Dozens
Posted by DiF on Sunday, April 8, 2012 Under: Easter
Title: Dozens
Characters: Chris, Alyssa, Lily, Patrick, Toni, Nick, Landon, and Sophia Cornell, mentions of Eddie, Jill, and girls Vedder, Judith Morgan and Andy Helms, Jamie Page, and Howard and Marilyn Morgan
Rating: PG-13 (some innuendo)
Word Count: 2047
Summary: Alyssa and Chris are hosting friends and family for Easter at their house in Seattle.
April 7, 2012
Seattle, Washington
Standing in front of the stove, Alyssa slowly eased another dozen eggs into the large pot of water. Patrick chased a giggling Landon around the kitchen island and back into the living room. Lily sat at the dining room table, coloring pages with Toni and Sophia. Trailing his father through the house, Nick rattled off questions about the holiday. Amused, Chris stopped, shook his head, and told his son to go ask Alyssa. With a toothy grin, the blonde boy hurried into the kitchen.
“Mom, Mom, Mom,” he tugged on her shirt.
Alyssa glanced at seven-year-old boy, “What’s up, Nick?”
“Where does the Easter Bunny come from?”
Her eyes held his for a moment, “Go ask your father.”
“He told me to ask you.”
She looked beyond him, spying Chris talking to the girls. Shaking her head, she told Nick that his father was the only one who knew the truth about the Easter Bunny, so she could not help him. Frowning, Nick returned to bugging Chris about it.
A few minutes later as Alyssa ran cold water over the eggs, Chris slipped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her ear, “Let’s have another baby.”
Setting the pot down in the sink, she turned in his arms to meet his eyes, “You cannot be serious.”
“Why not?” his hand rubbed her belly before discreetly cupping her breast.
Alyssa pushed him away, “Because we already have six children under the age of twelve in this house. That is definitely enough.”
“But Lyssie…” he pouted.
“We are not having any more babies, Chris. Our family is quite complete as it is.”
He continued to pout. Alyssa rolled her eyes and turned back to the sink. Remaining where he was, his arms casually looped around her waist again. His chin rested on her head, watching her actions. In that very moment, he tuned out the sounds of the six children playing around the house. It was just him and Alyssa like it had been fifteen years ago.
“Chris,” she wiggled in his arms, “I need to get the eggs in the fridge to cool down so the kids can color them.”
His hands left her waist and he grabbed the pot of eggs, “I’ve got it. You go sit down.”
“Putting the eggs in the fridge for me is not enough to convince me to have another child, Chris,” she remarked.
He smirked as he opened the fridge, “Lyssie, how many eggs did you boil?”
“That would be the last of them. Three dozen in total.”
“…why so many?”
“Really, Chris?” she sopped up the water around the kitchen sink.
He closed the fridge door, “Yes, really.”
“We have six kids. Did you really think I would just make a dozen so they could color two each?”
“Well… no, not really. But what are we going to do with all of them after that?”
Turning around after tucking the towel in the ring near the sink, Alyssa kissed him quickly, “You let me worry about that. You need to—”
A crash sounded in the living, instantly followed by a chorus of three little boy voices. Without saying a word, Alyssa pulled away to go investigate whatever the boys had done. Smiling, Chris intersected her and headed in himself. Shaking her head, she checked on the girls. Maybe giving this lot sugar was not such a good idea…
April 8, 2012
Seattle, Washington
Sitting on the back porch while the children attempted to find the plastic eggs Chris, Eddie, Jamie, and Andy hid in the yard and surrounding forest, Alyssa sipped on a mimosa, absently listening to Judith and Jill’s conversation about some fashion news. Though her eyes remained focused on the children while their fathers attempted to aid the egg hunt, her thoughts kept wandering off, wondering where her parents were. They had missed brunch. Being late was odd on its own; missing an event had never before happened.
Completely distracted, she stood up and headed into the house. She picked up the nearest phone and quickly dialed her parents’ number. It rang six times before going to voicemail. Hanging up, she tried both of their cell phones. Sighing once she reached their voicemails again, Alyssa hung up the phone. She glanced out the kitchen window at her family and friends. Though she wanted to return to the backyard with them, she just could not put aside the fact that her parents were not there and should have been.
