An Affair To Remember

Chapter two

I hear the crackle of the baby monitor before I open my eyes. “Mum? Can you help me up?” I hear Ted’s sweet voice over the monitor. I roll over and look at the clock. It’s 6:15am, only 15 minutes before my alarm. I press the talk button to respond “Of course sweetheart, I’ll be right there”.

I know he often lies awake, watching the clock and waiting for a socially acceptable time to wake me. How is a 6 year old boy so thoughtful? I wonder as I slide my feet into my slippers and start walking down the hall to Ted’s bedroom. I knock gently on the door to announce my arrival, and slowly open his door.

His bedroom is like a cross between a little boys bedroom and a hospital room. Outer space with a side of clinical I think to myself, as I lower his bed, so he can get ready to climb out. The twins were born two months early, and as a result Ted developed Cerebral Palsy. It turned our lives upside down, not only going from a couple, to parents of two children in one go, but to juggle the intensely different needs of our two babies quickly became a full time job.

“Here we go superstar, how do you want to move today?” I ask, preparing to grab any of his mobility equipment, if he didn’t want to use his wheelchair. “How about my walking frame?” He smiles brightly, looking over at it. It was bright red, because red goes faster as he constantly reminded me.

Great! He’s woken up without pain today! I celebrate to myself, as I help him strap his long legs into his leg braces, and put on his shoes. I wonder to myself if Rory understands just how much management goes into every moment of Ted’s life, but I quickly turn my attention to Ted.

“I have an idea, do you want to go on a breakfast date? Just you and me?” Ted asks, looking up and batting his eyelids. “What a great idea! Let’s tell Daddy where we are going, and get ready!” I swoop down and give him a kiss on the head. Ted makes his way over to his wardrobe to pick out an outfit, and I quickly dart down the hallway to wake Rory.

He is lying on his back, holding my phone in his hand and snoring. My alarm must have gone off while I was helping Ted, and he went right back to sleep. He and Ella are the night owls of the family, while Ted and I thrive in the morning. I sneak up to him, and peel the covers back, appreciating his exposed chest and abs. He works hard on his body, and competed as a body builder before the twins came along. That was how we met, at a competition, we both placed second in our division, and celebrated together. It was love at first sight.

Wanting to surprise him, I took a running jump and landed next to him, only slightly moving the bed with my petite figure. It was enough to startle him, with him almost jumping out of his skin, before pulling a pillow over his head “F**k Pipes, you want to give me a heart attack?!” He started to say, before pulling me close to him out of habit.

“I need you to get up, Ted wants him and I to go out on a breakfast date, he’s having a great morning!” He let out a groan before mumbling “Why do I have to get up if I’m not invited?” I laughed, and said “Because I only know how to make two kids at once, and Ella will need to get up to feed Albus soon. And you were the one that got her the damn dog!”

Rory groaned again before starting to slowly get up. God damn I did well I think to myself, watching him walk to our open doorway, and walk towards Ted’s bedroom. Time to get myself ready. I quickly duck into our huge ensuite, and brush my teeth, before I wash my face. Looking in the mirror, my eyes travel down my body again, in matching silky shorts and a camisole that exposes a tiny bit of my midriff.

I almost look like I never had children, except for the five faded stretch marks below my belly button, and my c section scar. I know the exact amount of stretch marks, because I counted them, and cried as they appeared in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. Of course that felt so silly, when so soon after I was thrown in the deep end with two tiny little 2 pound babies, who had to fight to survive.

I quickly pulled on some activewear, and tied my hair back into a high ponytail. I appreciated some of the changes that had come with children, my breasts were a little bit bigger, and my hips were slightly wider, making me look more womanly than I did before the kids came along.

I noticed Rory behind me, a second before I felt his arms snake around my waist. “I’ve strapped Ted into your car, you better get out of here before I take you back to bed with me”