I've been married to the singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes for almost nineteen years now, but we've been together for twenty three years. They've been the best twenty three years of my life. Together, Shawn and I have three kids: Rose Lucille Mendes, who's eighteen, Jacob Alexander Scott Mendes, who's sixteen, and Julia Kennedy Mendes, who's fourteen. I was sitting on the couch downstairs when Rose came in the room.

"Hey mom." She said.

"Hey honey. What's up?" I asked.

"Well, I have some questions for you. Is that okay?" She asked. I nodded.

"Of course it is! What's up?" I asked as she sat down. Shawn was at the studio so he wouldn't be back until later. Jake and Julia were up in their rooms.

"So, before I begin my questions, I just want to begin this by saying that I am not seeing anyone." Rose said.

"Okay." I said.

"So, I just like, I think that you and dad are the cutest couple ever, and I guess that I just wanted to learn more about your story." She said. I smiled.

"Okay. Where should I start?" I asked.

"Well how did you guys meet?" She asked. I smiled and played with my wedding ring as I told her about that beautiful day that Shawn and I met in Dunkin Donuts.

"I instantly felt comfortable with your father. We instantly clicked and connected." I said. Rose nodded.

"Was it love at first sight?" She asked. I nodded.

"Definitely. I remember looking at him and it was as if my heart went 'oh there you are, I've been looking for you.'" I said.

"That's so cute! So how did Daddy ask you to be his girlfriend?" She asked.

"Well, him and I had been texting and calling and Facetiming constantly for about four months. One day he texted me and asked me for my address, so I told him. A few hours later he showed up at my doorstep with pink tulips - he had remembered that they're my favorite - and he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes." I said.

"Who said I love you first?" She asked. I laughed a little.

"I did. You see, I was meeting his friends at a party, and then his ex walked in. Your dad wasn't sitting with me, he was standing in another room, but I could still see him. I could also see his ex girlfriend repeatedly touching his arm and leaning into him and laughing at every single thing that your dad said. Yes, your dad is funny, but she had a bit of overkill going on. So I went and got a beer, and then another, and then another." I said.

"Oh God." Rose said. I laughed.

"Exactly. So I was a lightweight, and then your dad saw me with a beer and came over to me. He asked me why I had a beer in my hands and I told him that I was just trying to get through the night. He had me go out onto the balcony and he asked me what I meant, so I simply said his ex girlfriend's name and he understood that I was jealous. He told me that he doesn't have feelings for her anymore, he only has feelings for me, so I looked out at the view of Toronto and said 'I just love you so much and I don't want to lose you.'" I said. Rose's eyes widened.

"Wait, so how did dad react?" She asked. I smiled.

"He asked me to repeat what I had just said, and when I did, he smiled and said that he loved me too." I said.

"Were you scared to make your relationship with Dad public?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, but we kind of had to go public at that moment." I said.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"Well some paparazzi had found us and two different, popular Instagrams posted pictures of us holding hands and kissing. Your dad's post was beautiful and he said that he liked my post too. Then, we went back inside and I fell asleep on his chest but woke up to him talking. He was doing a live stream, and it ended up being our first live stream together." I said. Rose nodded.

"I'm sure it's on YouTube. Do you think that it would be okay if we tried to find it so I can see it?" Rose asked.

"That's fine." I said. She somehow quickly found it and we began to watch it. As we watched it, Shawn walked in.

"Hello my sweets. Oh my gosh is this our first live stream together?" Shawn asked.

"Yup. Come sit with us babe." I said, and he sat down next to me and then pulled me into his lap.

"Missed you today." Shawn whispered in my ear. I smiled and looked at him.

"I missed you too." I said.

"Shhh, I can't hear the cuteness." Rose said and Shawn and I laughed. Soon, the live stream came to an end.

"We're so cute." Shawn said and I laughed and nodded.

"Yup, we are. Rose had some questions for me and it lead to us watching that." I said.

"What type of questions?" Shawn asked.

"Well you and Mom are literally the cutest couple ever, so I wanted to learn more about my parent's relationship. I had no clue that Mom was drunk when she said I love you for the first time." Rose said. Shawn threw his head back with laughter and then looked at Rose.

"Yup, she was." Shawn said.

"Sometimes when I think about that, I feel bad." I admitted. Shawn frowned.

"Why darling?" He asked.

"Because I feel like I should've said it over a romantic dinner or while we were cuddling or something like that, not while I was drunk." I said. Shawn rubbed my cheek with his thumb.

"Baby, the way that we said I love you to each other for the first time, I wouldn't have had it any other way. You're my precious girl and I love you." Shawn said.

"I love you too." I said before resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me.

"How was the studio today Daddy?" Rose asked.

"Good, but I missed my sweets. How was school?" Shawn asked.

"Good." Rose said before she began talking about her day. I had already heard about her day, and I needed to get dinner ready, so I wriggled myself out of Shawn's grasp.

"Where are you going Mrs. Mendes?" Shawn asked.

