‘You can come in,’ she said, and I crawled inside.
The babies were so dinky, like teeny tiny pink people! It was hard to imagine that they would grow as big as me, let alone even bigger. Dad crawled in beside me and slipped an arm round Mum.
‘It’s about time you two did something useful,’ said Mum. ‘You can have one each and give me a bit of a break. Put one hand under her head, Nicholas. She needs to be supported. That’s it.’
I gazed down at the pink bundle wriggling in my arms. I stroked her little hand with one finger. The baby grabbed it and held on tightly, as if she didn’t want to lose me. Are they girls then?’ I asked.
Mum leaned back against the pile of boxes and closed her eyes sleepily. ‘Not at all. You’ve got a baby sister and a baby brother. One of each. How’s that?’
‘That’s just about right.’ I smiled. ‘Brilliant.’
11 Happy Families
We’re back home now, all five of us. Mum and Dad have been arguing over names.
‘Brenda and Ronald’ said Dad.
‘Don’t be silly. They’re our names.’
‘I know,’ said Dad. ‘But what about Brenda and Ronald Junior.’
‘Horrible. I like Clarissa and Justin.’
‘Clarissa and Justin? Oooh, la-de-dah!’
Mum shot him a cross look. ‘They are not la-de-dah, you silly man. They’re nice names. I think “Clarissa” is very pretty. And Justin sounds like he’s clever.’
Dad threw his arms up in despair. He knew that they would never agree.
However, they did. It took a week and a half, but eventually Mum and Dad decided what to call the twins: James and Rebecca. Nice, straightforward names. The only problem was that by this time Dad had given them both nicknames, and Dad’s nicknames seem to have stuck.
You know what he calls them?
Cheese and Tomato.
My Mum's Going to Explode! Page 4
