“I knew I couldn’t live without you, so I had to put a ring on it.” He winked at his lover. Nothing he said wasn’t the truth. He shrugged and shook his head. “No, it isn’t something that has stopped us before.” Luke smirked. “We are wasting time talking about it.”

Luke couldn’t help but laugh at their little girl’s reaction. “A new baby. Yay!” Benji said. “No, it’s gonna be a boy. You have Lia. I want a little buddy too.” Benji wasn’t going to pout he was excited about the new baby and hoped it would be a boy. He grabbed his baby sister’s other hand and walked with the girls. Luke got his phone out and took a picture of three of his favorite people. “Be careful with Lia, please.” Luke said as he sat down. He looked at his husband. “That went better than I was expecting. So should we take a picture of just the pumpkins or should we take a family picture or both?”

"I really have. I don't think it'll ever change. I also have a bit of a headache so I'm hoping it'll help. I still have water in my cup so I don't think it's because I haven't had enough to drink." Luke rubbed his son's back trying to keep him asleep. "I probably love my head rubs because you've given them to me since I was a baby." He closed his eyes letting out a sigh. It was amazing how quick a head rub could make him relax. "Mama?"

Luke pouted when his husband pulled away from the mini make out session shooting his husband his puppy dog eyes. "I kissed a boy and I liked it." He sang with a playful smile on his face. "I wasn't worried about the noise as much as I'm afraid someone might walk up here to also look at the sunset. This is a public place after all."

Luke couldn’t help but shake his head at the sassiness their little girl was spitting out. “I think that one is perfect.” Luke looked at his husband for a second before turning his attention back to the kids. He was in awe of how quick Rory moved to catch their littlest one. “Now, papa and I have another task for you. Can both of you pick out a small pumpkin, one for Aure and one for your new brother or sister?” He watched for their reactions and braced for the worst.

Luke understood what he was saying. Having a baby was no joke. They really did turn your life upside down. Then there was the concern about being a deaf, single father and having to try to date. Everyone deserved to have a loving partner. “I am so sorry about your sister, mate. As for the baby, I had nine months, and then some, to prepare for the twins but I didn’t know what I was doing either. They don’t come with a manual but you will learn. And hey, if you ever have any questions, you can give me or Rory a call. We will be glad to help. As for dating, you will find the right person. Just have to figure out how you want to play the first date, whether you wear your heart on your sleeve and tell them you’re a daddy or whether you wait to see how they feel about kids.” Luke nodded his head. “Yes, ma is from here and has lived here for a long time. My dad was a big deal on the islands. Everyone knows the Walker last name. But I took Rory’s last name so people don’t know me as the heir so to speak.”

Seeing Isae a wide smile crossed his face. “Bella!” He approached her and wrapped her in a hug. “I may have stayed away for awhile, but you know I could never stay away forever. How are you? How are things at the orchard?” He had missed seeing his best friend. Moving to the city may have gave him the family he had now, but it had taken away his connections with old friends and his island family.

Luke smiled as his husband talked about taking each of the kids on their own day tailored just to them. It was a great idea that made him so happy. Imagining their little faces light up at having both of their daddies to themselves and getting to explore something that they liked without having to worry about the other two siblings was going to be so much fun. “I think that sounds perfect. I guess one good thing is that Aure will never know the difference between having this sibling and not having this sibling. She won’t remember being the baby.” Luke let out a sigh thinking back to that moment two weeks ago. “Why didn’t he say something sooner? Why do you think he didn’t tell his sister? They talk about everything. Remember when they thought we were getting a dog when actually we were adding Aure to the family. Do you think their relationship is okay?” He nodded in agreement. “We really do. That’s because they take after you.” He winked and wrapped his arm around his husband’s shoulders. “Back to the kids then to the pumpkin patch. Oh and I need to grab the sweet for our little princess that I promised.”

Luke caught how his husband choked back a chuckle. He knew the sound that escaped his lips had made it to his husband’s ears and was causing a reaction. “We can do that.” He called his mom and told him exactly what Rory said to do with the kids. He had to be careful with his speech so that his mother wouldn’t pick up on why they were going to be out a little longer. “But how will we know we won’t get caught?”

Luke chuckled and nodded his head. “If he keeps his love of animals, I could see him working at a zoo when he’s older. He knows so many fun facts about the animals, it doesn’t surprise me a bit that he knew a Joey is a baby kangaroo. We can take him to the zoo soon. We can take them all.” Luke shook his head thinking about it for a moment. “I wonder how long he’s known. When did he start calling me a kangaroo? How long ago was that?” He wrapped his arms around his husband. “So now that we have that decided, should we head on back? Maybe make the trip to the pumpkin patch the next thing on the list.”

“We will do it here, today.” Luke blinked rapidly hearing that their son actually already knew. “I guess that’s our fault for letting him have the books about all of the animals because he loves his animals. Mama probably didn’t realize that as it is a newer obsession. What did you say? Do you think he is going to tell Vi that he already knew? That will just cause her to hate the new baby more than she already might if her meltdown earlier is any indication.”

“I completely agree. Maybe we have them both pick out a pumpkin for their younger siblings as a way to tell them.” Out of curiosity he couldn’t help but ask.”What did little man say?”

Luke heard the baby crying before he noticed who’s baby it was. When he saw Danny, he went to approach him. Luke nodded his head in response to the question. “Yes, she is wailing. Can I pick her up?” Luke had left the kids with Rory because he was on a mission to pick something up. He didn’t wait to be told that he could pick her up. Instead, he just scooped her up and held her close to his chest and hummed softly. “That’s okay. You’re okay.” He signed single-handed at Danny. “What have you tried? Did you change her? Feed her? Sometimes they just cry. You’re doing a good job.” With some bouncing and soft words he was able to get her to calm down. “Sometimes they get gassy or colic.”

"Oh man, making me choose. It's a close tie between my first Christmas married to my husband, and our first Christmas as parents. The first Christmas we were married we agreed to only spend $50 on each other because money was tight but we ended up spending a little more than that but it was such a fun Christmas. Our first Christmas as parents, we all had matching pajamas. We cuddled up on the couch and read the twins a book and then put them to bed and in the morning it was so cute to see their little faces. They didn't know exactly what was going on but there was just something so magical about being a dad at Christmastime."

"Now that I am back at the beach, bonfires. But in Chicago, in the cold of the winter indoor fires were my jam."

Yes! 100%

I didn't celebrate Halloween as a kid