Chapter 53: Homecoming and Questions

February 14

Over time, Gwendolyn proved that she was a resilient, determined, and vibrant person. While her initial challenges at birth outweighed her sister's experiences, Gwendolyn flew through any and all treatments with flying colors. Each positive step forward neglected to include the common steps backward that preemie reality often presented. With her mama's dark hair and personality, Owen predicted that Gwendolyn was going to be the Alpha of the entire family.

At this point in her young life, it was easy to ignore the fact that Gwendolyn had Spina Bifida. With minimal concerns and intentional early intervention, Gwendolyn would likely not show any obvious signs of her condition in the long term. The one consistent reality that would likely remain throughout her life was the numbness below her right knee and entire right foot. Encouraging Amelia and Owen, the pediatric orthopedist shared that Gwendolyn would eventually be able to walk and run and play like any other child. It was highly likely that she simply wouldn't do so until later, pointing out that SB kids who are able to walk are often delayed by about a year before taking their first steps.

The timing of Amelia's recovery from her post-Caesarian surgery and Gwendolyn's discharge could not have been timed better – both were ready to be discharged on the same day. All in all, Amelia was relieved to be going home. She could not wait to sleep in her own bed and begin to put her own daily routines into place. A nursery had sat empty and ready for far too long and it was time for the littlest Hunts to fill it.

Meanwhile, back at the Lakefront Home, Owen sat still and enjoyed a brief time of silence and contemplation. Having awoken early, Owen took a blanket out to the chaise lounge on the master balcony and sipped his coffee before the melee awoke. Today was both Valentine's Day and the big day. Not only would Amelia finally be returning home after far too long away, but both of the babies were coming home today too. At this point, everyone was happy about the homecoming. Owen assumed the kids' feelings would likely adjust once the kids understood the amount of work, exhaustion and noise babies could produce.

His original plan for the morning was to sleep as late as possible; however, Owen was awoken by Oliver and Bronwyn who had crawled into bed with him at some point during the night. As he laid awake, looking around the room and letting his mind wander, he noticed sun beams streaming between the edges of the shaded on the windows. Oliver's quiet snoring and Bronwyn's mumbling about Barbie's as she slept were enough to convince Owen that the balcony and coffee backup plan was his best option.

Of course, the sun was also beaming brightly through one of the Master Bedroom windows that was currently missing a shade. Depending upon who was asked, the shade had been torn apart by the dogs (a somewhat plausible scenario), had been destroyed by Bronwyn as she attempted to hang from the top of it (also plausible), or had been used by Oliver as a lengthy cape in a recent game of superheroes (again…plausible). Between Owen's back and forth trips to the hospital and his exhaustion as a result of finding 2 dogs and a 4 and 8 year old in his bed most nights, the kids seemed to know that his defenses were too low for a fatherly investigation into the case of the broken shade.

Besides homecoming day and Valentine's Day, it was also Bronwyn's 4th birthday. Lynne, ever the savior, had organized and held a birthday party for Bronwyn the previous weekend and she even made sure Amelia FaceTimed in for part of the event. The bevy of screaming 4 and 5-year-old girls led by the great Bronwyn had come and gone before Amelia and the babies arrived home.

As Owen sipped coffee and watched the water and wind play, he was filled with an enormous sense of peace and serenity. The feelings both reassured him that his life was indeed wonderful and caused him to laugh because his life was also incredibly chaotic. Setting aside the realities of being busy, occasionally overwhelmed, and frenetic, Owen also knew that his life was whole. It most certainly was not perfect or ideal, but it was exquisite.

As he lost himself in his thoughts and in peacefulness, his phone vibrated to indicate a phone call. Being on leave from the hospital meant that there was really no reason for anyone to be calling him at 6:00am. As his heart skipped a beat, he noticed the call was coming from Amelia's phone. Not wanting to wake the kids nor the dogs, Owen answered very quietly, "Hey."

Amelia responded just as quietly, "Why are we whispering?"

"Because the dogs and kids are asleep only feet away from me," Owen chuckled quietly. "What's up?"

"Did I wake you?" Amelia asked apologetically. Owen assured her that he'd been up for about 45 minutes. Amelia shared a sigh of relief, "Me too, funny enough." Owen waited for Amelia to answer his question and repeated it after neither of them spoke for about 20 seconds.

"Oh, right," Amelia chimed in. "This probably sounds really corny, but I wanted to call because I was just sitting her gazing out the window and gazing at our babies and relishing in how incredible my life has become."

