Arabella looked arond the house nervously, her blonde hair pull back in a braid and an almost frantic look on her face. She took a deep breath and walked through the house, trying to make sure that they weren't forgetting anything. The last thing she wanted was to forget something really important. She heard the front door open and she quickly ran back to the door, coming face to face with Hunter as he walked back into the house and grabbed one of the bags from the pile. With a huff, she looked over the bags and back up at Hunter with a little bit of a worried look on her face. "Does it look like there's anything missing? I feel like there is something missing"
Hunter looked down at Arabella and thought for a second. "Umm...No. Even if there were something missing, we'd have to strap it to the roof." He said, slipping an arm around her waist. "Mmm...Think about the free time we'll have once the kids are off." He said, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"Ugh...Can you not do that? I just ate." Hunter looked up to see Jason walking down the stairs, keys in hand. "Honestly, we haven't even left, yet."
"They're going to rent out our rooms next. Didn't you know that?" Hunter lifted his arm up as Autumn slipped inside. "As soon as the car pulls out is when the first applicant shows up."
Arabella sighed and rolled her eyes but she had a tiny smile on her face. "Oh..you're all very funny" She said and she pushed a piece of loose hair behind her ear.
"I know...I'm hilarious" Jason said with a grin and Arabella huffed, pulling out of Hunter's arms and walking into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out a bag full of containers of food and she walked back to her family, passing the bag over to Autumn.
"Now..I made some food for you two for the drive" Arabella said and she took a deep breath. "And by made, I mean I went to your favorite Chinese place" She folded her arms across her chest and looked over at her 18 year old children, her heart getting tight. She didn't want to have to say goodbye.
Hunter felt a hand on his leg and looked down to see Katie hanging onto his shorts as she rubbed her eyes. "Oh, someone's awake from their nap." He said, bending down and picking them up. "How'd you sleep, dearie?" He said, kissing her lightly on the forehead. She kind of groaned a little and put her head down on his shoulder. Hunter laughed a little and rubbed her back. "Alright, you two. Do you have everything you need, because after you're moved in, we're forgetting that you exist."
"Love you too, Dad" Autumn said with a little roll of her eyes and she nodded, looking around. "Yeah, I think I have everything" She muttered with a little nod then looked over at her brother, who had his eyebrows knitted together as he tried to remember if he got everything.
"I think I do..." Jason said and Arabella bit her lip.
"If you forget anything, we can send it to you" Arabella nodded and she looked up at Jason then over to Autumn. "Are you sure you don't need us to come with you? It isn't too late to get a couple plane tickets and we could get you both settled in.."
"We're fine, Mom" They said in unison
Hunter laughed and took a step toward Autumn. "We're going to miss you, Autumn." Hunter said, wrapping arm around her and hugging her. "I'm so very proud of you." He kissed her head and finally broke out of the hug.
"I'll miss you, too, dad." She said quietly. "And you, Katie." She said, taking Katie from Hunter.
"I'll miss you, Auddie." She said, putting her arms around his neck. Hunter moved to Jason and extended his hand. Jason took it and Hunter pulled him in for a pat on the back.
"The house is going to be a lot quieter with you guys gone." He said, pulling away and keeping a hand on his arm.
Arabella took a couple of shallow breaths and she hugged Autumn tightly once she put Katie down. She could feel Autumn chuckling a little bit at her but she huggedn Arabella just as tightly. "Oh...why couldn't you two go to a school in New York. There are plenty of good schools here.." She huffed then pulled away, going to her son and hugging him.
"Is Mom going to cry again?" Autumn teased and Arabella pulled away from Jason, brushing her tears away.
"No. I am not going to cry" She huffed.
"Yeah, that's what you said last Christmas but you cried at the card Autumn gave you" Jason said, laughing a little bit. "And that's also what you said on your birthday but you cried when Katie drew a picture for you"
Hunter sighed and walked up behind Arabella, slipping his arms around her middle. "Oh, guys, be nice to your mother. She's just very emotionally invested in you guys. And in the dogs. And most things." He said with a laugh, giving Arabella a loving squeeze. He kissed her head and then looked between his eldest children. "Alright. It's about time you guys headed out. Leave before your mother decides you have to stay forever."
"Don't forget to call us when you get there and call us while you're driving" Arabella said, folding her arms across her chest. "And if you need anything at all, we're here so don't be afraid to call. And-" She continued but she was cut off by Jason who placed a kiss on her cheek, giving her a one arm hug.
