FIRST WEEK AS A FAMILY
1977 Words
EPISODE 16:
---
*MONDAY. 7:00AM. DAY 1*
Alarm.
Not a pack alert.
A real alarm.
Kade groaned. “Why.”
“Because school,” I said.
“We’re married 12 hours and you’re already making me do school runs?”
The twins bolted into our room.
“FIRST DAY OF MARRIED LIFE!” Lila yelled.
Leo: “Do married people eat cereal?”
Kade sat up. Hair everywhere. Ring catching the light.
“Married people eat whatever the hell they want,” he said.
“Pancakes?” Leo asked.
“...I’ll try.”
15 minutes later: smoke alarm.
I opened the window.
Kade: “I was going for abstract again.”
Thomas texted: *You okay? Heard alarm.*
Kade: *Domestic accident. Send help. And toast.*
---
*8:30AM. SCHOOL DROP OFF*
Kade insisted on driving.
In a black SUV.
With tinted windows.
To a public school.
“Dad,” Lila said. “You’re scaring the other parents.”
“I’m protecting my cubs.”
“You’re in sweatpants,” Leo pointed out.
Kade looked down. “...They’re tactical sweatpants.”
I kissed him in the drop-off line.
“Go home, Alpha. Breathe.”
“Text me when you get home,” he said.
“I’m going home. We live together.”
“Text me anyway.”
---
*9:00AM. THE HOUSE. EMPTY*
Quiet.
Too quiet.
Kade paced.
I made coffee.
He followed me.
“Is this what normal is?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s weird.”
“I know.”
He pulled me to the couch.
“Come here. We have 6 hours before pickup.”
“What are we doing?”
“Nothing. That’s the point.”
We did nothing.
For 3 hours.
It was amazing.
---
*TUESDAY. 6:00PM. GROCERY RUN*
First family grocery trip.
Disaster.
Kade: “We need protein.”
Me: “We need vegetables.”
Leo: “We need cookies.”
Lila: “We need cake.”
Cart full in 10 minutes.
Kade put back 4 energy drinks.
“Alpha, you don’t need these.”
“I’m stressed.”
“You’re married. You’re fine.”
Checkout: $412.
Kade swiped the card.
“Worth it,” he said.
“For 6 boxes of cereal?”
“For you.”
Bagging.
He carried everything in one trip.
“Alpha strength,” Leo whispered, impressed.
“Damn right,” Kade said.
---
*WEDNESDAY. 7:30AM. HAIR BRAIDING*
Lila: “Mommy, can you braid it?”
Me: “In a meeting.”
Kade: “I got this.”
20 minutes later.
Lila in the mirror.
One braid.
One... thing.
“I look like a tornado,” she said.
“You look like art,” Kade said.
YouTube.
“HOW TO BRAID HAIR FOR DADS”
He watched it 3 times.
Second try: two braids.
Slightly better.
Lila: “I’ll take it.”
He texted me a photo at work.
*Progress.*
I sent back: *Proud of you, Dad.*
He replied: *Proud to be.*
---
*THURSDAY. 5:00PM. DINNER ATTEMPT*
Kade said “I’ll cook.”
I said “No.”
He said “I’m learning.”
Chicken.
Burnt.
Rice.
Mush.
Salad.
Actually good.
We ordered pizza.
Ate it on the floor.
Again.
“Best dinner ever,” Leo said with cheese on his face.
“Because we’re together,” Lila added.
Kade looked at me.
“Yeah,” he said. “Best dinner ever.”
Thomas called.
“Alpha, Council meeting—”
“No.”
“But—”
“I’m off this week. Remember?”
Thomas sighed. “...Enjoy pizza, Alpha.”
---
*FRIDAY. FRIDAY.*
Our day.
No school.
No pack business.
We slept in.
9:00AM.
Unheard of.
Breakfast in bed.
Kade made it.
Didn’t burn it.
Progress.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Nowhere,” I said. “Everywhere.”
