Chapter 30 #3
He didn’t follow any organized faith, but the birth of his children made him think there must be more in this life.
The fragile high-pitched whimper was enough to make Madi stir from where she laid on her hospital bed.
“Shh,” Matt soothed his son.
“You’ll wake your Mum. She’s done so well and needs her rest.” Matt glanced over just as her eyelids fluttered open.
He knew the smile on his face was a goofy one but it couldn’t be helped.
“Are they ok?” she asked, struggling to sit up.
“Do they need to feed?”
His gaze dropped to their new born babies in his arms.
Ethan and Eva.
“Probably.” Matt confirmed with reluctance.
He didn’t want to hand them over just yet.
Madi propped herself on the pillows, wincing with discomfort and emitting a low groan of pain.
Then her tired eyes landed on the bundles in his arms.
Matt observed her as she watched them.
At first, all he saw shining from her eyes was what could only be described as regret, and it shocked him deeply.
Instinctively he held them closer.
Then she smiled and held her hands out.
“I wish they were here to meet them.”
Matt relaxed, knowing she referred to her deceased parents, and carefully twisted around in the chair to say, “They would have been very proud of you.”
She scrunched her face up.
“For popping some kids out? Not so sure about that.”
“For being brave enough to end up where we are.” he replied in a sombre tone.
“I’m certain they would be proud to see how much of a great woman you’ve become.”
“Stop stalling me with sweet talk and hand them over.” she demanded with a tired half-grin.
Gingerly he rose to his feet and took the few steps that brought him to the bed’s edge.
Madi frowned then fixed the pillows behind her before stretching her arms out again.
“Um, let me have Ethan first, he’s fussing.”
Trying their best not to jostle the babies overly much, Matt successfully passed his son to Madi.
“Hello sweetie,” she crooned softly as she cradled him with one arm.
“Do you want a feed?”
Matt peered at Eva who was also beginning to fuss.
“I think they both do, poppet.”
“Can you buzz the nurse? I still don’t know how to do this properly.”
“I can help.” Matt volunteered without hesitation.
Madi cleared her throat, perhaps embarrassed, and Matt gave her a look.
“I’ve seen your breasts before,”
“I know, Matt-”
“And I watched you breastfeed,” He snuck a peek at his wristwatch.
“Two and a half hours ago.”
“It’s just-”
“Let me help.” Matt said firmly.
Sighing Madi nodded her head as she unbuttoned the cotton nightgown she wore and undid the clasp of her maternity bra.
“Ok, but don’t stare like you did last time.”
Matt hid his smile and took a seat on the bed while Madi went about placing their son in position to feed.
Once Ethan had latched on to her breast, it took him a few tries, Matt tenderly helped Madi arrange Eva on her remaining free breast.
“This is weird.” she said as she gazed at them.
Matt buttoned his shirt back up then wrapped an arm around her so he could lend some support to her other arm.
“I think it’s beautiful.” He kissed the side of her head.
“ You’re weird.” she mumbled then lost interest in him as she became consumed by their babies.
Matt understood completely.
His focus was solely on their little faces peeking out from under their tiny baby hats as Madi held them.
At 5lbs 3oz, Eva was the bigger twin.
Ethan just managed to make 5lbs.
Matt was again silently thankful and in awe.
How had the three of them done it?
Although he had portrayed a calm demeanour during Madi’s advancing pregnancy, he had secretly been afraid of all the things that could have gone wrong.
Hell.
Half the times he sat in board meetings the reports he implied he was reading through were in actual fact print outs from various websites and online reading material concerning twin pregnancies.
Nothing had truly prepared him for their arrival though.
There were no words to express the sheer terror they’d experienced when Ethan had been born.
Those first few long moments of silence which should have been filled with the sound of a screeching newly delivered baby were soul-destroying.
Madi had squeezed his hand tight enough to cause physical pain and he had unconsciously matched her force as they both silently prayed their firstborn would be ok.
The paramedics had arrived by that time with a mobile incubator and the necessary tools to deal with a multiple delivery outside the safety of a hospital ward.
Matt shook his head to rid himself of that particular memory.
Eva was breech but Stuart delivered her also, he’d refused to give control to the paramedics, determined to see the delivery of his nephew and niece through to the end and loudly reiterating how good of a surgeon he was.
Matt was too worried to point out his brother-in-law’s specialty laid in heart surgery and Madi simply wanted the ordeal over with.
