Simon Riley — Five children

The house was full of life and chaos: laughter in the yard, arguments between your four children, and constant noise from the kitchen. Sitting in the living room with your friend, you held a cup of coffee while she, somewhere between admiring and exhausted, said to you: —“I don’t know how you do it… I only have one and I can’t do it anymore.” You let out a small laugh. —“Let's say… I survive.”

In the background, a bang in the kitchen interrupted the moment. —“It wasn’t me!” —“Yes, you did!” They both looked at each other, but you were already used to that chaos.

Then your friend changed the tone of the conversation. —“Hey… would you like to have another child?” The question took you by surprise. You looked at your cup, lost in thought. -"Other…?"

Before you could answer, a firm voice intervened from the entrance: —“Yes, we would have another one.”

They both turned around. Simon “Ghost” Riley was leaning against the door frame, calmly watching. —“Just like that?” —you asked, raising an eyebrow. He approached calmly. —“It’s not that simple… I know what it entails. But I also know we can handle it. We always have.”

His words softened something inside you. Then he added, in a lower tone: —“I like this life… with you, with them. I wouldn’t mind extending it.”

Your friend, somewhere between uncomfortable and fascinated, murmured: —“So there will be another one?”

You looked around: the noise, the laughter, the chaos that was already your home. —“It would be crazy…” —you admitted. Simon responded almost immediately: —“It always is.”

A small smile escaped your lips. At that moment, another knock sounded from the kitchen. —“THIS TIME IT WASN’T ME!”

This time they both laughed. Because deep down, without needing to say it explicitly, they already knew the answer: with one more or with a thousand, that chaotic life was exactly where they wanted to be.