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Spring had finally arrived and the weather in Atlanta was simply delightful. After a freezing and snowy winter, it was no surprise that they wanted to spend their time out of their house as much as possible.
Fallon and Liam were sitting on a large picnic towel, both of them with a glass of mimosa in their hands as they picked at the food in front of them. “This feels good,” Fallon mentioned.
“It sure does,” Liam wrapped his left arm around her waist to pull her closer, letting his hand rest on her legs.
They had strategically chosen a large tree to sit under so its shadow would keep Fallon away from the sun. As much as Liam insisted she should get just a little bit tanned, she always refused.
“A tone slightly darker would make you look healthier, you know,” he would tell her.
“You’re right, but if I stay away from the sun, I will less likely have wrinkles and dark marks on my skin,” Fallon would tell him. “Not to mention all the bad diseases it could cause,”
Liam would roll his eyes and laugh at her but accepted that even though she was a little bit crazy, he loved her more than anything.
Combined with the shadow, the cool breeze coming from the leaves as the wind hit the trees made it feel like the perfect weather. The sun was shining, there was not a single cloud in the sky and there were only a few people at the meadow besides them.
“I love when you skip work so we can come here,” Liam placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
Fallon leaned towards him, resting her head on his shoulder as she enjoyed the soft circles his fingers were drawing on her thigh.
“I might quit if I can have this every day,” Fallon joked.
“You think your savings are enough considering you’re only 32?” Liam played along. “You do have a pretty expensive lifestyle,”
“Maybe I still need to work a few more years,” Fallon rolled her eyes. Of course they had enough money to live exactly like they were used to without having to work ever again but both of them knew Fallon would never be able to spend the day doing nothing. She needed to work, she needed to feel challenged and she would always love a good competition.
“Maybe,” Liam laughed.
“Can you pass me a strawberry?” She asked.
There were a few bowls of food scattered in front of them but at their current position, Fallon couldn’t reach for the one she wanted without letting go of him. Liam grabbed the strawberry from the bowl but instead of handing it over to her, he held it up in front of her mouth. She looked at him a bit confused but he just nodded, silently telling her to go for it. Fallon rolled her eyes but still leaned forward and took a bite of the fruit. She was just about to go for the remaining piece between his fingers when he moved his hand away and ate it himself.
“Hey!” Fallon hit his arm playfully. “That was mine!” She exclaimed.
“Sharing is caring, dear,” Liam teased.
“Now you’re just gonna have to give me another one,” Fallon shrugged.
“Only if you share with me,” Liam replied.
“The bowl is right in front of you!” Fallon exclaimed. “You can have your own,” she rolled her eyes before leaning over him trying to teach for it herself.
Fallon’s hand was almost in the bowl when Liam wrapped both of his arms around her body and started tickling her. Fallon let out a loud laugh and her hat fell off her head as Liam continued to play with her. “Stop it!” She begged even though she was actually enjoying it. “Liam,” Fallon tried to move her arm so she could tickle him back but again, he was faster and she ended up in an even more awkward position and completely rendered to him.
Fallon found herself lying on her back with Liam practically on top of her, still squeezing her waist and making her squirm beneath him. She was breathless from all the laughing when he finally stopped. She watched as he grabbed another strawberry and quicklu opened her mouth. He carefully set the fruit between her lips but when she took a bite, some of the red liquid started running down her cheek and Liam couldn’t help but laugh. Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek before the liquid could get to her neck then started placing soft kisses on her skin, making its way towards her mouth until he covered her lips with his.
“Give me the other half,” Fallon spoke against his lips but as soon as she bit the food, Liam kissed her again. Fallon’s hand flew to her hair and she couldn’t hold the moan that left her throat once they started sharing the strawberry.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Fallon broke the kiss a minute later and sat up. “You know I can’t be responsible for my actions when there are kisses and strawberries involved,”
“Flashbacks of our honeymoon filling your mind?” Liam whispered in her ear.
“A few moments,” Fallon replied. “I can’t be sure,” she pretended not have any memory about their trip, “it was five years ago, after all,” she teased.
“Charlotte!” Liam screamed out of nowhere and Fallon practically jumped on her spot. “I told you to stay close to us!” The soft and teasing tone he had been using with Fallon suddenly turned into a serious and slightly angry one. “If you keep wandering off we won’t come to the park anymore,”
As lost in their romantic bubble as they were, both Fallon and Liam would glance at the two years old every thirty seconds. Rare were the mornings she actually sat with them because apparently, running around with the dog was a lot more fun.
“I’m sowy,” Charlotte ran towards them.
“You’ve been running for a while,” Fallon spoke. “Why don’t you sit with us and have something to eat?” She suggested.
Charlotte looked between her parents before sitting down next to Liam. She crossed her legs then adjusted her floral dress to cover her legs and feet. As the gray french bulldog lied down by her side, she reached for the bowl of strawberries and placed it on her lap. She was so focused on eating the strawberries she didn’t even notice they were watching her in complete awe. Her light brown hair was already reaching her shoulders and as the wind blew her soft waves, she looked even prettier. Not to mention the large pink bow on the top of her head, pulling some strands of hair back and away from her face.
“We certainly did great, didn’t we?” Fallon asked proudly. They just couldn’t take their eyes off their daughter. She was carefully eating the fruit left in the bowl while rambling something to the dog.
“OJ, please,” Charlotte looked up at them.
“We definitely did,” Liam replied to Fallon.
Fallon held onto the picnic basket and pulled it towards her so she could grab Charlotte’s sippy cup. Setting it on her lap, she reached for the bowls in front of them, closing the ones that still had food in them and stacking up the empty ones so they could clean them up once they got home before placing them inside the basket. The small bottle of champagne was already empty so she carefully put it in the baskett along with the plastic wine glasses. Once everything was packed, she grabbed the bottle of orange juice and filled the Frozen sippy cup.
