“Hope we didn’t bore you too much today with all the birth stories,” Royal said.
“You know I don’t mind.” He smiled and folded his arms. “Sure, it would have been nice to offer some of my own, but I love hearing yours.”
I knew he wasn’t lying. He and Billie were at peace, since it’d been so many years, but my friend would have been a hell of a dad.
We all hugged it out before heading to our cars, and, ultimately, to our wives. I think we were just as pathetic as our kids. We were addicted to the loves of our lives.
And that definitely wasn’t a bad thing.
Cleo
I opened a box in my son’s new home. I still couldn’t believe it, but he and his boyfriend, Bru, pooled their trust funds and bought their girlfriend, Bow, a house. It was so amazingly responsible of Wells, actually. He normally asked his father and me for anything he wanted.
So his purchase of this house let me know something: he not only loved his girlfriend and boyfriend but wanted to provide for them in whatever means he had.
I smiled before looking into a box labeledBru’s shit. I was pretty sure Wells labeled that box. I glanced over my shoulder. “Bow, do you know where this box goes?”
It was full of books, which was Bru’s personality. He was a lot like Bow, actually; they both spent a lot of time at the library.
My son’s girlfriend came over. All the moms were here, my friends. We’d all raised our kids together. Bru’s mom, Brielle,was amongst them. Our little friendship of mamas started because our husbands were all close friends.
Our sons’ girlfriends and significant others were here, too. We were all helping Bow get settled in the house while the boys played golf again today. They’d been doing that a lot recently, spending time together.
Leave it to the boys to be off having fun while the girls unpacked boxes, but we didn’t mind. It was a rare occurrence that all us girls could just hang out, and, I didn’t know about the others, but I simply loved organizing.
Bow was such a cute little thing, and I loved her like my own daughter. She came to my side in her Mary Jane heels and pleated skirt. She looked like a paper doll I used to play with when I was a kid, just adorable.
Bow glanced at the side of the box, then immediately blushed. She placed her hand on her mouth. “Sorry about the box’s label. Wells did that.”
Did I know my son or did I know my son?
“The box can go next to the bookshelf,” Bow said. “My mom’s almost done setting it up.”
That sounded like something Greer would do. She may have been the smallest amongst all the mamas, but she was mighty.
Together, Bow and I picked up the heavy box. We headed to the living room and found all the mamas and our sons’ significant others there. Aspen, Thatcher’s girlfriend, was hanging pieces of art on the wall, and Sloane was directing her, which wasn’t surprising, as Brielle’s daughter was an artist.
“Just a little straighter,” Sloane told her, standing back. She was a tall girl with wavy dark hair and was completely gorgeous, like her mama. Sloane grinned. “Perfect.”
“Heck, yeah,” Aspen said, then slapped Sloane’s hand. She was also gorgeous, with dark skin and long locs that flowed down her back. She was a concert cellist. Like, a famous one, andI still got kind of starstruck around her. I heard her latest album may be in the running for a Grammy, which was insane.
Aspen nodded. “We don’t need those boys to help us.”
“No, we don’t,” Greer said, coming over with her hammer. She propped her hands on her hips. “December and I just finished the bookshelf.”
“Perfect, because we have books,” I told the room, grunting. The box was very heavy, even with Bow’s help. We managed though, and, together, we placed it on the coffee table. It was oak and matched the balance of masculine and feminine elements of the house. The kids had gone with a farmhouse style, which was so quaint and cozy.
Most of the furniture was just delivered today.
I definitely wasn’t surprised to hear that December helped Greer with the shelf. She was a dark-haired beauty who may have looked like Snow White but was no damsel.
She placed her arm around Sloane, who was married to her son, Dorian. She rubbed Sloane’s shoulders. “The room’s looking great, honey. The artwork really makes it pop.”
“My gift to the new homeowners,” Sloane said, pulling Bow over. Bow laughed. The two were definitely besties since they were the only daughters in the group of our kids.
Sloane beamed. “I wasn’t sure if I’d finish the pieces in time, but I managed.”
What a beautiful gift she gave them, her artwork.
