1. Our Past Year
Harper
Over the past year, dating Caleb has been nothing short of amazing. Sure, there have been a few hiccups here and there, but all relationships are like that. You can’t always have it unique, so issues will seep in no matter what. Some days, my communication sucks, and he’s huge on communication, so it’s more him getting irritated with me for not talking at all and just working.
We call and text each other every day if we aren’t together. At least twice a week, we FaceTime to see each other’s faces. Hearing his voice is nice, but seeing his face is nicer. Sometimes, we FaceTime more than twice when it’s been a tough week. Not only that but FaceTime sex is pretty awesome. Who knew things like that would work for a long-distance relationship?
Each month, we take time out of our busy lives to be together. I see him with or without the kids once a month—it just depends on my schedule. He also takes time to visit us with or without his kids. With all the back-and-forth we had been doing, we gave each other keys to our houses pretty early on. I use my key to his house way more than he uses his to mine.
Over the time we have been together, we have learned a lot about one another and all four kids. When I first met Raiden, I thought he was shy and was surprised to learn he was autistic. Caleb never said anything about it until after the second time I saw him. We didn’t treat him any differently than the other kids, and it was amazing to watch him come out of his shell and get to know Archer, Olivia, and me.
When Caleb first started getting to know Archer and Olivia, he seemed shy and unsure how to proceed. He didn’t know how to talk with them or if he should even play with them. He and Daisy, on the other hand, hit it off right away, and that seemed to have helped Caleb blend in with Archer and Olivia. That man loves that dog as much as all the kids do. It didn’t take long after being around each other a few times, and he started treating them like his own kids.
I loved watching him with all the kids. I fell more in love with Caleb because of the way he interacted with them all. It’s like they are all siblings, even if they aren’t. I especially enjoy watching him at night with them. He tells the kids goodnight every night that they are with us and tucks them into bed. Could this man be any more of a perfect father? Whenever he caught me staring at him while doing his nighttime activities with the kids, he would always wiggle his eyebrows at me. He knew I found it sexy that he was such a great dad.
During our year of adventures, we took the kids everywhere we went. All the kids get along beautifully and enjoy being together, making outings easier. The six of us out doing anything can be interesting because the boys are the same age at eleven, and so are the girls at nine. A lot of people automatically assume that I gave birth to two sets of twins. Comments tend to be that I looked amazing after giving birth to two sets of twins or that I was brave for having two. At first, we tried to correct people, but then we gave up when things kept happening. It’s funny to think that comments like that are now typical.
Over the summer, we went on a three-day vacation together with the kids at the beach. Olivia, Grace, and Archer loved it and didn’t want to leave. We first had to work with Raiden regarding the sand and the water. He had a few meltdowns, and I would sit with him and calm him down while Caleb played in the waves with everyone else. By the last day, Raiden was out there playing with everyone else.
Seeing Grace and Raiden’s faces was hilarious when they saw me in a bikini. They didn’t know what to make of me having so many tattoos. Raiden examined my arms and my back. It fascinated him. Sure, they had seen the tattoos on my arms from wearing short-sleeved shirts and the ones on my legs from wearing shorts, but not the tattoos on my back.
During our time together, I learned that Caleb liked to play pranks on people. His favorite is to prank me with fake spiders in random places every once in a while. He paid attention to me that day in the science museum when I said I hated spiders, but why it was a good idea to scare me with them is beyond me. The great thing is I learned how to get him back. He can’t stand loud noises, so when the kids aren’t around, I scare him with either an air horn or something of that nature. Raiden and Archer can’t listen to loud noises, so I’m considerate of them, just not Caleb.
In August, I met Caleb’s younger brother, Brandon, and his wife, Sabrina. Brandon is a little shorter than Caleb, but you can tell he has the same workout ethic as his older brother. He has the same honey-colored eyes as Caleb but dark brown hair. He’s a great guy and very laid-back.
Sabrina was pregnant and excited to have their first baby when we met. Sabrina and I hit it off right away. We text and call each other constantly. I now see her as more of a sister than a friend. She’s a little taller than me, with dark brown eyes and light brown hair. She has a sweet smile, and I love talking with her. We had a lot in common and just liked to chat with each other in general.
I’ve seen great success with my writing and my Airbnb business over the past year. I opened my third Airbnb in Waco, and they all seem to be getting a lot of attention. I decorated each of them for the holiday, increasing my ratings. It’s crazy how something so simple can improve so much.
I published two more books this year. Two weeks after hitting the shelves, they went to the bestsellers list. I was on cloud nine. What made it better was that Caleb bought and read every book I ever wrote. He was surprised by some of the things I wrote about and even asked if I wanted to act out some of the sex scenes I wrote. The answer to that was always yes.
With our ups, there also come our downs. This past year has been all over the place for Caleb. The stress from work that he talked about kept me worried about him. One day, they were chasing after some teenagers who had crossed the border and were running along the river. One had doubled back and would cross the river, which is dangerous. Caleb was there with several other agents when the boy went underwater and never came back up. They were able to get him out, but he was no longer breathing, and they couldn’t revive him. Things like that hit Caleb hard because he loved kids so much. It didn’t matter that he was a teenager or that he wasn’t his kid. It still affected Caleb greatly. Because of that incident, I dropped what I was doing and traveled to see him, making sure he was ok and letting him know I was right there for him.
Later this year, he got into an altercation with someone he was trying to detain. He didn’t tell me how bad it was until after I showed up for the weekend and saw his black eye and busted lip. He told me it was minor and didn’t feel like it was that bad. I raised my voice and cussed at him for the first time in our relationship. He was surprised by my outburst but didn’t yell at me for it. Instead, he wrapped me in a hug and told me that he was fine. I realized I had gotten scared, and instead of being the level-headed person I like to be, I yelled. I was even more surprised that he reacted the way he did. Most men would yell back, but he didn’t. He’s always proving that he’s the perfect man for me.
Recently, he had stopped a truck that had ten women in it trying to cross the border. He grumbled about it because of all the paperwork he had to file and then called the local police to arrest the driver. Other than all of that, it was a boring year for him at work. He would rather it be a little boring just so he didn’t have to do paperwork. Sitting at a desk wasn’t for him. He needed to be on the move.
The most unfortunate part of this year was we were still dealing with issues caused by his ex-wife. She was still trying to get back with him when I wasn’t around. She would text or call him whenever she knew I was in town to try and make things inconvenient for us. Caleb called her the hosebeast one day when the kids weren’t around, and I had to agree with him. I hoped life wouldn’t always be like this for us when it came to her. We will have to find a way to make her stop.
Now it’s Christmas time again, and we get to be together for a week before I have to head back home. I can’t wait to see what adventures we will have this holiday with all four kids and his family in the place he grew up.