"I have to make dinner." I said.

"Do you need any help?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No. You just keep talking to Rosie." I said. He nodded.

"Okay babe." He said. I smiled at him and then went to make dinner. I decided to make spaghetti and after a little bit, it was done.

"Dinner's ready!" I yelled as I put the spaghetti into five bowls.

"I'll get my siblings." Rose said. Shawn and I nodded.

"Okay, thank you." I said.

"You're welcome." She said. Shawn walked over to me.

"Here, let me help my amazing wife set the table." He said and I blushed.

"You sure know how to make me blush, don't you?" I asked. He chuckled.

"Yup, I do. So did you enjoy telling Rosie about love story?" Shawn asked.

"Yup. Remember that scrapbook that I made you for our two year anniversary and it said 'Our Love Story' on it?" I asked. Shawn nodded.

"Oh my gosh yes. Rosie was just three months old. You know what babe?" Shawn asked.

"What?" I asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"So I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but for our twenty year anniversary I should make you a scrapbook." Shawn said. I smiled.

"Oh Shawn I would love that." I said. Shawn smiled.

"Good." He said. The kids then came downstairs and Julia immediately ran up to her father.

"Daddy!" She yelled as she hugged him. He smiled.

"Hi sweet pea. Let's all sit down and eat this delicious meal that your mother made." Shawn said.

"Okay." Julia said. Shawn sat at the head of the table. I sat on one side with Jake, and on the other side, Rose sat closer to Shawn, and Julia sat next to Rose.

"So I heard about Rose's day. How was everybody else's day?" Shawn asked.

"Oh! Can I go first please?" Julia asked. Shawn smiled and nodded.

"Sure." He said.

"So we moved seats around in my English class, and there's this boy that I've had a crush on since the beginning of the school year, David, and now we sit next to each other! He even gave me his number." Julia said. I watched Shawn stiffen.

"Julia Kennedy Mendes, you're fourteen years old. I've told you that you're not allowed to date until you're thirty, maybe even forty." Shawn said. I put my hand on his arm and his eyes softened when he looked at me.

"I know that you want her and Rose to wait that long until they start dating, but Shawn, how old were we when we met and when we started dating?" I asked.

"I was twenty one and you were twenty." He said.

"Exactly. How old were we when we got married?" I asked.

"I was twenty three and you were twenty two." He said.

"Exactly. We have to let them live their lives." I said.

"I don't want them growing up and I don't want them getting hurt. They're my little ones and I need to protect them." Shawn said.

"I know honey, but do you think that my dad, or any of my family and friends liked it when they realized how much my ex had hurt me? Do you think that they wanted me to grow up? No, they didn't, but they knew that I had to grow up eventually. And now look, my parents are ecstatic that I'm married to an amazing man and that I have three amazing kids with him. We may not like them growing up, but we have to let it happen." I said. Shawn nodded.

"Okay. I love you." He said. I smiled.

"I love you too." I said. He then turned to Julia.

"Okay, if this boy asks you out, I want to know when and where you're going. I'll drive you and pick you up. I'm not trying to be overprotective, it's just that you're my youngest. You and your sister are my princesses and I don't want to see you guys get hurt." Shawn said.

"What about me?" Jake asked. Shawn looked at him and smiled.

"I don't want to see you get hurt either, but then again you're on the wrestling team so I'm pretty sure that you could take me down if you wanted to." Shawn asked and we all laughed.

"Yeah, I could totally kick your butt Dad." Jake said.

"Is that so?" Shawn asked.

"Yup." Jake asked.

"Want to test it out?" Shawn asked.

"NO! We will not be having any wrestling matches in this household." I said.

"Aw man. That would've been fun. I could've broken Dad's arm or something." Jake said.

"Oh yeah, your father wouldn't be able to hug you properly and he would have to postpone tour because he wouldn't be able to play guitar. Sounds so fun." I said sarcastically, but in all reality, I don't want to see Shawn or Jake, or any of my kids, hurt at all. The kids laughed but Shawn could sense that I was being sarcastic. He put his hand to my cheek and rubbed it with his thumb.

"We won't do it baby. I promise." He said and I nodded. After dinner, and after the dishes were done, Shawn and I sat on the couch together and cuddled.

"I missed you." I said. Shawn kissed the top of my head.

"I missed you too baby girl. How was work?" He asked. I had been leaning on him so I sat up and told him about work. I'm a high school adjustment counselor, so things can get intense at times.

"I mean, I literally thought that we were going to have to call an ambulance but then I tried calling one of the parents again and they picked her up so we were all good. Sorry, that was a lot that I just unloaded onto you." I said. Shawn gently grabbed me and moved me so I was straddling his lap.

"Darling, you're my wife. You didn't unload anything onto me. I had asked you how work was, so you were telling me. It's fine babe." Shawn said. I nodded.

"Okay." I said. We soon went to bed. I had loved answering Rose's questions. I'm a lucky girl to have such an amazing husband and three kids. I love them so much.