48. Kaitlyn
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Kaitlyn
NOW
A month later, Bailey and I sat down to eat the lunch he’d brought me at the gallery when we got a frantic call from Henry.
“Mirabelle’s in active labor,” he yells into the phone, and I wince, moving it away from my ear.
“She is?” Bailey asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. With Henry’s yelling, I didn’t even have to put it on speaker for Bailey to hear.
“Congratulations! Keep us updated,” I say, smiling at the thought of the twins finally being here.
“You’re not coming to be here with us?” he asks, and I look at Bailey. He looks just as confused as I am.
“I mean, won’t the waiting room be full enough? We’ll come as soon as you give us the all clear, but it’s probably not a good idea to overwhelm Mirabelle,” I explain, and Bailey nods, giving me a thumbs-up.
“Javi?” he whispers.
“Henry, who has Javi?” I ask, and I hear yelling in the background.
“He’s here with Dad. Can you please just come? I need you,” Henry says, and I know that despite however many people are already in the waiting room, I’ll be one of them.
“We’ll be there soon,” I say, and Bailey’s eyes crinkle as he smiles at me.
“You’re going to be an auntie,” he says, and I put the lid on top of my mac ’n’ cheese.
“Rude, I’m already an auntie to Javi,” I remind him, and he chuckles, smiling.
“You’re right.”
I lean forward, kissing his cheek. “I know I am. Thank you for bringing me lunch, though. It was really sweet of you,” I say, and Bailey’s jaw unhinges.
“I think you’re forgetting the sunflowers I also brought,” he says, looking at the stunning bouquet he brought with him.
“I could never forget the sunflowers. I now keep a vase on my desk for how often you bring them,” I remind him. I’ve asked how he always knows when the old ones start to die, but B claims it’s a secret.
“Do you think your mom will care if I close up for the day?” I ask, and Bailey hums, gathering the rest of our things.
“Are there any more appointments?”
I shake my head, looking at the appointment book on my desk.
There’s a few tomorrow, but they can always be rescheduled if Mirabelle’s still in labor.
“Everyone came in already for the day, so I think it’s okay.
” I grab my bag and put it over my shoulder.
“How was therapy today?” I ask, since we didn’t really get a chance to talk before Henry called.
Bailey’s been meeting with his therapist twice a week, and it’s become part of his routine to bring lunch after. Sometimes he wants to talk, but other times he just wants to sit in silence together. I’m not sure what type of day today’s going to be.
“It was good,” he answers, keeping it vague. “We can talk about it another day, it’s okay.”
“Whatever you need,” I say, echoing the promise I made to him a month ago, moving toward the light switch in the back. Bailey reaches for my hand when I grab my keys with the other to lock up the gallery.
“Do you think they’re going to name the babies after themselves?” I ask, trying to lighten the air. It does just the trick, catching Bailey by surprise as he snorts.
“Mirabelle’s a little obsessed with herself, but I don’t think she’d name her kid Mirabelle Junior,” he says, and I think he’s giving them entirely too much credit.
“I think there’s a chance, but do you think it’ll be two boys, two girls, or one of each?”
Bailey chuckles, opening the truck door for me. “I’ve always seen them with one of each, but I hope for Henry’s sake, they don’t have two girls. I still can’t believe he bought that many boxes of gloves instead of donating directly to the school.”
I think Mirabelle would be a fantastic boy mom after growing up with three brothers, but I think Henry would drown if they had twin girls. He’d be the biggest sucker, and they’d have him wrapped around their fingers from day one.
“Do you want kids?” I ask as he gets in the truck, and Bailey tenses. “Shit, this isn’t like a make-it-or-break-it relationship test, I swear. I’m just curious.”
I’ve totally put my foot in my mouth when I was only trying to distract him from whatever was discussed in therapy.
He hesitates, and I wish I could take it back.
“Is it bad if I say I don’t know?” he asks, peeking at me. Honestly, the answer makes me feel relieved.
“Would it make you feel better if I said I also didn’t know?”
He chuckles, flexing his hand on the steering wheel. “Actually, yeah. I mean, I don’t want to say never if the timing was right, but I’ve never seen myself as anyone’s parent. I think I’ll be an awesome uncle, but it’s not something I’m dreaming about.”
“You will be an incredible uncle,” I reassure Bailey. “I think after getting to know Javi, I’d maybe like to foster one day, but I can’t say the idea of being pregnant is appealing. With the right person, I think I would consider it, but we’re young. We have plenty of time to figure it out.”
“Whatever you decide, I know you’ll be amazing.”
No matter what, I know we can face anything because we’ll be together.
Dad and Sebastian are entertaining Javi by teaching him how to play blackjack using Goldfish as chips.
Bailey is sleeping in the chair next to me, his head resting on my shoulder while his hand holds onto mine, even in his sleep.
I can feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier, threatening to pull me under into a light sleep as we wait for another update from Henry.
The sound of quiet footsteps causes me to force my eyes open as I look to see my brother standing there, his face white as a ghost.
It causes my brain to jump to the worst-case scenario, and I sit up straight.
He looks like someone died, which given where we are, I really hope isn’t the case.
“Is Mira okay? Are the babies?” I ask as Bailey slowly lifts his head up at the sound of my voice.