"Don't worry so much. Everything will be okay" Jason said and he hugged his littler sister, waved to his parents then walked out of the door, twirling his keys on his finger.
"Oh, Autumn...be careful" Arabella said softly, tears welling up in her eyes. Autumn hugged her, looking like she was trying really hard not to emotional.
Hunter watched them walk out and he stood at the doorway, waving as they pulled out of the driveway. Even after they left, he stood there, holding Arabella. They were standing there long enough for the dogs to wake up and slip out the door. They started to play in the yard and Hunter thought about the iconicness of the whole thing. He felt Arabella yawn a little and Hunter let her walk back inside before stepping outside. "Romulus! Remus! Come!" Hunter shouted only to be ignored by the two dogs. He was about to try again when a small dog came sprinting by and started barking at the two dogs who were play-wrestling. "Holly..." Hunter said with a sigh. He walked over and picked her up then shouted at the dogs. They finally gave up and ran back into the house. Hunter followed and closed the door, setting Holly down on the ground then going through the house to try and find Arabella.
Arabella was sitting on her bed with Katie between her legs. She was running a brush through her wild blonde curls as Katie quietly played with a few of her Barbies. After seeing her twins leave for university, Arabella was so overwhelmed and so emotional and she already missed her kids so much. She she grabbed her youngest and brought her up to her bedroom.
"Momma? Can you do my hair like yours?" Katie asked in her little 4 year old voice, tripping over her words a little bit.
"Of course I can, beautiful" Arabella said softly, putting the brush down. She sniffled a little bit, blinking back a few tears and she started to braid Katie's hair.
Hunter climbed the stairs and found Arabella and Katie sitting on their bed. He leaned over and kissed Arabella on the cheek then kissed Katie on the head.
"Daddy! You're gon' mess my hair!" She said, swinging an arm at Hunter. He smiled and sat down across from her. He spread his legs out and put a hand on Katie's feet. He tickled her a little bit and she twitched, trying to kick away. "Daddy!" He heard Arabella sigh and shoot him a look as she struggled to braid Katie's hair. Hunter winked at her then held out his hands.
"Alright, sweetie. Pick a scar." He said, turning his hands over. Katie looked for a second and finally picked a scar along Hunter's thumb. "Okay, well a long long long time ago, Uncle Will said that no one could climb to the top of the tallest tree in the forest. Now, this tree was big and thick and really old. It was covered in leaves and had a bunch of branches. Now, I didn't believe him and I set out to climb it. So, I grabbed the bottom branch and swung up to it. Then I grabbed the next branch. And the next branch. And the next branch. And the next branch. And the next branch......And then next branch."
"Daddy!"
"Well, I was almost at the top when I felt the branch start to break. I tried to move, but before I could, it broke and I tumbled down and down and down and down and down until I scraped my hand on a branch and landed on my back. But, you know what? I'm just fine!" He said, flexing his arms.
Arabella scoffed a little bit and she smiled as she tied an elastic around the end of Katie's braid. She looked over at Hunter and leaned forward a tiny bit. "Don't you start giving her ideas" She giggled and looked at Katie.
"I think you climb too many trees, Daddy" Katie nodded and she grabbed his hands, wrapping her little fists around a finger on each hand. She turned his arms around, inspecting his skin. "That one!" She finally decided, pointing to a long scar on Hunter's left arm.
"Now you've got her started. We'll never leave his bed" Arabella giggled and she laid down on the bed sideways so that Katie was leaning against her stomach and Arabella could watch Hunter and Katie talk.
Hunter thought for a second. "Well, when I was about 10, there was a girl named Clarisse. Now, she was as big as daddy is now and twice as muscley. And when she got mad, her eyes glowed like fire." Hunter tucked his legs in and leaned forward. "When she walked, the ground shook and so did most of the other people around. She was SO scary that no one would fight her. She had a spear that was as thick as a tree branch and sharp as a razor. Now, I decided that I was going to practice and practice and practice and someday, I was going to beat her. Well, she did not like that when she found out."
"What happened next?" Katie asked, shifting to her knees. Hunter smiled a little and continued.
"Well, I was practicing one day and she came in and challenged me to a fight. Now, I didn't want to seem like a coward, so I accepted and immediately she attacked. She was and she was string and every move was difficult to avoid, but after a long fight, I finally found the hole in her offense. She swung down and so I stepped on her spear, breaking it in two. She got SOOOOO mad that she picked me up and threw me into the air." Hunter reached over and grabbed Katie, falling back on the bed and holding her parallel to the ground, like she was flying.
