FicWad

I got up early the second day at Pismo Beach. It was Sunday and I needed to upload a video. I assumed we would end up at the beach for the day and dressed accordingly. I had on a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt. I grabbed my laptop and opened Luna’s door to greet the world. Fred and George wanted to join me outside, so I put their harnesses and leashes on and let them out. No one else was up yet. I got my propane cooktop out and filled up the kettle. I was going to have a cup of coffee.

As the water heated up, I logged into YouTube and started the process of making my video live. I had taken advantage of some good internet and a fast connection a few days ago and uploaded the videos for the week. All I needed to do was hit the button to make them live. I did that and posted that I was taking the week off for vacation, meaning I would not be active in the comments.

Once the water was hot I started my coffee. I use a French Press so the coffee needed to steep for a few minutes. The sun had been up for only a little while, the campgrounds were silent of human noises. I could hear the birds in the trees singing their morning songs. I could hear the ocean and the wind that’s always present at the beach. It was so peaceful. This was the kind of morning I lived my lifestyle for.

I could hear the kids moving a bit in their tent. They weren’t awake yet, but it wouldn’t be long before they started to join me. After I was done with what I needed to do for YouTube, I closed my laptop and put it away. I sat and sipped my coffee in my chair by the cold fire pit. Fred decided to join me and jumped into my lap. I sat there, listening to the sounds of the world, sipping some really good coffee, petting a purring cat. I was content and felt that life couldn’t get much better.

And then I was reminded that it could get better when Saint came out of his tent rubbing his eyes and greeted me with a huge smile and “Mornin’ Moony.”

“Good morning, Kiddo!” I said quietly so as to not wake the others. “Did you sleep well?” I asked him.

He nodded his head and came up to me. “Can I have a drink of water?” he asked me.

“Yes, of course. I’ll get you a bottle of water. Or would you like orange juice?”

Saint blinked and thought about it. “Orange juice, please.”

I smiled at him and got up to get him some juice. I came back and he was curled up in his dad’s chair next to mine. I handed him the juice and sat back down in my chair. “Are you hungry?” I asked him.

He shook his head and said, “Not yet.” He drank his juice and then leaned his head over to rest on my arm. I reached over with my other hand and ran my fingers through his long dark hair moving it out of his face.

“What’re we doin’ today?” He asked after a minute.

“I think we’ll go back to the beach. How do you feel about that?”

He nodded his approval and said, “Yeah, that’ll be fun.” Then he yawned and closed his eyes.

Marvel woke up not long after Saint had his juice. She shuffled over to me after saying good morning and crawled up into my lap.

“Would you like something to drink? Some orange juice or some water?” I asked her as she got settled in my lap. She shook her head no. “Are you hungry?” Again, she shook her head no. “Do you just want some cuddles?” I asked her. She nodded her head yes at that.

“Ok, you can have all the cuddles you want.” I told her as I pulled her closer and let her rest her head on my shoulder. I had Marvel in my lap falling back to sleep and Saint resting against my other shoulder, also falling back to sleep. I was happy they both were comfortable enough with me to do that. This was the perfect morning. A cup of good coffee, two sleepy children that wanted to cuddle, the quiet of the morning and the sounds of nature.

Both of the cats came over and sniffed at the children. George decided that he needed to be in my lap with Marvel. He jumped up and snuggled down, laying mostly on Marvel and started purring. Fred jumped up and cuddled up with Saint.

We were still sitting like that when Pete got up. He stumbled out of the camper, saw the kids and I sitting together and stopped. He looked at us with that tender look he gets with the kids. I smiled back at him and quietly said, “Good morning. There’s coffee on the table if you want it.”

He walked over to me, leaned over and gave me a kiss before dropping a kiss on Marvel’s forehead and then he kissed Saint on top of his head.

“Good morning. Have you all been up long?”

“I’ve been up for about an hour. These two have been out of bed for about half an hour.”

Saint was awake and started talking to his Dad. Marvel had fallen back to sleep. Once Pete had made his cup of coffee he came back over to where the kids and I were. Saint got up so his Dad could take his seat. Pete sat next to me and Marvel and sipped his coffee.