“Hi,” Charlotte had walked towards Fallon and was standing right in front of her. Her shinny blue eyes met her mother’s as she offered Fallon the cutest smile she had ever seen.
“Hi baby,” Fallon smiled back. “Here,” she handed her the cup.
After reaching for her favorite cup, Charlotte sat back down on the floor, leaning back against Fallon until she was lying on her back and her head was in her mother’s legs. With one hand on each strap of the sippy cup, she guided it to her mouth then started drinking it as she stared at the city skyline ahead of her.
“Come here,” Fallon whispered at him.
Liam scooted closer to her and Fallon leaned on his shoulder once his arm returned to its place around her waist. Resting one hand on his legs, their fingers laced together, she used the other to play with Charlotte’s hair. Daisy wagged her tail before curling up against Liam’s legs.
The exhaustion from running non-stop was finally getting to her and she started falling asleep before she could even finish her juice. The cup ended up on the floor when she turned onto her side and settled her hands under her head. “I love you, mommy,” she mumbled between some yawns.
“I love you too, princess,” Fallon replied.
“Moon and back?” Charlotte added.
“Even further than that...” She ran her fingers softly through Charlotte’s locks, encouraging her to get some well deserved rest. “More than you can even think it’s possible,” Fallon added.
“Is this everything you’ve dreamed of?” Liam asked his wife.
“It’s so much more, Liam,” Fallon admitted. “I have no doubt we would be happy regardless of kids but how cute is she?” She gestured to the sleeping toddler in front of them.
“Do you really think we would be this happy had we not had her?” Liam questioned.
“I do,” she nodded, “we love each other and we have a pretty special thing between us, babe. You know how hurt I was when you told me you didn’t want to have kids but I compromised, remember?” Fallon uttered. “The thing is...,” she paused, taking a deep breath. “I only accepted that because I love you. It made me question every relationship I had ever had because I’ve only just cared about what I wanted and that’s the reason none of them ever worked out,” she explained. “I know I lied to you and I did a lot of things I’m definitely not proud of in the beginning of our relationship but you’ve made me grow. You helped me become a better woman and I was finally able to see that it’s essential to compromise. That was the first time our interests actually conflicted and it definitely wouldn’t be our last. I understood that a healthy relationship means that your side would win sometimes but my side would win at others. As long as I had you, nothing really mattered. That’s how I knew that we would be happy no matter what,”
“I love you, Fal,” Liam pulled her closer to her and kissed her. Fallon still had one hand resting protectively over Charlotte but when the other one went to his neck, she deepened the kiss. “But I admit that I’m glad it isn’t just the two of us anymore,”
“She really changed your mind, didn’t she?” Fallor smiled.
“I was already sold by the time we found out about her,” Liam responded. “Remember when I told you we should just wait and see where life would take us?” She nodded. “Well, as the years went by, it became clear that maybe you were right... that maybe you and I could break the cycle of messy families indeed,” Liam looked down, focused on how Fallon’s hand moved slowly through their daughter’s light hair. “I guess eventually our house seemed too big and quiet as if something was missing. .. ”
“Mommy...” Charlotte murmured waking up.
“I’m right here,” Fallon offered her a smile once she stood up.
“Not comfy,” she mumbled almost incoherently.
“Come here,” Fallon opened her arms and Charlotte took a step forward, throwing herself in her mother’s arms. Her nap had barely lasted for fifteen minutes but she still looked very tired.
“That’s our cue to go home,” Liam started collecting the few things that were still around them.
Fallon stood up with Charlotte in her arms and the two years old quickly nestled her head against her mother’s neck. Fallon adjusted her legs around her waist then wrapped her arms protectively over her small body. Liam finished putting the things inside the basket, placed Fallon’s hat back on her head then fastened the leash on Daisy’s collar.
“Hey,” Liam spoke softly. His hand rested on Fallon’s lower back as he leaned forward to place a kiss on the top of their daughter’s head. “The most important thing is that I love where life took us,” he looked into Fallon’s eyes. “I didn’t exactly give in and you hardly ever talked about it but then one day you spent the night throwing up and somehow we were both ready for the path life was guiding us to,” he could see there were tears pooling in Fallon’s eyes even though she was fighting hard against them. “I’m constantly scared that we will screw up and she will turn out like us but every time she calls me daddy or when she simply snuggles against us and covers us with kisses, it makes me realize that I wouldn’t trade this life for anything,”
“We will screw up,” Fallon spoke. “We’re humans, we’re not perfect. It’s inevitable that once in a while we will slip and that’s exactly why we’re so great together... You’ll be the voice of reason when I do something stupid just like I will be tough when you’re giving in to her charms,” Liam laughed.
“When did you become this wise?” He joked.
“What I’m trying to say is,” Fallon continued. “I spent my messy childhood watching a loving family through a window, hoping one day my life would be like theirs. I waited for the day Alexis would tuck me in with a bedtime story and a kiss to my forehead or for the day she would play dress up with me instead of going out shopping. I waited for the day Blake would run around the house after me until we were too tired to even breath. All I did was wait. I waited and I waited but those days never came. I grew up as a spoiled brat who used her money and power to get everything she wanted at the exact time she wanted,” she told him. “Then I met this incredible man who not only understood what that was like but was also as messed up as I was. He taught me how to be modest, how to care about someone else but most importantly, he taught me how to love. It might have taken me two decades but I finally have the life from the other side of the window,”
“I’m so glad I decided to take the path through City Hall that night to get to my motorcycle,” Liam smiled as the memories from that night almost eight years back filled his mind, “because that woman in white sitting on the bench changed my life forever,”