When Niels and Amanda had received the call from Rico, the both of them had been shocked. Rhea had decided not to continue schooling, and she was going to L.A. to model. It was a strange thought, thinking of Rhea doing that. Last time Niels had seen her, she had been only a girl. And to him, she still was. She was his Kobedaughter, and she was only 16 years of age.
Later that day, Niels looked at Amanda while they were in bed. He kissed her gently before sighing. “What’s the matter babe,” Amanda asked. “It’s Rhea,” Niels admitted, “I can’t imagine the fact she’s not willing to continue school. Not even school in any way. I mean, at least Emi went to ballet school after she turned 16.” Amanda looked at him for a moment. “I know, but if this is what Rhea wants to do… You know I’m all for education, but maybe Rhea just isn’t that kind of person.” Niels frowned, knowing his wife was just trying to offer him a different point of view. “Rhea barely is old enough to know what she is doing. She is only 16, and now she’s giving up on school, on a steady job. And for what? So she can go model in L.A.? Especially the way she looks now, that is a scary thought. She is too beautiful for her age. Imagine Eliana going into modeling, I would…” Amanda raised an eyebrow at his words. “Eliana would do nothing like that. She’s too shy for that.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “And maybe you shouldn’t be ranting to me about this? Rhea is our Kobedaughter. Maybe we should be talking to her.” Niels could only admit there was truth to those words. “Okay, maybe you’re right. I’ll text her to ask if we can Skype tomorrow. But you better be sure that I’ll tell her that I’ll kill every guy who looks at her in a wrong way. OR her, matter of fact..” Amanda chuckled. “Calm down, you wouldn’t harm a fly. And I’m pretty sure Rhea knows that too. Now go message her and come back to me. I need my bed warmer.” She smiled playfully at him before nudging him off the bed.
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Time had been running away, and lately, there hadn’t been much time for Niels and Amanda to spend much time together.In between the adoptions of Eli’s kids and the attention their children were demanding, Niels and Amanda had been focused on their family. That wasn’t a bad thing, not necessarily, but sometimes, it made Niels wonder. Once upon a time, it had just been them. They had had no children, no real responsibilities. They had just been them, Niels van Loon and Amanda Pontremoli, living and loving together. They faced struggles and had fun, yet their love never ceased to exist. And that love was what had brought them to having a family together. But today would not be a day for the van Loon family, but rather for the lovers they had once been. Niels had made sure the kids had been able to find shelter with his father and mum. After that, he had approached Amanda and kissed her gently. “Now the kids are gone, I’ve arranged you some relaxing time…” He winked at her and handed her a card with an address written on it. “I took the liberty of arranging you a mani-pedi. You deserve one, after all you have done. And once you are done there, I’ll make sure you can have some more relaxing time.” Amanda giggled, but gladly accepted the offer. She kissed Niels gently. “And what will you do? Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked, a grateful sparkle in her eyes. Niels smiled back at her. “Stop thinking about me so much, I’ll be fine. You go relax.” He kissed her on the forehead before grabbing her coat, purse and car keys. “You go, and I’ll see you in a few hours.” He almost shoved her out the door, and once she’d gone, he ran up the stairs. Quickly, he pulled a box out from under the bed, draping a dress over Amanda’s side of the bed. He took pen and paper, quickly writing a note for when his wife returned. Once the note was placed, Niels ran back downstairs, only to start on dinner. It wasn’t often that he cooked on his own, but when he did, he liked to go all-out. He started off baking a cake. He went for a chocolate cake, two layers of cake, all held together by a raspberry mousse and with some raspberry frosting. He hoped the cake would come out good. After all, all the bakers in the family weren’t around. Once the actual cake was in the over, Niels started making some soup. He decided on chicken-gnocchi soup. It was Amanda’s favourite when they had gone to Olive Garden back in the States, and Niels would do his best to mimic it. Once he was satisfied with how the soup was looking, he started boiling pasta. He boiled spaghetti and penne. To accompany it, he made two different sauces. One of them was a normal tomato sauce, nicely seasoned, with some italian sausage and meatballs in it. The other was a marsala wine sauce. He then proceeded to bake chicken to go with that sauce. This kind of food was the food he had taught himself to cook. It was not a hard thing to do, as his wife was Italian. After all of that was done, he quickly grabbed a bottle of Moscato and ran into the living room, beginning to set it all up for when his wife would be back. It would be any second, so he imagined. So he ran upstairs, popping on his tuxedo trousers, taking his finest dress shirt and his tuxedo top downstairs, to hang it out of sight for when Amanda returned. He barely managed to hide them when Amanda returned. She gave him a suspicious look when he came to her to give her a quick kiss.
