Chapter Six
IT HAS BEEN AN agonizing series of weeks leading up to this day. Avery and Logan had taken up residence in Asheville while the twins had been in the NICU. But today, today she is scheduled to take them home.
At first, she had been under the impression that Everett would have to stay for another week or two, but he has been catching up to his sister faster than anyone anticipated.
So here she and Logan stand at the front of the hospital discharge area holding two empty baby carriers as a nurse double checks the bases in the car to make sure they are secure.
“All looks good,” she says with a quick grin. “Now let’s go get your babies.”
They follow the nurse up to the pediatric floor where their infants wait to be discharged. Logan begins filling out the paperwork as Avery continues to follow their escort. She gestures to the bassinet holding both Caroline and Everett and Avery lets out a small gasp of surprise.
“Brooks?”
“Hi, Avery,” he says with a cocky grin where only the right corner of his lips rise.
“What are you doing here?” she asks as she sets down the carrier and gives her friend a warm embrace.
“Well, I figured since I will be their pediatrician, I should go ahead and sign off on their papers. Hey, Logan,” he adds as her husband saddles up next to them and sets his carrier on the floor.
“The kids look really good. Everett shows no signs of permanent damage, but we’ll keep an eye out for any developmental or cognitive issues as he grows.
And Caroline, well, you can tell she is the big sister and she’s doing wonderfully. ”
“That is so nice of you, Brooks. I can’t wait to get them home. Heck, I can’t wait to get home; living out of a hotel room for the past month has been exhausting.”
Brooks chuckles as he peers down at the twins once more and then places a pat on Logan’s shoulder before turning and strutting away. “Make an appointment with me in a week. See y’all later.”
“See you.”
Reaching into the bassinet, she takes a squirming Everett into her arms and then takes a seat in the rocking chair, ready to nurse the twins before the hour trip home.
Once Everett and Caroline have gotten their fill she dresses them in coordinating outfits and takes some pictures before placing each of them in their carrier.
“Alright my little ones, ready to see your home?”
At the car, the nurse helps her lock the carriers in place as Logan starts the vehicle.
“Good luck to you both, we’re going to miss having them here. You have two very special kids there,” the nurse announces as she closes the car door.
“Thank you very much for everything you and your team have done for them. We won’t ever be able to repay you.”
The lovely woman smiles in kind and offers a gentle hug which Avery quickly accepts.
“As long as they live good, happy lives then that is payment enough. Travel safe.”
Settling in her seat, she looks over at Logan and then takes a glance into the back seat where both of the babies suck on a pacifier and gazes in their mirrors back at themselves.
“Oh my gosh, they actually are letting us take them home, Logan!” she whispers in a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
“I know. Are they sure we can do this?”
Avery turns back to face the front of the car and she takes a deep breath. “I have no idea.”
Surprisingly, both of the twins remain calm the entire trip, while she and Logan fret over everything around them. He also refuses to do any speed that isn’t fifteen below the posted limit. But they do have precious cargo so she keeps her comments to herself.
Finally, they pull into the drive of the oversized craftsman Logan and Austin had renovated during the winter months, just finishing it up before the babies arrived unexpectedly.
“I guess it helped that we haven’t been here so that Austin could finish painting the rooms. I still need to set up the nurseries though.”
Logan helps her jump from the SUV and opens the door for her to snag Caroline’s carrier from the car, then he travels back to the other side to do the same for Everett.
“It’s ok; we can always set up the cribs in our bedroom until you have the rooms the way you’d like.”
“You’re right. Ok, cuties, are you ready for the grand tour?” she asks as she and Logan ascend the stairs.
As Logan opens the door Avery practically jumps out of her skin as the crowd waiting in the living room shouts “Surprise!”
“What is all this?” she asks as she glances around the room curiously.
Amy and Nikki step forward and gleefully take the carriers from their holds.
“It’s your welcome home party, silly,” Melanie, Nikki’s cousin, and Avery’s old coworker, says as she steps forward with her husband Max and enfolds Avery in a tight hold.
“I can’t believe you’re here. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Like we could miss this. Now get those babies out of their carriers so I can hold them,” Melanie says as she bounces on her toes in joy.