Alyssa noticed the men and children were headed back up to the porch, meaning the egg hunt was over. She knew she was expected to gush over how many eggs each of the kids found and tease Chris about how poorly he hid them. However, she could not bring herself to put on a happy face and return to the family gathering. She just hoped Chris would notice her absence and come looking for her.
As she hoped, Chris headed into the house upon realizing Alyssa was not gushing over the baskets of plastic eggs filled with jelly beans, chocolates, and small toys. Locating her in the kitchen, vacantly staring out the window, he slipped up behind her and embraced her. She instantly wiggled around in his embrace, burying her face on his chest. Chris held her silently for a few minutes, completely confused about her emotional state.
“Aly?” he muttered softly. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“My parents… I tried calling them and they didn’t answer. They should have been here hours ago,” she mumbled.
“I’m sure they just… lost track of time.”
She pulled back to look up into his eyes, “They’re never late to anything, Chris, especially not something that involves their grandchildren.”
“Maybe they’re just trapped in traffic,” he suggested.
“Chris, they don’t live that far away. And I called their cell phones too,” she declared.
He kissed her forehead again, “I’m sure it’s nothing, Lyssie. They’ll be here.”
“This is so unlike them,” Alyssa sighed. “Andy and Judi have news they want to share, which I’m sure they told my parents they would share today…”
“What news?”
“They either eloped or she’s pregnant are my guesses,” she declared. “But that’s not important now. My parents—”
“Aly? Chris? Kids?” a sing song voice echoed in the entryway.
Instantly pulling free from Chris’s arms, Alyssa hurried to the front door, “Dad, Mom… where have you been?”
“Didn’t your sister tell you?” Howard kissed her cheek in greeting.
“…No..”
“We had Easter brunch with my mother at the retirement center,” Marilyn declared as she embraced Alyssa. “I’m sorry we’re so late. It’s always hard to get out of there. And then we ran into post-Church traffic. We should have told you ourselves. No need for you to worry.”
“But I called your cell phones…”
“Oh we left those home,” Howard spoke up. “Mari says it’s the only way she can get me to not work. So they were left behind.”
“Oh.”
“Howard, Marilyn,” Chris greeted Alyssa’s parents, “we were beginning to think the two of you skipped town.”
Howard glanced at his daughter, “We didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
“No worries. Though you did miss a delicious brunch and the kids have already filled their baskets with goodies.”
“Darn. We have things for them all. I suppose we can just sneak it into their baskets…”
Plopping down on the sofa next to Alyssa after seeing Eddie, Jill, and their daughters out, Chris leaned over and kissed her, “Another successful holiday, Mrs. Cornell.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she replied.
“Your parents were fine, Lyssie,” he pointed out. “In fact, I think they left here feeling even better than before, with your sister’s news and all.”
“Just because Judi and Andy are having a baby doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind since yesterday, Chris.”
He chuckled and kissed her again, “I wasn’t even hinting at that.”
“Sure you weren’t.”
Chris paused for a moment, looking over his wife, “Aly, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head, “Nothing.”
He reached for the television remote and turned it off, letting the silence of the house fill the room. His green eyes focused on her, hoping she would open up without him needing to charm her. Instead, Alyssa got up and left the living room. Sighing, Chris got to his feet as well and trailed after her, turning out lights as they headed to the stairs.
Following her into the master suite, Chris closed and locked the door, not thinking it would be a good idea to give the children the easy chance to interrupt. Alyssa remained silent as she dressed for bed. Though she probably chose to wear a band shirt, thinking it was asexual, Chris did not think that was the case at all. Rather he found the fact she wore the snug shirt and nothing else very sexy, moreso because it was an old Soundgarden shirt.
As she pulled back the bedding and tossed the decorative pillows aside, Chris began to undress and spoke up, “Aly, tell me what’s bothering you.”
“I’m just tired,” she responded, climbing into the bed.
Knowing it was more than that, but not pushing it, he quickly joined her in bed. His arms slipped around her, pulling Alyssa close to him. She snuggled against him, but did not relax. Having known her for sixteen years, he believed she was about to confess or explain something. It seemed that she preferred big confessions in the darkness where he could not look into her eyes. As that thought crossed his mind, he wondered why it was that way. But before he had a chance to bring it up, Alyssa spoke.