“You cooked, I smell?” she asked, giggling a bit. Niels smiled lovingly at her. “How about you go upstairs. You’ll see soon enough what this all is about…” He kissed her again before she rolled her eyes playfully and went up. While that was happening, Niels put on the remainder of his tuxedo, and when Amanda entered the living room, he felt his belly bubble more than ever. And the blush on Amanda’s cheeks only made him feel more in love. “It’s date night, sweetheart… Come sit down and enjoy, let your hubby take care of you.” He winked, getting up to offer her his hand. Soon, they were sitting on the floor, with Niels feeding Amanda some fruits for a light, fruity first course. With all of his heart, Niels hoped Amanda was enjoying herself. She truly was the love of his life, and whatever life threw at them, they would be a team for all of eternity. Last year, Niels had celebrated Amanda’s birthday with just her, but now Emi was not at home any more, Niels wanted to sneak in some family time. After all, time was flying by, and if they weren’t careful, soon Angelo would be sixteen. Niels had assembled the entire family that was in London to have a family dinner. His father and mother-in-law had offered their place for this dinner party, but Niels had kindly declined. They were staying at their own rental home after all. Soon enough, Niels was cooking an extensive dinner. He was making soup, some pasta for first course, roasted chicken and rice for main course and Eliana joined him in the kitchen to make a birthday cake. It was fun doing this with Eliana, and he managed to get some quality time with his youngest daughter in. The funniest part of their afternoon was though whenever Amanda entered the kitchen, trying to figure out what they were actually cooking. When their family arrived, carrying gifts for the birthday girl, Amanda beamed. They all went into the living room, having an appetizer before they all gathered in the dining room, enjoying their meal until dessert was served. Once everyone finished their cake, Niels smiled at their gathered family. “Thank you all for coming here. My wife and I appreciate your presence, and I’m sure this will have been a thirty-seventh birthday to remember.”
Soon, all their guests had left, and their kids were all asleep. Niels pulled his wife onto the couch with him, kissing her cheek gently. “Well baby, that was another birthday. I can’t believe we’ve been together for as long as I can remember. I’m so happy to have celebrated with you. You’re amazing.” He kissed her temple gently, smiling lovingly at her. It had truly been a great day. It was early in the morning when Niels and Amanda were standing in the departure hall of London Heathrow airport with their eldest. She had surely dropped a bombshell on them the night before when she had told them she was going to Paris to pursue her dancer dreams. But Niels and Amanda supported her, fully. They both knew how important dreams were, nd they wanted Emi to succeed. Gently, Niels hugged Emi before removing a strand of hair from her face.He smiled lovingly at her and pressed a kiss on her forehead. It was incredible to see how beautiful their baby girl was now, and the prospect of her being on her own frightened Niels a bit. “You look so much like your mother, with my hair colour,” he said, winking playfully at Amanda. “And you dance just as well. I have no doubts of you being able to make it!” Emi looked doubtful at first, apparently unsure about how to react to the fact she looked so much like her mother, but when her dad told her she would make it, she gave him a wide smile. “Thanks dad…” she said, not quite so sure about it herself. Amanda joined the both of them in what quickly turned into a group hug. Niels could see the mixed feelings in his wife, the sadness about their eldest going and the possibility of her becoming a great dancer. They hadn’t yet talked about it, but Niels knew how hard it was, seeing someone you cared for so long take off. Emi looked at her watch. “Mum, dad, I have to go…” Her voice sounded a little shaky. Niels smiled while Amanda now hugged Emi very tight. “Babe, don’t kill her.She needs to dance!” His words made the two women chuckle, and afterwards, he looked at Emi again. “Sweetie, you have a safe trip. Message when you land, and you can stay at the villa if you want. Just no wild parties, okay?” Emi smiled and nodded, hugging them both once more before grabbing her suitcase and going to the security check, ready to get the boarding process started. When they finally lost sight of Emilia, Niels took Amanda’s hand in his. Slowly, the couple walked out of the airport. It wasn’t until they reached the car that Amanda started to cry, and Niels hugged her tightly. “It’s okay… Our baby girl is going to be okay.” He kissed her forehead now, hoping they would see Emi again soon.
