"There's just one thing that I'm curious about."
It was dessert time, and Sophia had paused in consuming her tiramisu, even going so far as to put her fork down.
"Is it about the money?" Benoît asked.
Sophia nodded. "Three people died over it."
Beth Anne answered this one. "The whole sum was offered to me, since I was married to your father at one point, but we can do just fine without it. So instead, we're anonymously donating all of it."
"Oh? To where?"
"Five thousand apiece are going to the hospitals that took care of you and Kim, during recent events, more to the point, the money will be going to the maternity and intensive care wings. The remaining five thousand is going to to our local hospital in Atlanta."
"Wow." Sophia marveled. "That's really good."
Beth Anne smiled. "I'm glad you think so."
After awhile, Sophia excused herself to go to the bathroom. She didn't need to use it, but there was another question she had for Beth Anne, and she wasn't sure how to phrase it. So… she was hiding.
The restroom at the Palm Court restaurant was just as upscale as the eating area, and even had a separate lounge room, in addition to the toilets. In this room, there was a chaise lounge couch, and Sophia sat on it, surprised at how comfortable it was. She wondered for a brief moment how many people had fallen asleep on it.
Sophia felt a stirring in her womb, and looking down, she cradled her baby bump. She was almost nineteen weeks pregnant, and she could feel the baby squirming around inside her, almost nonstop. She loved being pregnant, and it was one of the best feelings that she'd ever had.
However… on some days, it felt like the baby she was currently carrying had a roommate.
Sophia hadn't told Casey, simply because they'd been so busy, as of late.
But after hearing news of Beth Anne's triplets, it felt just like a sign. She'd talk to Casey later.
At least they'd be finding out the babies' genders in the morning.
"Sophia?"
She jumped when she heard her name, and when she looked up, she saw Beth Anne entering the room. Curious, she waved her friend over. Beth Anne sat beside Sophia and turned to face her.
"I can't read you like a book the way that Amanda and Kim do, but I've been a mother long enough to know that you're thinking about a question that you want to ask me."
"Yeah, but it's about my dad, and I don't want to upset you."
Beth Anne sighed, but only because she'd been anticipating something like this. "Look, we may have met because your father did some stupid things that cost him his life, and you and I might not even be biologically related, but everything we said about loving you like one our own? It'll always be true, even when you're up here in New York, and we're down in Georgia."
"Thank you. I'll remember that."
"Because of that love, my dear, I've decided to put aside my resentment towards Floyd—you deserve to have your questions answered."
"Because Olivia wouldn't begin to know."
"Precisely." Beth Anne confirmed. "What is your question? I'm an open book."
"Are there multiples on his part of the family tree at all?"
"Floyd's mother, Coraline—your grandmother, I suppose—was a twin."
Sophia groaned. "You said 'was,' though?"
"Yes. Coraline passed from cancer a little while after I found out that Amanda was on the way."
"Gee, that's too bad. I'm sorry."
Again, Beth Anne sighed. "So am I, because she was the last good one in the family, until Blue."
Sophia tried to cheer her friend up. "You're not too bad."
"Points for trying, but I used to actually be mean. You just never saw it on full blast."
"Alright, then. So Coraline was a twin?"
"Yep—she had an identical twin called Scarlett. Her name was very fitting."
"Scarlett was a redhead?"
"Oh, yes. That woman had the brightest red hair you ever saw."
Sophia arched an eyebrow. "Your tone suggest that she isn't around anymore, either?"
"Correct, but old age took her in her sleep last year."
"How old was she?"
"One hundred."
"Wow. At least I know that I have the potential to live to see my great-great-grandchildren." Sophia mused. "If I'm doing the math right, this mean that my dad was a 'late in life kid' for Nana Coraline. Who was my dad's dad?"
"A man called Sterling Rollins. He died when Floyd and I were teenagers."
"Wait—you knew my dad all the way back then?"
"Longer, but how he wandered into my life is another story for another time. Maybe next year, you and your family can come down to Georgia. You been?"
Sophia shook her head. "No. To be honest, I've never left New York before."
"Then you have to come visit—we have a mansion."
"Oh, my God."
Beth Anne studied Sophia, wishing that she had more time with her. "Why all this curiosity about multiples, and things?"
"We're going to find out the babies' genders tomorrow, but it feels like this little princess has got someone in there with her." Sophia pointed her middle. "Melissa was big when she was born, even though she was early, but this kid is just crazy."
"And now that you know that multiples do run in the family?"
"I'm preparing myself for what we could see on the screen tomorrow. Twins run in Casey's family, too, so we could get a double whammy tomorrow… or a quadruple one."
"Who in her family are twins?" Beth Anne wanted to know.
"Actually, the oldest four—Junior, Ellington, Beatrix, and Virginia—are two sets of twins."
"Fraternal and identical?"
Sophia nodded. "Yes, and all in all, there are eight Novak siblings. I'm going to marry Casey at some point down the road, but her sisters and her brother all treat me like a sibling, which is good, because I work at the Novak family business now."
"Flowers." Beth Anne said in a tone of approval. "The publishing house up here has been partners with The Watering Can for twenty-five years."
"That's neat."
"Do you like your job?"
"I love it."
"Good. It's important to have a job you at least like, especially when you have kids." Beth Anne said sagely. "I'm Benoît's wife, yes, but I'm also his travel companion, and I do the books at the Atlanta publishing house because I love math, and I've always been good at it."
"That's cool… and handy."
"Definitely, considering that when I was raising Blue, Amanda, and Kim, I worked two different jobs, and still went to school."
