With my eyes on the babies, I watched as not-Anakin Kline but Barker Kline and Melody both blinked their eyes a couple of times, and then looked up at me with different expressions on their faces. Barker’s was content and sort of ‘imma lay here and just be cute’. whereas Melody’s warned she was about to lose her shit – which she did right then.
“Are they awake?” Katy mumbled sleepily.
Uh, gee, ya think?
“Your daughter is a hellion,” I told her, watching as she pulled herself up to sitting in the bed. “And I think she’s hangry.”
Passing over the harpy, Katy fiddled with her top and then winced as Melody literally pounced on her and started feeding, growling when she got it. “Christ that’s fierce,” Katy gasped, looking up at me wide eyed. “The nurse said we’d need to top up with formula for a couple of days, maybe even always depending on how my udders do at producing a glass of milk for them.”
That was an analogy that made me shudder at the mental image it brought. Not the milk production because there was nothing gross to me about that, but picturing udders on her chest.
“Yeah, she dropped that stuff off after you passed out. Once your harpy’s done her thing, we can swap and I’ll give her it, if you want?”
And just like that, we made the life changing adjustment from just the two of us to parents, as easily as we’d made the adjustment three years ago when we’d gone from people living independent lives to us.
After the feeding was done, diapers had been changed, and baby bootys were sparkling, I sat back down holding them in exactly the same way as before and started singing The Calling’s Wherever You Will Go. Barker was the first to close his eyes and slip back to sleep, but Melody watched me with eyes that were the same color as my own until the song was almost finished, making me wonder if her path in life would be one that involved music.
Just as I finished the song, Katy sat bolt upright in bed and squealed, “I knew you sounded like someone, but I couldn’t figure out why.”
Being likened to the lead singer of the group was far from a bad thing, seeing as how his voice kicked ass. In fact, I remember back when the group released that song and people saw the lead singer, heard the depth of his voice and went ‘huh?’.
“Yours is a bit raspier and a smidge deeper,” she continued, holding her thumb and forefinger about a quarter of an inch away from each other in front of her face. “But that’s it. Shit, how long has it taken me to figure that out?”
“Three years?” I suggested grinning at her.
She dropped her hand down to her blanket covered lap and her expression changed from excited to soft. “I saw you before that, honey.”
Carefully getting up to put the babies in their fishbowls, I walked back over to her and sat down on the edge of her bed, planting a fist in the mattress either side of her. With our mouths now about an inch away from hers, I laid it out. “Six months before you became my GYMP, this beautiful gamer chick moved to town and started working at the garage. She intrigued me, and I wanted to get to know her better. So, when my lease was up, I moved in next door to her and got to know her and her huge dog, too.”
“You did that on purpose?” she breathed, looking shocked.
“How else was I going to get you to talk nerdy to me?”
Laughing quietly, she lay back, watching me with sparkling eyes that were taking longer to open when she blinked. It might not have been a bad labor, but she’d given birth to two babies so she was exhausted.
Laying down beside her, I pulled her into my side and lay there staring blankly at the ceiling. Three years ago I never knew I’d have this, but now I couldn’t imagine my life without it. Every night I went to sleep with my wife wearing one of her nighties and a pair of hilarious but sexy character underwear, with Duke watching out to keep her safe.
And now I’d fall asleep with two little humans who were half of me under my roof, too.Two years later…
Using the money we’d saved and her inheritance from Maude, we’d bought a house in the same development. Detached, sitting back from the road, fenced in front yard and large backyard, perfect for a family of four and two dogs – Duke and Deloris, our German Shepherd. Sitting in pride of place in the living room were the photos taken of Maude being held by the strippers that night at the club.