Julia heaved a tired sigh. “And I sure as hell hope this one decides to take after me, and not you. I still say our babies were switched at birth. There’s no other logical explanation why your girls are little angels, and my kids are – let’s just call them a handful.”
Lauren snickered. “Jules, those two are way more than a handful. I’ve seen them wear out eight adults in less than an hour. Look, even Scotty has given up.”
She pointed to the year old Australian Shepherd – their father’s youngest dog – who had just curled up on his bed in one corner and gone to sleep.
“They’ll grow out of it,” she assured Julia. “It’s just the terrible twos is all. And never forget your secret weapon when they get really, really naughty – tell them that they have to spend a week with Auntie Lauren. That usually puts the fear of God in them for awhile.”
Julia shook her head. “I’ve played that ace card one too many times recently, and they’re on to me now. Besides, they love coming to stay with you and Ben and the girls. Hey, I know - ”
“No.” Lauren glared at her sister. “We’ve been though this too many times before. You and I are not swapping kids. By some quirk of fate you wound up with your two little demons, while Ben and I have our little sweethearts. Did you ever think that maybe instead of taking after you and I, that our kids are more like their fathers? After all, Ben’s quiet and calm and easygoing, while Nathan was probably a little imp when he was a kid.”
“Not according to his mother,” replied Julia. “Alexis swears that he was an angel compared to Noah and Justin.”
Lauren gave her sister a sympathetic look. “Sorry to tell you, Jules, but a barrel of monkeys would be more angelic than your boys. And – uh, oh. Better go rescue Mom’s collectable Christmas ornaments. Noah Atwood, you’d better leave that alone if you know what’s good for you! Otherwise, Auntie Lauren is going to be very, very angry.”
Ben smiled as he watched his wife make a beeline for their naughty nephew, and hugged both of his daughters a little bit closer. “And we don’t want to make Mommy angry, do we?” he asked Daisy and Summer laughingly.
The twins shook their curly blonde heads slowly, both of them turning big blue eyes up to their father. He gave each of them a kiss in turn on their foreheads, breathing in the sweet baby scent that still clung to their skin even though they were now a little over two years old.
He and Lauren had been shocked to discover her pregnancy a few months after their first wedding anniversary, especially since they hadn’t planned to start a family for at least another year or two. And it had been the very height of irony that Lauren had become pregnant four months after Julia and Nathan had announced their happy news – since it was also the exact number of months between their wedding dates. But after Ben and Lauren had recovered a bit from the surprise, they had both been thrilled with the news, doubly so when it was discovered fairly early on that Lauren, too, was expecting twins.
Lauren, of course, had sailed through her pregnancy, rarely even suffering from morning sickness, while Julia had been miserable for months with nausea, swollen ankles, and fatigue. She still liked to joke that even in the womb her boys had done their best to wear her out. She had also gained a good fifteen pounds more than Lauren, and it had taken her several additional months to lose all of her baby weight. Lauren, on the other hand, had been able to wear her tightest jeans a mere two months after giving birth, which had earned her a very dark glare from her sister.
But when it had been confirmed that Lauren was having twins and their doctor had advised her to stop flying, Ben had set his foot down in earnest, one of the very, very few times he had ever attempted to do so. And, quite predictably, Lauren had argued until she was blue in the face, but in the end had grudgingly conceded to her husband’s edict.
“You are not going to keep flying all over the world in your condition,” he’d told her firmly. “Not only is the flying itself dangerous for pregnant women – especially when you’re carrying twins – but I’ll tell you right now, Lauren, that there is no possible way you’re going to attempt any crazy adventures when you’re carrying my babies. And since I have zero desire to travel anywhere without you, or leave you at home alone, both of us are going to turn in our resignations to the magazine.”
Lauren had sighed in resignation. “Fine. I can tell when you get in one of your pigheaded moods so might as well save my breath. But tell me, boss, how do you expect we’re going to pay the bills after we quit our jobs?”
Ben had smiled at her indulgently, the way he did when she was in a bad mood. Fortunately, since they’d been married, her bad moods were much fewer and further between, and she’d become far less terrorizing and confrontational. Love, it seemed, had been the key to taming the shrew.
“I’ve got some ideas,” he’d told her.
Ideas that had proven extremely successful, and ones that had allowed them to not just make a comfortable living but to incorporate their shared love of travel and adventure as well. Ben and Lauren now wrote a travel blog, one geared largely to family travel and adventure, as well as having published several guidebooks along the same topics. In addition, Ben had written two very successful novels thus far, and was halfway through penning the third. Lauren’s photos continued to be popular commodities at her mother’s gallery in Carmel, selling almost as quickly as they were hung on the walls. Lauren was also working at the gallery two to three days a week now, gradually starting to take over the business from Natalie, who was devoting more time to painting. And when Madelyn retired next spring, Natalie and Robert planned to accompany her and James on an extended vacation to Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
With Robert’s help and guidance, Ben had added on considerably to the cabin to accommodate their growing family. The cabin now boasted two additional bedrooms, another bathroom, and the loft had been expanded so that both he and Lauren could use it as an office space. A small, separate guest cottage had also been built on the property, as well as a playhouse for the girls.
They still traveled frequently, though now their trips were more budget-friendly and geared towards family activities and adventures. Daisy and Summer – who’d been named respectively for Lauren’s favorite flower and the season of the year she and Ben had first met – were already seasoned little travelers, and had accompanied their parents on trips to nearly a dozen different states. They were both strong little swimmers and loved to hike and explore, and as soon as they were old enough Lauren and Ben planned to teach them to surf and ski, as well as enroll them in martial arts classes.
They made it out to New York a couple of times a year to see Maddy and James, and always made time while in town to have dinner or drinks with Chris and George, as well as the entire Di Nardo family. Karl and Tamsyn remained in close touch as well, and had spent a week staying in their guest cottage this past summer with their two children.
Lauren and Ben had agreed to hold off on having another baby until the twins were ready to start kindergarten, when their traveling would have to be limited to summers and school breaks. Lauren very much wanted to give Ben a son, though he insisted that his girls were all he could ever want or need – all three of them.
At Lauren’s prodding, Ben now kept in regular contact with his father as well as some of his half-siblings. Callan, in fact, was coming down to spend New Year’s Day with them, and since he lived full time now in California they saw him at least every other month. Ben and Lauren had brought the girls back to Ohio a couple of times to visit their grandparents, though Ben’s mother still continued to be distant and largely uncommunicative. But Lauren knew that Ben wasn’t bothered by his mother’s coldness, especially since Natalie had treated him like her own son since the time he’d announced his intention to marry her daughter. Ben had, in fact, finally found the close knit family he had never really known as a boy, and vowed that his own children would always know every single day of their lives how much they were loved.