We went to the lake.
Picnic.
No phones.
Twins swam.
We watched.
“Is this it?” Kade asked.
“What?”
“Is this the life?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I like it.”
---
*SATURDAY. 10:00AM. HOME PROJECTS*
Blue door.
Finally.
Paint.
Everywhere.
On Kade.
On me.
On the dog we don’t have yet but Leo is begging for.
“Blue door,” Kade said, stepping back.
“Just like we said.”
“5 years late.”
“Worth the wait.”
We took photos.
All 4 of us.
In front of it.
Paint on our faces.
Grinning like idiots.
---
*SATURDAY. 8:00PM. MOVIE NIGHT*
Fort in the living room.
Blankets.
4 pillows.
1 laptop.
Movie: something animated.
The twins fell asleep 20 minutes in.
Kade carried Leo to bed.
I carried Lila.
Back on the couch.
Kade’s arm around me.
“Movie?”
“Sleep,” I said.
So we slept.
On the couch.
Under blankets.
Like teenagers.
---
*SUNDAY. 9:00AM. WEEK RECAP*
One week.
7 days.
No attacks.
No Council.
No running.
Just:
- 3 burnt meals
- 2 successful braids
- 1 blue door
- 4 loads of laundry
- 100 “I love you”s
Kade was on the floor doing Legos with Leo.
I was on the couch reading with Lila.
Elena came over with soup.
“This is nice,” she said.
“It is,” I agreed.
Kade looked up.
“Hey, Luna.”
“Hey, Alpha.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For saying yes. Again.”
---
*SUNDAY. 10:00PM. OUR ROOM*
End of week 1.
Kade pulled me close.
“Rate the week,” he said.
“10/10.”
“Even the pancakes?”
“Especially the pancakes.”
He kissed me.
Slow.
Tired.
Happy.
“No meetings tomorrow,” he whispered.
“No threats.”
“Just us.”
“Just us.”
He turned off the light.
“Goodnight, wife.”
“Goodnight, husband.”
The house settled.
Safe.
Loud in the day.
Quiet at night.
Ours.
*MONDAY NIGHT. 11:00PM. FIRST NIGHT ROUTINE*
The house was finally quiet.
Twins asleep.
Dishes done.
Sort of.
Kade was standing in the kitchen in those tactical sweatpants, staring at the dishwasher like it owed him money.
“Do I... press this button?”
“Which one?”
“The one that says ‘eco’ or the one that says ‘power wash’?”
“Eco.”
“What if it doesn’t clean?”
“Then we do it again tomorrow. Married life.”
He pressed it.
The machine hummed.
He looked at me like he’d just disarmed a bomb.
“Did good?”
“10/10, Alpha.”
“Don’t call me that in the kitchen.”
“What should I call you?”
“Husband.”
He froze.
Then pulled me in.
“Yeah. Husband. I like that.”
We didn’t sleep right away.
We lay in bed talking about stupid things.
Favorite cereal.
Worst pack meeting ever.
If dogs have souls.
At 1am he was still awake, watching me.
“What?” I whispered.
“Just checking it’s real.”
“It’s real.”
“Good.”
---
*TUESDAY MORNING. 6:45AM. PACK VS PARENT*
Kade’s phone buzzed.
Thomas.
Again.
“Alpha, we need you at the border meeting.”
“I’m on leave.”
“It’s important.”
“So is breakfast.”
He hung up.
Then looked at me.
“Was that okay?”
“That was perfect.”
He made eggs.
Didn’t burn them.
Progress.
Leo gave him a thumbs up.
Lila: “Dad’s learning.”
Kade: “Dad’s trying.”
After drop-off he came home and slept for 2 hours.
On the couch.
With me.
No nightmares.
For the first time in years.
---
*TUESDAY NIGHT. BUDGET TALK*
$412 grocery receipt on the counter.
Kade picked it up.
“Is this... bad?”
“No. It’s normal for 4 people.”
“Oh.”
“You worried?”
