by Sadie Grubor
"See? Now I feel better." After kissing my forehead, and Viola’s cheek, he returned to the male bonding session.
"I see that he gave you the necklace." Viola commented. My eyes immediately dropped to where the necklace lay.
"Mmhmm." I mumbled.
"He told you what it means, I hope?"
I nodded.
"Good, now maybe you can get the idea of this just being an arrangement out of your damn stubborn head."
I snapped my eyes from the necklace to Viola.
"What?" Viola raised an eyebrow. "You seriously still think you are going anywhere in four years?"
I opened my mouth, but closed it immediately. What the hell was I supposed to say? Yes, it felt different between us, but it’s not like we discussed anything about permanency. I sighed.
"Oh, Jesus Christ, Lilli." Viola slammed her drink on the table.
Oh lord, here we go, naughty Viola.
"He isn’t going to let you leave him, even if you wanted to. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and how he is with you. He is in love with you."
"He told me that already." I mumbled.
"And you don’t believe him?"
I shrugged.
"Fuck me." Viola exclaimed.
"Shhhh." Phoebe giggled. Some guests turned to look at Viola, clearly surprised by her outburst.
"Viola is right, Lilli. Aidan is so deeply in love, I don’t think he has ever considered coming to the surface ever again." She smiled warmly.
"Five minutes is up." Maggie giggled, placing her head back in my lap.
"I guess we will see." I said in a hushed tone.
By the end of the four hour long shower, Elora still hadn’t gotten through all the gifts. It was crazy. I started to consider hiring people to unwrap gifts at my shower if it was going to be the way Viola claimed.
As guests started to leave, Elora took a seat next to me.
"Hanging in there?" I asked, giving her a half-smile.
"I am so tired." She groaned, putting her feet up on a chair. "If I have to see one more Tiffany Blue box I may cut my wrist with it…and I never thought I would ever say that about Tiffany’s!"
Viola, Phoebe and I began to laugh.
"I wish Celia could have made it." Elora sighed.
"She had to work." Phoebe pouted, with a little shrug.
"She's always so funny and blunt. I could’ve used her up there with Anne a few times." Elora smirked.
"Was she giving you a hard time?" Viola asked.
Elora shrugged. "She was just being her snobby self, commenting on proper gifts and such." She groaned and grabbed her stomach.
"Are you okay?" Phoebe jumped to her feet.
Elora laughed.
"Yes. The baby is just stretching out and a foot has found a rib."
Phoebe’s face twisted and her body shuddered.
"I felt it! Did you feel it?" Maggie’s head shot up, looking at me excitedly. I nodded. "That was so great! Hey babies, its Auntie Maggie." She rubbed my stomach and there was another kick. "They know it’s me!" She smiled.
"Did you get into the mimosas?" Viola eyed Maggie with a small grin.
Maggie rolled her eyes at her mother. "So, one month to go." Maggie turned her attention to Elora and her round stomach.
Elora nodded.
"Yep, thankfully it will be all over soon."
"We should all go out to dinner before the baby comes." Phoebe chimed in.
"Oh…can we go to the Japanese Steakhouse?" I begged.
Elora nodded in agreement.
"That sounds so good." Elora and I were both lost in thoughts of food before Phoebe snapped us out of it.
"If either of you starts drooling I will slap you." She rolled her eyes, a playful smile on her lips.
True to our word, two weeks later we were all seated around a large private table waiting on the chef to arrive and cook our food. The smell of the food from the other tables was driving Elora and me into a hunger craze. When the chef arrived everyone told him to start with our food.
I’m sure I moaned out loud with almost every bite of noodles, shrimp, vegetables and chicken. Aidan was rubbing my thigh or wrapping his arm around my shoulder during most of the night. Once I was finally full, Elora and I sat back, talking amongst ourselves about how we were feeling.
"Are you okay?" Elora seemed to be a little off, causing me some concern.
She nodded and drank her water. After wiping her mouth she spoke.
