonna squeal tires and take off like a race car."

Eve laughed softly at that. “You got this, baby.” Then she leaned up and kissed my cheek.

I hoped she was right and that my heart would calm itself before it entered the Indy500. It wasn’t but a few minutes before the door was opened again and Mona motioned us to enter.

Reaching for Eve’s hand, I gingerly stepped into the room and felt my heart drop down into my toes at the sight of my daughters. They were seated at a little table made especially for small children. One had a pink feather boa around her neck and shoulders and the other wore a floppy straw hat with a large pink flower pinned to it. Two cups of tea, empty of course, were sitting on matching saucers before the girls. And the other two chairs at the table were occupied by a large teddy bear donning a tiara and a rabbit in a pink tutu.

It was the most precious sight I think I’d ever seen and my eyes instantly grew misty. There they were in flesh and blood right before my very eyes and I found I couldn’t move. A strange sensation had entered my head and dimmed my hearing and it was a moment before I realized I wasn’t breathing.

With a start, I gasped for a breath and tried to force the pressure from my head before I passed out again and scared everyone.

Next to me, Eve gently nudged me forward and released my hand.

Ack, I was on my own now. What was I supposed to say? Do I just introduce myself as their dad, or should I say Alex? Am I supposed to hug them? Would they want me to touch them? I didn’t think my legs were going to work, but somehow I found myself crossing the room to the table and slowly crouching down between them both. “H…hello,” I managed to force out.

Both girls eyed me with caution then turned their gazes to Mona.

She smiled and touched the head of the girl wearing the boa. “Girls, you remember Mr. Jeffries and I talking to you about the man that your mama asked to take care of you?”

Their little heads nodded, but neither spoke.

Mona drew the girl in the boa closer to her side. “Well, this is him.”

The one in the floppy hat turned her attention back to me and eyed me, taking in the tattoos on my neck and my bald head with a Band-Aid on it now to cover the stitches. “Are you our daddy?”

Her voice was as sweet as a lullaby and I felt my heart melting. A lump was forming in my throat and I found I couldn’t force any words around it, so instead I nodded my head.

Both of them stared at me, the one in the floppy hat inching closer until her little arm brushed my own. “For really real? No take backs?” She whispered loudly.

I resisted the urge to slip my arm around her. “For really real,” I echoed her in a hoarse whisper of my own. “No take backs.”

She studied me for half a moment longer then suddenly tears were filling her adorable doe eyes and her chin trembled.

I blinked at that and felt my own eyes widen. Had I done something? Not even five minutes and I was already making one of them cry. “Wha…um….”

Mona rose from her spot and around the table to sink down beside the teary eyed girl. “Ashlyn, it’s okay,” she soothed as she slipped her arm around the child and held her close.

Ashlyn, as I learned from Mona’s comment, turned and threw herself into the woman’s arms, burying her face into her chest and holding her tight. I could hear her muffled sobs and it tore away a piece of my heart. With panic in my eyes, I looked to my wife for help.

She sent me a sympathetic look, but didn’t come any closer and I understood her reasons on why; awkwardness, the girls not knowing her and not wanting to bombard them with too much at once.

“Um…is she um….is she okay?” I questioned Mona, turning my attention back to her and my daughter.

Mona smoothed her back and held her close, her eyes meeting mine. “It’s been very rough on them both since…Melody…” she trailed off and I understood why she wasn’t saying more.

“Of course.” Suddenly I wondered if this might be a mistake. Showing up while the girls were in the middle of grieving and uprooting them from the only home they’ve known and the only people they’ve known and taking them to a strange place far away. Maybe I shouldn’t have come at all. Maybe Mona, or even Mr. Jeffries, was the right people to raise them. “I um,” I thumbed toward the doorway, “maybe I should go.”

Mona pursed her lips then shook her head. “No, you should stay. It’s hard, but they do want you here.”

“Are you sure? I uh, I don’t want to upset them.”

“This isn’t because of you.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped short when two little arms suddenly wound their way around my neck. In dealing with Ashlyn, I had lost track of Ireland and now she stood with her arms around me, and her little face peering into mine.

“Don’t leave.”

I don’t know if it was because she was hugging me or the pleading tone to her voice or both, but I felt myself cave and knew I couldn’t, wouldn’t ever leave them. Sinking down onto my butt, I slipped my own arm around her tiny body and drew her closer. “I’m not going anywhere,” I had to choke out as my eyes welled with tears. “Your daddy’s right here.”

And then Ireland climbed into my lap and let me hold her and I felt my heart swell with something much stronger than any love I’d ever experienced before. It was a new feeling and it scared me yet felt so right at the same time.

