Can I go where you go?

The world froze while Charlie waited for Aoife’s response. He knew all too well what it would be. The pair had talked about marriage time and time again during the span of their relationship, talking about dates, wedding locations, themes, any detail that they could of the day they would join their lives together as one for the rest of the time they had on this planet. Charlie often thought of Aoife as his wife already even though he never vocalized it; sometimes he had to think twice before he let the W-word slip when they were still technically only dating. They were each other’s life partners - each other’s forever. 

Charlie kissed Aoife back, moisture welling up in his eyes to be loosed when they fluttered open to look at his bride-to-be. “I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t,” he laughed, breathless. “I love you so much, Aoife. I love you so damn much.” Only then did he realize that the ring was still gripped between his fingers, Charlie shocked he hadn’t dropped it in the excitement of Aoife’s acceptance. “Here, before I lose it.” His hands were shaking as much as hers from the overwhelming combination of emotions that were being pumped through Charlie’s body. He took Aoife’s left hand in his and slid the ring over her finger, a perfect fit. It glimmered on her hand, Charlie turning it slowly this way and that, admiring the small symbol of his love for his fianceé. 

“You like them?” Charlie smiled, proud of himself. Was he the best photographer in the world? Not by any means, but he prided himself in the work he’d put into knowing his camera and studying everything he could to try to make the most of the pictures he took. Maybe one day he would be confident enough for film photography. It was something he’d always been curious about, but the fear of imperfection always made him take a step back from it instead of taking a swing at trying it.

“Hey, I have an idea for something I’d like to do,” he said to Aoife, then turned to Emma. “Hey Em, remember when Daddy let practice taking pictures? You want to try to get some of us together,” he said, wagging a finger to point at both Aoife and himself. “Yeah!” she said with enthusiasm, clapping her hands when she skipped over to stand behind the tripod. Charlie lowered it to her height and glanced through the viewfinder to make sure things were framed correctly for their junior photographer. “Remember what I taught you to do?” She nodded, prompting Charlie to grab Aoife’s hand and sit with her again on the blanket. Once they were there and all settled in, the babies busy with each other on the blanket behind them, Charlie and Aoife took a few smiling shots with Emma triggering the shutter. “Good job, Em.” Charlie smiled, proud of his daughter, then turned, equally happy to be there with Aoife. “How about this for a different pose?” Charlie chuckled and leaned in to kiss Aoife, first a sweet peck, the sound of the camera’s shutter going off in the background. “One more while the kid doesn’t mind the PDA?” He laughed again, a smile pressed sweetly against Aoife’s lips while Emma clicked away again. 

With their eyes closed it was hard to be aware of anything that was going on except for the sounds of Emma snapping pictures and the gentle coos of the twins playing together, something Charlie had planned all along. Knowing she couldn’t see a thing, Charlie carefully reached into the front pocket of his pants and pulled out the vintage ring that he’d had tucked away all along, the photoshoot only a ruse to cover up his true intentions for the day. Pulling away, his hand rose, the cluster of gems atop a pale golden band sparkling in the sunlight.

“I thought and thought on how I could do this for a long time, but then I realized that nothing could be more special than being able to share this moment with our little family.” Brown eyes concentrated on Aoife’s, Charlie’s voice perfectly steady in spite of how his heart was racing in his chest. “Two Christmases ago I believed that I was past the point of being able to find my person and settle down, and then I ran into this beautiful Irish woman with a knack for makin’ Christmas cookies, and no matter what I did for the next few months I couldn’t get her off my mind. I took a leap when we went on that first date, and I never imagined that it would be the best decision I would ever make in my life. I never felt fully complete until I loved you, and now I feel like I have the entire world right here with me. You’re more of a woman than I ever dreamed of being with, and I know that Emma and I can’t picture our lives without you. That’s why I wanted to know, will you marry me?

“You realize that no one is going to be looking at your stomach in these pictures, right? Being pregnant didn’t change how stunning you are at all. Besides, these pictures are for us, not anyone else. Okay?” Charlie gave a reassuring smile and pressed a kiss to Aoife’s cheek. “I promise, in a few minutes you’re going to forget all about how you look. I’ve got…bubbles,” Charlie whispered in Aoife’s ear, not wanting to let that cat out of the bag just yet. “And a few more fun tricks up my sleeve to get a couple of fun pictures out of this.”

Charlie took the reigns behind the camera now, motioning for Aoife to come next to him. With both of their parents there the twins were sure to glance up at some point, weren’t they? “Winnie, Tadhg,” Charlie called, Winnie looking up when she heard his familiar voice. “Em, play with the twins a little so we can get some fun pictures of the three of you, okay?” She nodded and began to tickle the babies, both beginning to giggle at their sister’s touch. “There we go. These will be good.” Charlie snapped a few shots then played them back. “Aoife, these are great. Come look.” He let her look at the screen and clicked through a few pictures of their chunky little babies playing with their sister, all three of the children with a bright smile on their laughing faces. “Perfect.”

