“Yeah, he said it’s cool. I might have a look at the place you picked for your dojo,” Nova replied.
“Be my guest. Any ideas you have would be great, you know, as a gold medallist,” I teased.
Nova broke into laughter. “I’m not the only one.”
“Nope, but you hold more medals in Ju-jitsu than I do,” I challenged, and Nova grinned, a real one this time. I was a puzzle to many: I didn’t excel at one sport, but at two, and I had medals in both.
“You just remember I can kick your ass and walk away whistling,” she replied. She flopped down on my sofa. “Is everything packed?”
“Yup.”
“I ordered pizza. It’ll be here soon,” she said, and I chuckled. Typical Nova. I’d be lost without my twin.
Calamity
Okay, I was herding sheep. I blew out my cheeks as Rosie grabbed hold of Malachi and carried him back to the car. She was muttering under her breath as she sent Erin a death glare. Erin glowered in return, and I snorted.
Rosie’s gaze flew to me, and I cleared my face of all mirth. She looked ready to kill.
“Get. Zara. Now.” The words were ground out, and I instantly picked Zara up and fitted her into the car seat. Oblivious to everything around her, Zara sucked her thumb and slept.
“Get out again, Malachi, I dare you. You’ll be staying here with Uncle Drake and not moving with us,” Rosie growled.
I turned away as my son contemplated her words. Oh shit.
“And you’ll never have candy or chocolate because we know Uncle Drake can be mean!”
“I’m five!” Malachi snapped. “I’m the boss.”
“How much do you want to bet on that, kid?” Rosie demanded. “Is it worth your Funko Pop collection?”
Malachi blanched and shook his head.
“Then stay put!” She stomped to the back of the car and glowered at me, and added, “Get the fur babies.”
I nodded and headed away from my irate wife. This had been a real nightmare. Rosie had made sure the movers had taken everything, leaving me with the children. Unfortunately, I’d sugared them up. Now she was going to be stuck in a car with the pets and two hyper kids for seven hours. Rosie clearly wanted to murder me.
Deciding it was best to stay the hell away from my wife until she calmed down, which might take a week, I collected the cat cages. Loading them into the back of the SUV, I called the dogs, who came pounding over. As soon as they were in, I got the rest of the pets and placed them inside. Erin and Malachi were now fighting, and Rosie looked ready to scream.
“You’re dead when we get there. If I didn’t need you to help sort the furniture out, you’d be six feet under,” Rosie growled. The look on her face was murderous.
“Shall I check the house one more time?” I asked.
“Yes, Malachi, stop yanking Erin’s hair!” Rosie yelled as Layla barked in distress.
“You’re dead, Dad,” Precious murmured sadly from her cage.
“I know, sweet girl,” I replied to the white raven.
“Fucked up!” Peter, her counterpart, snickered. The black raven fixed a beady eye on me.
“Shut up,” I snapped, and Peter cackled loudly.
Sometimes I wanted to strangle that bird. I checked the house out and returned to Rosie. The kids were now counting sheep quietly, and I tried not to laugh.
“Everything’s out.”
“Okay. I’m off. Love you,” Rosie bit out, but her voice softened on the last two words. We’d agreed never to part without those words. My near-death experiences, twice, had taught us that life was precious.
