Heaven’s Gate
29 Twins
Liz crawled into my lap Sunday morning as I was reading the paper in the big chair. None of us had dressed since the bonfire last night and it didn’t really look like any of us would dress for the rest of the weekend if we could help it. Amazingly, no parents were expected this weekend.
“We don’t feel good,” Liz complained. I petted the full round baby bump and felt our little one move and kick. “And she’s making it worse with all the kicking. I think I ate something that disagreed with her last night. I’ve had an upset tummy all morning and the world’s stinkiest diarrhea. I’m sorry if I fart and it stinks, but I just want to be held.”
I held and loved on Liz. I kissed her tummy and told our baby to settle down. Dani brought Liz a cup of tea and sat on the arm of the chair petting her.
“Mmm. What is this?” Liz asked.
“Raspberry leaf and cinnamon,” Dani said. “It helps prepare the uterus for labor and ripen the cervix.”
“Labor? But I’m just… almost due, aren’t I?” Liz’s eyes got big. “Are you coming out to join us, Sweetpea?”
“What you’ve been describing this morning sounds almost exactly like what I was experiencing the day before Xan was born,” Dani said, smiling.
The back door slammed and Matthew came running into the room. He was already naked.
“Papa! Mama Rhee is going to have a sister!”
“Is she, son? Guess what, so is Mama Liz.”
“Really? Papa, am I only boy now?” I heard what he said, but his fingers said, “Leon.”
“Do you miss your buddy, Leon?” I asked. He nodded. “Me too. But just because he lives a long way away doesn’t mean he isn’t your buddy. He’ll be back.” Lionel had received assurances from the Hornets that he would be staying in Charlotte after the NBA playoffs and draft. The Hornets had won only one of four against the Bulls in the first round in May, but Lionel had done well and was popular with Hornets fans. This summer Lionel and a pregnant Sugar packed the two kids up and moved to Charlotte.
There was a bit of a commotion and a groan from the kitchen as Doug, Rhiannon, Sandy, and Doreen came in. As soon as C-Rae was on the floor and she ran to Matthew. When she saw Dani, she immediately said, “Xan?”
“She’s napping so she’ll have lots of energy to play with you this afternoon,” Dani said.
C-Rae spread her fingers at the top of her head and brought them down across her face until they closed with her thumb and her head drooped forward. Dani opened her arms and C-Rae let herself be picked up.
“Night-night, Papa,” C-Rae said as Dani carried her up to the bed where Xan was napping.
“I think it’s almost time,” Rhiannon said as she brushed Liz’s shoulder. “I’ve been feeling so strange today.”
“Me, too. Wanna go take a nap with the babies?” Liz asked. I helped her struggle out of my lap and she held Rhiannon’s hand as the two girls made their way slowly up the stairs to the master suite.
“I might as well take this on up,” Doug said as he hefted the suitcase. “I’ll just make sure they’re comfortable.” Sandy and Doreen giggled as they dropped their gis and cuddled into my lap. Matthew headed for the play area and dumped out all the Lincoln Logs.
“Maybe it was just because I was pregnant and the center of everyone’s attention,” Doreen said, “but I don’t remember Doug being that whipped when I was getting ready to go into labor. He can’t stand for her to be out of his sight.”
“It’s so cute,” Sandy said. “I’m sure glad you’ve been there to pay attention to me.”
“There just isn’t a description for what it does to us guys,” I said. “Doug’s been Daddy to Matthew and C-Rae. But he’s Rhiannon’s baby’s father. He’ll never slight the other two, but you can’t help but feel something special when you know you planted that little mite.”
In deference to the pregnant women, only Doug and I slept with them that night. All the other women and the children went to the big bedroom. Doug and I ended up sleeping on the floor on either side of the bed while Liz and Rhiannon rolled around trying to get comfortable. We were less likely to get bruised.
I opened my eyes at four-thirty and grinned as I thought about spending the night on the floor. Hannah would enjoy this story. I stood quietly and started doing some stretches.