“I know,” she sighed. It wasn’t that she worried what other people thought, it was more about how she felt about herself and getting used to her new body had been no easy feat. Grinning when he mentioned bubbles she chuckled. He certainly knew how to get the attention of the kids, and she was sure it would make for some creative photos. 

“I thought so.” Charlie had done all he could to prepare for this day. After he struggled by himself trying to figure out his camera’s never before used self-timer he knew he had to figure something else out. His handy little remote was the answer, and it certainly seemed to be working well now. “

He managed to click the little remote a few times while everyone was looking towards the camera. Emma was a pro at this by now, the little girl honestly hamming it up in front of the lens. The twins though, they had some work to do on their picture etiquette. “They know it’s a special day and they want to explore. Don’t you, baby?” Charlie set Winnie on the blanket beside her brother, the baby immediately mimicking his actions in trying to get closer to Emma. “Yeah, we can do that. You’re okay, right?” Charlie stood up and offered a hand to Aoife, hoisting her to her feet as well. “I guess I should have asked before I set this up. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Charlie knew he had a beautiful family, but it became so much more clear how blessed he was when he looked through the camera and began snapping photos of them. Yes, the twins were squirming around, Winnie on the blanket and Tadhg doing his best to grab at the skirt of Aoife’s dress; Emma was picture ready with her beaming smile, and Aoife was as gracious as ever for amusing Charlie with these few quick snaps. He couldn’t help but smile at it all. Maybe these wouldn’t be the best pictures out of the bunch, but Charlie was sure that a few would wind up printed and sitting on his desk at work.

“Don’t worry, I’m coming. I have something to help us out.” Out of his pocket came a small black object - a remote control that would allow him to take photos from his spot with the rest of the family. “Let’s just hope everything is focused in the end of this.” Charlie sat on the blanket beside Aoife and pulled Winnie into his lap, sitting her on one knee and patting the other for Emma to join her sister. “How about a few posed shots and then we try for some candids. Emma and I have a trick we want to try out with the twins.” Charlie winked at Emma and she giggled at him, the girl excited for the fun to come. “Alright, let’s see if we can get everyone to look somewhere near the camera. Look Winnie,” Charlie said, waving his hand out towards the camera to attract the little girl’s attention. When it looked as if everyone was as ready as they could be Charlie pressed the small button hidden in his hand. The shutter sound went off and Charlie breathed a sigh of relief that it worked. 

It was nice to do something out of the ordinary with her family. The sun was warm and there was a slight breeze making it comfortable. As Aoife watched the twins wiggle around and Emma smile for the camera she was struck by how lucky she was.  “Very clever,” she remarked, spotting the remote. Tadhg reached for her hair and gave a hard pull before Aoife could untangle his little hand from her locks. She seldom wore her hair down because of their grabby hands. Smiling for the camera, she watched Charlie wave his hand and hoped both twins would be interested enough to look, sure enough Tadhg and Winnie both looked over intently.  When they’d taken a could sitting down, Tadhg began to fuss and Aoife reluctantly placed him on the blanket where he tried to wiggle his way to Emma. The twins weren’t quite old enough to crawl but they were trying. “Do you want to get a few shots of just the kids?” Aoife asked, not usually a fan of being in front of the camera, she wouldn’t be offended if Charlie chose to have her stand to the side. 

charliebackstop posted an image:

While Aoife was changing Charlie and Emma had speedily changed the twins and toted them outside, once again setting them in their bouncy seats in the shade of the lush oak tree that had become a focal point for the family. It would serve as the backdrop of their photoshoot for the day, Charlie having laid a white picnic blanket on the grass in front of it for the family to sprawl out on. Emma was dancing joyfully on top of it while Charlie worked on framing what he hoped would be a handful of successful shots, going back and forth between adjusting the tripod and the camera lens until he found what he assumed were the ideal settings. With a little help from editing they would look good no matter what.

He turned around when he heard Aoife’s voice, eyes widening at the sight of her twirling in her red dress. “Wow,” was all that Charlie could muster up, the man spanning the distance of the yard between himself and Aoife to get a closer look. “Wow,” he said again, a smile beginning to curve his lips. “You look stunning. That dress was made for you. I did a good job.” His sister did a good job, he meant, but all with the help of his advice, of course. “What do you think of all of this?” He gestured to his setup, Emma carefully tiptoeing around the camera while she inspected it. “Let’s get you and the kids on the blanket so I can do a couple of test shots.”

