23: HM2V: Cupcakes for Breakfast

11:25 am, Vera Manor, Living Room

Macy opened her eyes once more, but quickly regretted it, as the room began spinning around her. She shut them tightly, wishing with all her might that she could survive the next days, weeks, and months to come. She would have expressed surprise at the presence of two within her (two babies!), but she was far too faint, half-starved, and miserable to fully comprehend anything at this point.

"There are two of them," she whispered to Harry, who put a finger to his lips.

"Let's talk more once you're better, love," he answered, and Macy acquiesced, too ill and tired to disagree.

9 pm, One Week Later, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico No. 23

Seven weeks pregnant. And yet, thought Macy, it felt like a goddamn eternity. Thank goodness Harry had gone to Faial Market earlier that morning to pick up what she called "baby bananas"—those sweet, four-inch pieces of miniature fruit. Easy to digest, they had been making up the mainstay of her diet as of late. That, and ginger sparkling water, ginger chews, ginger snaps, and crunchy peanut butter on dry crackers, with the odd over-the-counter prenatal tummy soother (Unisom and Vitamin B-6 tablets worked decently well, she found).

Slowly but surely, Macy was back to her optimal self. Not normal, per se. Normal implied she woke up every day at 7 am, typed up journal articles, ate a hearty breakfast, lunch, and dinner, played with Maya, then stayed up late with Harry watching movies on Netflix. Optimal meant waking up at 9 am, sipping on ginger sparkling water for the better half of the morning, and drinking a banana fruit smoothie at noon (if she could stomach it). Optimal also invoked an hourlong nap after a couple of hours typing up journal articles, a protein-rich snack instead of a full meal at dinnertime, and being lulled to sleep on the couch by various songs and podcasts Harry had loaded onto her phone, while Harry read Maya bedtime stories. She felt a stab of guilt as she saw them together through the open door, but it would have to do for now.

7 am, One Week and Five Days Later, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico No. 23

Matias, Harry, and Maya were headed to the beach to begin surfing lessons. Matias planned to teach the little girl about water safety and had a child-sized surfboard for her to stand on. Ever-cautious, Harry planned to wade into the two-foot-deep water to assist, just in case an ill-timed gale should ever arise. This was not likely, but Harry didn't want to "tempt the gods," or so the saying goes. They talked in low voices in the entryway as not to disturb Macy, who was likely still in bed fast asleep. Making as if to depart, surfboard and picnic in hand, they heard the creak of the master bedroom door.

"Can I come too?" Macy asked softly. Her curly hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she wore a one-piece swimsuit with a long, gauzy white Caftan-style swimwear dress over it. Harry glanced at her with an enigmatic expression as she gave a pleading look.

"Are you sure, love?"

"Yes," Macy said with certainty. "I think—I think I'm starting to feel more…" she searched for the word, "…human these days." Maya excitedly jumped up and down and ran to grab ahold of her mother's hand, pulling her toward the front door.

"Careful, Maya," Harry regarded the pair. "Mummy's felt a bit out of sorts, let's take things easy on her, shall we?" Maya solemnly nodded her head up and down, but then did a silent fist-pump in the air that garnered the cheery approval of all present.

7:30 am, Praínha, Azores, Canto da Areia Beach

"A penny for your thoughts, love," remarked Harry, sitting next to Macy, who was cross-legged on a beach towel. He had spent the past ten minutes several feet away in the sand, where Matias was teaching Maya to stand on the surfboard. "I think she's getting the hang of things so far," he said, stroking Macy's curly hair gently. "Matias is a good teacher."

Macy continued to observe Maya's balancing attempts with a pensive expression on her face, without saying a word. "Darling, are you alright? It's ok if you want to leave—" Harry began.

"No, it's not that," Macy replied, hearing Maya's chirpy giggles and Matias' booming peals of laughter as the little girl flopped onto the soft granules of sand, pretending to be a baby seal. She stared past the 50 meter stretch of tranquil beach, empty save for two other surfers and a would-be snorkeler, toward the ocean and the adjoining island's distant hillside, a smoky turquoise-teal color due to its tropical forestry. "It's the feeling of…loss."

"Loss?" Harry asked, genuinely puzzled. "In what way, might I ask?" He bent forward to stroke Macy's belly gently, afraid of what Macy would say next.

"No, not that type of loss," Macy replied quickly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to add to our family," she said in response to Harry's questioning look. "It's just—it's just that—I'm mourning the loss of moments like these." She gestured toward Matias and Maya, and then to herself and Harry. "We're going to have two babies. Two newborns. In diapers.Crying at all hours of the night. Maya won't get our undivided attention anymore, and I worry about her—I worry whether I'm doing this right—could I really be a good mother? To three children? We're literally going to be outnumbered!" Macy exclaimed, knowing that it was partially her hormones that were causing her nervousness about the whole situation.

7:50 am, Praínha, Azores, Canto da Areia Beach

"Macy, love." Harry lifted Macy's chin up, a gesture she knew only too well. "You do realize that we're not entirely alone, right? We have Morgana, a superb obstetrician and neighborhood babysitter, your cousin Matias to serve as grandfather, and Maggie and Jordan enjoy watching Maya during the weekend." Macy could feel a tear escape, trickling down her cheek; Harry gently wiped it away, kissing the part of her visage on which it had fallen. "Love, the universe has given us countless signs we were having twins, too many to ignore—your dreams that merge Azorean paradise with the domesticity of Vera Manor, for instance. As if the spiritual realm were trying to prepare us, mentally and emotionally, while also telling us, perhaps, we would make excellent parents to them both."

Macy nodded slowly. Somehow, it was all beginning to make sense. Hestia's reference to three young children, Morgana's detection of twin spirits, and her symptoms, as if her children blooming within her wanted her to know "we're here!" these past several weeks.

"Also," remarked Harry. "There'll be more love to go around, more fun birthday celebrations, and Maya will have two little siblings to play with, and they'll be the best of friends someday." Macy smiled, wiping a stray tear from her other cheek. "Care for a cupcake?" Harry pulled a purple-frosted unicorn cupcake from the picnic basket.

Macy giggled. "Number one: I thought you hated artificial coloring. Two: It's not even eight in the morning."

"I added a few miniature fruit platters to compensate," Harry answered. "Plus we're on holiday, a bite of cupcake once in a while couldn't hurt." He then whispered in Macy's ear, "I tossed the cupcakes from the freezer and used a duplication charm with alternate ingredients—entirely dairy-free, gluten free, and low glycemic—with almond flour and nut milk, plus crushed blueberries for the all-natural purple dye."

"Oh, Mr. Valensi, you do spoil me so," Macy murmured, tentatively licking a piece of frosting.