December 30

Madison's Point of View

Queller-Álvarez house, 6:45 P.M.

It's now been a week since we learned of my pregnancy, and now that I'm aware that I'm growing two babies inside my body, the morning sickness is absolutely nightmarish, coming and going at any point during the day, not just in the mornings. I only got sick like this once when I was pregnant with Lucy, but I do remember my mom saying that out of all three of her pregnancies, it had been during the first one, when she was pregnant with me, Kingston and Raquel, that she had gotten sick the most.

That's one thing I've had to deal with…

(Ugh)

The other thing is that while I'm thrilled to be showing, I'm less than thrilled that paparazzi has been keeping closer tabs on me than usual because they're getting curious about the subtle changes in my appearance, and many of the gossip rags that they sell pictures to are starting to question why I've taken to wearing slightly looser outfits when I'm in public.

(Being photographed by the paparazzi is a price I have to pay for being the owner of a high-profile restaurant owner, but bless my publicist's heart because she is very good at her job and keeps Ezekiel, Moses and Lucy out of the spotlight. The public has seen pictures of them, but they don't know the kids' names, and for that, Nicolas and I are thankful)

Back to my dear Caitlan…

I feel that I should mention that she's well aware of my pregnancy and is doing her best to keep things under wraps, but not only is the paparazzi starting to ask questions, but they're making eerily good guesses. None of my family members, friends or employees would sell my secrets out to anyone because I run tight circles where trust is key, but I'm starting to feel a little on edge…

"What's the matter, Madison?"

Nicolas sat next to me on the couch and put an arm around my shoulders comfortingly. I gave a sigh of contentment and kissed him on the cheek while I rested a hand on my baby bump.

"Nothing's the matter, love, I promise. I was just thinking about how I can't wait to make the public announcement that we're expecting because I'm so tired of the paparazzi hounding me."

Nicolas returned the kiss. "But aren't they going to keep hounding you after the announcement is made? They did when we announced your pregnancy with Lucy, even though we kept well out of the spotlight because we were planning your parents' funeral and were dealing with Melissa."

"They probably will, the pompous jerks, I'm just glad that Caitlan is great at her job and I'm thankf—oh…"

"What is it?" Nicolas immediately went on red alert. "Is it the babies?"

I was about to respond when I suddenly became of Ezekiel standing in the living room entry, watching us with an excited look. His eyes grew huge in surprise when he saw that Nicolas' hand was now on top of my own, which was still on top of my belly. My other hand was already supporting the underside, clearly defining its shape, making it clear to even my little boy that I am indeed pregnant, like many citizens of Manhattan's wealthier society circles are starting to wonder.

Ezekiel gave an excited squeal and could hardly string a sentence together when we asked him to use his words.

"Just… don't move! I'll be right back!"

He was gone in a flash, calling out for his brother and sister.

"We are so busted, Nicolas," I laughed and gave my belly a playful poke. "And it's all because the babies had to suddenly start squirming around like crazy. I really wish that you could feel them."

"All in good time, mi amor." He assured me. "I think that you and I know by now that nothing about having babies can be rushed."

"That's very true."

Of course, Ezekiel ruined the moment by barreling back into the room with Moses and Lucy right behind him.

"Mama, is there a baby in there?"

"That's what Zeke just tolded me an' Lucy-boo." Moses breathed excitedly. "Please let it be for real."

"Baby?" Lucy checked out her immediate surroundings with intense curiosity. "Where baby?"

I pulled her up onto my lap, causing Ezekiel and Moses to press closer to me so they could get in on the conversation, too. Nicolas gave me a comforting back rub and let me lean against him as I turned my attention back to my daughter, who was giving my belly a few experimental pokes.

Obviously, Lucy couldn't feel the babies move like I could, but they sure could feel their big sister's pokes and weren't taking too kindly to it. Because of that, I held both of my hands over Lucy's and moved them so that they were snug against my baby bump, and I tried my hardest not to laugh when I saw a visible shudder go through Lucy's body when she felt how firm the bump was.