Niels sighed, wrapping an arm around Amanda. They had been watching their children all afternoon, and it was hitting Niels hard to see how big three of their four were already getting. Emilia had been dancing around, chuckling at her siblings as they were sometimes casting angry looks at her, as if her music was disturbing them.
And truthfully, Eliana and Angelo had been studying music together all afternoon. Sice Angelo had turned twelve, he had been working hard on learning new things, and the latest interest he had obtained, was music. Niels expected the interest was sparked by Eliana’s study of guitar play with Amanda. And now, Angelo had finally mustered the courage to ask his little sister to teach him some musical theory, even when Angelo didn’t know what instrument he would like to play yet. It was so strange, but so nice at the same time. They were all so big, so mature. The only exception was Nicco, who was running around, trying to play with all of his siblings. It ended with the youngest member of their family being in the arms of his daddy. Niels just grinned at Amanda, whispering: “It’s crazy to think that in half a year, our little Emi will be 16 huh?” Amanda rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t remind me of that. It’s bad enough it’s that close.” Niels could see it was just as weird to her as it was to him, but he just winked and whispered: “Luckily we still have three younger ones left huh? But what would you say about going somewhere before our little one is 16? We can go to the beach here, maybe visit Rio once more. Or well, once more while she’s a child.” He looked at Amanda, who seemed to be thinking about it. Quickly, he kissed her on the cheek before saying: “And maybe we can do something for her big sixteenth birthday in Paris… That’s the place where she was conceived, maybe we can make her birthday more special by doing something for her over there.” He kissed Amanda. “Just think about it. We have some more time left.” When Niels walked in, he just had to smile. His youngest was sitting there, playing with some Duplos he had gotten for his birthday. Niels and Amanda would have gotten him actual Lego, but they were extra careful with Nicco. After all, he was their baby boy, and there was no possibility of having another one.
Carefully, Niels felt two arms being wrapped around him from behind. And there was a kiss being pressed against his cheek. IT was so typical, so Amanda. And Niels loved it, even after all of these years. He smiled at her, winking. “What are you thinking, love?” she asked, smiling lovingly, sighing a little as she watched Nicco. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking, my love.” He said, seeing the touched smile on Amanda’s face. He felt exactly like that. Slowly, he turned around and took Amanda’s hand in his. “Our little man is four now, hard to believe huh?” Amanda giggled before nodding. “Hard to believe, but special. And he’ll always be my little man.” She giggled again, looking into his eyes. “It’s been an amazing journey, seeing him grow up.” Niels smiled back at Amanda. “It certainly has been. And every moment has been so amazing. He’s such a good kid, so loved by his siblings. And all of them just enjoy playing with him. Even when they’re teens already.” He rolled his eyes, thinking of their teen daughter. “Don’t talk about her. You’re making me feel old.” She said, a playful glint in her eyes. “Well, today is your birthday.” Niels looked at her, a twinkle of entertainment in his own eyes. “You know, we were supposed to have a big dinner today, but how about we just skip that, have our kid watch her siblings and just… Go for some private time? I can get us a cake and some strawberries, and we can have our own private date night.” Amanda giggled, but she made no objection to his proposal. Slowly, Niels wrapped his arms around her, whispering. “Happy 36th birthday, my eternal love…” Niels smiled at his wife lovingly that morning. Their last few days had been filled with grief. The both of them had lost another part of their family, albeit not connected by blood, and Niels knew Amanda was blaming herself for this. No matter how much Niels told her, she kept on blaming herself. And in truth, this was a tragedy. Poor little Maë must have suffered so badly, not to mention Daphne. But today was a different day. Today was the day they would celebrate Amanda’s birthday. And for her birthday, Niels had arranged a few things. He wanted to make this day a happy day, a day on which Amanda could relax and see that her life was more than just sadness. And to show her that, Niels would spare no expense, so to say. The day passed as it usually did, with Amanda being only partially there. It was obvious her mind wasn’t too much in the apartment they had rented, but their little man, Nicco, always managed to touch her spirit. And watching Amanda and Nicco together was just too cute. It always made Niels chuckle, the way Amanda talked to him