"I’m just a little tired." She shrugged. "I’ve had this huge burst of energy the past couple of days, I think I wore myself out." She smiled, rubbing her shoulder.
"Maybe we should call it a night, so you can go rest." She nodded in agreement with James’ suggestion.
Celia, Dixon, Oscar, Phoebe, Aidan and I stayed about an hour longer talking and laughing. I, of course, ended up with dessert in front of me. At the first sign of my own tiredness, Aidan ushered us from the restaurant, so he could get me home.
It was roughly five in the morning when I heard Aidan answer his phone. Burying my head in pillows and blanket, I silently cursed the caller.
He nudged me.
"Whhhaaaaat?" I groaned.
"James took Elora to the hospital." He whispered, wrapping his arm around me.
"Is she okay?" I was immediately wide awake.
"Mmhmm…she went into labor a couple of hours ago." He snuggled closer.
"Should we get dressed and—"
"Are you crazy?" His head snapped up as he looked down at me incredulously. "Lilli, you are almost seven months pregnant. I think you should sleep and then we will go to the hospital after the baby is born."
"Are you sure? I feel like maybe we should—"
"It will be fine, Lilli. Sleep." With that final order, he pulled me closer.
After laying his head back on the pillow, his hand found my stomach. It took me a little while but, eventually, I fell back asleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aidan
Lilli and I got up a couple of hours after the phone call from James and went to the hospital.
We arrived to the maternity floor and found everyone in the waiting room, including Elora’s parents.
"Lilli, Aidan…" Viola walked toward us, giving us each a hug and kiss to the cheek.
"Viola." I smiled and kissed her back.
"We're having a baby!" Elora’s parents boasted in unison.
"Has anyone been back yet?" Lilli asked, taking a seat next to Maggie and Jason. Maggie immediately started rubbing Lilli’s stomach.
"Not yet. We're still waiting." Anne stated impatiently.
"These things take time." Viola patted Anne’s arm.
"I’m starving." Lilli stood. "I’m going to go get something to eat before I get cranky."
"I’ll come with you!" Maggie jumped up, linking arms with Lilli. As they passed me, I ruffled Maggie’s hair and kissed Lilli.
"Be right back." She smiled up to me. I nodded.
"So, how is Lilli feeling?" My head snapped at the sound of Uncle Henry’s voice.
"Good. Lilli and the babies are fine." I smiled.
"That is great to hear." He seemed to relax significantly. "So, have you gotten the completed paperwork from the lawyers about AIS?"
I furrowed my brow. We were here for the birth of his grandchild and the asshole was concerned about the fucking inheritance.
"It’s taken care of." I curtly replied.
"Any more information about the birth control pills?" Liam inquired with genuine concern.
I shook my head. "Not yet? But, I assure you, I will continue to dig until I find out."
"Why bother?" I glared at my Uncle Henry's ability to brush off the incident. "The outcome was for the best and no one is hurt."
"What the hell, Henry?" Liam spit out, before I could say one word. "The poor girl was drugged, which is not only illegal, but was also a risk to her health."
"I’m just saying…" Henry shrugged.
"I
suggest you don’t say anything else about it." I snarled. "And don’t you dare say one fucking thing about any of it with Lilli around. Do you understand me? I will not have her upset over your lack of compassion!"
My uncle’s face stiffened in anger, but also fear. When I felt a hand rubbing my back, I looked over. Viola had moved to sit next to me. I forced a smile. She wrapped her arms around me in a large hug.
We all sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. The ding of the elevator finally broke the silence. A smiling Maggie and Lilli stepped out. My whole body relaxed when this beautiful creature – my wife – walked toward me, smiling, carrying my children and wearing my grandmother’s necklace. God, I love her.
Lilli sat on my left side with a brown bag in her lap.
"Here." She handed me a bottle of orange juice from the bag and then a bagel.
"Thank you."