"Lucy Katherine," I spoke to her in a tone that was firm but gentle. "You have to stop with the poking because I don't like it, and neither do the babies."

Much to our surprise, Lucy got the message right away and pulled her hands away so she could give my belly a vigorous rub while she marveled over it with brand new enthusiasm. When she'd had her share of that, she leaned over to kiss my belly before straightening back up to listen to rest against me and listen to my heartbeat.

Nicolas and I looked over at Ezekiel and Moses, both of whom were standing rooted to the spot with the kinds of grins on their faces that I hadn't seen there since we told them that I was pregnant with Lucy.

(Seriously, my little boys both looked fit to burst because they realized what I had said)

"Come on, you two!" Nicolas laughed. "Say what's on your minds!"

"Twins?" the boys chimed in unison. "More twins?"

"Yep. What do you make of that?"

The boys began talking in unison again, but their voices, making their words indistinguishable. Lucy thought it was hysterical and started giggling.

"One at a time!" I call through the chaos. "Ezekiel, buddy, you go first so Moses can take a few more deep breaths before he loses his little mind!"

The twins laughed at this, but Ezekiel got his act together quickly so he could voice his thoughts.

"I'm so, so, so happy! I'm happy, just like when you tolded us about Lucy-boo!" he bounced on the balls of his feet slightly before his little face took on a serious expression and he climbed up on the couch to sit between Nicolas and me. "I'm happy, but I have a serious question… or maybe even two."

"Bring it on." I challenged.

"Is it the babies that are making you so weepy? Sometimes I hear you crying, and that makes me sad."

"I'm not going to lie to you, mijo—the babies have been making me weepy lately."

"How come?" he inquired. "Did something happen? Did you find something out about Tía Missy?"

I sighed heavily as I thought of my absent sister and how much I miss her.

"Nothing like that happened, and I haven't heard anything about Tía Missy."

"Oh." His shoulders fell slightly. "Can I ask you my other question?"

"Of course."

"You said that the babies make you weepy, but do they keep making you puke, also? I heared you this morning and also a little while ago…"

"Yeah, the babies have been making me puke," I confessed. "But that should be stopping soon."

"Good." He approved. "I have another question."

"Yes?"

"Did me and Mo make you puke when we growed inside your belly?"

Ezekiel's question blindsided me and before I could stop myself, I burst into tears. I did adopt Ezekiel and Moses when I married Nicolas, but I always knew that that kind of question would come up one day, but I never expected it to come out like that or be when the boys were only five, even if the question was delivered in an innocent way.

Nicolas looked almost as upset as I felt, but we'd had this discussion many times before, and no matter how many times it was brought up, I always ended up feeling worse because by the time the boys realized that they didn't come from my body, they'll question be for ages while holding Nicolas out at arm's length. I realized that it would tug at my heart as a mother to see my boys like that and it would also make me wonder for the millionth time what possessed Eve Murphy to be as heartless as she was to them in the first place.

Lucy, on the other hand, didn't like at all that I was crying, so she sat on my other side, stuffing a pillow in between my body and hers to serve as a barrier. Poor Ezekiel looked positively destroyed when he saw me crying because his eyes immediately filled up with guilty tears.

"Mama, I'm so sorry I made you cry! I love you so m—HEY!"

He wasn't able to finish his apology because out of nowhere, Moses had given an angry yell and tackled him to the ground, sitting on his chest to keep him pinned down. It all happened so fast, that Nicolas, Lucy and I were too surprised to even move, so we just watched.

"MOSES, GET OFF ME!"

"NO! YOU MADED MAMA CRY, AND THAT'S BAD 'CAUSE GENTLEMEN ARE NICE TO THEIR MAMAS! SAY SORRY, ZEKE!"

With some kind of heroic effort, Ezekiel managed to shove his twin off him and sit up.

"I WAS GOING TO! GET OFF ME! ALL THE WAY OFF!"

Moses did as he was told and Ezekiel got to his feet, gave an indignant huff and headed back towards me.

"Mama, I'm so sorry about making you cry like that."