Henry’s dark eyes are wide. “Don’t ever have kids, Kait. I’ve seen things that I can never unsee,” he says, shaking his head.
Is he for real? Did he skip health class in high school or something?
Henry slumps into a seat, rubbing his hands over his face. “ I didn’t even realize that it could stretch that much,” he says, using his fingers to try and demonstrate the size a vagina can expand to. Oh my god.
“Are you stupid?” I ask, unable to hold the question in any longer. I’m honestly embarrassed right now to admit I share any of the same brain cells as him. I hope he said the same thing to Mirabelle because she deserves to know how she’s been duped by my smooth-talking brother.
Sebastian and Dad are shaking their heads laughing at him. “Well? Am I a grandpa?” Dad asks, clearly wanting to move past this part of the conversation to cut to the chase.
Who the fuck doesn’t understand babies have to come out of somewhere?
Henry’s face shifts from horror to a soft, endearing smile. “Yeah, they’re perfect. Twenty fingers and twenty toes all accounted for.”
Due to the fact I’m refusing to let go of Bailey, I drag him with me as I stand up to move closer to my idiotic brother, smacking him on the back of the head.
“Ow, what was that for?” he complains, looking at me annoyed just before I wrap an arm over his shoulders to hug him tightly.
“Next time, lead with the fact that my niece and nephew are perfect instead of recounting how horrified you are after seeing your wife’s vagina pump out two babies.”
Dad snorts, and Henry rubs the back of his head.
“Why do you have to say it like that?”
“Because it’s the truth. If you can put them in her, then you can watch them come out. If you don’t like how they’re born, then maybe you’re not qualified to procreate.”
Sebastian grimaces. “Okay, enough talk about where the babies go in and out of. Are you going to wait until my hair is completely grey before telling us their names?”
“I’ll let Mira tell you. The babies were getting cleaned up quick so I was sent to deliver the news,” Henry explains, standing up, motioning for everyone to follow. “Come on Javi, I have some people for you to meet.”
Javi doesn’t bat an eyelash as he bounds toward him, jumping on him at the last second. Henry beams, catching him mid-air, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t melt my heart a little. They’ve started with sleepovers on the weekends to give Javi a chance to try being away from Bailey.
I still think he’s an idiot though.
I’m sure in anyone else’s family, it would be absurd to have four more of us join Mirabelle and our moms, but in this one, the more of us there are, the merrier it is.
Henry’s paycheck is clearly good for something because this might be the biggest hospital room I’ve ever seen.
He’s passed a tiny bundle from Thalia after setting Javi down.
Mirabelle’s holding the other baby, her hair damp with sweat around her face, but I don’t think there’s anything that could erase the bright smile she has.
“Guys, we’d like you to meet Clementine, Clem for short,” Henry says, smiling down at the baby in his arms. I seriously can’t believe my brother is a dad.
“And this is Theo,” Mirabelle says as the baby boy in her arms starts to fuss a little bit, almost like he heard us talking about him before settling.
Sebastian moves closer to where Clementine is being cradled in Henry’s arms, saying what I’d guess we’re all thinking. “They’re so tiny.”
Mirabelle huffs, clearly disagreeing with the statement. “Yeah, let me tell you they’re not very tiny when they’re coming out, Dad.”
I bite back my comment we’ve already been over this.
“They kind of look like aliens,” Bailey whispers in my ear, and I clamp my jaw shut to prevent laughter of any kind from slipping out. I wait until I’m sure no one around us heard his comment before responding.
“I wouldn’t say that to anyone else if I were you. I think Mira would kill you.”
“Javi, what do you think?” I register Mirabelle asking Javi from where he stands next to her.
“He’s kind of funny looking,” Javi says, his head tilted in confusion as if he’s not quite sure what to think.
Mirabelle laughs, dropping her head against the pillows. “Yeah, kind of, but he’s perfect in every way, just like you,” she says, giving him a tired smile.
“Wait, why is it okay if he says it, but not if I say it?” Bailey starts to protest and I’m starting to get a little curious as to how the male species has survived this long. Does he really not understand the difference between him and a five-year-old?
“Because Javi is five.”
My attention is stolen again by Mirabelle’s moment with Javi. “I think Theo’s going to need a big brother to look out for him. What do you think, Henry?” she asks, bringing Henry out of his daze with Clem.
“But I’m not his brother.” Javi’s expression is one of confusion, and my jaw drops. I totally forgot Mira and Henry were going to ask Javi if they could adopt him.
“Do you want to be?” Henry asks, sitting down on the edge of Mira’s bed.
“Would that make you my mom and dad?”
Oh my god. This is the cutest fucking moment ever.
“Only if you want us to be,” Mirabelle says, and Mom covers her mouth with her hand, emotion clearly overcoming her.
Javi’s face lights up, understanding they mean it. Still, he turns to look at Bailey, silently asking for permission. I really can’t help the happy tears that slide down my face when he nods his approval .
B has done so much for Javi, but I think the most important thing he ever did was help give Javi a family to call his own.
“I do.” Javi beams at them, and I’m not surprised to see that nearly everyone else is crying at the moment.
We all deserve happiness, but I don’t think anyone deserves it more than the wonderful man standing next to me and the little boy who brought him home.