Chapter 19

The wedding was six weeks away. The preparations were ramping up for everything. I made sure that the honeymoon arrangements were set and that Heather and I had our passports ready for our trip down under. The twins loved having Dad home again. I settled into my Assistant Cubmaster role. Reverend Hollinger came over to Heather’s apartment a couple evenings. The counseling sessions were something he insisted on if we wanted him to marry us. Rev has some good observations on married life. Hopefully, Heather and I could put the advice into practice.

Heather and I headed out to LA on February 11th. We would spend the week getting my bachelor pad converted to a home for four people. We got to my ... or our place late Saturday afternoon, after a stop in Denver on the way. Traffic was LA traffic. In a word, ugly.

I had my credit card ready. We went out and bought the furniture for the boys’ room. We bought more furniture for the master bedroom. More for the living and dining area furniture too. We bought more pots, pans and dishes. Heather wanted a full line of kitchen appliances too. We got them.

The week wasn’t all shopping and work. Heather and I went out to dinner with Jay and Allison Nicholson Tuesday night. We enjoyed reconnecting with the two. Allison had found an urgent care center in need of a nurse. Jay was interning at a local TV station during the off season, putting his communications degree to use.

One important project was to connect with a cub pack for Noah and Connor. I had been in touch with the local Scouting district executive in the fall. He helped me find Pack 1172, who met at the White Oak Elementary School, where my boys would be going to school. He said they had a good reputation and ran a solid program.

As luck would have it, they had a pack meeting the week we were in LA. Heather and I headed over to the school Thursday after dinner. I had spoken with the cubmaster, Matt Sanchez, earlier in the week to warn him we were coming. Heather and I showed up a little early so we could introduce ourselves before the meeting started.

Matt and the pack were prepared for our visit. Matt introduced me to Aaron Phelps, the committee chairman, Dan Sizemore, the assistant cubmaster and Lisa Ellis, the Wolf den leader. Matt and Dan went to work, getting the meeting organized. Lisa met with the boys in her den, keeping the them quiet and together before the meeting started. Aaron met with some other parents. Heather and I found seats in the back, to observe the meeting.

The pack started off with awards. I noticed Markus Sanchez got quite a few Webelos activity badges. He was a Webelos II. DJ Sizemore got almost as many activity badges as Markus. DJ was a Webelos II also. I was relieved when Chase Phelps proved to be a Webelos I. This pack was in for some new leadership soon, but Aaron would be around for at least one more year.

The meeting was pretty well organized and ran smoothly. The advice I had gotten was good. This looked like a good place for my boys to continue their Scouting careers. Aaron Phelps came over part way through the meeting and sat down with Heather and me.

“So, what do you think, Mr. Martin?” Aaron asked politely.

“Please call me Andrew,” I responded. “I like it. You guys have your act together.”

“That comes from experienced leadership,” Aaron agreed. “Matt and Dan are fantastic. I understand you have a Scouting background.”

“I’ve been in Scouting since I was six,” I responded. “Arrow of Light, Eagle Scout, summer camp staff for a couple summers, I did it all. I was even in Alpha Phi Omega, the Scouting fraternity, when I was in college.”

“You know how the organization runs,” Aaron said. “Matt and Dan have been great. Their sons are crossing the bridge to Boy Scouts next month and will be gone. I’ve been busy recruiting help to take over when they go. I have a Wolf dad who is willing to be an assistant cubmaster, but he has no experience. He wasn’t in Scouts as a kid.”

Heather laughed, “Jon told you so.”

“Heather’s brother, Jon, is cubmaster of my boys’ pack back in Pennsylvania.”

“I know, and you are an assistant cubmaster,” Aaron replied. “Jim Sinclair filled me in on your background.” Jim Sinclair was the district executive who helped me find Pack 1172.

“I would be willing to help out as another assistant,” I offered.

“I had something higher in mind for you,” Aaron stated, smiling. “With your experience, you would be a good cubmaster.”

“Cubmaster?” I laughed. I shook my head, turned to Heather and pointed at her. “I can’t do this alone. You’re going to need to step up too as an assistant cubmaster or something. There will be times when I am busy with the Rams and may not be able to make meetings.”

“I am a huge Rams fan,” Aaron said. “I don’t want to take anything away from our team. So ... will you consider the job?”

“Heather?” I asked. “Balls in your court.”

“I guess I can step up and be a leader,” Heather agreed.

“Looks like you got yourself a cubmaster,” I said to Aaron.

