Page 114 of Clap Back (Carter Brothers)

Redford’s cute little voice came so sweet from the back seat.

“Aww, that’s sweet, Mom!” he sang. “Guess what?”

I looked at my dear little Redford over my shoulder and asked, “What?”

“I’m gonna kick your ass!”

Auden choked on his own spit, coughing and spluttering as he tried and failed not to laugh.

I rolled my eyes.

“I fucking hate you sometimes,” I muttered under my breath to my husband. “Seriously, I do everything for this kid. I walk the halls with him at night when he has colic. I bathe him. Clean him. Feed him for two damn years from my own bosom. I pour my heart and soul into this third kid of mine because that was our deal when we had him. I do all the work. You reap all the sweet benefits. And what has it got me? Nothing. Redford likes you more than me, and how is that fair?”

Auden bit his lip to keep the laughter from bubbling free.

“He looks like you. He acts like you. He wants to be you. And here I am, having to live with it because he’s what I wanted!” I grumbled.

Auden was silently laughing his ass off.

However, our other baby, Lola, said, “I love you, Mommy.”

I looked over at our first born, our darling six-year-old, and said, “Are you excited to go today?”

The Carter clan, and the Semyonov clan, were all heading to the water park.

Why?

Because it was our middle child, Brando’s, birthday. And he wanted to go.

Everyone had the day off.

Shasha and Jessa had flown in from out of town. Nastya, Dima, and Milena were all back from their overseas trip.

And the Carters had all asked off of work.

Dorsey had come in from Gatlinburg with her beau.

The only problem was I had a feeling we’d be forcing my grandmother to take it easy, when in reality I knew I’d have to coax her off of the aggressive waterpark rides.

Jessa was now one hundred-five years old, and acted like she was twenty-two.

I’d had six years with her, and I already dreaded the day we would lose her.

I was also somewhat jealous of the fact that my brothers and sisters got to have her for as long as they had.

“We’re here,” Auden said, breaking into my thoughts.

Except, when we arrived, it was to find the entire waterpark empty.

“Umm,” I said as I took it in. “What’s going on?”

“I booked the entire park to ourselves,” Shasha came up in a bright pink pair of swim shorts. “There’s no way I’m dealing with that many kids. And just sayin’, but there will not be a kidnapping on my watch.”

I patted his shoulder.

He and Auden were exactly the same.

If it can happen to you, it can happen to our kids.

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