“You did a very good job,” she told him with a grin, loving his reaction. Taking in the set up, she nodded. The tree was the perfect backdrop and would give them enough shade to be comfortable. “It looks great,” Aoife said as she walked towards it, making a beeline for the babies and cooing at them. The twins smiled and giggled as she tickled their tummies and sat down on the blanket, taking them out of their seats to lounge and attempt to crawl around the blanket. “Come sit,” she told Emma, waving her over and propping Tadhg up in her lap.  As Charlie took the test shots, she tried to smile, not too worried about focusing the children just yet. After hearing the camera click a number of times she shook her head. “It’s a good thing we’re no longer reliant on film,” she chuckled. “Are you going to join us or is this just going to be pictures of me smiling awkwardly while the kids look off in different directions?”

“I like when you call me a big man,” Charlie teased, unable to tame the smirk that took control of his lips. “Don’t kiss me too much before we get out there. I’m dressed nicely and I’m in a really good mood. Make it too good and I won’t be looking like this anymore. You won’t be making it into that dress either.”

Emma looked confused but quickly remembered what plait meant since Aoife had already done it several times. Maybe Charlie should just start calling braids plaits as well for the sake of consistency. “I think that would look beautiful on you, baby.” He ruffled the dark waves of her hair, Emma glancing up at Charlie. “Can I help dress the twins, Daddy?” she asked sweetly, leaving Charlie unable to say now. “I’m sure you can give me a hand. How about you pick out a bow for Winnie to match her outfit?” He handed the yellow onesie off and Emma bounced to the nursery to dig through the various baby accessories, then Charlie quickly followed out to start the babies’ wardrobe change. “I think we’ll be outside when you’re done, Aoife. Just meet us out there.”

“Easy tiger,” she laughed, patting him affectionately on the chest. “We don’t want to end up with another set of twins anytime soon. Besides, I want to look at you a little longer.”  Aoife knew the word braid, but still she forgot to translate as she spoke. It was always nappy and plait and rubbish bin, when she knew she should use words like diaper and trash can. “I shouldn’t take too long,” Aoife told them, already thinking of what she could do to compliment the dress without looking too makeup heavy. She was no artist, but she did alright. “Sound good,” she nodded. I’ll try to hurry.” As he left the room, she pulled off her jumper and shed her joggers, walking to the bathroom mirror and sighing at her reflection. Splashing some water on her face and running damp hands through her curly hair helped, but it was the concealer, mascara, and blush that really made the difference. Some lip tint and a bit of smoothing product for her hair and she was ready to get dressed. The dress fit well and she couldn’t help but be impressed. It stretched enough to accommodate her larger than usual bust, and did wonders at hiding the little pouch that had formed where her stomach had stretched. One final glance in the mirror and she was ready to go. “What do you think?” she asked, giving a twirl when she entered the backyard. 

“That’s funny. I had a lot of help. Like, a lot.” He’d sent picture after picture to his sister while he shopped until she took it upon herself to actually join him in the expedition to find the perfect vintage dress for Aoife to sport during their photo session. Anything for her favorite couple, she said, pinching Charlie’s cheek as if he were the one years younger than her instead of the other way around. “I thought this one looked like you though. Timeless beauty.”

“You know, you’re already pretty presentable.” She’d roll her eyes at him for that for sure. Of course, Charlie always saw her as the epitome of beauty no matter what state Aoife was in. Right now was no exception, but he knew she’d be even more radiant once she dolled up. “I’m going to go get the kids ready. I think I’ll put the twins in theirs outside in case they have any explosions between them and now.” He checked his watch. The twins were like clockwork when it came to diaper changing thanks to the household’s schedule. They should be fine, but one never knew when it came to two silly little twins. “Emma, you get to put on your dress now!” Charlie called down the hall, his eldest daughter running excitedly to slip into the dress she’d known about and had been eyeballing since he brought it home. “No messes, alright? You can go outside and wait for Aoife and I when you’re dressed.”

“Well it takes a big man to ask for help,” she smiled, still admiring the outfits. She couldn’t wait to put the dress on, and hell even putting a little makeup on seemed exciting. “You’re sweet,” she turned back to him and pressed a kiss on his lips.  “You’re too nice,” she rolled her eyes. She looked a mess, her hair out of sorts and her face bare. Her outfit had spit up on it surely and she had bags under her eyes. Nothing a few minutes in front of the mirror wouldn’t change. She loved the way Charlie looked at her though, that he thought she was beautiful even in her state made her swell with affection for him. “That sounds good,” Aoife nodded. Watching Emma speed into the room excitedly made her chuckle and she handed the little girl the dress. “If you want I’ll plait your hair when I’m done,” she offered.