“Excellent!” Aaron replied. “I will get you two adult applications and two youth applications. You can fill them out and send them to me. That will give the state some time to get your background checks done before you start as leaders. When are you moving out here?”

“Our wedding is March 11th,” I said. “We have a three-week honeymoon in New Zealand and Australia. When we get home, we have a few days to pack. The moving truck picks up our stuff on April 7th. Heather, Noah, Connor and I fly out here on April 8th. I guess I am available after that.”

“Do you mind if we introduce you to the pack at the end of the meeting?” Aaron asked.

“That would be fine.”

Aaron announced my acceptance of the cubmaster job near the end of the meeting. I watched the reaction of the parents. Their relief was apparent on their faces. One of them would not need to step up and take the cubmaster job.

Matt, Dan, Aaron, Heather and I conferred after the meeting was over. Matt and Dan agreed to run the April pack meeting, even though their sons would be gone by then. That would give Heather and me time to get our feet wet before we ran our first pack meeting.

Heather and I made time for a round of golf with Dylan and Beth Harris Friday afternoon. All the furniture had arrived, and I had assembled all of it. The condo was pretty much ready for occupation by a family of four. We returned home on Saturday evening.

Cub Scouts was the first thing the boys wanted to talk about when we got home.

“Are we going to be able to be Cub Scouts?” Connor demanded.

“We love Cub Scouts,” Noah added. “Do they have a pack out there?”

“You boys will be joining Pack 1172, which meets at the White Oak Elementary School,” I replied. “That is the school you will be attending after we move. I met Mrs. Ellis, who will be your den leader.”

“She is very nice,” Heather added. “She is looking forward to meeting you.”

“You will like the cubmaster too, I hope,” I continued.

“Who is he?” both twins responded simultaneously, in the spooky twins’ way.

“Me.”

“Cool!” “Thanks, Dad,” the boys replied.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017 – Paradise Presbyterian Church, Paradise, PA

Noah and Connor scampered into Fellowship Hall and joined the rest of Den 6 on the floor near the front of the room. I hung up our coats and then headed up to the front table to see Jon Miller and find out if he had any last-minute instructions for me before the pack meeting started. He didn’t. We got the show under way at 7:00 PM. I noticed Jon’s son Brian wasn’t here like usual. Brian was a den chief for the Webelos II den.

Midway through the pack meeting, while Karl Sweigart was doing an interactive story with the kids, Jon and I were hanging out at the back of the crowd.

I commented, “Brian have too much homework tonight?”

“Homework?” Jon huffed. “Teenagers! He’s grounded for a month.”

“What’d he do?”

“You know how I had to go to New York yesterday for a meeting with my publisher and agent?” Jon asked.

“Heather mentioned that,” I responded. “Are they going to do the movie?” I knew some people in Hollywood were discussing making Jon’s first book, “Paths to Paradise” into a movie.

“Tim Hicks is really hot to do this project,” Jon replied. “It looks like Meredith Fowler Wallingford will be the star.”

“She will make a good Rachel,” I commented. “So, what did your oldest do to get grounded?”

“I am getting to that,” Jon said. “It has to do with me finishing my meeting mid-morning yesterday. I expected to get home late last night. Instead, I am finished in the city at 10:30 in the morning. I hopped in my car and headed for home. I got back mid-afternoon. I let myself in the front door after a brutal three-and-a-half-hour drive on the Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes. What do I find?”

“What?”

“The bare butt cheeks of my firstborn pumping his...” Jon lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “dick in and out of his equally naked girlfriend, Kimberly Anspach.”

“Ooohh ... shi ... crap,” I gasped. “That’s bad.”

“It gets worse,” Jon added. “They weren’t using protection.”

“Not good,” I acknowledged.

“It gets worse,” Jon continued. “I see white froth squeezing out of Kimberly’s hole as they screw. My son has already dumped a load of sperm into his girlfriend.”

“I can see where you would be upset,” I commented.

“I cleared my throat loudly to get their attention,” Jon said. “They were so into it that they never heard me come in the front door. Well, once they realized I was home, Brian leaped off Kimberly. He’s standing there buck naked in the middle of the living room, sperm dripping off his erection. Kimberly’s scrambling to hide under the afghan we have on our sofa.”

“Bad news all around,” I commented. “How bad is the risk?”

“Brian swears Kimberly finished her period over the weekend,” Jon responded. “That is one saving grace to this fiasco. The clueless couple probably didn’t make a baby. I am thirty-one. I am way too young to be a grandfather. Be glad your sons are too young to notice girls.”