He could never forget the stark look of pain etched on her features as she experienced childbirth.
Eva had made her presence known from the get-go.
A wide smile split his face as he lightly touched her impossibly tiny hand which was curled shut.
Upon delivery her mewling cry had been met with cheers from the whole room.
Grumps had loudly decreed their resilience was a certain Bradley trait and William Jr had been moved to silent tears at the newest additions to their family.
He would, of course, deny it happened if ever mentioned.
“At least they’re no longer covered in womb gunk.” Madi mused quietly.
Matt choked back his chuckle and pressed another kiss to the side of her face.
“It was quite messy.”
“Slimy.” Madi shuddered then tilted her head to look at him.
“They’ll be ok, right?”
Matt nodded and bent his head to capture her lips in a soft kiss.
“Yes, they will be. They’re ours, of course they’ll be alright.”
His cocky assurances brought a smile to her lips then they both turned their attention back to their babies.
A couple of hours filled with their low murmurs of ahh’s and ohh’s passed in the blink of an eye.
Once the babies had been fed, Madi had fixed her clothes and spent the time just cuddling them, her eyes remained wide with fascination while Matt simply enjoyed the moment of them being together.
All four of them.
Soon enough though Madi couldn’t halt her yawns and her eyelids started drooping.
Matt convinced her to hand over the babies, it took a while for her to relinquish them, and coaxed her into getting some more rest.
It was a good thing too as it wasn’t long after when Matt’s family converged in Madi’s private hospital room.
He didn’t have the heart to wake Madi who had only recently dozed off.
Poor thing.
She had been whisked off into surgery the moment they had arrived at the hospital to have the lacerations to her cervix repaired.
It was why there had been so much blood during her labour.
Matt was so damned thankful the three of them were okay.
“I’m holding one of them next.” Stuart demanded of Hannah.
“While you were off on your jollies, I was busy delivering these beauties.” Stuart scowled at Matt.
“I damn well hope Ethan’s middle name rhymes with,” His scowl deepened as he hovered anxiously over Hannah’s shoulder and watched her stroke Eva’s tiny knuckles.
“What rhymes with Stuart, darling? They should name him after me, yes? Is there a female version of my name? Isn’t she such a darling? Come on, Hannah, stop hogging her.”
“Dad, please.” Natty groused while sneakily edging Adam out of the way when Grumps finally offered up a sleeping Ethan for adoration.
“You do know I’m going to be their favourite uncle.” Stuart smugly thumbed his nose at Adam who had spotted Natty’s incursion in the circle to hold Ethan.
“Highly unlikely,” Adam retorted as he tapped Natty’s shoulder and waved her back.
“I’m a blood relative. You just happen to be married to their aunt.”
“Quiet,” William Jr ordered before expertly and carefully retrieving Ethan from Grumps.
“Before you wake Madison.”
Everyone automatically turned towards the bed where she slept.
Portia had seated herself on the chair at the top of the bed.
Her hands were clasped while she observed the members of her family.
Matt caught her gaze and she beamed at him.
She had yet to hold either one of her newest grandchildren.
“Mum,” He took Eva off a complaining Hannah and walked over to where his mother sat.
“Would you like to hold her?”
Portia nodded and held her arms out.
Once Eva was tucked into the curve of her arm, Portia sighed softly.
“She’s beautiful, Matty.”
William Jr came over with Ethan in his arms.
“They are, aren’t they?”
Matt regarded his parents with pride as they held his children.
“They’re perfect.”
“They don’t look black.” Grumps added dryly.
“Not one bit.”
“Grumps.” Adam chastised him with a harsh hiss.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s true though.” Grumps continued.
“We can all see it.”
Before Matt could lose his temper, Hannah stepped in to resolve the situation with sibling solidarity and promptly offered to take Grumps home.
Matt mouthed a ‘thank you’ as she manoeuvred their unwilling grandfather and everyone else bar his parents out the room.
“Tell Madi I’ll stop by tomorrow.” Hannah blew him a kiss and closed the door behind her, shutting out the grumblings of the others as she herded them away.
“They’re ok,” William Jr paused, unable to fully squash the uncertainty in his tone.
“What have the doctors said? They’re so tiny, son.”
Portia tore her gaze from Eva and pursed her mouth at her husband.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Then she fell silent as Eva made a noise of discontent.
