CHAPTER 10: MEET LILY TESSIO

After a while, the doctor said, "She's all yours," and left us to see Lily, Kathy and Vern.

When all of us got to the room, we were greeted with one of the happiest sights any of us had seen in a long time. Kathy was laughing at little Lily as she opened her eyes and smiled at her, and Vern was lying in bed next to her, counting Lily's fingers and toes.

"Sorry to break up the party, but I want to meet Two-For-Flinching's kid," Teddy smiled softly as he stood next to the bed.

Vern laughed and handed Lily to Teddy. "Be careful with her head," Kathy cautioned him.

Teddy laughed at Lily. "Hey there, Lily. Look how pretty you are. Whoa, hey, Uncle Teddy needs those," he chuckled as she reached up and took off his glasses.

I smiled proudly. It was like Teddy had transformed from Teddy into… a somewhat normal person, just from holding a baby.

Teddy then passed Lily to Gordie. Gordie rocked her back and forth and looked at Vern. "She has your smile, buddy," he grinned as she smiled at him.

"That's your Auntie Dana, Lil," Kathy said as Dana gently took Lily from Gordie. "She would make me peanut butter sandwiches in the middle of the night when I had cravings for them, so ask her to make you one when you're big enough." Everyone laughed as Kathy said, "Hey, they're good sandwiches!"

Chris was the next one to take Lily. "Hi Lily," he said softly, in a voice he only used when he was talking to little kids. "Hey, you're a really lucky little girl, you know that? Look at your mommy, and your daddy, and all their friends who are here with you. We love you a whole lot, Lil."

And then, Lily was placed in my arms. I just stared down at her for a minute. Her face was all red and scrunchy, but I could see some tufts of Kathy's blond curls already forming on her little head. Gordie was right: she really did have Vern's smile, and when she opened her eyes, they were the same soft blue as Vern's. "Wow…" I whispered. "Um… hi there," I started off lamely with.

Chris nudged me gently and said, "We'll leave you two alone for a while, Joe. I'll call your dad and let him know everything is alright, okay?"

With that, Dana, Gordie and Chris all left. Vern then came over and started to pull the curtain that divided the room in half. I immediately stopped him and asked, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. What do you think you're doing?"

Vern shrugged. "Hey, Chris said you wanted to be alone. Also, I uh, kind of want some alone time, with Kathy, if you know what I mean."

Kathy blushed and hid under her blanket. "Vern, really…" she mumbled.

Vern smiled, said slyly, "Be right back," and pulled the curtain all the way around.

I sighed and tried again. "Okay… well, hello, Lily. You know, you have my name. Well, my first name is your middle name, but still, you kind of have my name."

Lily looked up at me with her big blue eyes as if she understood everything I was saying.

"Um… I'm not that good with kids, to be honest, Lil. I mean, sure, I have Mickey, and I'm the coach of the Little League team in town, but… I've got to be honest with you; I don't know the first thing about taking care of a little girl. I'm sure Kathy will dress you up in pretty dresses and everything like that. But I'll tell you something," I leaned down and whispered, "I'll make sure that you can throw a ball so well that Earl Wilson Stats will be begging for lessons."

Lily laughed, and I just smiled. "You're going to be one great kid, Lily Johanna Tessio," I said; with that, I kissed her head and drew the curtain back… only to find Kathy and Vern making out on the bed. "Uh… excuse me," I startled them, "but there IS a child in the room." I held out little Lily to her parents, and Kathy smiled.

"So, uh…" I said as I backed away from the happy family, "I'll just leave you guys alone for a while, okay?"

Just as Kathy was about to say something, Chris burst into the room, dragging my dad and Mickey in behind him. "There, Mr. Randall, see?" Chris panted. "Joey's okay, and Vern and Kathy are… well, they're more than okay, as you can see."

Oh, shit. I hadn't told my dad where we were. He probably thought I had dropped off the face of the earth somewhere! "Oh, my God, Dad, I'm sorry," I gasped. "I completely forgot about telling you what happened."

My dad shook his head. "It's okay, Joe. You couldn't have told me while Kathy was, you know, in the middle of delivering, could you?"

I smiled. My dad was always so good with understanding things like that.

Mickey piped up from behind Dad. "So, that's Vern's kid, right?" he asked, pointing to little Lily.

I laughed and pushed him gently over to the bed. "That "kid", as you so eloquently put it, does have a name, you know."

Mickey laughed, his freckles moving as he did. "I KNOW that, Joe, I'm not that dumb. What is her name?"

Kathy spoke from her bed and said, "Her name is Lily Johanna Tessio."

Mickey's eyes grew wide. He turned to me and said, "Just like you, Joey," as if I were the eighth wonder of the world.

I smiled and said, "Yeah, M and M. Just like me."

Kathy looked down at Lily for a minute, then turned back to Mickey. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked after a while.

All of us were stunned. I said, "Uh, Kathy, that may not be such a hot idea, you know?"

Kathy reassured me, "I'll be right next to him, he'll be fine!"

Still, as Lily was placed in Mickey's arms, I crossed my fingers. I may love my brother, but I can definitely say this: he's a total butterfingers.

Thankfully, Mickey held her perfectly. "Wow…" he whispered as he rocked her back and forth. "She's so little," he laughed. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Hey, Joe, she's looking at me!" he said happily as he looked at me.

I smiled as I saw Mickey make goo-goo eyes at Lily and talk baby talk. I turned to Dad and asked, "You want to get some coffee? Leave the new parents alone?"

Dad nodded. "Come on, Mick, we're going to the cafeteria," he said as he gently picked Lily up to hand her over to Kathy.

Poor Mickey looked crestfallen. "But… but…" he said, looking at Lily as if she were the last cookie on the plate.

I nudged him and ruffled his hair. "They'll be back home in a few days, M and M, you can see her then."

Mickey sighed and walked over to Lily, Kathy and Vern. "See you, Kathy and Vern," he said, and then looked down at Lily. "Goodbye, Lily. I'll see you soon, and we can play some more, okay?" he said gently.

Vern's eyes met mine, and he sent me a telepathic message: "Yes! Free babysitter!"

I raised my eyebrows and sent him one back: "Free? Wait until he learns the REAL concept of money."

Vern shook his head as Mickey walked over and joined Dad and me. I said my goodbyes to everyone, and left one of my best friends' new families to bond. "A baby," I couldn't help but think to myself. "Vern Tessio, neighborhood scaredy-cat… a father." If that wasn't the unlikeliest of pairs, I didn't know what was.