and he would answer with the words he knew. It was adorable. And then, it was time for cake. Niels grinned as he had their third child, Eliana, run to Amanda and pull her into the living room. Once Amanda arrived there, Niels, Emilia and Angelo began to sing. Niels could see a faint smile appear on his wife’s face when she looked at the cake. “We’ve been making this, with a little help from the baking master in the family…” Niels said, winking at his wife when she approached her birthday cake. “But you deserve it. It’s pink because… It’s your cake, and pink was your colour. Inside of it, there’s some delicious chocolate!” He winked at Emi, who was smiling brightly because her mum seemed to like the cake. After the cake was eaten, resulting in a bit of a mess with Nicco, who still liked smearing cake all over his face, the kids returned to their normal play time. Amanda went to put their youngest to bed for a nap, and Niels followed her. It always made Niels smile, the way Amanda put the kids to bed. He noticed her staring down at Nicco, their precious baby boy. Niels had an idea of the things that might be in her thoughts, so he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Hi honey,” he whispered after kissing her cheek, “How are you doing?” Amanda shrugged, her eyes focussed on the little man in his bed. Only the gentle kisses Niels pressed to her cheeks sometimes made her smile a little bit. Niels winked at her when she turned her head a bit towards him before claiming a soft kiss. “You should go to our room baby, take a break. You deserve that much.” He smiled, but when he noticed she was about to complain, he put his index finger on her lips. “Don’t you dare say no, amore mio… I can handle the kids. Now, let me escort you there.” He grinned, taking Amanda’s hand in his and walking her back to their room. In the room, he had placed a small flyer on Amanda’s pillow, and he was pretty sure she would see it straight away after entering, or at least after she had reached the bed. When Amanda noticed, she looked at Niels with big eyes. Niels could tell she was a bit confused. “That’s where we’re going tonight, love,” he said, “I’ve already arranged everything. Zelda will be here around 19.00 to pick up the kids, and after that, the night is ours, and we can go see this show.”
Amanda smiled, some gratitude lighting up her troubled face. “Thank you, amore mio,” she whispered, hugging him tightly. Niels winked at Amanda. “Hey, this only happens a year, let’s make the best out of it,” he replied, gently caressing her cheek. Hopefully, today would be the start of a happy time. When his little girl was having her party, it took Niels some effort to actually believe this was real. She had grown up so much, yet he could barely believe this was the same little one he had once held in his arms in a hospital, promising her the world. But he had come to terms with reality. His child wasn't that little any more. Had they not had a discussion about her party outfit just days ago? When Amanda had taken Emi shopping, it had been a shock to Niels when they came home with high-heeled shoes. He had told them Emi wouldn't wear those to the party, that she only was turning 13. But in the end, Niels had given up. Emi kept on telling Niels the heels were just small, and Amanda's looks told Niels he should allow their daughter to wear the heels, even if only just for that special date. And so, he had caved in, allowing her to wear the heels. At the party, Niels had been looking at the people present. There had been a few kids turning up, which made Emi smile widely. It was good to see his girl like that. It had often been a concern to Niels and Amanda, who both were quite the introverts themselves at certain times in their lives, to see Emi be unlike them. She wanted to spend all the time she could with her friends. As she should, Niels thought. When Emi came to Niels and Amanda to give them a quick hug towards the end of the party, Niels held on to her for a little longer, trying not to make her feel embarrassed in front of her friends. "Wait here," he said, "Daddy's got something for you!" As he returned, he handed Emi a small box, a smile on his face. "Here you go, open it." When Emi opened the gift, Niels could see her eyes grow a bit big before she tackled him in a hug. "Do you want to help me put it on daddy?" she asked, smiling at him. As Niels did so, he kissed her cheek. Looking into her eys, he whispered: "No matter what, you're always daddy's little girl, Princess Emi!"
While Amanda was in surgery, Niels was sitting in their room, waiting impatiently. Every second seemed to last for an entire hour, but eventually a nurse came in, telling Niels that Amanda’s surgery had been completed. He was invited to go to a recovery room, so he could be with Amanda as she woke, an offer Niels gladly accepted. Looking at Amanda in the hospital bed, Niels smiled proudly. All had gone well. With Niels caressing her cheek, she woke up.
