"Tag! You're it!" Laughter fills the area, bouncing off the brick walls and the swings on the far side of the grass.
"You can't catch me!" She bolts from behind a tree, weaves through the jungle gym and lets out a holler as Jason's little fingers come within inches of her shoulder.
The sun slowly slips through the sky, making its descent toward the rooftop. It's so nice to see them playing together one last time before the move.
Kaylee didn't take the news well, I can still hear her crying after we told her that daddy got a new job, but that we would have to move away. We tried to make it sound exciting; a new town, a new school, new friends, and even a place for her to take those dance classes she has always wanted. It helped until we told her that we would be moving so far away that we wouldn't even be able to visit on the weekends. Once we said that, nothing else we said mattered.
Randy runs a little too close to Jason and gets caught. Kaylee stops by the swings to catch her breath, while Jason dashes behind the slide. She always was the fastest of the three of them. Penny says that I am biased because she's my little miracle girl, and I am, but she is the fastest. Of course, Penny would never admit that her boys are anything less than perfect.
Penny and I grew up together and our kids have been best friends since they were infants. When Penny found out she was pregnant it was such a surprise, even more so when she found out she was having twins.
I remember worrying that we wouldn't be as close after her boys were born. Gregg and I had been trying to have a little one of our own for two years when Penny found out.
Not five months after the twins were born, we were overjoyed to discover that we were going to have a little one of our own. Penny and Bill brought the boys to the hospital to meet little Kaylee and they have rarely been apart since.
"You wanna swing?" The smiles on their faces are the most amazing things. I can't believe we'll be leaving in the morning. I promised Penny that I would have them cleaned up and brought over before dinner was ready and I should be getting them ready to leave, but I am having trouble bringing myself to tell them that we have to go.
"Higher!" Penny will understand if we are a little late. I let the three of them swing until the wind is chill and the schoolyard cast in twilight.
"Come on you three. We're already late." Instantly the sounds of merriment and childhood delight fades. They make their way towards me, their shoulders slouched and eyes downcast. Tonight, is the last time we will see each other until Christmas. The last time we will have our Sunday dinner together. The last time the kids will go to school together or come home covered in bruises and scrapes from some wild charade. This is hard on them, what they don't know is that it is hard for me too.
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