Game Night and Package Deals

Saturday Mr. Curls and the boys got some of Mr. Curls' stuff out of storage, a.k.a. picked it up from ex #2's sister (he's been waiting to get it until he could be sure there wouldn't be drama). When I went to the apartment that night, there were a stack of boxes stuffed into the bedroom, some pieces of furniture added to the living room, and, most exciting of all, a kitchen table.

I arrived with a few things of my own: a deck of cards, Jenga, and a couple of board games. The boys were a tad shy at first, staying in their room for a minute before peeking out. Then, any shyness was over and E, the eight-year-old quickly wrangled me into a game of Don't Break The Ice while Mr. Curls fiddled with getting the TV stand set up. It didn't take too long before all four of us were playing Jenga. The slightly wobbly table, combined with a very energetic E's elbows on the table, made for extra suspense.

There was a moment during playing games where Mr. Curls had E. go to his room to calm down a bit and A., the thirteen-year-old, was on an expedition to the convenience store for a donut. The two of us were alone for a moment and Mr. Curls shook his head, "I promise, they're not usually this wound up," he said, meaning E. mostly.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I figured."

Mr. Curls smiled, "Would it make sense if I told you they were excited to see you?"

Once we regrouped, we moved on to cards. After a few hands, Mr. Curls made a pizza run and while he was gone, I showed the boys a couple of card tricks I know. Then I showed them how to do the tricks and A. immediately practiced a couple times and when Mr. Curls returned with the pizza, A. did the tricks for him. One was a bit more complicated, so he goofed it. Once we finished pizza, I helped A. practice the trick until he got it down pat.

Later, after a movie and after the boys were in bed, Mr. Curls and I sat on the couch for a bit, letting the quiet soak in. "That was fun," I said.

"Yeah?" Mr. Curls looked relieved. He had been a bit self-conscious at moments when the boys were giving each other grief, or when E.'s volume level got high. But, I know that kids are kids. I also can see that A. and E. are good kids. Add to that the fact that, since the boys were more wound up than when we did mini golf, I got to see Mr. Curls in more of a dad mode when he needed to be. He's a good dad, and it was neat to see that side of him.

"I liked goofing around with the boys. It's been a good night."

I was pleased that the boys got into the games like they did. It reminded me a bit of playing games with my parents when I was a kid and that gave me a whole warm fuzzy vibe. It's been a number of years since I started thinking that giving birth really wasn't my idea of a good time. However, whenever I think of my future, I tend to see kids in it. For a very long time, I've been telling my brother all about the kids he's going to have so I can be an aunt. A few days ago, when we were talking about Mr. Curls, my brother asked if that was still the plan. "Yup," I told him. "Besides, Mr. Curls already has two, so it's not like he's feeling the baby fever either. I'm still more into the idea of part time kids than full time."

"Then that'll work perfect," my brother said. "His kids are like rentals."

"Exactly."

It might sound shallow, but I swear it has more to do with the difference between liking children and needing to have my own biological children. With Mr. Curls' boys, I've been pleasantly surprised by how quickly they've warmed up to me. I expected more caution. I expected them to spend more time feeling me out before deciding about me. The idea that they were excited to see me Saturday is more than I expected. Like so much else with this relationship, it gelled more easily than I hoped.

I don't want to jump the gun, but these days, the more I imagine my future, the more I imagine Mr. Curls being in it. The more I imagine having a lot more game nights. I've always had the dream of a family of my own, even if that family wasn't the typical set up with me giving birth to members thereof. The thing is, though I've had that clear goal, it's always been distant. Now, in such a short time of only a few months, that goal seems to suddenly be a lot closer. The last thing I want is to get ahead of myself, but I like the idea of the four of us. My plan was, if all went well, I'd be adding one more person to my life. Now, if all goes well, I'd be adding three. It's intimidating. It's exciting. I just might be getting a family out of this.

Funny to think how it all started with a question in a bar.