“Yes, let’s go party,” I say, holding my daughter’s arm up in the air and waving it around gently. Josie rolls her eyes, but she loves me so it’s okay.
The reception is huge, with all their college and work colleagues. I can see why they kept the ceremony to just family; the beach isn’t big enough to accommodate everyone. It’s a slight exaggeration, but we’d probably need three hundred chairs.
Dinner is served, champagne is flowing and I’m not drinking. It’s not some new lease in life, but out of respect for my wife and the fact that she’s breast-feeding and didn’t pump beforehand. However, being that I’m Liam Page, I can still have a good time.
“Uncle Liam, we’re ready,” Elle comes over and tugs on my jacket. Just like at my wedding, the kids have put together a musical number for Yvie and Xander. Harrison and I are helping them get set up and making sure everything is tuned properly.
“Okay, Elle, do you remember your lines?”
“Yep, I know them.”
“Noah, are you good?” He gives me thumbs up.
“Quinn?”
“I’m good, Uncle Liam.”
That leaves Peyton, but Harrison is taking care of her.
“This is for our Aunt Yvie and Uncle Xander,” Elle says into the microphone. Once the music starts people start moving in their seat. As soon as Elle sings the first verse to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer, Yvie and Xander are up dancing. Once they start, everyone joins in. I want to dance with Josie, but I need to be available for the kids in case something goes wrong.
The whole room is cheering loudly for the kids as they finish the song. They all bow and run off stage. One song a night is all they’re good for.
“That was awesome,” I say to Noah when he gets off stage.
“Thanks. I really like playing.”
“Me too,” I tell him.
The DJ starts in with his music and Noah asks Josie to dance. I take Paige from her who is wide awake and watching everything around the room.
“Someday, this will be you,” I tell her, earning a punch to the face from her flying hand. She starts to whine, so I stand and move back and forth with her for a bit until I decide that if I’m going to dance, I’m dancing with my daughter on the floor so everyone can see her.
Paige and I move out on the dance floor and stand next to Noah and Josie. Paige and I move to the music and she coos when she sees her mother and brother doing the same. There’s no shortage of love in this family, that’s for sure.
When Purple Rain comes on, Josie and I freeze. I pull her to me with my freehand and tell Noah to join us. This may not be the appropriate family song, but it’s a song that has deep meaning for Josie and me.
We sway to the music and I steal kiss or two from my wife, who has her chin resting on my shoulder. Our son has his arm around his mother and I hold our daughter in my arm. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m certain this is what my kind of forever looks like.