“Poor thing, she’s been blighted with the Bradley nose just like Natalia and Nicole.”
“Mum,”
“Well, I never,”
Matt and his father voiced their outrage at the same time, and Portia let out a light chuckle.
“I’m teasing, darling,” She touched the delicate skin of Eva’s cheek.
“It’s far too early to tell who they look like.” Portia raised her head and blinked back tears.
“I’ve been a terrible mum, haven’t I? The way I behaved with Madison-”
“It’s forgotten,” Matt sought to reassure her even though he knew Madi hadn’t completely forgiven his family for her treatment at their hands.
Sometimes he feared she hadn’t wholly forgiven him either, but he was currently brimming with happiness and couldn’t bear the thought of his mother crying at such a momentous occasion.
“You will let me make it up to you both,” Portia begged.
“You’ll allow me to see them, yes?”
“Of course,” Matt snorted in exasperation and exchanged a glance with his father who was too engrossed in his grandson’s features to pay attention to what they said.
“You’re still my mother, and even though you have behaved appallingly in the past, I would never keep you away from the twins.”
“What about Madison?” A self-deprecating huff came from her.
“I’ve been trying to mend things between us but perhaps it’s too little too late.”
“Don’t dwell on it too much.” Matt smiled as Eva’s little mouth parted in a tiny yawn.
“I trust you two plan on remarrying.” William stated with a firmness reserved for meddling parents.
“Now the babies are here, there’s no reason for you not to. You told us that you’re back together.”
Matt stiffened at the blatant expectation on his father’s face as he gently rocked his grandson in his arms.
Bloody hell.
They were something else.
It was a complete change to their initial feelings concerning Matt’s relationship with Madi.
“Dad,” Matt begun in a voice as firm as his father’s.
“Whatever Madi and I decide about the future will be just that. Our decision . I appreciate your concern but it’s unnecessary and unwanted. Can I enjoy my new family without-”
“Matthew,” William cut him off.
“Don’t waste time.” He looked to Portia, a sad smile ghosted across his mouth.
“Life’s too short. You love her, she’s given you two beautiful babies, and I’m certain she feels the same about you. Grumps and I talked about this last week and we’re in agreement on this issue. It’s the right option.”
Matt arched an eyebrow, arms now folded across his chest.
“You do understand how hard it is for me to listen to you right now. After your complete disapproval of my relationship with her,”
“Things have changed.” Portia insisted.
“We only want you to be happy, darling, and it’s quite obvious Madison makes you happy. Your father is right. We expect - hope you both remarry as soon as possible.”
They were unbelievable.
Matt slowly shook his head at their demands.
How typical of them to dictate their wants.
Well, Matt was an adult, a father now, and he would do what he thought was best for his family.
“Madi and I are happy with the way things are at this point. Don’t meddle in our business.” Matt warned.
“And don’t mention any of this to her or I’ll be very upset.” He narrowed his eyes at Portia.
“Mum, I’m serious.”
She exhaled loudly but said no more, same for his father.
Matt knew this wasn’t the end of the discussion though.
His parents would try to manipulate things to suit their way, and as much as Matt wanted Madison to be his wife once more, the decision would ultimately have to be hers.
Hell, since she’d confessed to still being in love with him, the urge to propose lingered on the tip of his tongue.
After every deep kiss, after every single fleeting touch, every look, every smile; he fought the urge on a daily basis because he was a changed man and this time around things would be different.
They would go at her pace.
“We know it’s what you want.” his father said with an arrogance Matt couldn’t dispute as it was the truth.
“Dad.”
“Fine, we won’t speak of it again.” William conceded, wholly querulous in his manner.
“We only want what’s best for you, well, for you both.”
“As do I,” Matt retorted.
“I want what’s best for us and our children but I’m not going to coerce Madison into something she might not want.”
“Coerce? Why wouldn’t she want to remarry you? You’re my son and a damned good catch. What about Ethan and Eva?”
Matt stiffened, the tension already building in his body as he asked in an empty voice.
“What about them?”
“Whose surname will they have? Will you need a custody agreement? What provisions have you put in place for your family? What if Madison meets someone new…you’re not married so there’s no obligation to-”
“Willie,” Portia interrupted him in a calm voice which warred with her irritated expression.
“Matthew is fully capable of making his own decisions. I would like to enjoy spending time with our new grandchildren without it descending into a fight.”