“Would you like me to take her and put her down in the camper?” Pete asked me after he was done with his coffee.

“No, I’m ok with her.” I told him with a soft smile.

He reached over and moved a lock of her hair out of her face. “Ok. But let me know if you need me to take her.” He said gently.

“I will.”

He reached over and took my free hand in his and just held it. It was so nice and comfortable to hold Marvel, have Pete hold my other hand and watch Saint give Fred pets and kisses.

“Do you want breakfast?” Pete finally asked after a few minutes.

“I was waiting for you and Bronx to get up. I asked the kids when they got up if they wanted anything. Saint had some juice, but she didn't want anything. Just to be held and then she fell back to sleep. I can make us some breakfast when Bronx gets up.”

“I’ll make breakfast for us.” He told me with a smile. “Scrambled eggs and bacon are within my limited range of cooking skills.” He laughed at this. “I’m much better at home with a stovetop I’m used to. It’s cooking over an open fire that I’m really bad at.”

I chuckled softly so I wouldn’t wake up Marvel. “It took me almost a year to get completely comfortable with cooking on my propane burner. Big difference to cooking on an electric range at home.”

Bronx got up about this time and joined us outside. He offered to help Pete with breakfast. Marvel woke up again shortly after the Wentz men started cooking. Saint and I got out all the plates and silverware to set the table with. Marvel helped me set out drinks. We sat down and ate our meal together. Pete did a fine job cooking, it was delicious.

After cleaning up breakfast, the kids all wanted to spend the day on the beach. So we all got dressed, packed bags to take with us, put the cats in Luna, and then headed down the path to the beach. Marvel was being a bit clingy to me and was holding my hand on the walk. Pete had my other hand and Saint was walking with Bronx.

We walked down the beach a bit and found a nice spot to set up for the day. It was a nice Sunday so there were other people on the beach enjoying the beautiful day. Once we had claimed a spot we headed to the water. Pete and the boys stripped down to their swim trunks. Marvel had her swimsuit on and they were all ready to get in the water. I knew it would be too cold for me to swim in so I was just in my shorts and tee-shirt.

Marvel and I waded in almost up to her waist. It was up to my knees. I kept her while Pete kept watch over the boys who wanted to go further out.

We did that until Marvel wanted to look for seashells. I got Pete’s attention and let him know I was going to walk down the beach with her to look for seashells. We didn’t go too far, but she had a great time finding shells and pretty rocks and pieces of sea glass. We headed back to our spot when she told me she was getting thirsty.

When we got back to our spot, the boys joined us. They were talking about lunch as everyone was starting to get hungry. We talked about what to eat. Since the kids didn’t want to leave the beach we decided that Pete and Bronx would walk into town and get something from one of the burger places. There were a few where you just walk up to the window and place your order, no place to sit and eat.

I stayed with Saint and Marvel while Bronx and Pete got lunch. I was standing next to our blanket watching Saint and Marvel digging in the sand when two guys approached me.

“Excuse me, but are you Girl in the Moon?” One of them asked me.

“Yes I am. Do you watch my channel?” I answered with a smile.

“Yeah, we do. I’m Randy, this is my friend Tony.” He introduced himself and his friend.

“Good to meet you. Thanks for watching.” I said as I held out my hand to shake.

“I’ve been watching you for a while now. Love your channel.” Randy said as he shook my hand.

“Thank you very much. It’s always nice to meet my viewers.”

“I didn’t know you were going to be in town. Can we take you out for a drink or something?”

“Thank you, but I’m visiting with some friends this week.”

“Moony, who’s that?” Saint asked me. He had a very angry look on his face. Marvel didn’t look very happy either.

“This is Randy and Tony. They watch my channel.” I told the two children.

Saint glared at the two men and said, “Moony is my Dad’s girlfriend. She’s gonna be my new mom. You can’t take her away.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Little Man. Didn’t mean to step on any toes.” Randy said with a smile. “I was only offering to buy you a drink as a good natured offer. I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.” He offered as an apology.

“That’s ok. I appreciate the offer, but I’m unavailable to have a drink with you.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you. Enjoy your time in town.” Tony said and the two of them walked away.

