Run, Girl (If You Can)

March 2015

As Keeley put the final touches on the twins' birthday cake she had to take a moment and think about how crazy it was that they had been alive for an entire year. Kaleb was already surprisingly good at walking but Violet typically preferred to crawl since she was so shaky.

Both of them knew how to say 'mama' and 'dada' at this point, though Violet knew a few more words as well. When Keeley and Aaron talked to their children, they referred to themselves as Mommy and Daddy; it had been a reflex from the start to coo things such as "mommy loves you" to the babies.

Keeley had been in the middle of wiping down the kitchen counters as the babies sat up playing with toys on the floor when it first happened. She heard a small thud and an indignant screech.

Peering over to see what happened, Violet was engaged in a game of tug of war with Dinah, who had apparently stolen her soft toy after she threw it towards the cat. It was impossible not to laugh at such a scene but the laughter died immediately. Violet had turned to her mother for help in her feud with the cat by yelling "mama" twice.

She blinked in shock for a moment before a huge grin crossed her face. Violet said mama first! Aaron would be so jealous; he had been anxiously waiting for the twins to say something the past few weeks based on the baby milestone books they had read.

She immediately headed over and got the toy back from Dinah. Since the cat looked so affronted, Keeley gave her a couple of cat treats to appease her.

Kaleb, who didn't like being outdone, began saying "mama" over and over right afterwards because he had seen how excited his mother was. Neither of them said "dada" for another week even though Aaron encouraged them constantly after he found out.

They stubbornly said "mama" instead each time, possibly just to tease him, until Keeley was on the terrace tending to her little garden and Aaron was inside watching them. He burst onto the terrace holding both of them and set them down, urging them to say it again in front of her. A tiny chorus of "mama dada, mama dada" made both parents a bit emotional.

 "Mama, mama, mama!" Violet cried insistently as she tugged on Keeley's pant leg.

She set down the frosting bag she had been using to pipe "Happy Birthday K+V" onto the cake to see to her daughter's needs. She lifted the baby into the air and settled her onto her hip. Violet twisted around, pointing insistently in the direction of her brother.

It was immediately apparent what had happened. Kaleb's diaper had exploded and some of the mess had gotten onto the hardwood floor. Keeley thanked her lucky stars it hadn't happened on the carpet.

The smell hadn't made it as far as the kitchen yet so if Violet hadn't come to find her it might have taken a while and gotten even worse. She sighed heavily. This needed to be cleaned up right this second. And she was almost done with the cake too.

Keeley handled the diaper situation before tackling the floor. The grossness didn't even faze her that much anymore. Maybe all of those years looking after lab rats had lessened her ability to be freaked out by that sort of thing.

Once that was taken care of, she pulled out her iPad and set it to play a ten minute long video the babies liked. That should give her enough time to finish the cake.

Practically everyone they knew was coming over for the twins' birthday party. The Singletons, Aiden, Valentina (whose schedule actually worked out for once), Alice, Roger, Kyle, and her father.

Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, Keeley's social circle had become depressingly small. Getting back to work and talking to different people every day would be so wonderful. Lately she had been going so stir crazy that she had been looking into Mommy and Me groups for babies and toddlers that she could take the twins to.

The only reason she hesitated was that she was afraid people would recognize her and give her a hard time. People no longer approached her on the street but occasionally when she was purchasing something with her credit card people would do a double take when they saw her name.

The news had definitely died down following Gray's arrest but that didn't mean she had gone back to her previous anonymity. Unfortunately, most of New York seemed to know her name even if they didn't know her face.

She glanced at the clock. It was nearly 5 PM; everyone should be getting off work soon. Surveying the giant living room bedecked in streamers and balloons that the twins probably wouldn't even care about, she felt satisfied with her work.

The baked penne dish was still in the oven along with the garlic bread and the side salad she had prepared was sitting in the fridge. This was a simple dinner among friends and family. Originally she and Aaron considered going out to eat but it would be easier to do cake and presents if they stayed in one place the whole time.

She had always dreamed about having simple dinner parties with friends like this in her first life. It was completely different than the high society parties she and Aaron had endured.

Until Alice stayed with them, Keeley never realized how much Aaron actually hated those things since he always seemed so indifferent. That idiot. Well, it was water under the bridge now.

She had an entire lifetime of pleasant dinner parties to look forward to so the bad ones didn't matter anymore. It was interesting how much the sting of her past life's memories had faded the more positive memories she made now.

The past didn't have a hold on her anymore. Most of the time she didn't even make mental comparisons like this anymore. She used to do them regularly. Keeley was so glad she was done with that.