Laughing, Avery crouches down to unstrap Caroline and then turns to the group as she smiles coyly. “I think I should go change these little beasts first, and then y’all can all have a turn.”
Logan removes Everett and then trails behind Avery as she moves up the steps leading to the second floor.
She turns to the first room on the right and comes to a complete halt.
Before her is a beautifully decorated nursery.
A mural of zoo animals cascades the far wall while two white cribs stand about two feet apart with a rocker on either side on the opposite wall.
A changing table is placed on the wall closest to the closet while a dresser containing another changing pad is residing between the two windows overlooking the yard.
“Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful. Did you know about this?” she asks as she strolls farther into the room.
“I had no idea. Wow, it’s perfect.”
She heads over to the dresser in awe and lies down Caroline to change her and finds a small stack of diapers nearby. With a steady hand on her daughter, she begins to open a few of the drawers and finds tiny clothes folded flawlessly.
Avery makes quick work of the diaper change and turns around to find Amy and Joseph standing in the doorway.
“What do you think?”
“Oh, Amy. Did you do this? It’s magnificent. It’s exactly what I pictured.”
“Well, I had quite a bit of help. Austin mentioned that you hadn’t finished the nursery yet. Nikki told us what you had planned and we kind of went with it.”
“You did an amazing job; better than I ever could have done. Thank you so much.”
“You’re very welcome. Now, which one of these babies can I cuddle for a little while?”
Avery steps over and places Caroline into her grandmother’s arms and she coos like the attention seeking baby that she is, earning a laugh from Amy. Everett is placed into Joseph’s waiting grasp and she watches as her father reaches up to wipe the tears welling in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I just hate to think that we almost didn’t have this, that we almost didn’t have you, Avery. One of the happiest days of my life is when you surprised us on our doorstep. Without your bravery, I wouldn’t have these two precious children to spoil.”
“Oh, dad,” Avery whimpers as Logan wraps an arm around her shoulder and she leans into his hold.
The room grows silent as each of the grandparents peer down at the miracles in their arms, each person taking in the meaning of her father’s words.
They have all overcome so much in such a short time.
All of the pain they’ve endured has brought them to this beautiful moment, this moment of pure and genuine love.
“Well, I suppose our moment of hoarding these babies has come to a close,” Amy declares, breaking the silence as Caroline reaches up to take a handful of her straw color blonde hair. “Joseph, let’s go give everyone else a turn.”
Joseph follows dutifully as his wife leaves the room and passes off Caroline to Sydney’s waiting arms. Soon the room fills with the talk of the twins and everyone exclaiming how perfect they are.
But to Avery, this gathering is perfect to her.
Her family all together in one room, and if she tries hard enough she can even imagine her sister standing by her side proudly.
And just as she has that thought the subtle scent of strawberries teases her nose and Avery grins broadly knowing that her vision is indeed a reality.
***
AS THE ROOM FILLS with their family, the mindless chatter swirls around her wrapping Nikki in a comfortable ease. She grabs a plate of food that Amy and Sydney had brought over to help welcome the family back to their home and makes her way back out of the kitchen.
Nikki watches as Austin and Melanie saunter into the kitchen, laughing loudly.
“Hey, cuz, how are you doing?”
“I’m good, just hungry. It seems I’m always hungry,” Nikki adds with a chuckle as she shoves a baby carrot into her mouth.
“How much longer?”
As Nikki chomps down on the vegetable in her mouth, Austin responds as he rests a gentle hand on her lower back, slipping it beneath her shirt and rubbing her skin in a soft caress, “Grace could arrive any day now. We’re actually three days past the due date.”
“Oh man, I bet you’re miserable.”
Nikki winces as she remembers how miserable she was at the beginning of her pregnancy.
Months spent in the hospital as her body refused to keep anything down and the fear that she would lose the baby.
She recalls how the day her doctor gave her he all clear to spend the remaining days of her pregnancy at home, Melanie and her aunt Andrea had convinced her to head back to Carson and tell Austin that he was going to be a father.
Melanie cringes as she watches the emotions creep along Nikki’s face and apologizes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think.”
“No, it’s ok,” Nikki comforts as she smiles towards her cousin. “I’ve almost forgotten about all those months ago. We definitely can’t wait to meet her, but she can keep baking as long as she wants. Of course, I would be happy to see my feet again.”