“They’re not so young,” I said. “Connor already had a girlfriend, Lauren Gerlach.”

“Claire Weaver’s daughter?” Jon said. “Of course, she’s Claire Gerlach now. I graduated from school with her.”

“The infatuation lasted a few weeks,” I added. “So, you grounded Brian for having sex?”

“I grounded the chowderhead for having unprotected sex,” Jon answered. “Amy and I knew Brian and Kimberly were having sex. We are OK with that, if they are careful. What I am punishing him for is having unprotected sex and risking pregnancy. I buy the kid rubbers! Why the hel ... heck won’t he use them?”

“We both know how hormones screw up a teen-aged boy’s thinking,” I said. “Brian, Noah and Connor are living proof of that.”

“I know,” Jon agreed. “I just would like to spare my son the pain and difficulty of being a teen-aged father.”

“Amen to that,” I agreed. We noticed Karl was finishing his story. I bounded to the front, putting a smile on my face and led the kids in a big cheer to thank Karl for the story. Jon was leading the next part of the pack meeting, so we didn’t get to talk more about Brian’s sexual peccadilloes.

I settled into my dad role for a few weeks. I hauled the kids to swim meets and practices, Cub Scouts and play dates with their friends. I spent time going through all the things I had accumulated over twenty-four years of life, throwing out many old things, while keeping others. I did the same with the twin’s old things that they had outgrown. I wanted to make sure everything for Heather, me and the boys would fit on one moving truck when we moved to LA.

Sunday, March 4, 2017 – Robert Miller’s Home – Paradise, PA

Bob and Debra Miller hosted the whole family to Sunday dinner. She did pot roast, which was fantastic. Noah and Connor played with Jon and Amy’s son Ben. Jon’s older son, Brian was quiet and withdrawn, unusual for the normally boisterous teen. A fourteen-year-old sulking? Whoever heard of such a thing?

After dinner, the younger boys were playing in the family room. Jon and his dad had stepped upstairs to talk. Heather was in the kitchen with Amy and Debra. Brian and I were the only ones left in the living room.

“How’s progress towards Eagle?” I commented, trying to make conversation with the quiet teen.

“I need a project idea,” Brian responded. “I need one more merit badge, Citizenship in the World.”

“That’s progress,” I commented. “Otherwise, life is good?”

“School is OK,” Brian allowed. “My girlfriend is great ... not that I get see much of here now. Getting grounded sucks!” Brian blushed as he realized he’d cursed in front of me.

“It’s OK,” I responded. “It does suck to get grounded.”

“I shouldn’t talk like that in front of you, Mr ... uh ... Andrew,” Brian said. “You’re a grown-up and I’m a kid. It doesn’t seem respectful for me to call you Andrew.” Brian and I had this discussion about what he should call me before.

“Is it too soon to call you Uncle Andrew?” Brian said. “That seems more respectful than me calling you by your first name.”

“Uncle Andrew is fine,” I said. “It will be all legal in seven days. I am sure it won’t hurt if you want to get an early start on calling me uncle.”

“Thanks ... Uncle,” Brian said. He took a deep breath and stared at me. “Can I ask you for advice, Uncle Andrew?” I nodded yes. “My parents are driving me crazy. Grounding me for having sex with Kimberly is so unfair. They knew we have been doing it for like, for two months before we got caught. Why am I being grounded for doing exactly the same thing as Mom and Dad did when they were my age? I’m here. Obviously, they had sex when they were my age.”

“I don’t believe you are being grounded for having sex,” I countered. “You are being punished for be careless enough to have unprotected sex with your girlfriend. You of all people should understand how hard it was for your mom and dad to have you when they were sixteen. Your parents want you to be safe and enjoy ALL of your childhood instead of assuming grown-up responsibilities while you should be enjoying a carefree time as a kid. Can you understand about your parents being concerned about the risk you and Kimberly were taking?”

“Um ... I get that,” Brian said. “This wasn’t like Kimberly and I planned this out. It was an accident. I was supposed to have basketball practice that afternoon but Coach had to go to a funeral. Suddenly Kimberly and I had a free afternoon. Mom was at work and Dad wasn’t due home until late. You know how it is, don’t you?”

“I am twenty-four and have two sons who will turn eight a week after your birthday,” I replied. “Do the math. I know exactly how it is.”