“I’m not fighting,” William explained as he held Ethan close.
“These things matter, they really do-”
“William, we’re the last people to counsel our son on marriage.” Portia’s sharp reprimand halted William in his tracks.
“They’ll work it out between them.”
A deep flush crept up his face and he avoided their eyes for a few minutes before he forced a smile to his face and gestured to the sleeping baby his wife held.
“Shall we swap now? I haven’t held Eva as yet.”
Matt rubbed the back of his neck, trying his best to retain his good mood.
He looked on as his parents swapped babies and whatever annoyance he felt simply melted away.
They left not long after, the babies were now in the crib and lying as close to each other as possible.
Matt stood over the crib and fell back into a state of pure wonder as he watched them sleep.
They were perfect, and he had never been this happy before.
I was in love with Matt.
Completely and understandably in love.
It was some ungodly hour in the early morning and Eva refused to go back to sleep.
Matt had been trying to get her to settle for the past couple of hours.
Patiently walking the length of the nursery with her in his arms while he hummed under his breath in an attempt to calm her down.
I sat up against the pillows and observed him through the adjoining double doors that linked the master bedroom to the nursery.
Matt had gutted and redone the two rooms closest to the master bedroom of his Kensington home into one huge nursery for the twins.
Neither one of us wanted to be too far from them.
At ten weeks old the babies were much bigger now in terms of size, as were my boobs.
I grimaced and glanced at the offending glands sticking out under my top.
Who’d have thought that after years of boob envy, I would despise big boobs on myself?
Breastfeeding was hard work and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it up, but Matt was so proud of me.
He still got that mushy look on his face whenever he watched me feeding them, and it still freaked me out.
We were co-parenting, co-habiting, and since last week, co-sexing, if that was a real word.
Yay!
Of course, it hadn’t gone exactly to plan.
My loaded boobs had squirted a stream of milk directly into his face when he started fiddling with them.
I hadn’t been keen for any boob play, they were a source of food now and I mentioned my unease to Matt, but he begged and I conceded, then he got milk in his eye.
To his credit he hadn’t freaked out, but his ‘bloody hells’ were a tad sharp.
I had laughed until the tears ran from my eyes.
After cleaning off the milk, we resumed our eager lovemaking but I got nervous when it came to the final act and Matt had to spend some time assuring me it would feel the same.
The words ‘kids destroyed my vag’ kept flashing before my eyes.
The babies had woken up by then for a feed, so I did my motherly duty and popped them on my boobs.
I ended up dozing off with them on the boobs, Matt woke me up and we put them back in the nursery.
They were darlings when they slept, that meant we both stood gawping at them for a while before heading back to bed and our interrupted sexing.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Matt and I got straight down to business.
It was quick, a bit uncomfortable, and slightly disappointing.
Matt had collapsed by my side, frowning as he apologized for my lack of climax.
Two days later he came home from the office earlier than expected and wearing a determined expression.
He helped me get the twins settled then spent the next two hours with me in bed.
Two delicious, uninterrupted hours of reacquainting ourselves with each other’s bodies.
Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and came all over the place.
Matt had laid his head on my stomach afterwards and smiled in satisfaction.
It was wonderful, he was wonderful, and I wanted things to never change for us.
I slid out from under the warm sheets and tiptoed through the adjoining doors and into the nursery.
Matt sent a tired smile my way while he rubbed Eva’s back.
I checked on Ethan who continued to sleep but it was fitful.
His stirring meant we probably had twenty minutes tops before he woke up screaming.
“Matt?” Moving away from the crib, I stood in his way and squinted up at him.
“Do you want to get married?”
Matt arched an eyebrow at me, pressed a light kiss to Eva’s head and grinned.
“If that’s a proposal,” he whispered back.
“I’ll be honest and admit it’s a bit flat.”
My squint turned into a proper scowl and he leaned over to kiss my nose, mindful of Eva in his arms.
“Do you want to get married, poppet?” he asked.
Ethan let out a tiny snuffle and Matt grimaced.
He took Eva back to the crib and settled her down next to her brother then beckoned me over.
I made my way to his side and he slid his arms around my waist in a loose hug.
I couldn’t resist rubbing my face in his bare chest before leaning back to see his face.
“I don’t know.” I really didn’t.
“Do you think we should? Things are good the way they are right now.”
Matt pursed his lips, then chewed on the bottom one.