"It's okay, mijo." I told him kindly, feeling thankful that neither he nor his brother didn't ask about where their real mother is. "Are you excited about the twins?"

He nodded and suddenly blushed. "I really hope that we get two more sisters like how we have Lucy-boo."

"And if there's one girl and one boy or just two boys?" Nicolas asked. "Life doesn't always go as planned, son."

Ezekiel shrugged. "I guess I'll be happy no matter what, daddy. I really like babies."

I wanted to say something about how sweet his words were, but I became completely distracted by a sniffling sound nearby, and when I turned to look, my heart completely sank and I was quite sure that Nicolas' did, too.

Moses was standing stock-still a few feet away from us, bright red in the face and with his little hands clenched into fists. He looked like he was trying as hard as he could to not cry and yell at the top of his lungs like he looked like he wanted to. Nicolas asked Moses to come closer, and he did so, but he did it grudgingly.

"Moses, do you want to tell me and mama what you're thinking about? You don't seem happy about the babies coming anymore."

"I'm not." Came the angry growl.

Nicolas rested a hand on my thigh in comfort as I took a deep calming breath so I wouldn't cry too much about our son's unpleasant tone.

"Why not?"

Moses' expression became more solemn than ever. "Daddy, I just 'membered that I got sick 'cause we finded out that I'm very a lot 'lergic to shrimp and stuff like that. Zeke and Lucy-boo don't get sick, just like you and daddy don't, so I'm the only one. You and mama decided to have two more babies because they'll both be better than me and not get sick…"

My heart broke into a million pieces at his confession and because Ezekiel and Lucy were closest to me, Ezekiel wrapped his arms around my waist in comfort while his sister leaned closer against me, sucking her thumb. (I know that all of my children adore me and always want me to be happy, but there are times when they act upon it very clearly) Nicolas pulled Moses into his lap and hugged him close while the rest of us watched. I took it as a good sign that Moses didn't struggle for too long before giving into his father's embrace and settling against him.

"Moses Caleb, your mama and I love you, just the way you are."

"But Zeke looks just like me." He argued stubbornly. "It's 'cause we're identical."

Nicolas gave me a meaningful look, raising his eyebrows at me as he flickered his eyes towards Ezekiel and Lucy, who were watching us with intense curiosity. I got the message and set Lucy down on the floor so I could address her and Ezekiel together.

"I need you two to go hang out in the play room while daddy and I talk to Moses, okay?"

Lucy had no problems with this and held her hand out to Ezekiel, so he could help her walk. (She can walk by herself, but prefers to have either or both of her brothers beside her for moral support whenever she can get it) Ezekiel took Lucy's hand, but still seemed apprehensive about leaving his twin alone with us.

"Mo isn't in trouble, is he?"

"No, Zeke, I promise you he isn't."

"Okay," He furrowed his eyebrows in a way that I knew he had inherited from Eve as he thought his next words through carefully. "But after you and daddy talk to him, are we still going to the airport?"

"Of course we are. We can't just leave abuelo and abuela there, can we?"

"No, of course not!" he giggled. "That's just silly!"

"I wholeheartedly agree, but I need you to go take Lucy to the playroom now. Daddy, Moses and I will be done before you know it."

Ezekiel did as he was told and patiently helped Lucy out of the room, giving her words of encouragement about her walking skills the whole time, and as they left the room, I thought about the aforementioned trip to the airport and why we were going—to pick up Nicolas' parents, Santiago and Estella Álvarez.

See, up until recently, Santiago and Estella were Supreme Court justices in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they also raised all of their kids, Nicolas included. Santiago and Estella recently celebrated their sixty-fifth birthdays and they decided to retire from their posts, a decision that surprised Nicolas and me because they could have stayed on for the rest of their lives if they'd really wanted to. We were even more surprised when they told us that they were going to move to Manhattan to be near us.