“Kimberly and I don’t get many chances to be alone, you know?” Brian continued. “When this chance came up, we took it. I was supposed to have asked Dad to buy me more rubbers over the weekend, but I forgot. Not that it was supposed to matter, Kimberly and I didn’t expect to hookup for at least a couple weeks, with you marrying Aunt Heather and everything.

“We took our opportunity when it came,” Brian explained. “We planned to behave and not have sex, just fool around some. Things got carried away ... you know?” I nodded and gave my soon-to-be-nephew a grin. “I meant to pull out before I came once we got started, but it’s hard to...”

“I understand,” I agreed. “Pulling out before you come is very hard for a guy, especially someone your age.”

“Yeah ... I creamed her before I could pull out,” Brian admitted. “Once she had all that uh ... come in her belly, we figured ‘What the hell?’ and did it again.” Brian blushed as he said hell. I smiled to let him know the bad word was OK under these circumstances.

“That’s when your dad came in,” I commented. Brian shook his head no.

“Dad came in while we were doing it a third time,” Brian explained.

“You dad told me Kimberly’s period ended a few days before this,” I said. “At least you two screwed up at the safest time of month for this to happen.”

“Um ... that’s the thing, Uncle Andrew,” Brian said. His face looked almost like a death mask. “Um ... I might have fibbed a little to my Dad. Kimberly’s period was a little more than a few days earlier.”

“How much earlier?” I asked. “Uh, better, when is Kimberly’s next period due?”

“Tomorrow,” Brian said, weakly. “That is bad, isn’t it?”

“So I understand, you had unprotected sex repeatedly with your girlfriend two weeks before her period was due?”

“Yeah,” Brian admitted.

“Two weeks before her period is about the worst time to mess up with protection when you have sex,” I said.

“I know,” Brian admitted. “I googled that on-line after Kimberly and I got carried away. What should I do? You aren’t going to tell Mom and Dad, are you?”

“I won’t tell,” I replied. “That is your job to tell them.” Brian looked aghast at that idea.

“I’ll wait until Kimberly and I are sure things went bad,” Brian offered.

“You will have a pretty good idea before the wedding next weekend,” I said. “I will keep my peace until the rehearsal dinner. That should be enough time to know if Kimberly has her period or not.”

“If she doesn’t have it?”

“Man up,” I replied. “Step up and do the responsible thing if you got Kimberly pregnant. Do the same thing your Dad did for your Mom and I did for my kids. You did an adult thing having sex with Kimberly. You will need to grow up and take responsibility like an adult for your actions.”

“My parents will just kill me if I knocked up Kimberly,” Brian lamented.

“They won’t do that literally,” I responded. “You, your parents, Kimberly and her parents will sit down and discuss options for dealing with the pregnancy.”

“Options?” Brian sniffed. “Don’t say abortion. That is just wrong.”

“Oh?” I asked.

“I’m the son of a fifteen-year-old mom,” Brian said. “Don’t tell me abortion wasn’t discussed when Dad knocked up Mom. I could have been snuffed out before I was even born. Abortion is just wrong, always.”

“I don’t necessarily disagree with you,” I allowed. “It isn’t entirely your decision. Kimberly will be carrying the baby, if worst comes to worst. Her thoughts on this matter can’t be overlooked.”

“True,” Brian admitted.

“Hard decisions may be needed,” I commented.

“It can suck being a grownup sometimes, can’t it?” Brian asked.

“At times,” I agreed. “It has its rewards too. Hopefully, you will have years not weeks until you need to be a grownup.”

“Thanks for listening, Uncle Andrew,” Brian said. “You’re my first uncle. Talking to you was easier than talking about something this embarrassing with Dad.”

“No problem, Brian,” I agreed. “Support Kimberly this week. Be prepared to tell your parents if things go wrong. They love you and will help you, no matter what.”

Brian headed upstairs. It hit me a little, me being Brian’s only uncle. That was so far out of my experiences. I had six sets of aunts and uncles and fifteen cousins. Heather was his dad’s only sibling. His mom, Amy, was the oldest of the three Holt sisters. Andrea was single and living in Colorado. She was about three years older than me. Brandi, the youngest, was my and Heather’s age and in grad school in Boston. She was also unmarried. I was soon to be his first uncle and Noah and Connor would be his only cousins.

I hoped Brian would dodge the fatherhood bullet speeding his way. Whatever happened, I knew Jon and Amy, as well as Heather and I, would support him in every way possible. I thought about Noah and Connor. God help me when they reach Brian’s age.