Arabella laughed a little at the giggles and shrieks of delight coming from Katie and she yawned a little bit. Being on the bed with Hunter and her little girl was comforting for Arabella. Her heart was aching after seeing Autumn and Jason leave but being with her family was making her feel a bit better. She closed her eyes for a moment before reaching over and dancing her fingers across Hunter's leg lightly.
Hunter smiled down at Arabella and looked up at Katie a second before sitting up. "And then I landed hard on the ground!" He shouted before tossing Katie gently down onto the mattress in front of him. "And then I was tickled!" He continued before tickling Katie's sides and her feet, making her squirm and twitch with each jab. Arabella laughed and Hunter grabbed her, yanking her next to Katie. He tickled both of them, and hovered over them jabbing them in the sides.
Arabella giggled and she squirmed around on the bed as much as she could. She grabbed Hunter's hand and yanked him down a bit so that she could distract him by kissing him tightly.
"Eww!" Katie squealed and she nudged Hunter's side a little bit, trying to make him move off of her mother.
"Oh...I think someone is in need of kisses" Arabella said, turning her head to look at Katie. Katie shrieked and tried to crawl away but Arabella sat up and grabbed her, wrapping her arms around her and placing noisy kisses all over her face.
Hunter laughed and moved beside Arabella and kissed Katie on the other cheek.
"Get offa me!" She said, trying to hide back giggles. "Momma! Daddy! Leave me alone!" Hunter kissed her on the forehead then kiss then ran into Arabella's face. He kissed her on the lips and leaned into her a little, pulling her closer. Katie yawned and closed her eyes before seeing that they were kissing again. "Stop it!" She said quietly, trying to push Arabella and Hunter away from each other. She gave up after a moment and laid down on her side, closing her eyes.
Arabella looked down at Katie for a moment and she smiled a little bit. She looked so adorable with her button nose and wild blonde curls. Arabella took a little breath and looked up at Hunter with big eyes and she leaned into him, kissing him lightly and placing a hand on his knee. They had such a wonderful life together and Arabella wouldn't trade it for the world. She pulled away a little bit and smiled up at Hunter threw her eyelashes. "I love you" She breathed, almost mouthing the words instead of saying them.
Hunter smiled at Arabella. He brushed some hair behind her ear and placed his hand on her cheek. "I love you, too. I always will." He kissed her gently on the lips and moved his hand down to her side where he pulled her in a little closer. He looked into her eyes and then kissed her on the forehead. "Jason and Autumn are going to be just fine, sweetheart. You gave birth to and raised 2 brilliant, kind, wonderful, intelligent, and loving children." He pressed his lips to her cheek and put his forehead against hers. "Thank you, sweetie."
"Yeah, well...Jason and Autumn have a really amazing dad" Arabella said softly and she looked up at Hunter with big eyes. She took a little breath and brushed her fingers down his chest. "Thank you, Hunter" She whispered, echoing him. "I can't imagine what my life would have been like without you" Arabella looked down at Katie, who had her eyes closed and a tiny smile on her lips, like she was totally lost in her own little world.
"I wouldn't have a life without you." He whispered to her, not wanting to disturb Katie who looked like she was sleeping. "You and the kids are more than I could have ever hoped for. I couldn't live without you guys." He said quietly, putting his head down on the pillow. He closed his eyes a moment and when he opened them, he saw Arabella with her head down, smiling over at him. "I love you, Ellie." He said, stretching over and kissing her gently on the lips.
When he kissed her, Arabella felt like she was 19 again. She thought back to the first time she took Hunter to the beach house and she remembered the way he blushed when she stood close to him. So much had happened since then but when Arabella closed her eyes, all of those feelings and memories came rushing back to her. When Hunter kissed her, she still got butterflies and her cheeks still turned pink when he told her she was beautiful. With a happy sigh, Arabella pulled away a little bit and looked up at him. "I love you too, stud muffin" She said with a little giggle at the memory of their days at camp.
"I love you too, honey bunch." He said with a yawn. "I always will." He closed his eyes and he thought about how good he felt with his arms around her, their daughter between them. It wasn't long when he finally fell asleep, basking in how happy he was and he would be as long as he was with Arabella.