“Oh, shit! I peed the bed,” Liz moaned. I bent to put a kiss on her forehead.
“Don’t worry about it, Red. We’ve got protectors down and we can change the sheets while you two shower,” I said.
“Ow! Oh!” Rhiannon moaned. Doug was up and holding her hand. “It started.”
We got the two girls up and into the shower. Doug joined them while I quickly ran upstairs to let our cónyuge know. Dani and Doreen followed me back into the room and shooed me to the shower while they changed the sheets and got things ready.
The shower did a world of good for all of us. Liz and Rhiannon loved having their hair washed by their men. We took time to condition it and rinse thoroughly while we massaged their scalp. Just having the water beat down from the two shower heads was a comfort to them and there were no more cramps. We toweled them dry and spent a long time combing out their hair.
“I’ve never had hair this long and luxurious,” Rhiannon said. “I might need to stay pregnant.”
“Yeah. It’ll probably all fall out next week,” Liz said. “You know, trade your hair for a baby.”
“Is it that easy?” Rhiannon asked.
“Must be. I don’t feel a thing.”
“Exercise,” I said. “Everything is ready here in the room. Right now, you need to come downstairs and have a little breakfast and some exercise walking around. Don’t worry, Doug and I are right here beside you and we’ll take care of everything.”
And thus began Labor Day.
We called everyone, of course. That first labor cramp was just the beginning and the lull was just long enough to convince us it had been false labor. From that point on, they got closer and closer together as the day wore on and their nerves wore thin. Mom, Dad, Anna, Lech, and Irene all arrived by dinner time. Rhiannon’s parents, Claudia and Ken, were there by eight.
Dawn came over periodically to check and then planned to stay the night. Both moms were exhausted and fell asleep with Doug and me holding them. That didn’t last long, either. Both girls woke up for good at about two-thirty when the cramps were about five minutes apart. Dawn smiled.
“Who’s first?” she asked.
“Me!” both said.
“So, it’s a race. How would you both like to use the bathroom and shower before we start pushing?”
Dawn was pretty relaxed, so we were, too. They had a couple pretty severe cramps in the shower, but Doug and I were there to support them and help them breathe through it. When we got out of the shower, we had other cónyuge waiting to dry us and get us back in the bed. We elected not to call over to wake the parents until we had babies or it was morning.
Once Liz and Rhiannon were back on the bed, it really was a race.
At four-twenty, Doug and I were receiving our children from their mother’s wombs side by side. Nikki held Liz’s hand and helped with the breathing. Doreen was with Rhiannon.
“No one will believe this,” Dawn said. “Time of birth, four-twenty-eight a.m. for both Liz’s little girl and Rhiannon’s little boy. Exact birthday twins.”
We called over to the Clintons where Lech and Irene were staying, then to Dinita’s house where my family was. Sandy called over to Casa del Agua’s house where Claudia and Ken were staying. Finally, Doug got the phone and called his parents in Florida. They planned to come up as soon as they had word.
“Dad, we have a son. He’s nineteen and a half inches long and weighs seven pounds nine ounces. James Kenneth Swift. Love you, Dad.”
“Ten toes, ten fingers, red hair. That’s our granddaughter,” Irene said. “What are the statistics, your brothers and sisters will all want to know they are aunts and uncles again.”
“Seven pounds, nine ounces,” I said. “Nineteen and a half inches long. The name…” I turned to Liz.
“Céleste Rose Frost,” Liz filled in. She turned to Nikki and softly said, “Hannah isn’t the only godmother in the family.” Nikki was crying. Céleste is her middle name. Of course, Rose was crying, too.
“Won’t it be difficult with your baby having a different last name?” Lech asked. “I know it’s done, but still…”
“It is done, but both Danielle and I have filed to have our last names changed to Frost,” Liz sighed. “I hope you don’t mind, Brian.”
Mind? Now I’m crying.
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