Page 2 of Endless
When Andrea and Tess got married, they insisted on making their own wedding cake, which opened up a love of baking and cake decorating for the two of them. They opened their bakery three years ago. It was down the street from Shadow's tattoo shop and a block away from Jandro's mechanic shop.
"Cake?" Rori screeched from Reaper's arms.
"Indoor voice," Reaper reminded her gently. Our running joke was that she was born without volume control. "Yes, there's cake. But lunch food first."
She tried again. “Alittlecake first?”
Reaper let out a dramatic sigh, already caving to her demands. “What does Doctor Mommy think?”
“One bite of cake before lunch.” I booped Rori’s nose. “Because it’s my graduation.”
“Me too?” Daren asked hopefully.
“Yes, you too, my boy.”
Once my son got his assurance of cake, he started squirming in my arms. “Down,” he grunted. He was getting to the age where he didn’t want to be held by Mom, especially around others, and preferred walking on his own.
“Alright, big guy, but I’m holding your hand.”
We walked out of the auditorium together with Reaper leading the way and Jandro at his side, Gunner next to me and Daren, and Shadow bringing up the rear. Small habits like these were the hardest to change.
Several of my fellow graduates were milling about outside in the early afternoon sun, taking photos with family members or chatting excitedly amongst each other. I posed with a few of them while Jandro brought the car around, a military-grade SUV he had inspected with a fine-toothed comb and custom-fitted with extra safety features for the kids.
Naturally, all of my husbands had balked at my suggestion of a minivan.
We piled in and took the short drive home, with a few of my classmates following us. Our home had become known as the party house, and we always invited everyone. Dogs, people, and cars were already crowding our driveway, which meant the inside and backyard were already packed.
“Hades!” Rori pressed her face to the window at the sight of the big Doberman on the porch and started fumbling with the door handle.
“Hey.” Shadow reached over the seat and pulled her back from the door. “Don’t open that until the car’s stopped.”
“I wasn’t,” Rori whined, sitting back with a pout.
While the five of us each had our own idea of leniency and strictness with the kids, Shadow definitely veered into overprotective territory. His life experiences made him never want our children to suffer so much as a scratch. The rest of us had to occasionally reassure him it was normal for a kid to fall or scrape themselves sometimes. It was how they grew and learned their own body’s limits.
The moment the car stopped, Rori was out and running up the driveway like she hadn’t seen Hades in weeks. He got up and loped over to her in return, tongue lolling out in a lazy smile and stubby tail going crazy over his favorite tiny human.
The rest of us stepped out, and the smell of barbecue had my stomach growling. I hadn’t eaten before the ceremony this morning because of nerves. Now that weight had lifted and I could kick back with beer, food, and my favorite people for the rest of the day.
“Oh my God, who did this?” I gasped in surprise at the “Congratulations Mari & med school grads” banner hung between the living room and kitchen. The letters looked hand-painted and included small handprints around the borders that could have only been from the kids.
“We did!” My and Reaper’s moms emerged from the kitchen, each with a half-drunk mimosa in hand and a full one held out to me. The two of them had become best friends over the years and were always doing arts and crafts projects together.
“I should have known,” I laughed, hugging them both and accepting the drink, taking a quick sip before pushing it back into my mom’s hand. “Hold that for me. Let me get out of this gown and get some food.”
“Oh, I think the boys already made a plate for you.” Lis turned around and yelled toward the backyard, “Finn, Javi! Mari’s home, is her food ready?”
“I’ve been eating off her plate,” my dad teased back. “Finn’s marinade is just too good.”
“There’s plenty of it.” Finn’s eyes were narrowed in concentration as he mannedtwoother grills with all the seriousness of a drill sergeant.
“Jandro, go help them out back!” I yelled, heading upstairs to hang my graduation cap and gown in the bedroom closet.
A few years back, we’d done some renovation to turn the whole upper level into a bedroom for us. After the war, it was rare that any of us wanted to sleep alone. Lis knew a woodworker who’d made a bed large enough to fit all five of us comfortably. The downstairs rooms had turned into bedrooms for the kids and some private areas, like Shadow’s drawing studio.
I quickly smoothed out the dress I had on under my gown, stuck my feet into comfortable sandals, and came back to join the party.
“There she is.” Reaper waited for me at the bottom of the stairs, my drink and plate of food in his hands, a cocky smirk on his lips.