"Hi baby… Welcome back... Had a nice nap?" Niels whispered, kissing her forehead. Amanda had tried to answer, but her mouth had been too dry. It had been surprising how dry her mouth was, so dry she could barely ask for water. But once Amanda had drank a few small sips of water, she immediately looked at Niels. “Hi. Everything...okay?" she had asked, looking at her husband with a sweet smile playing on her lips. “All is okay love," Niels whispered, "all is out, so now for observation..." Soon after those words, Amanda was rolled back to her own room, where the doctors kept a close eye on her. It was only for her own good, they both knew that, but to Niels it was a little weird. Imagining how Amanda had to be feeling, Niels started making playful remarks. He knew that if there was anything to cheer Amanda up, it was him being silly. And indeed, before long Amanda was producing soft sounds, somewhere in between chuckles and giggles. It brought a wider smile to Niels’ face, until Amanda thought of something. Once there was no more nurses around, Amanda told Niels "I can't wait to get home. I just realised though... how on earth am I supposed to nurse Nicco." After all, Nicco was quite attached to that way of feeding, and he preferred it over all others. Niels laughed softly, looking into Amanda’s eyes. "You're inventive, woman of mine, you'll find a way... I guess you just have to feed him sometimes, and we feed him more solid food other times..." He winked, knowing for sure they would find a way. Didn’t they always? More time passed, and Amanda was still quite sleepy because of the past anesthesia. So she went back to sleep, and when she woke up the next time, a doctor arrived to tell them Amanda was free to go once she had passed the final tests. Amanda walked out of the hospital, holding on to Niels’ arm. But once they were in the car, it was time to go home. Niels tried to drive as carefully as possible, but whenever that didn’t work, he frowned as Amanda groaned. But when they were home, things would be closer to normal. On the driveway, Niels asked Amanda: "Are you ready to face our kiddos?" Amanda didn’t answer, but it was quite obvious she was tired. She went in, and was greeted by the children. Emi, Angelo and Elia had learned about the procedure the night before, so they were sweet and gentle, just giving their mother gentle hugs. Nicco however was hungry, but Amanda just couldn’t do it right then. She was simply too tired. "Think you can distract Nicco until tonight?" Amanda asked Niels with a grin. He replied he would try all he could. But before that, he handed Nicco to Emi and helped Amanda to their bedroom. He helped her change into some loose nightwear and tucked her in. “You sleep tight..." Niels whispered before showering Amanda with kisses. "Thank you," Amanda said, smiling sweetly at Niels. "I love you so much." She soon after dozed off as Niels walked down the stairs, getting ready to keep Nicco busy. And to prepare dinner. After all, now he had an extra reason to spoil Amanda. It was Valentine’s Day again, a day on which many couples took special time for themselves. They took time to celebrate their significant other. But for Niels and Amanda, that wasn’t the case. They tried to show that to each other all the time. But still, every Valentine’s Day, Niels tried to just give it that little bit more.
Now they had four kids, it was a little harder to plan a normal, romantic getaway with Amanda only. So Niels just worked with what was given to him to make the day into a romantic one. He started off by getting some breakfast, which he presented to Amanda on the bed. Even when she had been awake and running around with the kids, he had made her go rest on the bed. So as he entered, Niels could only grin. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” He gave her a quick peck on the lips before filling her glass with juice. Amanda giggled as she looked at Niels, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you, amore mio,” she said before taking a sip of the juice. “What about the kids?” Niels smiled at her. “All taken care of!” Even after about 23 years of celebrating the holiday, these small reactions were enough to make his heart melt. The sparkle in her eyes and even the way she thought about the kids’ well being while having a romantic breakfast with him. It were only a couple of the things that made Amanda so special to him. Leaning in close, Niels whispered: “You’re the one for me, Amanda Stephanie van Loon! I’m glad we’re able to celebrate this day together, every year again. I’ve booked us a table at a nice restaurant here in town for tonight, after which we can go for a nice evening walk along the beach… And after that, some us time, taken the kids actually are asleep this time…” He grinned playfully at Amanda, who was giggling. “Stop it…” she said, gifting him with a wide smile. “I’d love all of that, but what if we w…” She was stopped mid-sentence by another kiss. “No more jinxing… Happy Valentine’s Day, love of my life!” |
Niels at a glanceName: Niels van Loon Archives
September 2017
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