I watched her pull out a bagel with cream cheese and strawberry jam. She ate the bagel and drank a bottle of milk. Then she pulled out a banana and ate that.
"Is that going to be enough?" I inquired, ready to go get her something else.
"What are you trying to say?" She pretended offense.
"That my babies need to eat, which means you need to eat." I laughed and wrapped my arms around her.
"I’ll be fine. For now." She leaned her head on my shoulder. I deeply inhaled.
"Did you just sniff me?" Her face twisted in confusion.
"Maybe." I whispered.
"You're so weird." She giggled.
"It’s a boy!" James burst through the set of gray double doors.
"Congratulations" and "awwws" flooded the waiting room. James was smiling from ear to ear. I can say I'd never seen my cousin look like so elated.
"Elora was amazing and both of them are doing great." He boasted proudly.
After watching everyone hug and congratulate him before heading back to see Elora and the baby, he stopped in front of me.
"Congratulations." I pulled him into a hug.
He pulled back, smiling with his hands on my shoulders.
"I can’t describe it. One minute I wanted to run and, then, it was like nothing could pull me away from her. It was unbelievable! Once he was here and cried out…fuck, man! I can’t even tell you!"
His smile was infectious and I hugged him again, patting his back firmly.
"I am so happy for you, James."
"You’re next." He smiled and walked me down the hall with his arm around my shoulders.
"So, Lil, you’re next?!" I heard Dixon before we rounded the corner, seeing him walking toward Lilli.
"Fuck you, Dixon, you are not helping to deliver these babies." She pointed to her stomach.
I looked at James.
"Guess who was on fucking duty, of all days?" James rolled his eyes.
I burst into laughter.
"Shut the hell up!"
Dixon's response brought my attention back to their conversation. My smile faded.
"Ah, come on. I’ve already seen you naked before." He chuckled.
James felt the tension in my shoulders and removed his arm.
"We were like sixteen and it was an accident!" Lilli yelled, blushing from his comment.
I relaxed slightly and moved to her side.
"Yeah, yeah, sure it was, Lil. We know you purposely left the bathroom door unlocked for me." He smirked.
"Oh, yes, that, of course, was what I wanted. However, you feeling the need to sneak through my bedroom window to get in the house? What was that about, huh?" Lilli crossed her arms over her chest.
"The front door was locked." Dixon replied like she was an idiot.
Lilli shook her head, took a step forward, and smacked Dixon in the arm roughly.
"You are not delivering them!" She walked around him and headed into the hospital room behind Dixon.
"Hey, man." He smiled at me.
"Are you trying to piss her off so I have to deal with it for the rest of the day?" I raised my brow with a smirk.
"Hey, I didn’t knock her up, so you must deal!" He laughed loudly and turned to the nurses’ station.
Shaking my head, I walked into the room. Viola was holding a small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. Lilli was leaning over her arm looking into the bundle.
Glancing over at Elora, I saw James scoot in next to her and wrap her in his arms as they both talked about the delivery. Lilli shuddered a few times when Elora recapped the pain.
"Okay, enough. I don’t want to hear any more." Lilli waved her hands in front of her to stop. Elora laughed.
"So, what is my grandson’s name?" Aunt Anne broke into the conversation, she now held the baby.
"Henry James III." Elora stated proudly. James looked surprised by the announcement. His grin spread widely and he kissed the top of her head.
"Happy Birthday, Jimmy!" I proclaimed. It was my turn to hold my little cousin.
Chapter Four
7 Months
Lilli
I sat in the waiting room of my doctor’s office going through every out of date magazine on the table next to me. Thankfully, the nurse called my name. I wanted to get this blood test over with.
Earlier this morning, I had to drink four ounces of the most disgustingly thick and sweet glucose serum. It was absolutely foul and I wanted to puke. I hadn’t been allowed to eat anything during the time either, having to wait until the test was complete.