I couldn’t stop myself from pressing a kiss to the top of her head and smelling the sweet scent of her strawberry scented shampoo. That smell would forever be imprinted in my brain just like the feel of her little arms around my neck would too.

Together, two sets of identical brown eyes turned to Mona and Ashlyn. She had calmed and was now resting her cheek against Mona’s bosom and staring back at us with tear streaked cheeks.

I wanted to say something, but it was Ireland who spoke first, “Daddy’s here to take care of us, Ashlyn.”

Ashlyn’s lower lip trembled and fresh tears filled her eyes. “I want mommy,” her voice wavered as she spoke.

I wanted her mommy to be here too and I wanted to snatch her from Mona and hold her close. “I know, sweetheart,” I heard my own voice trembling. “I’m so sorry that she’s not here.”

“She had’a go to Heaven,” Ireland spoke so matter of factly. “She said that God had a very ‘portant job for her to do there.”

Ashlyn frowned at her sister. “God is stupid.”

“Ashlyn,” Mona interjected herself into the conversation, which was fine by me. “We don’t say that word. It’s not a nice word.”

Ireland’s brows drew together as she eyed her sister. “God is not stupid. He needed mommy to do a ‘portant job.”

I watched between the two, wondering if this was going to become a bigger argument and if so, how was I supposed to handle it. And that’s when I realized that Eve and I hadn’t discussed how we were going to discipline them and what kind of way we would raise them. We so weren’t prepared for this.

“I need mommy!”

Ireland looked like she was gearing up for a comeback when Eve appeared at my side and lowered down to her knees. “Hello,” she spoke in a friendly tone, looking between the two girls. “My name is Eve, what are your names?”

The two looked to her, caught off guard at the quick transition to another subject. But it worked and their ruffled feathers settled and the attention on God, their mom and just who was stupid dissipated and they focused on my wife.

Ireland spoke up first, “I’m Ireland.”

Eve smiled at that. “Ireland; that’s a beautiful name. It’s very nice to meet you, Ireland.” When the little girl smiled, she turned her attention to the other twin. “And what’s your name?”

Ashlyn didn’t appear to be as quickly fooled as her sister. She studied Eve intently and waited a moment before responding, “Ashlyn.”

Eve didn’t let it faze her. “Ashlyn,” she repeated after her. “That is such a beautiful name. How old are you girls?”

This time it was like they were in sync. “Four,” they chorused together. Ireland even did a visual aide by holding up her hand and showing four fingers.

“My gosh, you girls can’t be four.” Eve eyed them in a cute manner and looked them both over. “Are you sure you’re four?”

“Yes!” They spoke again at the same time and I thought briefly it was like surround sound.

“Hm,” she pressed her lips together as if she were thinking it over very hard, “well, alright, I believe you. But you’re the two most beautiful little four year olds I’ve ever met. Do you remember my name?”

Ireland giggled softly before replying, “Eve.”

“Good job!” My wife reached out and touched the tip of Ireland’s nose with her finger. “What smart girls you are.” She surveyed the table then looked to Ashlyn. “Are you two having a party here?”

Ashlyn nodded, pulling herself from Mona’s arms and fixing the hat on her head. “A tea party.”

“Ooh, I love tea parties. I had quite a few when I was four years old.”

Ireland rose from my lap and wrapped the boa back around her neck. “Do you want to have tea with us?”

And then Ashlyn was moving around the table to reach for the teapot. “You’ll really like it. It’s got secret ingre’dants.”

Eve sent me a sideways glance then turned her attention back to the girls. “I would be honored to have tea with you girls.” She settled herself on the floor at the corner of the table.

“Wait! You hafta wear this!” And Ireland hurried over to a small toy box then returned with a feathery, magenta colored boa.

My wife gave a gasp and took the boa. “Ooh, this is gorgeous. I’ll definitely wear it.” Then she wrapped it around her neck. I caught her eye and she sent me a wink before turning back to the table.

Ashlyn made a dramatic scene with pouring the tea into a cute little pink teacup then set it in front of Eve. “And here’s your tea.”

Eve peered into the empty cup. “Mm, smells so good. What flavor is it?”

“Strawberry cinnamon,” Ireland announced with conviction.

“Don’t forget my secret ingre’dants,” her sister interjected.

“Wow, you know something, girls?” My wife leaned over the table some and peered to them both.

“What?” Ireland leaned toward her, her big brown eyes wide.

A smile tugged at the corner of Eve’s mouth. “Strawberry cinnamon is your daddy’s most favorite kind of tea. I bet you he would love to join us.”

Two sets of identical brown eyes looked my way and I couldn’t help but grin at them. “I would love to have some strawberry cinnamon tea.”

