I breathed deeply, inhaling all the scents surrounding me, coffee, bacon, and Taylor. I just laid in his arms for a few moments, listening to his heartbeat. This is the way I always wanted it to be, me in his arms.
I opened one eye and sneaked a peak at him. He was awake, watching me. When he saw that I too was awake, he began to stroke my hair and gently kissed the top of my head.
"Morning."
"Morning." I looked up at him and smiled.
"Sleep good?"
I nodded my head yes, and he gently kissed me on the lips. My stomach growled and he laughed.
"I guess the smell of bacon made me hungry," I said.
"Wanna go see what Zac made for breakfast?" he asked.
"Zac!?! And here I've been thinking you made breakfast for me!" I laughed.
"What?! And leave you?" He shook his head. "I'd rather starve."
My stomach growled again. "Speaking of starving..." I began to search for my clothes as Taylor got dressed. I found my jeans, but my shirt was missing in action. "Taylor, can I borrow a shirt? I can't find mine. You know, you really should clean this place up."
"Oh, no!" he said while tossing me a t-shirt.
"What?"
"It's happened. You had Madeline. You are a mother, and therefore now an authority on pig-stys. I guess it was inevitable."
I laughed.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yup." Together we made our way into the kitchen.
"Hey, Tay," Zac greeted him. When he saw me, he did a double-take. "Laura, you, uh, spent the night here?" he asked awkwardly.
I nodded my head yes and Taylor stood behind me, putting his arms around my waist. "Um, Zac?"
"Yeah, Tay?"
"Why... when did you get in last night?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just, you were wearing those same clothes when you left last night."
Zac looked down at himself. "Oh, yeah. I was." He said this as if he was realizing it for the first time.
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"What time did you get in?"
"Well, if you must know, an hour ago."
"AN HOUR AGO!?!"
"Jordan Taylor Hanson! I don't want to hear another word from you," I said in a voice I reserved for scolding Maddy.
"Thanks, Laura. Help yourself to the bacon and eggs." Zac grabbed the newspaper and his cup of coffee. He left the room mumbling under his breath, "if I wanted the third degree, I'd be living at home still."
I turned to face Taylor with one eyebrow raised, a skill I had perfected since Maddy's birth. "Was the pot just calling the kettle black?"
He shrugged sheepishly and I laughed. I hopped onto the counter, and Taylor fed me the bacon from the frying pan. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" he asked.
"Well, there's a lesson plan I have to finish before Monday. And I have to spend time with Maddy today. We're in the process of learning to ride our bike without training wheels," I said very importantly. I then put my hands on my hips. "I'm four-and-a-half Mommy. I'm a big girl now. Big girls ride bikes without training wheels," I said, imitating my daughter's high-pitched voice.
Taylor laughed. "Before you know it, she'll be driving."
"Perish the thought!" I said, playfully swatting him. "I know it's beyond early, but the thought of being in a car with her behind the wheel frightens me. I'm having difficulty seeing myself teaching her how to drive." I shuddered.
He popped at piece of bacon into his mouth and shrugged. "I'll teach her."
That one statment made my body radiate with happiness. I put my hands on his waist and pulled him close to me, gently kissing him on the lips. "I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves here. Maybe we should work on mastering the two-wheeler first."
He kissed the tip of my nose. "Whatever you say."
My left hand grabbed Taylor's as my right reached for the doorknob of my front door. I knew I must look like a deer caught in the headlights of an on-coming car, but I couldn't help it. I was about to face my parents. Ever since Maddy, sex had become a taboo subject between the three of us.
Taylor and I walked into the living room hand-in-hand. My father was sitting in his favorite chair, icing the right side of his face. He had had a root canal as a result of the 'drill incident.' My mother was dusting the furniture, while Maddy was sprawled on the floor coloring in her coloring book. I squeezed Taylor's hand and took a deep breath. "Hey, you guys."
My father nodded. That's all his condition allowed him to do. My mother grinned from ear to ear. "Hey, sweetie. Taylor, so good to see you again." She fell in love with Tay the minute I first brought him home five years ago.
Madeline jumped to her feet. "Mommy! Taylor!" She ran to us, arms outstretched.
I picked her up and swung her around. I kissed her on the cheek. "How's my baby?"
"I'm not a baby anymore, Mommy. I'm a big girl."
"I'm sorry. You're right. You are most definately a big girl." I looked at Taylor. He was biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, honey?"
"That's not your shirt. Where'd you get it?"
"It's Taylor's."
"Why are you wearing it?"
"Because I like it, and he said I could."
"Did you sleep at Taylor's house?"
I looked at her wide-eyed. I couldn't believe she just asked that. "Why on earth would you ever ask me that?"
"Because last night I had a nightmare and you weren't in your room. And you weren't at breakfast this morning, either."
I will say this for Maddy, nothing gets by her. I looked at my mom. She nodded her head. I returned my attention to my daughter. "Yes, I was at Taylor's house."
She flashed me a devilish grin and her eyes had a mischievous sparkle to them. "I bet I know what you did!" she said proudly. She leaned in and whispered rather loudly in my ear, "you had SEX."
Out of shock, I almost dropped her. "Madeline DiGiacamo!" I scolded her. I could believe the word 'sex' had escaped my four-year-old daughter's lips. I made a mental note to cancel our subscription to HBO first thing Monday morning. I caught a glimpse of Taylor with my peripheral vision. His face was slowly turning red. Judging by the expression on his face, it was from a mixture of embarrassment and suppressed laughter.
Maddy knew by my tone of voice that what she had said was inappropriate. Her eyes were filled with remorse. "I'm sorry," she said softly to me. Then she turned to Taylor. "I'm sorry."
Taylor walked over to me, and took Maddy from my arms. "Hey, it's okay," he said soothingly. "Now, your mom told me something about you learning to ride a two-wheeler. What do you say we go outside and work on that?"
"Yea!" Maddy cheered.
As he carried her outside to the garage, I realized somethig. With the exception of a nuclear disaster, Taylor and I have survived just about everything. We were going to make it.