"Mia…" Owen responded slowly with a hint of flirtation as he beamed from ear to ear and continued to whisper.

"I know, I'm corny. I'm now the nerdy mother of 5 who no longer knows the trendy words or the cool music," Amelia acknowledged.

"No. You're beautiful," Owen assured her. "Do you know what I've been doing for the last 45 minutes? I've been sitting on our balcony watching the water and thinking about how my life feels whole." Owen heard a gentle scratch on the door behind him and quickly jumped to answer it before Nala decided to bark. She walked out onto the porch, and Owen sat back down. As he was rearranging the blankets, Nala jumped right up and laid on Owen.

"What in the world is going on over there?" Amelia questioned as she heard doors opening and closing and fumbling sounds.

Owen laughed and explained, "Nala is sitting on my lap…or trying to. She's basically sitting on all of me."

"On furniture," Amelia pointed out dryly.

"Well, yeah, on outside furniture," Owen explained trying to make excuses.

Amelia repeated, "As I said, on furniture."

"I guess I need to 'fess up about the furniture rule. I've basically been a bachelor around here for quite a long time. Much to Lynne's dismay and much to your upcoming dismay, I've kind of let some of the rules slide a little," Owen confessed as he nuzzled and pet the dog hoping to avoid her wet licks.

Amelia tried to keep a serious tone even though she wanted to giggle. She responded, "I see. You'd better come pick me up soon so I can get home and rectify the situation."

"Mia, I can't wait to bring you and the girls to our chaotic, messy, loud, whole, beautiful home and life. What time shall I be there?" Owen mused.

"I informed Arizona that if she didn't sign me out before 9am, I would send the Chief of Surgery after her," Amelia declared.

"Ha!" Owen reacted, "And you really think that guy has any control over those doctors? You've lost touch with reality."

"Worst case scenario, you could approve my discharge as her superior," Amelia teased.

Owen grinned and promised, "Lynne assured me she'd walk up to the house around 7:30 this morning. I'll be over there as soon as I hand off the baton." Owen hung up the phone and continued to pet Nala as he watched the morning sunrise dance in the sky.

At 7:00am, Oliver, his hair pointing in every direction, came dragging out to the porch rubbing his eyes. He yawned as he opened the balcony door and asked Owen, "Dad, is there school today?"

"No buddy. Today's Sunday. In just a little bit, Lynne's coming over and I'm going to the hospital to pick up Mom and the girls," Owen clarified.

Oliver stretched his arms out and up as he begged, "Can I please go with you? I promise to be extra super good."

Owen grinned at Oliver as he considered an answer. Really, Owen was not particularly worried about Oliver's behavior and having an extra set of hands would prove incredibly useful. However, when the other two found out Oliver was invited to go and they were not, trouble could begin to brew. Sharing his decision, Owen whispered that Oliver could go as long as his brother and sister weren't awake when they left. That way, Owen figured any complaints about not going could be met with, "Well, he was awake, and you weren't."

Oliver quietly went back into the house and prepared for the day in no time flat. He was downstairs eating cereal for breakfast when Lynne arrived. She walked over to him with a smile and hugged him as she said, "Good morning, Early Bird. Did you get that cereal ready all on your own?"

"Yep," Oliver affirmed as he stuffed another bite in his mouth.

Lynne celebrated then inquired, "Good for you, Oliver. Great job! What wakes you up so early on this weekend day?" Whispering, Oliver disclosed his arrangement with Owen. He asked Lynne for her help in making sure Bronwyn and Finley stayed asleep. She smiled and promised to do whatever she could.

As they drove to the hospital, Oliver had all sorts of questions for Owen. First, he asked about the car seats, "So if you and Mom are going to have the front seats, then the babies are in the next row, where will the rest of us sit?" Both the 2nd and 3rd rows offered seating for three, but the back row would be incredibly tight with three kids buckled in.

"We're going to have to figure that out as we go, Ollie," Owen shared. "Mommy was thinking that the girls could be in the 2nd row and boys in the 3rd, but I think it will work between to have the babies in the 2nd row with you or Finley between them and Bronwyn and you or Finley in the back."

"Puuhhlleeeassee, let me sit between the babies. I don't wanna sit by Finley. He'll pick on me," Oliver begged.

"We might have to try different ways until we figure out which way works best, buddy," Owen stated.

"I have another question about the babies," Oliver mentioned.

"Go for it," Owen invited as he joined the line at the Starbucks drive through.