“Chris?”
“Yes, sweetie,” he rubbed her upper arm lightly.
“I know you want to have another baby. And I know I love babies. But I do think that bringing a seventh child into this house would take away too much from our children,” she declared. “We’re lucky they were born in clusters but…”
“Alyssa, I understand and respect your feelings on this. I don’t want you to think it’s something I would ever consider forcing on you. We don’t need to grow our family any more. It’s perfect just as it is,” he stated.
She sighed slightly, “I can’t help but be nervous that I could get pregnant again, unplanned.”
Chris paused, “Aly, are we having the conversation I think we’re having?”
“I think I should try some other form of birth control.”
“I’m not adverse to wearing condoms.”
“I know, but… I don’t like them and I know you really don’t like them either. And condoms can fail. Sophia is here after all,” she remarked.
Chris chuckled, “Well I suppose I could go to the doctor too and see what our options are.”
She sighed, “Let’s not talk about this anymore tonight. It’s Easter.”
He kissed her forehead, “As you wish, Lyssie.”
“Next year, let’s just have Easter with the two of us and the kids.”
“I totally agree.”
“Really?”
“I love your family and I love Eddie and Jill, but it was quite a crowd here today. I think a smaller holiday gathering would be more… under control.”
Alyssa chuckled, “Luckily Jamie stopped them before they emptied all of the bubble solution on the porch.”
“Oh. I suppose he would have to come to next Easter too.”
“No,” she rubbed her cheek on his shoulder, “I don’t think so. He’s very understanding when it comes to these things. Plus Patrick will be eleven then, so even less wanting to be around his father than this year.”
“Ever since Jamie realized what he lost and started making an effort to be a part of Patrick’s life, I’ve been worried I would lose you to him… again.”
Alyssa leaned over and kissed his mouth softly, “That has never been a threat, Chris. Once I was your girl again, I became your girl for life. Nothing Jamie or anyone else says can change that. You are all there is for me.”
“And you are all there is for me,” he replied before kissing her again.
“I love you, Chris,” she snuggled up against him. “Happy Easter, husband.”
“Happy Easter,” Chris kissed the top of her head. “I love you too, forever.”
Characters: Chris, Alyssa, Lily, Patrick, Toni, Nick, Landon, and Sophia Cornell, mentions of Eddie, Jill, and girls Vedder, Judith Morgan and Andy Helms, Jamie Page, and Howard and Marilyn Morgan
Rating: PG-13 (some innuendo)
Word Count: 2047
Summary: Alyssa and Chris are hosting friends and family for Easter at their house in Seattle.
April 7, 2012
Seattle, Washington
Standing in front of the stove, Alyssa slowly eased another dozen eggs into the large pot of water. Patrick chased a giggling Landon around the kitchen island and back into the living room. Lily sat at the dining room table, coloring pages with Toni and Sophia. Trailing his father through the house, Nick rattled off questions about the holiday. Amused, Chris stopped, shook his head, and told his son to go ask Alyssa. With a toothy grin, the blonde boy hurried into the kitchen.
“Mom, Mom, Mom,” he tugged on her shirt.
Alyssa glanced at seven-year-old boy, “What’s up, Nick?”
“Where does the Easter Bunny come from?”
Her eyes held his for a moment, “Go ask your father.”
“He told me to ask you.”
She looked beyond him, spying Chris talking to the girls. Shaking her head, she told Nick that his father was the only one who knew the truth about the Easter Bunny, so she could not help him. Frowning, Nick returned to bugging Chris about it.
A few minutes later as Alyssa ran cold water over the eggs, Chris slipped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her ear, “Let’s have another baby.”
Setting the pot down in the sink, she turned in his arms to meet his eyes, “You cannot be serious.”
“Why not?” his hand rubbed her belly before discreetly cupping her breast.
Alyssa pushed him away, “Because we already have six children under the age of twelve in this house. That is definitely enough.”
“But Lyssie…” he pouted.
“We are not having any more babies, Chris. Our family is quite complete as it is.”
He continued to pout. Alyssa rolled her eyes and turned back to the sink. Remaining where he was, his arms casually looped around her waist again. His chin rested on her head, watching her actions. In that very moment, he tuned out the sounds of the six children playing around the house. It was just him and Alyssa like it had been fifteen years ago.
