Chapter 54
David
“You or me?” There’s a loud cry from the extra bed—at two in the morning. For the third time this night.
“I’ll go. You have to get up early tomorrow.
” That’s true, but with two newborns, he’s not getting as much restful sleep as he needs either.
“And your mother will come by later and take them for a walk. I’ll lie down for a bit then.
” With a practiced movement, he places the baby on my chest and gets up to prepare the bottle.
Felias immediately calms down a little. Of course, this doesn’t solve the massive hunger problem that a baby has every few hours, but I have the feeling he already knows something is coming soon when he is lying with me or Lou. It works similarly with Levi.
We always knew we wanted children, and our families have always supported us in this wish.
After a long search and various agencies, we found a woman in the US who was suitable for us as a surrogate.
A woman who was willing to not only carry the child, but also to donate her eggs and maintain contact with the child after birth.
We always wanted our child to know where they came from, that they have a biological mother who they can write emails to and visit at some point.
We didn’t want a black hole in their biography.
Finding someone who was willing to do all this and who was also a good fit for us in terms of personality was not that easy.
But we weren’t stressed about it, and when we met Hailey, we knew she was the one.
She already had three children of her own and was done with her family planning, but she wanted to help couples experience this happiness too.
After two failed attempts, it finally worked. We were so happy, and when it became clear that we were having twins, our joy was immense, of course. Fraternal twins from insemination are extremely unlikely, but hey, here we are. Finally at home with our two boys.
I’ll be honest, it’s super exhausting, but also extremely wonderful. Levi is like his father, with dark, thick hair, dark eyes, and very active. Felias is calmer, with fine light blond hair and bright blue eyes. For now. My eyes also turned green over time.
We spent the first month in the US, and Hailey breastfed the little ones.
We’ve been home for two weeks now, and who would have thought, my mother has a maternal side after all.
Louis has taken parental leave, and every morning while I’m at work, she comes over and helps him with the babies.
She changes their diapers, feeds them, comforts them, rocks them to sleep, and does it all with so much love and patience that I could cry.
At first, I was worried that she would interfere with everything and know better than everyone else, but Louis is just grateful for her support.
“I’m back. Come on, give him to me.” But I don’t want to give the little bundle back yet.
“Leave him with me, I’ll take care of it.
” Felias greedily sucks on the bottle, the heartbreaking crying stops immediately and is replaced by contented grunting.
Tiny little fingers reach for my hand, and I can’t imagine ever being happier than I am right now.
***
“Where are my two boys?” Both squeal as my mother approaches us beaming.
Levi almost jumps out of Louis’s arms, so Felias has to make do with my father, but honestly, the two of them are the better fit anyway.
Felias doesn’t need action. When things get wild and loud, he wrinkles his little forehead and pushes out his lower lip. My mother says I was just the same.
Levi is the complete opposite. It’s a shame we can’t ask anyone what Louis was like as a baby.
I know my husband misses his mother, even more so now that we are fathers ourselves and he does most of the caregiving because I work full-time, but he’s doing a great job.
Adrien sneaks up on my father and Felias.
With a quiet “peek-a-boo,” he makes his presence known, and immediately the little one beams from ear to ear.
Two little teeth now adorn his smile and make him even cuter.
If that’s possible. Similar to my parents, the boys have their clear favorites with Louis’s fathers.
Levi is Philipp’s and Felias is Adrien’s, matching the characters of the grandfathers and the kids.
Today we are celebrating Louis’s birthday in our garden with all our loved ones.
It’s quite busy, but everyone gets along and laughs together.
I’m not quite sure what Jannis and Luca are up to, but they are whispering frantically to each other, and Luca keeps pointing at Jannis’s hand, who is shaking his head vehemently.
“Lou?” My beloved is standing next to me, watching the hustle and bustle in our garden with me.
“This is the best birthday of my life. So much love in a thousand square meters, it’s crazy.”
He’s right, but that’s not what I was getting at. “Look over there, Luca and Jannis.”
“Oh, not just love.” Shrugging and laughing, he is about to turn away.
“No, that’s not what I meant. Look at Jannis’s left hand. Ring finger. There’s something shimmering there.” Louis squints intently, maybe he should think about getting glasses.
“Is that... is that a ring? Is it what I think it is? Oh my God.” Excitedly, he covers his mouth with his hand.
“Shh, I think Jannis wants to keep it to himself for now.”
“You’ve known Luca long enough to know that in twenty minutes at the latest, everyone will know.
Personally, I’m betting on five.” You can’t keep anything secret in this family, and somehow I love that.
The freedom, the warmth, and I’m so glad that my parents and my sister with her boyfriend were able to find a place here too.
A commotion on the lawn pulls me out of my thoughts. Jannis is hanging onto Luca from behind, covering his mouth with his left hand, and now everyone can see it.
Philipp is the first to react. “Jannis, sweetheart, what’s that on your finger? Is there something you want to tell us?”
A slender young man breaks away from the group of onlookers and takes Jannis in his arms, who looks like a deer in the headlights. They whisper to each other, then he kisses Jannis’s left ring finger.
Luca has disappeared, so all eyes are on the two of them. Levi chuckles happily on Philipp’s arm, while Felias sleeps through the action with Adrien.
“If you could keep July 27 free next year? We would be very happy.” Then he kisses Jannis tenderly.
Louis grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly as the world around us seems to explode.
It’s late, the garden is ours again, the boys are asleep.
Let’s see how long that lasts while we cuddle up on our big lounge sofa.
“I’m happy for them, they really deserve a little happiness.
” I nod in agreement and look out at the little paradise we have created for ourselves, at our happiness, which I almost gave away because I was so afraid of my father.
I turn to my husband, who, despite everything, couldn’t let me go any more than I could let him. My number one, my forever. “Thank you.”
“For what?” He looks at me, confused.
“For loving me. For still loving me even when you didn’t want to love me anymore.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?” Now I’m confused.
“For facing your fears, for being willing to give up everything you ever wanted, just for me. Thank you for never giving up on fighting against your mind.”
Much more gently than Louis usually does, he kisses me, then looks at me.
“Love is strong. Love conquers all.”
THE END