Chapter 29

JAY'S POV
The children were bouncing around with joy as the car parked in front of them, I waited a bit for Amber to get down from the car but it seemed she wasn't ready yet so I decided to take the initiative and attend to the kids who were already getting impatient as I opened my door and climbed out. The little girl didn't even give me a chance to say hi or anything as she flung herself unto me. I did the first thing that came to mind, wrapping her in a bear hug that felt oddly natural to me.
After hugging one of the boys and fist bumping the other, I realized not for the first time how blue their eyes were and how much they looked like Amber. One of the boys walked up to me with a mischievous smile on his face as he asked,
"Why are you here, Jay Harley?" I knew he was excited like the rest of his siblings but he looked like someone who had learnt to only display the emotions he needed people to see. I smiled as I answered him with a question of my own,
"Are you upset I am at your house?" I raised an eyebrow quizzically and he chuckled,
"Upset? I'm very excited that my ultimate idol is at my place but it's also puzzling" he commented and I heard Noah chuckle from where he stood next to the car. These kids were smart. I glanced at the car and they all followed my eyes,
"Well" I feigned resignation, "Your mum brought me here to say hi to all of you. A little bird told me I had huge fans over here so I persuaded your mum to allow me come say hi" I had never seen such identical smiles in my life as the triplets faces broadened with the most beautiful smiles ever.
"Mum is here?" The girl asked as she walked towards the car's window, she reminded me so much of Amber I scolded myself for not realizing it earlier, these kids were the exact replica of their mum.
The car door creaked open slowly and Amber got down and wrapped her daughter in a huge hug. The boys didn't need an invitation as they ran to hug their mum. I couldn't tell if it was because she had brought me to the house or if they sensed something had happened to her but I watched them quietly as they huddled together. Amber Swift might not have gotten the life she wanted but this life was beautiful too.
"How was the party, mum?"
"How did you meet Jay Harley?"
"Did you bring anything for me from the party?"
"Did something happen to Aunt Mel?"
"Why are you quiet, mummy? Did something happen at the party?"
"Mum, talk to me. Are you alright?"
The kids kept on bombarding Amber with questions but she sat quietly in the couch stroking the little girl's hair and looking outside the window as we all walked into the house. I wanted to ask if she needed to go lie down or something but I decided against it, it wouldn't do to overstep my boundaries.
Instead, I decided to direct the children's attention towards me as I raised my hand up to signify I wanted to ask something, they were excited.
"Can you please help me differentiate?" They looked at me in confusion and I laughed slightly, "I didn't quite catch your names the last time we saw" I added. The boys looked at each other as if they were selecting a spokesperson, they nodded and one of them spoke up while pointing to himself,
"I'm Frankie, the eldest and asides being your biggest fan, I'm good with art. I'd show you one of my drawings sometime" I smiled, he turned and pointed to his brother who was sitting patiently waiting for his own introduction, "That's Daniel but we all call him Danny and he's a genius with mathematics" Danny gave me a toothy grin and I returned the smile.
Amber Swift had such beautiful and talented children, this was enough to live for, more than enough. The girl stood up from her seated position, as she detangled herself from her mum and walked towards me with a bright smile as she introduced herself,
"And I'm Maddie, the youngest but you'd think I was the oldest with the way I take care of my two elder brothers" the boys shot her a look and I laughed. Why would anyone taunt Amber about having such adorable children? It hadn't even been up to an hour with them and I loved them already, why would anyone leave such beautiful children?
Curiosity got the best of me as I smiled up at Maddie and asked the question that had been bugging me ever since I got out of the car,
"Where's your dad?" Amber stood up abruptly and walked out of the room. Maddie gave me a look that said I shouldn't have asked such a question but she answered me anyways,
"He died while we were babies or so mum says" she added and I raised an eyebrow in question but she just shrugged. These kids were smarter than their age and I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad one. All I knew how to do when I was 10 was ride bikes with Daniel and sneak out to our makeshift treehouse but here I was looking at Amber Swift's triplets who were 10 but had their young lives figured out.
Noah was signalling to me from across the room while tapping at his wrist, I glanced at my own watch and saw it was very late. There was unfinished waiting for me back at home with mum and it had to be settled on time.
I glanced up the stairs hoping I'd catch a glimpse of Amber after I announced I was leaving but I saw no signs of her. I fist bumped Frankie and Danny and gave Maddie a quick hug as requested but as I was starting to learn about the triplets and their impulsive attitude, Maddie blurted out,
"Are you dating my mum, Mr Harley?"