Saint looked at me and said, “You’re our Moony. You can’t go with them.” He was very upset.

I sat down on the blanket and held my arms open to Saint. “Come here Kiddo.” I said to him, “You too Miss Marvelous.”

Both kids climbed onto my lap. “I am your Moony. And I do like your Dad very much. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but you two don’t need to worry about me not being your Moony ever. Ok?”

Marvel nodded her head, but looked unsure. Saint just said, “You’re Dad’s girlfriend now. Doesn’t that mean you’re gonna be our Mom?”

“You have a Mom. I’m not going to replace her.” I told him.

“She doesn’t want us anymore. I thought you wanted us.” And he started to cry.

“Don’t you want to be our Mommy?” Asked Marvel.

Oh boy, this wasn’t good. I didn't know what to say to them.

“I’m not your Mommy. You have a Mom even if she isn’t here with you. I can never take her place. But I am your Moony and I very much want to be your Moony forever and ever.” I tried to assure them. This only helped a little bit.

I was sitting with both of them in my lap crying when Pete and Bronx came back with our lunch.

Pete took one look at us and asked, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Daddy, we want Moony to stay with us and be our Mommy.” Marvel said as she threw herself into Pete’s arms.

“Isn’t she gonna be our mom now that she’s your girlfriend?” Asked Saint.

“Where did you get that idea?” Pete asked them.

Bronx looked guilty. “That might be my fault.”

Pete looked over at Bronx with a look that said we will talk about this later.

“Bronx, what did you tell them?” I asked gently.

“Only that if you and Dad started dating, you might be our new stepmom.”

Pete got Marvel and Saint to calm down with a promise that they would talk about it tonight when we got back to camp. We ate our lunch, but after that the kids didn’t want to stay on the beach, they wanted to go back to camp.

As we walked back he asked me what happened to set the kids off. I told him about Randy and Tony. I told him everything that happened. I had nothing to hide and he needed to know what had upset his children.

“I’m sorry that upset them so much.” I said in the end.

I had been holding Saint's hand as we walked back to our campsite. Marvel was being carried by Pete, and Bronx was trailing behind us.

“It’s ok. I know you didn’t do anything to hurt them.” He sighed and adjusted his hold on Marvel.

We got to camp and the kids didn’t want to let go of us. We finally got everyone settled down and made hot chocolate for them. We were sitting at the picnic table when Pete asked the kids to tell him what upset them so much.

In their own words they told us that they thought Pete and I were now a couple and that meant I was going to move in with them. That I would be their new mom. A friend of Saint’s had a new dad because his mom got married. To them, this was no different.

When asked why they thought we were dating, Saint said that since Pete had kissed me that morning it meant he was my boyfriend. Only boyfriends and girlfriends kissed like that if they weren’t married. And that’s how he used to kiss their mom.

Because they knew and liked me, this made them very happy. They didn’t like it when Randy had approached me. They didn’t know that he wasn’t trying to take me away from them. He was just being friendly.

We tried to explain in kid friendly terms that we did like each other very much, but I wasn’t going to move in with them right away. That I was still going to live in Luna and go on adventures. But I wanted to spend more time with them. And that I would be visiting more when they were home. But, maybe, someday, I’d move to California and be closer to them.

All three of them seemed to take this as well as we could have hoped for. But the younger ones still needed reassurance and I had an idea.

“Have you guys ever read the Harry Potter books?” I asked the group of them. Marvel and Saint shook their heads no. Bronx said he had read the first one but not the others. Pete had not read them either.

“Ok. Then that’s something we’re gonna do.” I told them. They all looked at me wondering what I had just said.

“When my brothers and I were little, my Mom would read to us every night. We would sit with her and she would read a chapter of a book. We read wonderful stories together. The Wizard of Oz, James and the Giant Peach. And Harry Potter. I loved it as a kid. Now my brother reads to my niece every night. Why don’t we do that? I’ll read to you every night. We’ll read all seven of the Potter books together. And then if we want to, we can read other books together.”

“Really, every single night?” Saint asked.

“Every single night.” I promised.

“What about when you leave for an adventure?” He asked me.

“We’ll have a FaceTime call and read together.”

