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Reece
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I knew that my Little Bunny would be upset today. It was a big day after all. We were having a massive party tonight before so many kids went off into the world to be on their own. It was an emotional night for me and Trinity. But not just for us. It was emotional for so many others too. Shawn and Dietrich. Carter and Emmalee. Noah and Nikki. Juniper and Paul. Cedar and Acacia. Shane and Falena. David and Rawlynne. Devon and Ella. Griffin and Lana. Vincent and Heather. Jackson and Melita.
Altogether there were a dozen families that were losing their children tonight. Those children were now adults and would be proving that fact to us and the world from now on. And the only people of this group that had experience with this heartache, were Vincent and Heather. Their twins that were heading out of state for college were their fourth and fifth children. They had one more that would be graduating later on, but not for a while. Their youngest was only nine and that meant that they still had lots of time with little Jared.
It was hard to believe. Twelve couples, twenty-four total parents, were losing a total of twenty-two children all at the same time. It was a lot. And whether anyone believed it or not, I was just as sentimental about it as my Little Bunny was. I think that I was just better at hiding it than she was.
Still, as the day wore on and the party got closer and closer, I felt like I could feel my heart breaking. There was nothing else to it than that. It was like a constant heartache that throbbed with each passing second.
.....
I didn't let it show. Not at all. When the party started that night, as all the guests started to arrive and the show really got on the road, I just smiled and welcomed them all as cheerfully as I could. My Little Bunny was doing the same thing. She was putting on her public smile and accepting all the congratulations that people heaped onto parents and kids in these situations.
“Congratulations, you must be so proud of them.”
“They're so smart, and such lovely people, you must be so happy for them.”
“You did such a good job with them. I just know that you must be so proud.”
“I can't believe how much time has passed already. This is so wonderful.”
The words came from so many people that I will admit they got a little blurred inside my head. I could tell you who all gave us positive words like that, but I couldn't tell you what everyone had said. I think that was a sign that I was letting my emotions get to me.
After all of our invited guests arrived, which there were quite a lot of them, it was time for Trinity and me to address the crowd. Not just because we had kids that were graduating, but also because we were the homeowners, or castle owners. Oh, and let's not forget that we were the hosts of the party as well as the king and queen. Of everyone here, the two of us had the most experience with addressing large groups of people. Though those on our council and those that were in our personal circle had addressed their fair share over the years, it still fell to me and my Little Bunny to give the opening speech.
After we both took a couple of deep breaths to settle our nerves, we made our way to the stage that was in the front of the ballroom. There were so many people that were here that we had needed to use the grand ballroom, the largest of them all, to host this shindig as comfortably as we could. It might be a little too big, all things considered, but it allowed the various families to have their own place to sit while they weren't mingling with the others.
While holding hands, my Little Bunny and I turned on the stage to face them all. I think that, of all the speeches we had given over the last twenty years together, this was the hardest of them all. It felt harder than even the ones that we gave before battles started. Why? Why was this so hard?
“Welcome, all of you, and thank you for joining us here this evening.” My Little Bunny, always the regal one, started to speak while I was just staring at the crowd. “We want to tell you how happy we are that you have all come to help us celebrate this group of wonderful individuals.”
“Yes. There are so many here that have worked hard as they grew up and have made their parents proud, our children included. And now, as they prepare to go off to college next week, we are here to tell them how happy we are for them, and of course how proud of them we are.” I gave my best smile and looked around the room as I found each of the kids she was talking about.
I had seen all of these kids grow up. I had watched the progression of time with them all and it was to be reminded that so much time had come and gone. I mean, seeing these kids was what reminded me that I was forty-five years old now. And my Little Bunny was thirty-eight. We were not as young as we used to be, even if we both still looked like we were in our twenties. That wouldn't change any time soon, but I still knew how old I was.
“Here with us tonight, moving into the world of adulthood, are twins Tyler and Charlotte, son and daughter of my trusted guard Vincent Collins and his wife Heather. There is also Luka, Levi, Alyssa, and Alexandria Asher-Conrad, they are the quadruplet children of Kings Dietrich and Shawn Asher-Conrad, my friends, guards, and colleagues. Kaiden is the son of Shane Asher and his wife Falena, Shane is my guard as well and twin brother to Shawn. Kaede is the daughter of another guard of mine named David Martin, and his wife Rawlynne. My best friend Juniper and her husband Paul have twins with us today, Rowan and Ilana. My personal friends and the doctors in our community, Griffin and Lana, have their twins Dominic and Vivian that have graduated and are heading off to England this week. Ella, a dear friend of mine and her husband Devon Scott, have their daughters named Sophia and Isabella. Rawlynne's long time partner in justice and mischief, Jackson McIan and his wife Melita have Melody heading off to California. Cedar Woods, Juniper's brother, has triplets with his wife Acacia, Beech, Cypress, and Ashle. My brother Noah and his wife Nikki have their oldest, Elias. And another of my nephews, Carter Jr., son of Carter and Emmalee is here to round out the group. Well, of course there are also my twins. Mine and Reece's twins that is. Reagan and Rika Gray, my first born children that I love so much. This group here are the ones that we are celebrating. They are from that special group that just seemed to want to be born all around the same time. These young adults have grown up so fast, and they are the reason that we are here. Please, all of you, join me in applauding them.”
My Little Bunny gave the rest of the speech and the entire room erupted into applause. They had been welcomed into adulthood, they were being propelled into their futures and whatever it was they were going to do. And it was something that we all had been dreading for so long.
Now that the introduction and speech was over though, it was time for the party to commence. And even though Trinity and I were the ones that were hosting this party, it wasn't for us. That means, for the first time in my memory, we weren't the ones that had to walk around and mingle with everyone.
Nope, this time, it was the kids that needed to do that. Reagan and Rika and all of the others were the ones that needed to see to their guests. Each family had people that were specifically for them. They had their own aunts and uncles, they had their cousins and their grandparents, all of their family that had come to see them from so many different parts of our community.
“It's in their hands now, Trinity. We've done our part. From here on out, it's all up to them.” I took my wife's hand then and led her back to our table that was sitting above all the others. This was where we usually sat, where we could watch over everyone in the ballroom.
“I am so heartbroken, Reece. I can't believe that this is happening. Where did my little babies go? Why did they have to grow up and leave me so quickly?” She wasn't crying, but there was sorrow in her voice.
“It wasn't quick, Trinity, it took years.”
As I said that, the two children in question came running up to the platform we were on.
“Momma!” Reagan called out to her as he rushed to hug her. He had always called her that. “Don't cry.”
“Yeah, Mom, don't cry.” Rika hugged her as well.
“We're not leaving you.” Reagan added as he pulled away. “You will see us every day.”
“I know.” Finally, my Little Bunny smiled with all her heart. We hugged as a family after that, one last time before Reagan and Rika went to mingle with all of their guests.