And then Ireland was off and running for the toy box to fetch something for me to wear and Ashlyn was pouring another cup. And just like that, we were in.

~*~*~*~*~

“You were so great with them.” It was later that night and Eve and I were snuggled together in the bed in the motel. We’d spent the majority of the day at Mona’s with the girls. The day had been filled with tea parties and stuffed animal introductions and playing princess in the backyard and discovering that I loved the sound of their giggles and knew I was probably already wrapped around their fingers.

Eve smiled softly. “I really was, but so were you.”

I couldn’t help my own smile. “Today was the best day of my life. Well, save for the day I married you.” I smoothed my hand over her cheek. “I can’t believe how beautiful and sweet and wonderful they are.”

“They really are something else.” She settled her head against my bare chest. “Tomorrow, let’s call a moving company to come and get the girls things. I was thinking, why are we so worried about their bedrooms? Why not just do them up like the ones they have here. I would think it’d be more familiar and comfortable to them.”

“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “Tomorrow, while I go to the bank with Brett to check the safety deposit box, why don’t you see if Mr. Jeffries will let you into their place and you can take pictures of the bedrooms?”

“I can do that.” She kissed my chest. “And maybe tomorrow for dinner, we take the girls somewhere; just the four of us.”

I smiled at that. “I think that’s a great idea. Though I don’t know where we’d take them here. In case you hadn’t noticed, there aren’t a whole lot of choices.”

“I know. So maybe we drive into Columbus. It’s only a half hour drive. We could make an afternoon of it; go to the park or somewhere a four year old might like, then have dinner and bring them home.” Sometimes she was too smart for her own good.

I tilted my head to see her face. “Have I ever told you that you’re a genius?”

Eve laughed softly. “Among other things.”

I let my fingers trace up over her ear then down her neck and toward her shoulder. “We’ll do that. Then we also need to figure out the best way of packing their things and getting them moved and settled into their new home.”

“Maybe tomorrow at dinner we talk to them about it.” She lifted her head to meet my gaze. “I don’t think surprising them or trying to pull any quick ones are the best thing for them at this moment. They need stability and the truth and I think if we talk to them and tell them all about California, maybe show them pictures of our families, they won’t freak out as much.”

“Either way I think it’s going to be really hard for them to leave here.” I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers. “They aren’t going to want to leave their mother’s friends or the place that reminds them of her.”

Eve pressed her lips together and was quiet for a moment. “May I suggest something?”

I turned my head back to hers. “Of course.”

She pulled herself from me and pushed herself up, sitting cross-legged and facing me. “Maybe when we get back home we should look into getting the girls a therapist. Someone who really knows and understands how to help children cope with death and major changes that it brings.”

“You think they need therapy?”

“Maybe that’s the wrong word.” She pushed some hair from her face. “Counseling would be more like it. We can do everything in our power to love them and care for them, but we aren’t professionals and we don’t know children’s behaviors and signs of serious trouble. I think letting them talk to someone who is unbiased and they know they can really let their feelings out to, will really help them in the long run.”

I watched her, unsure how I felt about the idea. “… I don’t know.”

“Alex,” Eve reached and took my hand, “they’re four years old; they’re still learning all about life and they’ve already lost a mother, learned they have a father they’ve never met, met him for the first time today and are going to be moving across the country and leaving any familiarities behind. To them it might feel like they’re leaving their mom and they may view us as the bad people for wanting them to do that.” She paused a moment and when she spoke again, I saw the tears shimmering in her eyes, “I just want to help these girls. I already love them so much and I want to make this transition in their lives as easy and painless as it can be. Think about it from their aspect.”

And then I did and then it began to scare me. What if they did start to view me as the evil one for taking away all ties they had to their mother? What if they thought I wanted them to forget all about her? What if they began to think that Eve was going to replace her? My wife was right; we needed to make sure this affected them as little as possible and if that meant letting them talk to a counselor, then that’s what we were going to do.

“Okay,” I agreed. “As soon as we’re back in town we’ll look for someone. But she’s going to have to be the best there is, because I won’t accept anything less.”

My wife smiled then settled back down against me. “Of course not. Not when it comes to your girls.”

I slipped my arm around her and pulled her closer. “Our girls. You’re not trying to take their mom’s place, I know that and the girls will too, but they’re as much yours as they are mine. After today, how can they not be?”

She smiled then wiped tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry about my attitude on our wedding night.”

“Forget about that, baby, I already have.” I brushed some hair from her face.

“I love them.”

“I know.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead then wiped away another tear.

Eve sniffed some then finally rested her head back against my chest. “We’re going to be alright; all four of us.”

And with that thought drifting around in my mind, and my heart fully agreeing, I fell into a peaceful sleep.