“Chris,” she wiggled in his arms, “I need to get the eggs in the fridge to cool down so the kids can color them.”
His hands left her waist and he grabbed the pot of eggs, “I’ve got it. You go sit down.”
“Putting the eggs in the fridge for me is not enough to convince me to have another child, Chris,” she remarked.
He smirked as he opened the fridge, “Lyssie, how many eggs did you boil?”
“That would be the last of them. Three dozen in total.”
“…why so many?”
“Really, Chris?” she sopped up the water around the kitchen sink.
He closed the fridge door, “Yes, really.”
“We have six kids. Did you really think I would just make a dozen so they could color two each?”
“Well… no, not really. But what are we going to do with all of them after that?”
Turning around after tucking the towel in the ring near the sink, Alyssa kissed him quickly, “You let me worry about that. You need to—”
A crash sounded in the living, instantly followed by a chorus of three little boy voices. Without saying a word, Alyssa pulled away to go investigate whatever the boys had done. Smiling, Chris intersected her and headed in himself. Shaking her head, she checked on the girls. Maybe giving this lot sugar was not such a good idea…
April 8, 2012
Seattle, Washington
Sitting on the back porch while the children attempted to find the plastic eggs Chris, Eddie, Jamie, and Andy hid in the yard and surrounding forest, Alyssa sipped on a mimosa, absently listening to Judith and Jill’s conversation about some fashion news. Though her eyes remained focused on the children while their fathers attempted to aid the egg hunt, her thoughts kept wandering off, wondering where her parents were. They had missed brunch. Being late was odd on its own; missing an event had never before happened.
Completely distracted, she stood up and headed into the house. She picked up the nearest phone and quickly dialed her parents’ number. It rang six times before going to voicemail. Hanging up, she tried both of their cell phones. Sighing once she reached their voicemails again, Alyssa hung up the phone. She glanced out the kitchen window at her family and friends. Though she wanted to return to the backyard with them, she just could not put aside the fact that her parents were not there and should have been.
Alyssa noticed the men and children were headed back up to the porch, meaning the egg hunt was over. She knew she was expected to gush over how many eggs each of the kids found and tease Chris about how poorly he hid them. However, she could not bring herself to put on a happy face and return to the family gathering. She just hoped Chris would notice her absence and come looking for her.
As she hoped, Chris headed into the house upon realizing Alyssa was not gushing over the baskets of plastic eggs filled with jelly beans, chocolates, and small toys. Locating her in the kitchen, vacantly staring out the window, he slipped up behind her and embraced her. She instantly wiggled around in his embrace, burying her face on his chest. Chris held her silently for a few minutes, completely confused about her emotional state.
“Aly?” he muttered softly. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“My parents… I tried calling them and they didn’t answer. They should have been here hours ago,” she mumbled.
“I’m sure they just… lost track of time.”
She pulled back to look up into his eyes, “They’re never late to anything, Chris, especially not something that involves their grandchildren.”
“Maybe they’re just trapped in traffic,” he suggested.
“Chris, they don’t live that far away. And I called their cell phones too,” she declared.
He kissed her forehead again, “I’m sure it’s nothing, Lyssie. They’ll be here.”
“This is so unlike them,” Alyssa sighed. “Andy and Judi have news they want to share, which I’m sure they told my parents they would share today…”
“What news?”
“They either eloped or she’s pregnant are my guesses,” she declared. “But that’s not important now. My parents—”
“Aly? Chris? Kids?” a sing song voice echoed in the entryway.
Instantly pulling free from Chris’s arms, Alyssa hurried to the front door, “Dad, Mom… where have you been?”
“Didn’t your sister tell you?” Howard kissed her cheek in greeting.
“…No..”
“We had Easter brunch with my mother at the retirement center,” Marilyn declared as she embraced Alyssa. “I’m sorry we’re so late. It’s always hard to get out of there. And then we ran into post-Church traffic. We should have told you ourselves. No need for you to worry.”
“But I called your cell phones…”
“Oh we left those home,” Howard spoke up. “Mari says it’s the only way she can get me to not work. So they were left behind.”
“Oh.”
“Howard, Marilyn,” Chris greeted Alyssa’s parents, “we were beginning to think the two of you skipped town.”