“I’m not used to buying for... us.”
“Get used to it.”
He pulled me to him.
“I have money. I just never had a reason to spend it like this.”
“Now you do.”
“Now I do.”
We made a budget on a napkin.
Groceries.
School stuff.
Date nights.
Dog fund.
He underlined "dog fund" 3 times.
---
*WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. 3:00PM. SCHOOL PICKUP*
Kade wanted to do it.
Alone.
“No SUV,” I said.
“Fine. The normal car.”
“No tinted windows stare.”
“...Fine.”
He came back 20 minutes later with both kids and a paper.
“What’s this?”
“Leo got Student of the Week.”
Leo beamed.
“Show off,” Lila said.
“Proud of you, bud,” Kade said, ruffling his hair.
Then quieter, to me: “I’ve missed so much.”
“You’re here now.”
---
*WEDNESDAY NIGHT. HAIR + HEALING*
After the braid disaster, Kade watched more YouTube.
At midnight.
With headphones.
I found him in the bathroom practicing on a doll Leo left there.
“What are you doing?”
“Research.”
“For who?”
“For my daughter.”
Next morning: two perfect braids.
Lila cried.
“Really pretty, Daddy.”
Kade’s throat bobbed.
“Yeah? Good.”
He looked at me over her head.
Eyes wet.
I mouthed: _Proud of you._
---
*THURSDAY. COUNCIL DRAMA*
Thomas showed up.
Unannounced.
“Alpha, 5 minutes.”
“No.”
“It’s about the rogues.”
“Not my problem this week.”
Thomas looked at the pizza boxes.
At the kids’ drawings on the fridge.
At Kade in an apron.
“...Okay. I’ll handle it.”
“Thank you.”
After he left, Kade exhaled.
“I thought saying no would feel worse.”
“How does it feel?”
“Free.”
---
*FRIDAY. DATE DAY PT 2*
After the lake, we stopped for ice cream.
All 4 of us.
Kade got vanilla.
“Basic,” I teased.
“Classic,” he corrected.
We sat on a bench.
Twins licking cones.
Sun on our faces.
A normal family.
In public.
No guards.
No fear.
An old pack member walked by.
Stopped.
Did a double take.
“Alpha? With... kids?”
Kade just nodded.
“Have a good day.”
The guy left, confused.
Kade squeezed my hand.
“Let them talk.”
---
*SATURDAY. THE DOG CONVERSATION*
Leo: “Can we get a dog now? Please? We have a blue door.”
Kade: “We have enough chaos.”
Me: “He’s not wrong.”
Kade: “...We can look. Not get. Just look.”
Leo: “YES!”
Lila: “Name it Blue.”
Kade: “Of course you would.”
We spent 2 hours looking at rescue dogs online.
Kade vetoed 6 for “too much energy” and 4 for “too small.”
“Goldilocks,” I said.
“I’m being responsible.”
“You’re being an Alpha about dogs.”
“Same thing.”
We didn’t pick one.
But we saved 3.
Baby steps.
---
*SATURDAY NIGHT. FIGHT? ALMOST.*
I was tired.
Snapped at him over laundry.
“Why are your socks everywhere?”
“Because I’m not perfect, Luna.”
“I didn’t say—”
“You didn’t have to.”
Silence.
Then he sat down.
“I’m sorry. I’m learning this too.”
“I know. Me too.”
He pulled me to the floor with him.
“We’re gonna mess up. A lot.”
“Yeah.”
“But we fix it. Right?”
“Right.”
No big fight.
Just a small one.
And a bigger hug after.
---
*SUNDAY MORNING. CHURCH? NO. PANCAKES.*
No church.
Pancakes.
That Kade didn’t burn.
Fluffy.
With berries.
“Miracle,” Leo said.
“Practice,” Kade said.
Elena came by.
Saw the pancakes.
Saw Kade.
“I don’t know what you did, but keep doing it.”
Kade just smiled.
“Married life.”
- Writer