Oliver's face was overtaken with a deeply curious and confused expression, as if he wasn't exactly sure how to phrase his question. "Ummm," he began. "You know how you showed me that book and told me that the babies were really in Mommy's uterus and not in her tummy?"

The line was moving quickly today, and Owen found himself at the drive up window just as Oliver asked his question. "Right, buddy. Hold on to your question for just a sec," Owen requested as he received their order. Owen handed Oliver his cider and placed his own coffee in the cup holder as they completed their trek to the hospital.

"Right, babies really grow in a Mommy's uterus. Great job remembering the new word. Do you think you remember how to spell it?" Owen coached enthusiastically.

"Dad, I can try, but first can I ask my question?" Oliver asked with a hint of impatience.

Owen grinned, "Absolutely. I'm sorry, go ahead with your question."

Oliver thought aloud, "So the babies grow in a Mommy's uterus, but how do they get in there? And what makes a Daddy the Daddy? The babies don't grow in his tummy, so does the Daddy do anything?"

Owen, about to spew his coffee, coughed and held his hand up to let Oliver know he'd answer him in a minute. "That's a bunch of questions, there, Ollie."

"What are the answers? You're a doctor, I thought you would know. That's why I didn't ask Lynne…well, that and because she's not a Mommy so maybe she doesn't know the answers," Oliver reasoned.

"Buddy, I really want to give you good answers, but we are just pulling up to the hospital. Can Mommy and I answer them on the way home?" Owen asked with a slight sense of desperation.

Amelia was already dressed and had the babies dressed when Owen and Oliver arrived. The nurse's assistant had helped her gather all of her flowers and items into a box, and Amelia turned down the free diaper bag since she already had one, she loved. With the help of a few nursing assistants, everything that was coming home fit in someone's arms or on the cart. Without much trouble, the Shepherd-Hunts were able to load up the babies and be on their way.

Having warned Amelia about Oliver's questions, Amelia basically made fun of Owen and suggested he, as the dad, should field them.

"Dad? Remember you were gonna answer my questions?" Oliver prompted with interest.

"Help me out, here," Owen mumbled to Amelia hoping he wasn't heard in the next row.

Amelia grinned at Owen, folded her arms, and leaned back in her seat to await the response. She promised with a hint of snark, "I'll help you if you get stuck. After all, your medical school years were so long ago. No worries – I've got your back."

Chuckling, Owen explained, "So you know that Mommy's have a uterus. Do you know how the babies come out of the Mommy?"

"Nope, you just told me they grew in there. I never thought about how they got out," Oliver confessed. "How does that happen?"

"Mommy's have an opening called a vagina and it's like a tube. Some Mommy's push the baby out through the vagina and other Mommy's have an operation called a C-section where the doctor cuts the Mommy's uterus and pulls the baby out.

Oliver looked perplexed, "But where's their tube?" Owen slowly closed his eyes and reopened them so he could continue driving.

"Honey, you know how boys have a penis?" Amelia explained with ease. Oliver nodded. "Girls don't have a penis. Instead, they have a vagina. The vagina is down next to where Mommy's go potty."

"Nuh…uh…." Oliver laughed hysterically, "Mommies bottoms are not so big that a baby could fit there. How's it really work?"

Owen laughed softly and mumbled, "Keep going, Dr. Mommy…"

Amelia, originally believing she had done so well, fell back into her seat and sighed. She clarified, "The mommy's vagina is super duper stretchy and a baby can squeeze through it. Really, Ollie, I'm telling you the truth. When we get home, I can show you a picture and explain it all better."

"Well then how do babies get in the uterus? And what's the Daddy's part?" Oliver asked innocently.

"Now we're back to the penis. You know how sometimes it gets bigger and firmer?" Amelia asked in the same tone, yet simpler words, that she used when leading a clinical session for interns.

"Eeeeewwww, Mom! That's secret boy stuff," Oliver protested.

"Do you want to know the answer to your questions or not?" Amelia asked with a shrug and a wink.

"Not if you're gonna talk about penises when they do stuff. Gross, Mom. Those are boy parts not girl parts," Oliver continued his protest and put his hands over his ears.

Owen jumped in once he was sure he wouldn't laugh. "Buddy, do you want me to explain it just man-to-man when we get home?"

"I'm not sure if I want to know now. Can I decide when we get home?" Oliver requested with a sour expression taking over his entire face.

"Absolutely," Owen confirmed with a sense of relief.