Forever More, Chapter 5

"When's the train getting here, mommy?" I look down at Keera. She's pulling at my arm.

"Soon, I think. I bet if we're real quiet we can hear the train before it gets here." This works but probably not for long. She's almost as excited as I am to be seeing her older siblings, so I can't blame her for jumping around. I look over at Draco out of the corner of my eye. He's talking to one of the twins friend's dad. He looks over at me and catches my eye for a second before looking away. Things aren't any better between us. In fact, I'd say they're almost worse.

"Mommy! I can hear it!" I look away from Draco and sure enough, I hear the loud whistle of the train engine announcing it's arrival. The Platform suddenly gets much quieter as parents and siblings alike wait for their family members. "I can't see it! Where is it?" A few people around us chuckle.

"Shh, it's coming. It'll be here soon." She jumps up and down again, trying to get a better view. A minute or so later I finally see the bright red steam engine pulling along a train full of kids. It looks exactly as it always has. Once it finally pulls into the station I have to wait 10 more minutes before spotting Ethan amongst the sea of people. Behind him is Bridget towing along Cheyenne. She's looking behind her and waves to someone. I don't give it much thought, only wanting my kids in my arms.

"Mom! Over here!" I half drag Keera behind me as I dodge through the people toward Ethan. I almost run into him and throw my arms around him. I thought it would get easier, having 3 of my kids gone for months at a time, but it's only gotten harder.

"Ethan! Oh I've missed you guys."

"I missed you too, mom. Bridge, Cheyenne, over here!" The other two come running up to me and I take all 4 of my kids in my arms. After a minute or two I finally let go of them and take a closer look. Ethan seems to have grown at least 2 inches, making the height difference between him and his twin sister more pronounced. It looks as if he's almost taller than I am. I make a mental note to measure when we get home.

"Where's dad?" I look closer at Cheyenne, too. She doesn't seem to have changed too much. Her hair's longer and she looks skinnier, but nothing too drastic. Bridget looks exactly the same as she always does.

"He's here somewhere. Talking to Patrick's dad, I think." My 3 older kids grab their trunks and follow Keera and I through the now smaller crowd to their dad. He excuses himself from the conversation as Bridget lands him with a giant hug, then Ethan, and lastly Cheyenne. I might be reading too much into it, but she seems distracted and restless. Like she's waiting for something.

Draco leads the kids to the car while I tag along behind. I wonder what people see when they look at my family. A happy couple with a happy family? It could only be further from the truth right now. "Mom, come on! Heather said they're having a welcome home party at her house and I don't wanna be late!"

"We're not going to be late. The party isn't for another 3 hours. We're going home first anyway." Cheyenne sighs in annoyance. "And since when do you actually like going to these family things?" She's hated them since she was 7.

"Since now. Do we really have to go home first, dad?"

"Yep. Now come you lot, into the car you go." I get into the passenger seat as the kids file into the van. I notice that Cheyenne sits at the very back. Very odd for her. She usually likes to sit as close to me as she can get so she can tell me all about everything. I give Draco a look and nod back to our oldest daughter. He looks at her from the review mirror and shrugs, putting the car into gear. He surprises me by looking back over at me. "I'll talk to her later."

It's been almost 2 weeks since he's said anything but "what's for supper" and I almost have a heart attack. Even in the short amount of time that Cheyenne's been with us, it's obvious there's something going on with her. Hopefully he's noticed it too and maybe we can begin to work things out. As much as I'm dreading this dream actually coming true, I hope it comes quickly. I want to be able to hug my husband without wanting to physically attack him.

With the way Draco drives it takes us about half the time to get home than it would have taken me to drive, which gives us about 2 more hours until this party starts. I want to talk to Cheyenne but figure I'll let Draco deal with her for the time being. So, instead, I focus on my other two children. I ask Ethan to help me make lunch, listening to him tell me about the makings of his first year at the school. I get Bridget to help me clean up lunch so she can tell me all about her time there.

During lunch I noticed that Cheyenne was very quiet and Draco just looked mad. I feel bad for Bridget because I'm only half listening to what she's telling me. I'm annoyed that I won't have the chance to talk to Draco until tonight when we're back home from the party. "Mom, you okay? You're not listening."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I'm just a little distracted." Bridget suddenly gets a serious look on her face.

"Mom, I think there's something wrong with Cheyenne." I stop drying the bowl I'm holding and turn to face my daughter.

"Why do you think that?"

"I dunno. She's been real quiet lately and usually you can't get her to shut up. She doesn't talk to anyone anymore except Alex. They're always together, like all the time." I frown. For some reason an alarm goes off in my head.

"Have you tried talking to her?" Bridget nods.

"Yeah, but she won't talk to me anymore. We used to be almost as close as Ethan and I are. I miss her." This worries me but I can't let Bridget know that.

"I'm sure she's okay. Your dad and I will talk to her and figure it all out. Don't worry, okay?" Her ever present smile lights her face back up.

"Can I go?" I nod and she runs off. I finish drying the lunch dishes and then put them away, sitting at the table when I'm done. This new information from Bridget worries me. Without really meaning to, I think back to the dream. I think through it and new emotions seem to make themselves known. Before all I could feel was the confusion and then the passion. Now there's something else, and I'm not sure I like what I find.