Wedding preparations sped up as the day approached. There were a million details to attend to. As the partner without a job to report to, Heather delegated me to handle many of those errands and trips to keep everything on schedule. I had to put in my workout time to prepare for the next season too. I was going to miss a lot of work while Heather and I were down under, except of course for some daily cardio workout in bed with my sweetie. I would have to make up for it when Phase I OTAs began a few days after we were scheduled to move out to LA.

The night of our dinner with the Millers was the last night I got to spend with Heather before the wedding. Her friend from college, Meghan Townsend, came in on Monday, so Heather had to spend time with Meghan.

Barry Lee Smith, Tyler O’Donnell and Chris Cobb arrived Thursday. All were attending the wedding stag. Barry Lee and Chris were unattached. Tyler was engaged to a girl at Oregon who was jammed up with mid-term exams and could not attend the wedding. I took the three guys out Thursday night for drinks and some music at one of the downtown clubs.

Sammy and Eric came in from Florida Thursday. I did not need to entertain them. They got to spend time with their parents. Dylan and Beth Harris arrived Thursday too, along with Jeremy and Kathy North. Jeremy and Kathy took care of giving Dylan and Beth a proper tour of Amish country.

More friends and relatives arrived for the nuptials Friday. Will, Kyle, Dad, Eric and I went in for our tuxes on Friday morning. We picked up Noah, Connor and Hunter’s tuxes too. I had brought my brother and the twins in for their fittings the previous Saturday. Dad double-checked the arrangements for the rehearsal dinner. We were set.

All of us assembled at the church at 4:00 PM on Friday for the rehearsal. All my wedding party made it. Eric and Sammy were serving as best man and maid of honor. My brothers and sons filled out the roster of groomsmen. Meghan, Penny and Abby were the rest of the bridesmaids. Dylan Harris and Nick Walton, my college roommate and teammate, were the ushers.

Noah, Connor and Hunter were carefully briefed on their duties. Rev gently reminded the boys to relax up front. It was OK to shift around a little. Do not lock your knees or you will faint. The boys promised to follow Rev’s advice and to be good boys during the wedding. Everyone loaded up in cars and headed for Lancaster once the rehearsal was over.

Friday, March 10, 2017 – Belvedere Inn – Lancaster, PA

Before we were seated for dinner, I managed to get a moment alone with Brian Miller.

“What’s the verdict?” I asked quietly, so we wouldn’t be overheard. “Do I address you as ‘Dad’?”

“All clear,” Brian responded, grinning. “We sweated for half the week. Her period started yesterday before school.” I stared hard into my soon-to-be nephew’s eyes.”

“You aren’t bullshitting me, are you Brian?” I asked.

“It’s the truth, Uncle Andrew,” Brian responded. “I swear. Scout’s honor.”

“On your honor as a Scout?” Brian made the Scout sign.

“On my honor as a Scout,” Brian pledged. “Kimberly and I are safe.”

“And the lesson learned from this is?” I asked.

“Don’t fib to Mom and Dad,” Brian replied. “Always wrap up before I put my um ... thing in Kimberly’s belly. Don’t be stupid and make a baby yet.”

“Good lessons to learn,” I said, clapping the gangly teen on the back.

“What about you and Aunt Heather?” Brian teased, grinning. “You got protection for your honeymoon down under?”

“I got it covered,” I answered. “Any way it wouldn’t be a big deal if I didn’t. A) I have enough money to afford to raise a baby; B) we are adults and we are emotionally prepared to raise kids and C) we will be married and have committed to being a couple for the remainder of our lives, unlike you and Kimberly.”

“So, I shouldn’t expect more cousins soon?” Brian teased.

“You get two cousins tomorrow afternoon,” I responded. “After that, your aunt and I will see. Don’t be shocked if you end up with more cousins than Noah and Connor, just not immediately.”

“Thanks for keeping my secret,” Brian said. Before I could reply, Jon came by and put a hand on each of our shoulders.

“Secrets?” Jon asked.

“Nothing to worry about, Jon,” I replied, smiling. “Just an uncle and his nephew talking about life.” Brian gave me a grateful smile when his father turned away again.

Over dinner, my family and friends quizzed Nick Walton about what kind of roommate I had been.

“He was world’s best roommate,” Nick laughed. “Andrew was gone almost as much as he was at our room. Out of season, he’d disappear Friday afternoon and not come back until Monday, unless he had an eight o’clock class. It was like I had a single room instead of sharing.”

“I was around more during football season,” I protested.