Sitting in the cold, hard chair with my arm extended out in front of me, the nurse wrapped a rubber tie tightly around my bicep. After a few taps on my vein, she poked the needle through my skin and drew the blood she needed. I used to have a small apprehension about needles but, after all the poking and prodding since the car accident and the pregnancy, I was a pro.
Once she was finished, I gulped down the granola bar I had in my purse, feeling like I'd smuggled contraband into the office, and waited for my official doctor’s appointment.
After the appointment, I had the driver immediately take me to a restaurant.
Ordering a large breakfast, a familiar face appeared.
"Lilli?"
Loreley stood next to the table. I started to stand to greet her.
"No, no, please stay seated." She motioned for me to stop. "Do you mind?" She pointed to the empty chair next to me.
"Of course not." I smiled. "Do you want anything?"
She looked through the menu as I called the waiter back over. He moved quickly. Loreley placed her order, which would look like nothing compared to mine.
"So, how are you?" She smiled warmly.
"I’m good. Hey, I never got to thank you." She looked at me with confusion on her face. "For telling us about Becca." I explained. "Thank you."
She smiled. "It was my pleasure. I couldn’t believe what she had done when I found out." Shaking her head with a disgusted look on her face, she continued, "I mean, the Iverson’s have always been good to her and you never did anything to her. I just don’t get it."
"Well, thankfully we have some answers. Aidan is still working on the rest of it." I sighed.
"I’m just happy I was able to help." Loreley placed her hand over mine with a pat.
Loreley and I ate lunch together while discussing some common interests. I discovered we had a lot in common. We both loved to read and held an interest in poetry though neither of us wrote it.
After a few hours, Loreley and I said goodbye and went our separate ways. Viola’s was my next stop.
"Lilli…" Viola kissed my cheek, hugged me, and then rubbed my stomach. "How are you today?"
"Good. A little tired, but good." I gave a small smile.
"You poor thing." She looked at me with pity.
We got into her car and headed to a shelter that the foundation was considering taking under its wing.
Once inside, I started to take the place under an investigative eye. The building was dilapidated, but still seemed in good standing. The woman who ran the shelter was very pleasant and welcoming.
"I am so glad you agreed to visit today." She shook Viola’s hand before turning to me. Her eyes dropped to my stomach, just like everyone's did now, and then looked up smiling as we shook hands. "My name is Debra."
"It is entirely our pleasure." Viola responded.
"Let me show you around and tell you a little bit about the place. Please, question me at any time." Debra motioned for us to follow.
"It is a little run down, isn’t it?" Viola whispered into my ear. I nodded in response.
"This is the recreation room." Debra motioned through a large set of doors. The room was filled with televisions, couches, pool tables, card tables and folding chairs, book shelves, and more. "Most of the young adults hang out in here during the days."
"This is the dining room." She motioned through another set of double doors across from the recreation room. Looking around, I could easily see they needed new flooring and wall treatment. It could also use a good scrubbing. "The kitchen is this way."
The kitchen also needed some work: new appliances, flooring, a good cleaning and, probably, pots and pans.
Viola’s smile never faltered as Debra led us around the building. Clearly, they needed help. They were constantly at full capacity but only had enough to really support a third of those who stayed there.
Most of the population in the shelter consisted of young mothers, abused kids, and abused women and their children. There were also a couple of single fathers with small children. My heart instantly broke when we entered a nursery of small infants and toddlers.
One crib held a baby who'd been burned and a toddler with lost eyesight. Then there was a young, pregnant girl who looked to be helping out.
"Who is the girl? Does she work here?"
Debra followed my eyes and smiled.
"That's Abby. She came to us a few months ago from an abusive foster family." Debra’s face fell. "She was one of three foster children that lived with the family and their two children." She sighed heavily and then her voice dropped to a whisper.
"She's thirteen years old and pregnant with the foster parent’s grandchild. They beat her and kicked her out when they found out she was pregnant. Their biological son, who is seventeen by the way, denies the child is his. It’s a shame because she has the biggest heart and loves to help in here."
