the pages. “Those are very beautiful names. How old are they?” Shyla never stopped looking through his wallet. There was at least a dozen or so pictures and she stopped and studied each and every one of them, like she was trying to make a memory. Zackary had beautiful children.
“They just turned three January seventeenth.” Shyla paused. “But they act like they’re thirty,” he laughed, but the surprised look on Shyla’s face stopped him cold. “What?”
“When did you say their birthdays are?” Had she heard wrong?
“January seventeenth. Why?”
Her eyes doubled in size. “No way,” she pointed to herself. “That’s my birthday.” Shyla was excited. She had never met anyone with her birthday or even in the same month.
“Seriously?” He looked towards Felton and Essence who were nodding their heads like crazy.
“Ask, Ess.”
“She’s telling the truth.”
“Wow. Isn’t that something? All of my girls have the same birth date.” If Shyla was offended by his remark she didn’t let it show. She was too busy studying another picture.
“You know at first I thought they were identical aside from ones hair being a little lighter but they really aren’t.”
“Sure they are.” Zackary said.
“They look enough alike. Was it difficult to tell them apart? You didn’t have to label their diapers and booties or anything that crazy did you?” Shyla laughed.
“Actually, in the beginning I did.” He used his fingers to name the things off. “We labeled their beds, their clothes, shoes, you name it we labeled it. But after a few months we got use to their ways and temperaments, not to mention as you said, one has lighter hair. It wasn’t that noticeable back then but now it is. So if they ever want to switch places on me, they’d never get away with it.”
“Would you believe, Mr. Trellis that I can tell your girls apart? Aside from the hair.”
“From a picture? That’s impossible.”
Shyla looked at Essence and winked.
“Trust me it’s not impossible. Look at this picture with them together.”
Zackary pulled the chair even closer and rested his arm across the back of Shyla’s chair. They must have forgotten that Felton and Essence was sitting at the table because they were left out of the conversation and both Shyla and Zackary got really cozy with one another. Shyla could feel his warm breath on her cheek and it was sending warning signals to the rest of her body but she ignored them. She was too fascinated with his twins that shared her birth date.
“What am I looking at, besides my beautiful Princesses?”
“Awe! That’s sweet.” Shyla pinched his cheek. A playful gesture but it felt like heaven to Zackary. “Is this Zhaniya?” She was pointing to the three year old that looked so much like Zackary that it was uncanny. Full pouty lips, mountain peak eye brows and hazel eyes with a touch of gold.
“Yes. That’s my Niya. How did you guess that?”
“She looks like a Zhane or Zoe, where as this one looks like a Zaria or Shyla, you could say.” All eyes were on her like she had just dropped from the covered coach. “What? She reminds me of me when I was little.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Well pictures of me anyway. I looked like both my parents.” Her eyes got a little misty. She missed her parents. They just up and went away one day, never to be seen again. Zackary massaged his fingers through her hair.
“My eyes were slanted like hers and I have the cutest little button nose, like she’s got. See.” She touched the tip of her nose.
Zackary’s next moved shocked them all. He kissed the tip of her nose. It was quick but it was so sensual.
“Hey!” She pointed. “Stop that.” She turned away but the smile that graced her face said it all. She liked it.
“Well it is cute. Besides the girls have the same nose.”
“I beg to differ.”
“That’s an understatement if I ever heard one.” Felton stated. He was rewarded with a kick from his wife and a hard stare from his cousin telling him to keep his opinion to himself.
Felton held up his hands, in a gesture that he was backing off. He knew what Shyla was capable of, but his wife would have been far worst to deal with.
“Anyway, Shania’s nose has a short bridge to it whereas, Zari’s doesn’t. And look here,” she pointed. “Zhaniya has a dimple in the crease of her mouth. It’s so cute.” Shyla cooed. “Looks like a half heart.”
“How can you see that? Who are