When Nicolas reminded them that he is not their only child and that they should think about the others, it was Estella who reminded her son that his siblings, are located in the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy with their families and don't speak to Nicolas or their parents that much anymore. Santiago's and Estella's other four kids are their four daughters—Neva, Paloma, Socorro and Verdad. I met them when they were all in town to celebrate the twins' first birthday, and they were so mean and hurtful to me, simply because I'm not Hispanic like they are. Paloma, Socorro and Verdad tried to chase me away while Neva, the eldest sister, tried to pay me off because she believed that Nicolas could do better than me. I learned the hard way the younger Álvarez are all snobs and always have been because they and Nicolas grew up in the lap of luxury, seeing as their parents had been Supreme Court justices, but Nicolas had been the only one who hadn't let all of the wealth go to his head. And you know what? Nicolas and I haven't seen or heard from Neva, Paloma, Socorro or Verdad ever since, and that's perfectly fine by me.

What really puts the cherry on top of everything about Santiago and Estella informed us that they were coming to Manhattan the moment they had everything in order and had their house packed up because they wanted to be with us and not be so far away from at least some of their grandchildren because they didn't want to miss a single thing…

"Mama, are you okay?"

I came back to my senses when I realized that Moses was talking to me.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Momo." I moved a little closer to him and Nicolas. "Do you understand that even with two new babies coming, daddy and I love you no matter how you are?"

"Even if I look like Zeke?"

"Uh-huh. You look like him, but you know how I can tell you apart?"

Moses rubbed his eyes. "How?"

"It's because you have brown eyes, just like daddy does."

He smiled happily to himself. "Oh, yeah…"

"We can also tell you apart from Zeke in another way." Nicolas informed Moses as he gave him another hug. "Should I tell you how?"

"Yes!"

"You're taller."

Moses' eyes grew round with surprise. "But Zeke is older! Isn't it five minutes or something?"

"That's right, but be that as it may, mijo, you're still taller than your brother."

"That's 'cause I'm not a picky eater like Zeke is. I like eating."

"Exactly." I kissed him on the top of the head. "You like eating and you actually don't mind drinking your milk at dinnertime, so that helps, plus it gives you bonus points."

"That makes you pretty strong for your age." Nicolas added. "That's pretty cool.

"It is!" Zeke agreed.

"Momo, I have a question for you."

"Yes, mama?"

"Can show daddy and me how strong you are? Go on and flex your muscles!"

The little boy hopped the couch and flexed his little muscles a few times for us to show off.

"Moses, do you think you can be strong for the babies when they come?" I asked him after a few moments. "You only get sick when you get near things like shrimp. Other than that, you're fine."

"Okay, but what about Zeke and Lucy-boo?"

"Zeke is going to teach the babies how to be silly and how to do funny things because he's a bit sillier than you are, and Lucy will probably teach them about chasing butterflies in the park and riding on sleds when it snows. All of that means that it's up to you to teach the babies how to be strong. It's also up to you to protect them."

"Do you understand, Moses?" Nicolas wanted to know when our son didn't respond right away. "Tell us that you do."

"Daddy, I do." Moses breathed eagerly. "I understand you and mama."

He suddenly looked like he wanted to say something, but quickly thought better of it, changing his mind and turning bright red.

"What is it?" I asked, beckoning him closer. "You can tell us anything at all."

"Is your tummy big yet, like when Lucy-boo was inside?"

I smoothed my shirt against my bump, framing the shape. "It's getting there, but it's going to be a lot bigger by the time the babies are ready to be born."

"Wow…"

"Mijo, do you want to feel it?"

His eyes grew wide in surprise. "Really, mama? Are the babies kicking?"

"No, but I can really feel them fluttering around in there. Maybe they'd chill out if they heard you talking to them."

Moses brightened at this and drew closer to me, waiting patiently while I pulled back the material of my shirt to expose the bump, and upon my encouragement, he reached out to touch it, but then stopped short and shrank back towards Nicolas, who caught him before he backed too far away.

"What's the matter?"

"Mama, what if the babies don't like me?"

I brushed a hand over his beautiful curly hair and smiled sympathetically. "Moses, I don't think that that's possible."

"Why not?"

"Because they're babies, and every single baby starts out in this world loving people."