"What did you do?"
"During the school year, I worked at the local college library, and I also worked part time at the diner near our neighborhood. When summertime came, I worked at the diner, seven days a week. Every September, I switched back. My life revolved around my sister and my daughters, because I would not have us out on the street. We were in a trailer park, but at least we had a roof over our heads."
"Did my dad help?"
"He did for awhile," Beth Anne said in a tone of recollection. "But he gave up, and it wasn't worth chasing him down for."
"So you did it all yourself?"
"Yes, and I'd still do it all again."
Sophia looked at her friend in surprise. "Really? Even though you got hurt when he left?"
"True, I went down a very dark road after I got hurt, Sophia, but if I hadn't, you wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't have met Benoît, or even learned to love again. These precious darlings wouldn't have come to be, either."
Beth Anne sat up straighter and framed her middle. She was wearing a dark-colored dress, but when Sophia looked, it was very plain to see that the older woman had a baby bump, too.
"If one of them is a boy, we're going to name him after Benoît."
Sophia blew out a breath. "We've been thinking of the baby that Casey is carrying as a boy, but we still haven't gotten around to names for anyone yet."
"Amanda means lovable, which both Blue and her namesake are. Kimberly is an Old English name, or something, but I picked it because it sounds pretty."
"It does. Do you know how you got your name?"
Beth Anne shook her head. "I don't, and I never asked. At least Beth can be a nickname for Elizabeth, and Anne means grace."
"Your name is pretty, too. Do you know what Benoît means?"
"It means blessed, which works because he's an only child, and it's a nice name for a firstborn son."
"But what if you get three sons—ooo…"
Sophia received a sharp elbow jab in the gut for her joke.
"Was that a kick?"
"No," Sophia sighed. "Though that is welcome. I just got one of her 'I want to go home to mama!' jabs."
"Then let's not keep you any longer." Beth Anne stood, and pulled her surrogate daughter to her feet. "Come—we'll call you a car."
Amanda decided to stay with Beth Anne, Benoît, and Kim for a little bit longer, so after bidding them goodbye (and giving her Georgia-bound kinfolk some extra hugs), she climbed into the town car that Beth Anne had arranged for her.
Sophia also made a pitstop before heading back to the loft.
THE WATERING CAN
777 5th AVENUE
MANHATTAN
In a mood to surprise Casey, Sophia stopped by her job to buy something for her. Sophia's chauffeur, an older man by the name of Hans, agreed to the pitstop, and even went soft far as to hold the shop door open for her. He waited just inside while his client approached her family.
"Sophia!"
She looked around, just in time to see no less than eight of the Novaks, namely Senior, Violet, Junior, Ellington, Beatrix, Virginia, Tiffany, and Savannah. Obviously, Casey wasn't there, but also absent were Abby and Melissa. The others were all in the shop, as they were still in business hours yet, but Sophia realized that they were more enthusiastic than usual to see her because they hadn't seen her since before she was taken.
"Wow. You're all here." Sophia said after everyone got their hugs in and then did a headcount. "Wait: where are Scrappy and Melissa?"
"Asleep upstairs." Violet pointed to a baby monitor on the front counter. It had a screen, and Sophia could clearly see the little ones fast asleep in the same room together. "We're keeping an eye on them through that. Would you like me to get Melissa?"
Sophia shook her head. "No, but thank you. I'm actually on my way back from The Plaza because I was hanging out with the Rollinses, and I came here to get some flowers for Casey because… I'm going home to her."
They all perked up at this, and Virginia congratulated Sophia first.
"Congrats, my friend. That's great to hear, and not just because it means everyone else owes me ten dollars now."
There was a collective sigh as both of her parents, her sisters, and her brother each passed her ten dollars from their pockets or wallets.
"Why am I not surprised you all bet on when we'd be moving in together?" Sophia chuckled. "I know Casey fancies forget-me-nots, but what else does she like?"
"Sunflowers!" Junior, Ellington, Beatrix, Virginia, Tiffany, and Savannah answered together.
Sophia laughed again. "Well, alright. I'll take one sunflower bouquet, please."
In the end, Sophia returned home with a very bountiful sunflower bouquet wrapped with ribbon and twine. She also found a small pair of stuffed elephants, their trunks intertwining. She added those at the last minute, but even still, the Novaks all split up the cost between them so Sophia didn't have to pay a penny.
She was happy for that, and thanked them for their generosity.
RESIDENCE OF CASSANDRA NOVAK AND SOPHIA BENSON
678 72nd STREET TRANSVERSE #5A
CENTRAL PARK
MANHATTAN
Before Sophia had left, Casey had given her a spare key to the loft. Sophia used this to open the front door.
Casey was on the couch, dressed in lounged clothes and reading something in a file folder. She grinned at the sight of Sophia as she came in, and she got up to help her.
"Have fun at The Plaza?"
For the umpteenth time that night, Sophia laughed in amusement. "That's one word for it. I learned a lot of new things about my family that I'm going to share, but first, these are for you."
"Sunflowers!" Casey exclaimed when she saw the blossoms. "And two stuffed elephants? I see someone went to The Watering Can on the way home. Just who all did you run into?"
"Everyone, short of Scrappy and Melissa, but only because they were sleeping."
Sophia laid the gifts in Casey's arms and kissed her.
"I got these because I'm so happy that I get to come home to you, and because there was a lot of talk about family tonight." she glanced over at the file folder that Casey had been looking through before. "What were you reading?"
"Something that a mutual friend of ours gave to me at the precinct earlier. We should talk about it." