Bonus Chapter #2
“Can you make me a mug of tea?” I ask Lex with pleading eyes before sitting down.
Despite Isaac’s insistence, I wait for everyone to be seated before opening the first gift. It’s a small velvety box, and when I open it, there’s a gold necklace and a gem-encrusted lizard-shaped pendant.
“It’s a newt!” Isaac proudly explains. “I chose it myself!”
I gaze at Lex, who offers a tentative nod. “I helped a little.”
“I love it, thank you, sweetheart.”
I kiss my son’s head and then ask Lex to help me put it on. Once it’s secured, I look down at it, touched by the attention. We named our second-born after Isaac Newton, so the nickname we have for him came naturally.
“Now mine!” Gabriel demands.
“Alright.”
“Newt, stop giving handouts to the dog,” Lex orders, noticing our mischievous son at it again.
The pile of torn wrapping paper and dismissed boxes grows as I open everything.
I get board games, collectibles, and also a lot of mommy stuff.
As Lex said, half of it is for our girl.
Since it’s also Frodo’s birthday, or at least the day he joined this family, a couple of gifts are for him.
I get another “Best mommy in the world” mug to add to my collection.
One of the big gifts is a soothing bassinet, and the other, a huge Star Wars Lego set I’ll be assembling with the boys, who are also fond of that.
He’s looking into it with my dad while my mom and Isaac are playing with Frodo and his new toy.
I’m almost done, with only a small box left. When I start opening it, Lex sits up and leans in, which tells me this is from him. Tearing the paper reveals a pretty wooden box. And when I open that, there’s nothing but white sand in it. Intrigued, I look at him.
“There’s something in there,” he explains.
I shuffle through the sand with my finger until I feel something. When I take it out, it’s a key. “What is this?” I wonder, having my suspicions.
“For baby number one, I got you a house—this one. For baby number two, I got you the house in Canada.”
Yes, he did. He sold the one by the lake where we spent two months a decade ago, and bought something a little less isolated, a little more family-friendly instead. We spent a month there these past three summers with the boys, and it’s becoming another one of our traditions.
“So, I thought I’d keep up and get you another house for baby number three,” Lex concludes.
“And where is this one?”
“Off the coast of Belize.”
I knew it!! We went back to that island a handful of times after our original stay, but the last time was when I was pregnant with Newt while my parents looked after Gabriel.
“Are you serious?!”
“Yes.”
I jump out of my seat with excitement and leap into his arms. “Thank you, baby,” I gleefully say, covering his face with pecks.
“Oh, that gift is as much for me as it is for you. I can’t wait to watch you walk around naked all day and massage all that sunscreen in,” he whispers in my ear.
Since I like where I am, I decide to stay right here and sit on his lap instead of returning to my chair. “Oof,” he complains when my full weight is on him. I send him an apologetic glance, worried I’m hurting him, but the mischievous glimmer in his eyes tells me he’s teasing.
“Asshole,” I mumble with a smile. “Wait until I sit on your face later. I’ll suffocate you.”
“Freckles, if I do my job well, what you’ll do is drown me.” The naughty joke has me chuckling before I focus back on the others, while his hand mindlessly grazes my thigh. “Your parents agreed to come watch the kids when we’re ready to go back to that island.”
“If we take her with us, we can be there in three, four months,” I suggest, cradling my stomach.
“Like a delayed babymoon? I like that.”
“Maybe we can start working on that fourth kid,” I joke.
“Don’t tempt me.”
Even if we tried, it’s unlikely we’d succeed.
After his vasectomy reversal, Lex’s sperm returned to a decent but not optimal quality.
Gabriel was easily conceived, which stunned the doctors a little, and we had to try a little harder for Isaac.
But once we were ready for round three, my own fertility was declining, and it didn’t matter how hard we tried, it wasn’t enough.
So, we resorted to using one of Lex’s sploogesicles instead, and our baby girl came out of that petri dish.
“Oh, I forgot something!” my mom suddenly remembers.
She rushes out to the hallway that leads to their room.
When she returns, she holds a flat, wrapped package.
I take it when she hands it and start tearing.
It’s a black velvet box, which I recognize before having to open it.
That’s why my eyes are already wet when I lift the lid and reveal the pearl necklace.
This is the gift Lex gave Maria Carmen during our first Christmas together.
My abuela was obsessed with it until the end, wearing it every time the occasion called for it.
In her casket, though, she wanted a necklace my abuelo gave her in their youth, which she wore every single day of her life.
My eyes tear up at the memory of her, the hormones doing their thing again.
“She would have wanted you to have it,” my mom says with a small smile.
With a sniff, I nod and admire the pearls, wishing she could be here with us to enjoy this moment, surrounded by loved ones. But she left us a little under a year ago, in the middle of her sleep, at peace.
As an homage to the amazing woman her great-grandma was, we’re naming our girl Maya Camila Walker. Our very own MC.
Carefully, I take the necklace out and hand it to Lex, who slips it around my throat and locks it on my nape. “Thank you,” I tell my mom with a trembling voice, grazing the smooth pearls with the tip of my fingers.
I must look ridiculous with my old T-shirt, pink robe, and fancy necklaces, but no one here will judge me for it. Isaac even says I look beautiful when he notices, which makes me smile so hard it dismisses my sadness.
Once we’re done eating, after we clean everything up, we all gather in the living room.
Frodo lies next to me on the sofa with his head on my thigh as he sleeps, and with my approval, Lex is getting the Lego set started with the boys.
My dad is playing chess on his phone, and my mom is finishing the little shoes she’s crocheting for Maya Camila.
I feel so … contented. This perfect little family is exactly what I longed for, and I have it.
My parents are around a lot, so are Kate and Rafa—though they’re on vacation in Europe at the moment.
I have two amazing sons, who will be as smart as their dad, it seems. And I have the best husband any woman could ever ask for.
I don’t have to lift a finger—he’s willing to do it all for me.
Especially pregnant like I am now. But I’m not one to stay idle, so, as much as I enjoy being pampered, I do my fair share around this house and in our lives.
Professionally, things have also been amazing.
I put it aside a little, as Lex did, to take care of our family, but I had four intense years where I juggled being one of the Kelex partners and helping Lex launch the new selfless part of his journey.
In the end, I stayed with Kev, taking over what Lex used to do at Kelex while my husband fully threw himself into his new goal.
I still get to have the best of both worlds, since he often consults me and involves me.
I accompany him to charity galas, and we’ve traveled all around the world to see the facilities he’s having constructed.
Schools, hospitals, universities, housing …
He has been changing lives, more than he ever thought was possible.
Later in the morning, Kate FaceTimes me.
The call lasts for a solid two hours, with everyone getting a turn to talk to her, my brother, and their daughters.
While they are younger than Poppy and Emma, the boys are really close to their cousins.
We see them a lot, which I love for our kids.
Our children are growing together, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Lunch is scarce since we ate so much for breakfast. Following that, Lex excuses himself to go work for a moment. With a quick conversation with my parents and the boys, I secure for myself and Lex the privacy we need.
Time to get some birthead action going.
Ihate having to work during my wife’s birthday, but I know she understands. It won’t take long anyway, just a couple of emails to read through and reply to. Then I’ll be out with my family again, celebrating one of the greatest dates in American history.
I’m almost done when the door opens. I look up over my glasses and see Andrea in her pink robe. “Sorry, I’ll be right back. I just need to handle this.”
Without a word, she steps in and closes the door before heading toward me with her wobbly little penguin walk.
She grabs a pillow from the sofa on her way here, and I stop whatever I’m doing to watch her instead.
There’s something determined and naughty in her eyes, and I love it when my pregnant wife is feeling naughty.
When she reaches me, she drops the pillow to the floor, twists my chair so I’m facing her, and uses the armrests to help her descent, kneeling on the soft cushion.
“Andrea, what are you doing?” I ask as she unfastens my jeans.
“Fixing a grave mistake.”
“Which is?”
“It’s my birthday and your cock still hasn’t been in my mouth.”
“Someone might come in.”
“Everyone’s out walking Frodo. They’re going all the way to the park. That should give us an hour.”