"How old were me and Zeke when we meted you?"

"Three months old, and guess what?"

He went from looking worried to very interested. "What?"

"The first time I met you, I made your hiccups end because you were fussy and hiccuping up a storm!"

"And I stopped hiccuping?"

"That's right. After that, you laughed and laughed because you were just so happy, and a little later, you fell asleep in my arms."

"What about Zeke?"

"Daddy was holding him while I held you, and I just didn't want to put you down."

Moses turned beet red but regarded my belly with renewed interest.

"Hi, babies! I'm one of your big brothers, Moses, and now I can't wait until you come out. We're going to have lots of fun with Zeke and Lucy-boo, but…"

His words trailed off as he ran his hands to the upper part of the bump and began poking it experimentally, like Lucy had earlier. Slightly annoyed that he had ruined the moment, I caught his hand with both of mine.

"Seriously, mijo, did you not hear what I told Lucy earlier about poking me?"

"You said that it makes you and the babies uncomfortable."

"That's right, so what's up with the poking, huh?"

"I think that you have three babies in there, mama." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "That's what it feels like to me."

I dropped his hand in surprise. "Moses Caleb, there's only two babies in there."

"Are you sure about that?"

Nicolas donated his two cents worth at this point, speaking directly to our son. "Mama would be able to feel another baby growing inside her."

"Oh, yeah." He looked from Nicolas to me, slightly anxious. "Can I go now?"

I gave Moses permission to go, but first he whispered something in a conspiratorial tone to my belly and gave it a pat before he turned and practically skipped out of the room to look for the others.

"Triplets?" I let out a puff of air as I fixed my shirt. "Yes, I'm a triplet, so there's always a possibility of it happening to us, but I'm still not sure if I could handle it, Nicolas. I still wonder how my mom and dad handled it, and they were a whole lot younger than we are now."

Nicolas pressed a kiss to my temple and stretched out as he stood up. "But you know that we'd make it if, through yet another miracle, we had triplets, Maddie. You know we would."

"That's true," I rubbed at the corners of my eyes to stop the tears falling as they formed. "I'm just really missing Kingston and Raquel right now. Raquel is gone, so there's no bringing her back, but I wish that Kingston would leave Chicago and come back here! I miss my big brother, and it doesn't matter to me if he's older than me by just a few minutes. I really hope that he's gotten that mess with his ex-fiancée sorted out and that he got full custody of their child like he wanted, but I need him home because I miss how as kids, he would always be the one to comfort me and dry all my tears. I will send for him if I have to!"

Knowing that there wasn't much to be said that could do to calm me down, my wonderful husband pulled me to my feet so he could hold me while he cried, and bless his heart, he didn't let go of me until I was ready and my tears had died down into sniffles.

"Ready to go get my parents now, mi amor?"

I nodded. "Yes, I am. You go get the kids ready, and I'll go get cleaned up because I don't want your parents worrying about me the second they've disembarked from an international flight, even if they aren't going to be at all jetlagged."

"Suit yourself," he told me as he headed out of the room. "But you know that after raising five kids and being judges for so many years, both of my parents are very good at reading people."

That is all too true…

Forty-five minutes later

I tried to be as happy as Nicolas and the kids were when Santiago and Estella arrived in the reception area for the international flights, but my mind was all over the place, what with missing Kingston, pondering Moses' triplet comment and then further pondering the possibility of giving birth to triplets; I just couldn't focus too well on anything else than what was inside what was in my head.

Estella, an elegant woman with beautiful features like her almond-colored skin and long black hair styled into a single braid running down to her shoulder blades, noticed that I wasn't doing so well and sat me down on a bench while Santiago went with Nicolas and the kids to collect the luggage from the luggage claim.

"What's the matter, niña?" Her warm Argentine accent gave me the same warm feeling of familiarity as my parents' Australian accents once had. "Is it about Melissa and Jessica and Gabriella? Is there anything new about that?"

