Denial is the Way

Crawling to first steps: 

 

Everywhere Ender and Nevan went, the twins would follow. They have been noticing that Emil and Vera did not want to separate from them. 

 

But it seems that it is getting worse. 

 

They do not entirely mind because they also love being with the twins all the time, but when the time comes for them to go to school, it will get complicated if they are still like this. 

 

Maybe, they should take them to daycare to make some friends and get rid of some of their separation anxiety they have with them. 

 

Ender entered the bathroom, with Vera and Emil crawling right behind him. He felt like a mother duck, and the twins were his ducklings as they followed him. 

 

He sighed. 

 

Plus, Ender forgot why he came to the bathroom. But since the twins are with him, he could brush their teeth. 

 

Bending down, Ender picked up Vera and Emil. He set Vera on the counter as he held Emil on the counter. 

 

He did not move his eyes from them as he reached for the toothpaste and toothbrush for them. 

 

Last week, he and Nevan got some toothpaste and toothbrushes made for babies. They set them on the sink, waiting until the twins were eleven months to use them. 

 

Turning on the sink, Ender wet the toothbrushes before putting toothpaste on them. The twins watched Ender the whole time, wondering what he was doing. 

 

They had seen it before when they would enter the bathroom with their parents. But Emil and Vera did not understand what their parents were doing. 

 

Ender put a bit of water on the toothpaste on the toothbrushes. He decided to start with Vera first since Emil would like to watch Vera initially do things before joining. 

 

"Vera, open your mouth," Ender told her. 

 

Vera looked at the toothbrush then her papa, "Pa, eh?" 

 

"Please, Vera. I will let you have a banana." Ender coaxed. 

 

Vera instantly opened her mouth when she heard that. Then, Ender started brushing the teeth that she had, also getting a bit of her gum. 

 

"See, I am brushing your teeth. It is the same thing that daddy and I do every day." Ender explained to Vera and Emil as he brushed her teeth. 

 

Vera could taste the toothpaste on her tongue, enjoying the mint flavor as she tried to swallow it while closing her mouth on the toothbrush to suck it. 

 

But Ender stopped her. 

 

"No, Vera. You cannot swallow or eat the toothpaste." 

 

Vera did not look happy, but she listened. After cleaning her mouth well enough, Ender brought her closer to the sink while ensuring that Emil was fine. 

 

"Now, spit into the sink," Ender instructed. 

 

Vera spat in the sink as Ender turned it back on. He put some water in his hand, telling Vera to sip it but don't swallow it, then spit it back out. 

 

Vera followed the instructions. 

 

"Good job!" Ender praised. 

 

He turned to Emil, who watched them the whole time without saying or doing anything. "Do you want to try it now?" 

 

Emil nodded. 

 

Ender did the same with Emil that he did with Vera. Once he finished, he quickly took the twins off the sink, not wanting them to be on it any longer. 

 

He put the twins on the bedroom floor before closing the bathroom door. Ender let them roam around the room since he and Nevan baby-proofed it. 

 

Ender went to his drawer, going through clothes as he decided what to wear. In three hours, they are going to go out to have a family dinner; they rarely went and Ender thought of doing it more.

 

He already had the twins' outfits; the clothes were resting on his bed. And Nevan already knew what he was wearing. So, Ender needed to focus on what he was going to wear.

 

As he looked through the drawer, the twins crawled around the bed, having a contest on who is faster. They learned the game from their uncle George and thought it was exciting to play sometimes. 

 

Although, Vera would win every time since Emil always stopped midway out of laziness. Ender and Nevan thought that Vera would join sports with how active she is, once she got older. 

 

They see Emil more like a lazy bookworm since he loves books and resting. 

 

Anyway, Emil decided to bring out his secret weapon for this race. He crawled towards the bed's leg, grabbing it. 

 

Vera stopped crawling to look at what Emil was doing. 

 

Emil used the bed's leg to help him stand. And once he was in a standing position, he decided to do something he has never done before: walk. 

 

As he started to take his first step, letting the bed's leg go, Ender chose that exact moment to look at what the twins were doing. 

 

Emil took three steps on his own, wobbling a bit before he fell on his butt. 

 

"Oh my god! Emil!" Ender loudly screamed, startling the twins. He ran over, picking Emil up as he kissed his son. 

 

The twins were not the only ones that Ender scared, as Nevan ran into the room, breathing hard. "What? Did something happen?" 

 

Ender excitedly nodded his head, "Emil walked!" 

 

Nevan let out a sigh of relief that it was nothing terrible until he grew excited that Emil walked. Although, he felt sad for missing it. 

 

Noticing Nevan's mood, Ender put Emil down, "Emil, love, can you do it again so that daddy can see?" 

 

Emil crawled towards the bed's leg, doing what he did last time, dropping after the third step. 

 

Nevan clapped his hands, "That was amazing, Emil." 

 

Vera watched on. She wanted to get praised, too, so she did the same thing as Emil. Except she was only able to do two steps before falling. 

 

"Oh, oh! Vera, you walk! I am so proud of you two." Ender praised as he bent down to kiss Vera's cheek. 

 

"I agree. You two are amazing. I am happy that you two are here." Nevan spoke as he also bent down to kiss Emil and Vera. 

 

Vera and Emil smiled, enjoying the love and praise they received from their parents.