“Well ... you had to be,” Nick grinned. “Coach Keeler wouldn’t have given you a scholarship if you didn’t make practices and games.”

“I needed to see my boys,” I responded.

“God, that is all you whined about on campus,” Nick teased.

“It didn’t change in the pros,” Dylan Harris added. “I have got to talk to my boys. We hear it all the time in LA. Thank God Heather is marrying him so he can bring his boys to the sunny West Coast. Enough whining.”

“You’ll see, smart-ass, when you have kids,” I responded.

“I think it’s time for an announcement,” Beth interjected, tapping Dylan. He shrugged and smiled to her. “I’m pregnant. It’s a boy and he’s due on August 10th.”

Everyone around the table congratulated our friends. It was fantastic news. Of course, that led to Deb Miller hinting at the idea of more grandkids.

“Mom!” Heather protested. “You are getting two new grandkids tomorrow. You will have to wait a year or two for more, and that is that.” Heather and I had discussed kids. We wanted some together but were in no hurry. It wasn’t like Noah or Connor would be age-suitable playmates for any kids Heather and I had. More likely, they would be more suited to being babysitters for the younger siblings when they became teens.

The rehearsal dinner meal the Belvedere provided was excellent. Dad chose well when he suggested doing the dinner at the inn near the ball stadium on the north side of the Lancaster city.

When dessert was served, Dylan called some of our other Rams teammates and his buddy, Jeremy North, to join us after dinner for our bachelor’s night out. Kyle called on Aaron Morano while Eric called our classmate, Mike Johanson. They would join us as the Green Iguana Club to celebrate my last night of bachelorhood.

Chris Long, Barry Lee Smith, Tyler O’Donnell and Chris Comb from the Rams joined Aaron, Mike and Jeremy North at the club, just before the male portion of the wedding party arrived at the Prince Street club. We reserved a section for our party. We spent the night enjoying some beers and a pretty good local band, who were performing that evening.

I took the brunt of most of the teasing that evening. That wasn’t unexpected, I guess, since I was the groom-to-be. We headed for home or our hotels sometime after midnight. No one got wasted or did anything crazy, thank God.

Mom planned a brunch for our extended family at 11:30 on my wedding day. I planned to sleep in. Hah! I had two seven-year-old sons. Noah and Connor woke me up a little after seven. I made the boys some breakfast. Will’s daughter, Rose, wandered downstairs while I was cooking breakfast. I fed her too. After breakfast, I tried to nap in the Lay-Z-Boy in our family room while the kids watched their Saturday morning cartoons.

Slowly, the Martin clan gathered that morning. Chris Sanders, Liz’s fiancé, spent the night with Liz in her room. Kyle, Penny, Davey and Jessie stayed two doors down at Penny’s parents’ place. Will and Abby took the basement bedroom. Little Danny stayed downstairs in Noah’s crib. Rose took Hunter’s bed. Hunter sacked out on the floor of the room he shared with the twins.

Mom made a nice selection of foods for brunch. We enjoyed the food and the last minutes of calm we would see for the day. Baths, showers and getting dressed came next. Penny and Abby sent Mom off to get ready and did the dishes. Those two did not need to prepare little kids for the wedding like Mom did. Penny’s mom generously agreed to watch Davey and Jessie, their grandkids, during the wedding along with Rose and Danny. Those four were way too young for a long wedding followed by a reception.

I grabbed a quick shower after giving Noah, Connor and Hunter quick baths. I helped the twins get dressed in my room while Mom looked after her youngest in her room. The kids were squirmy when I tried to hook on their bow ties.

“This is too tight,” Noah whined as I put on his cummerbund.

“Suck it up, Noah,” I commented. “This is part of a wedding.”

“Yeah, deal with it, Noah,” Connor added, unsympathetically. “This is the price we pay to get a mommy.”

“Yeah,” Noah agreed. “I think Heather will make a good mommy.”

“She will make a great mommy,” I said. I finished hooking Noah’s cummerbund. “There. Now, you two can carry your coats downstairs and relax for half an hour, until we leave for the church. No snacks and no juice! You can’t get dirty between now and the ceremony.”

“We’ll be good,” Connor promised.

“We will, Daddy,” Noah added.

I finished dressing and headed downstairs to find my twins and their uncle watching videos on their iPads. I had a few minutes wait until everyone was ready. Liz and Chris drove on their own, as did Will and Abby. Noah, Connor, Hunter and I loaded up in the mom-van for the trip over to the church with Mom and Dad.