(Because Estella and Santiago are so close to our family and we Skyped constantly with them while they were in Argentina, they are completely up-to-date on the things going on in our lives)

"No, Estella." I said softly. "There's nothing new. Gabriella is home now, and so are Jeffery and Sophia, but my baby sister and her friend are still gone."

"You miss them, huh?"

"There are no words to describe it, really."

I gave a shuddering sigh and in a motherly way, Estella reached over and tucked a stray lock of my long blond hair behind my ear.

"Then what's going on? It makes me sad to see you like this, but…" she pulled away from me and looked me up and down with the scrutinizing look that can only come from a mother. "Something seems different about you, Madison. Something's different, isn't it?"

Before I could stop myself, I blushed bright red as I thought of the babies growing inside me and the look of pure joy on Estella's face as she put the pieces together made my heart happy and forget my worries for a small moment.

"You're pregnant?" the older woman's voice rose an octave in excitement, but even in the bustling foot traffic of JFK airport, it wasn't loud enough to raise anybody's attention. "Oh, Madison, I'm so happy for you and Nicolas! Santiago and I are going to be grandparents again? There's going to be another grandbaby for us to spoil?"

"Yes!" I nodded eagerly, placing a hand of the spot where the babies were moving around, even if they weren't moving enough to be felt from the outside. "Not only that, but there's going to actually be twins!"

Estella was so excited that she pulled me into the kind of hug that you never want to end, but she became a little startled when she pulled away and saw that I was crying slightly.

"I'm sorry, niña!" She apologized, framing my face in her hands and wiping my tears with her thumbs. "Was it something I said? I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, Estella—it's not your fault."

"Are you crying because you miss Elijah and Lucy right now?"

"That, among other things."

"I met them a few times, when Santiago and I came in to town for those visits during the summer, and let me tell you something: we liked them a lot."

"My parents were thrilled to pieces when you and Santiago extended an invitation for them and Melissa and Emily to come down to the villa in Buenos Aires when Zeke and Mo were still toddlers." I remembered with a smile. "All three of them, but mom especially, talked of nothing but the trip for ages afterward."

Estella smiled fondly. "Guess what else?"

"I couldn't possibly."

"I'm as proud of you for all you've done in your life and for all you've ever had to overcome, and I know that Santiago is just as proud as I am."

I felt a little confused. "Thank you, but why are you treating me so nicely? I'm your daughter-in-law, and Neva, Paloma, Socorro and Verdad—"

"Pretend that Santiago and I don't exist anymore." She finished before I could complete my thoughts. "Nicolas is the only one of our children who actually likes us and talks to us, and when you married him, you became our daughter, in a way. Santiago and I love and protect what's ours in every way possible, so don't be so surprised, niña."

"All right, I won't be so surprised." I promised, giving her a grateful smile.

"There's something else, isn't there?" she became a little concerned. "Is it about the babies? I saw the twins' mother when she was pregnant with them, and to tell you the truth, you look a little bigger than she did."

I hung my head slightly and groaned like I small chill. "Not you, too…"

Estella raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Something wrong?"

"Moses has it in his head that he thinks I'm carrying triplets."

"You're a triplet, so it's not a biological impossibility," she mused. "But even if that does happen, you and Nicolas will be in good hands with Santiago and myself. Half of the reason we moved to Manhattan was to be near you two, and what's being nearby without taking care of your family?"

"Not much, I suppose…"

"Exactly." She stood and helped me to my feet. "I don't know about you, but I'm quite hungry after being on the plane for so long and I bet everyone else is, too."

I extended my arm towards hers, whereupon she looped her own over it as we walked back to where the others were waiting for us to come back.

"Don't you think you can pull the wool over my eyes, Estella, because I got a note from Santiago on my phone while you two were still in the air saying that you're going to 'talk us into' going to a Mexican restaurant like Chevy's or something."

She shrugged innocently. "They don't have anything like that in Argentina, and I just really liked it last time we were here."

"You are as bad as the kids," I laughed. "But we'll take a vote."

It turned out that everybody was in favor of going out to Chevy's for dinner.

And guess what?

It was the food I'd eaten in a long time because I could finally enjoy myself.