Howard glanced at his daughter, “We didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
“No worries. Though you did miss a delicious brunch and the kids have already filled their baskets with goodies.”
“Darn. We have things for them all. I suppose we can just sneak it into their baskets…”
Plopping down on the sofa next to Alyssa after seeing Eddie, Jill, and their daughters out, Chris leaned over and kissed her, “Another successful holiday, Mrs. Cornell.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she replied.
“Your parents were fine, Lyssie,” he pointed out. “In fact, I think they left here feeling even better than before, with your sister’s news and all.”
“Just because Judi and Andy are having a baby doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind since yesterday, Chris.”
He chuckled and kissed her again, “I wasn’t even hinting at that.”
“Sure you weren’t.”
Chris paused for a moment, looking over his wife, “Aly, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head, “Nothing.”
He reached for the television remote and turned it off, letting the silence of the house fill the room. His green eyes focused on her, hoping she would open up without him needing to charm her. Instead, Alyssa got up and left the living room. Sighing, Chris got to his feet as well and trailed after her, turning out lights as they headed to the stairs.
Following her into the master suite, Chris closed and locked the door, not thinking it would be a good idea to give the children the easy chance to interrupt. Alyssa remained silent as she dressed for bed. Though she probably chose to wear a band shirt, thinking it was asexual, Chris did not think that was the case at all. Rather he found the fact she wore the snug shirt and nothing else very sexy, moreso because it was an old Soundgarden shirt.
As she pulled back the bedding and tossed the decorative pillows aside, Chris began to undress and spoke up, “Aly, tell me what’s bothering you.”
“I’m just tired,” she responded, climbing into the bed.
Knowing it was more than that, but not pushing it, he quickly joined her in bed. His arms slipped around her, pulling Alyssa close to him. She snuggled against him, but did not relax. Having known her for sixteen years, he believed she was about to confess or explain something. It seemed that she preferred big confessions in the darkness where he could not look into her eyes. As that thought crossed his mind, he wondered why it was that way. But before he had a chance to bring it up, Alyssa spoke.
“Chris?”
“Yes, sweetie,” he rubbed her upper arm lightly.
“I know you want to have another baby. And I know I love babies. But I do think that bringing a seventh child into this house would take away too much from our children,” she declared. “We’re lucky they were born in clusters but…”
“Alyssa, I understand and respect your feelings on this. I don’t want you to think it’s something I would ever consider forcing on you. We don’t need to grow our family any more. It’s perfect just as it is,” he stated.
She sighed slightly, “I can’t help but be nervous that I could get pregnant again, unplanned.”
Chris paused, “Aly, are we having the conversation I think we’re having?”
“I think I should try some other form of birth control.”
“I’m not adverse to wearing condoms.”
“I know, but… I don’t like them and I know you really don’t like them either. And condoms can fail. Sophia is here after all,” she remarked.
Chris chuckled, “Well I suppose I could go to the doctor too and see what our options are.”
She sighed, “Let’s not talk about this anymore tonight. It’s Easter.”
He kissed her forehead, “As you wish, Lyssie.”
“Next year, let’s just have Easter with the two of us and the kids.”
“I totally agree.”
“Really?”
“I love your family and I love Eddie and Jill, but it was quite a crowd here today. I think a smaller holiday gathering would be more… under control.”
Alyssa chuckled, “Luckily Jamie stopped them before they emptied all of the bubble solution on the porch.”
“Oh. I suppose he would have to come to next Easter too.”
“No,” she rubbed her cheek on his shoulder, “I don’t think so. He’s very understanding when it comes to these things. Plus Patrick will be eleven then, so even less wanting to be around his father than this year.”
“Ever since Jamie realized what he lost and started making an effort to be a part of Patrick’s life, I’ve been worried I would lose you to him… again.”
Alyssa leaned over and kissed his mouth softly, “That has never been a threat, Chris. Once I was your girl again, I became your girl for life. Nothing Jamie or anyone else says can change that. You are all there is for me.”
“And you are all there is for me,” he replied before kissing her again.
“I love you, Chris,” she snuggled up against him. “Happy Easter, husband.”
“Happy Easter,” Chris kissed the top of her head. “I love you too, forever.”
In : Easter
Tags: easter "2012"
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