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When I finally put her down to sit on my knee, she snuggled in close. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, pumpkin.” I did, so very much. Dropping another kiss on her forehead, I held her in my arms and watched my son feed from his mother’s breast.
I met Emilia’s gaze and knew we were both thinking the same thing. How goddamn lucky we were to have found each other, all those years ago.
I took Madison out into the backyard so we could play together. She had everything a two-year-old could desire: a sandbox, a swing set, and a gorgeous treehouse we’d hired an architect to design and build for us.
It was large enough for all four of us to fit in, and we’d decked it out with a small sitting area and kitchen for Madison to bake pretend cakes in. She loved it, and we’d spent many happy hours out there, indulging in afternoon tea.
I helped my little girl into the safety swing on the set. The seat had been designed to ensure she wouldn’t fall out of it, so when she laughingly urged me to pushed her higher, I did, just a little. The sound of her delighted screams warmed my heart in ways I couldn’t express, and we only stopped playing when Emilia declared it was time for dinner.
I took Evan from her while she heated up the delicious meal our housekeeper had made for us, and after we were done Madison was bathed and clad in pajamas. Emilia then fed our son, and after that we went back outside and sat on the top step of our vast porch, which wrapped around the entire house.
The night sky was clear, the moon visible on one side and the thousands of stars above us twinkling in the dark. Madison sat on my left leg, cuddled in close to me, and my right arm was around Emilia, who was holding Evan in her arms.
The four of us watched the stars and we answered our daughter’s endless questions about the stars and moon, and why it was dark sometimes. Just as we’d decided to go inside and put Madison to bed, something stopped us from rising. Madison let out an excited squeal as we all saw it: a shooting star. It shone brightly above us as it blazed across the sky before disappearing into nothing.
“Wow! Mommy, Daddy, did you see the big star?” Madison waved her hands up into the night, and I kissed her head.
“We sure did, pumpkin. Shooting stars are beautiful, aren’t they?”
She turned toward me and threw herself into my arms. “I want to touch a shooting star one day, Daddy.”
“You do, huh?” I gathered her close and kissed her repeatedly. She put her arms around my neck and smooshed her cheek against mine. “Shall we read a book about stars in the sky tonight?”
“Yay! Can Evan come read with us?”
“Of course he can.” Emilia and I stood, each of us holding a child, and we carried them upstairs to our bedroom. Together, the four of us sat on the bed and I read a book about the stars twinkling high in the night sky to our daughter, who was nestled safely in my arms. My wife and son were cuddled into my side, and the love I felt for the three souls surrounding me made my heart want to burst.
My three shooting stars lit up my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined, and it was better than I’d ever dared to dream.