The littles nodded, but I don’t think they fully understood what I had in mind. I looked at Bronx for his agreement.

“Ok, I’m in.” He said, nodding and starting to smile.

I looked at Pete and asked, “Wanna join us?”

He smiled that sweet and tender smile I’ve seen a few times. “Yeah, yeah I’ll join you.”

I stood up and said, “This will be more comfortable in Luna. Come on, she’s got a big bed.”

I stepped up into Luna and turned around. “Come on, shoes off before getting in the bed.” I said as I waved them in.

Everyone climbed onto my bed as I got out my paperback copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I also grabbed the two gift bags I had ready for Marvel and Saint. I had picked up the test plushies of Fred and George.

“I have something for you two.” I said as I handed them the presents. They were each thrilled with their own Fred for Saint and George for Marvel. I climbed into the middle of everyone and made sure everyone was comfortable. We had stacked the pillows against the back doors of Luna and were half sitting up, half lounging with our legs straight out. Pete and Saint were on my right. Bronx, with Marvel in his lap, were cuddled up on my left. The real Fred and George joined us after a few minutes.

“This is one of my favorite stories, I’m so happy I get to share it with you guys.” Opening the book I started. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. Chapter one. The Boy Who Lived. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

We read the first chapter together. When we got to the end of the chapter I asked them if they liked it. They all agreed that they liked it. The book and the time together. I asked if they wanted to do it again the next night. They all said yes. Then Bronx asked if we could read the next chapter now. So we did.

As I started the second chapter Pete leaned over and rested his forehead against my temple. He kissed my cheek and whispered, “Thank you.” In my ear. I leaned back into him and kept reading.

After the second chapter the little ones were just about asleep. I let them nap on my bed as us older ones went outside. Before we got very far Pete put his hand on my arm. When I turned to him he pulled me close and kissed me. When the kiss was over he just smiled at me. I smiled back and leaned my head on his shoulder, wrapping my arms around his waist. His arms wrapped around my shoulders as he hugged me back.

“How did you know they would like that?” He asked me.

“Because I liked it when I was their ages.” I pulled back from his hug so I could look at him. “I may not be mom, I never got the opportunity to be a mom. But I’m pretty good at being Moony. And this is something we can do together even when I’m not around.”

He kissed me again after I said that. “We got very lucky when they wanted to meet you and the cats.”

“I got lucky too.”

“So, are you two dating?” Bronx asked us.

Pete looked at me with a question in his eyes. I nodded and he nodded back. “Yeah, I guess we are. Or at least we’re figuring it out.” He told his son.

Bronx grinned and said, “Good. And I’m sorry if I got their hopes up. I didn’t mean to. It’s just, we’re happy about you and Moon together.”

“I know you didn’t mean to get them worked up. And it matters that you guys like her.” Pete assured him.

The three of us got a fire started and figured out what we wanted to make for dinner. The littles slept for a few hours before getting up. Both of them seemed to be in better moods. Neither of them were as clingy or needed as much attention as they had after we came back from the beach.

We had a nice quiet evening around the campfire. Before they were ready for bed, both the little ones did seek more comfort and cuddles from Pete and I. Even Bronx was looking for some attention. He got plenty of hugs from us too.

Once the kids went down for the night the three of us sat up around the fire listening to music. The campground was only about half full and no one was next to us. We weren’t disturbing anyone else. We kept the volume low.

We sat up for a few hours before we all started yawning. It had been a long day. Bronx said his goodnights and headed to bed. Pete looked over at me and asked if I was ready to go to bed too. I was ready to sleep.

“I know we’re moving slow, but would you like to sleep in my bed with me?” He asked me.

I looked at him debating whether or not I should allow myself to take advantage of his offer. “Come sleep with me in Luna.”

“Ok.” He smiled and got up.

I put out the fire and the two of us climbed into Luna. He pulled off his hoodie and jeans leaving him in his tee-shirt and boxers. I pulled off my bra and shorts leaving me in my tee-shirt and panties. I pulled the covers back and we climbed in. He pulled me to him so I was resting my head on his chest. It felt so good to cuddle with him like that. No rush to do anything. Just enjoying the closeness. I slept very well that night.