Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Whew, Lord. Saved by the ringtone.
I don’t slow down until I’m safely in my room, with a door, stairs, and kitchen to separate me from Grant.
“Hey Twinnie,” Ivy says once her picture pops up.
“Ivy!” I cry, fighting back emotion.
The whiplash from getting swept up in Grant to seeing my sister after so much worrying is nearly enough to bring on a wave of tears.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” she asks.
I step away from the door while shaking my head. “Nothing’s wrong. You caught me finishing something up in the kitchen and I ran upstairs.”
Ivy hesitates. “Is… the kitchen still standing?”
“Hardie-har-har.” I let out a dry laugh. “Don’t worry, the kitchen remains intact.”
She wipes invisible sweat from her forehead, and I cut my eyes at her while also inspecting her as much as I can through the screen.
She rests against a gray headboard letting me know she’s not at the hospital.
Some of the pregnancy-induced swelling has dropped from her face, which I’m unsure is a normal part of being post-partum or a sign that she’s losing weight too quickly.
Her eyes have dark circles underneath, letting me know she isn’t getting enough sleep.
“I’m so glad you called,” I tell her, making my way around a box and to my bed.
“Braxton’s been keeping me up to date, but it’s not the same.
Are you getting enough rest? Eating? Do you need anything?
I still have your in-laws’ address saved in my from the gift I sent on their anniversary.
Just say the word and I’ll have whatever you need sent over. ”
Ivy closes her eyes in the middle of my rambling, but a faint smile spreads across her lips. “I’m fine.” She hesitates. “I’m doing okay. I’m eating. And no, I don’t need you to send anything up here. I’ve got everything I need.”
At least she doesn’t try to lie and tell me she’s been sleeping.
She opens her eyes and looks at me. “Braxton is doing a good job of taking care of me and the babies.”
“And how are my beautiful nieces? I can’t wait to meet them and love on them.”
“They’re fighting to get strong enough to come home.
Braxton’s mom and dad are at the hospital with them right now.
I’m supposed to be sleeping but I can’t,” she admits.
Her eyes water and she closes them before any tears can fall, taking a moment to compose herself.
“My nurse says if I want my milk to come in then I need to take care of my body, but it’s so hard. ”
I wish I could reach into the phone and pull her into a hug. “It’ll come in Ivy, try not to stress about it. You know that will only make it harder.”
“I know. It’s just…” She takes in a shaky breath full of unleashed emotion.
“None of this is what I pictured. I don’t even care about the c-section or these big ass underwear they gave me that practically sit under my boobs.
I just want to hold my babies all day without a timer or the sound of breathing machines in the background. ”
“Oh sissy, I’m so sorry you have to go through this.
Just know everything you’re feeling is natural,” I tell her softly.
It kills me we have to do this over the phone instead of in person where I can be there for her to lean on.
“This part is temporary. Nia and Amani will be out of there before you know it and you’ll get all the time in the world with them. ”
“You can’t know that,” Ivy whispers.
“Nope. Don’t go trying to flip the script on me. What was it you used to call me when there was something you weren’t sure about and I was?”
Ivy sniffs and her lips twitch. “Know-It-Eve.”
“That’s right. Don’t start acting brand new just because you had some babies. I know my nieces will get stronger. I know they’ll be okay.”
After a few moments of deliberation, I see the moment Ivy decides to trust in my word. She tilts her chin up and smiles at me, this one reaching her eyes.
“You’re right. My babies are strong. They’ll be okay.”
“I know that’s right!”
We smile over the screen, hope shared between us.
“So,” she says after a few moments. “How is it going with you and Grant? Braxton and I have a bet as to how long it will take you to drive him out the house.”
“What? You’re betting on me? Why would you do that. That’s bad twin juju.” I dodge her question, not ready to tell her there is a lot going on—almost kisses, lingering touches, evolving feelings...
“Are you two at least getting along?”
“Yes?” Especially if getting along means wanting to strangle him one minute then kiss his pie coated lips the next. “And the nursery’s almost finished.”
Ivy lets out a yawn that sets one off in me too. “I can’t wait to see it. Thanks again for doing this for us. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“That’s what big sisters are for.”
She nods, looking good and tired, but knowing her like I do, once we hang up, she won’t easily give up and fall into the sleep her body desperately needs.
She’ll be back to worrying over Nia and Amani, when the best way she can take care of them is by taking care of herself.
And while I might not be there in person to ensure she’s doing just that, there is another way I can help.
I walk to my old bookcase I started clearing earlier and pick up a worn paperback. “Remember this?” I hold the book up to the phone.
Ivy squints at the screen. “Is that Nutcracker and Mouse King?”
“Yup. Remember how we used to make up our own adventures for them, imagining Marie with tiny afro puffs and the nutcracker with a gold chain?” We both laugh. “Are you still down to fight a freaking rodent to live happily ever after with someone who’s greatest talent is cracking nuts?”
“Whoa, not too much on my man now,” Ivy jokes while rubbing her eyes. “Look, Braxton’s cool and all, but the nutcracker? Well, that’s mine, and I’mma stick beside him.”
I climb onto the bed and prop my phone on the pillow before opening the book.
“For the entire twenty-fourth of December, the children of Medical Officer Stahlbaum were not permitted to step inside the intermediary room…” I begin.
Ivy’s quiet as a mouse as I read and just as I suspected, when I make it to the section titled “The Protégé” and glance at my phone, she’s sleeping.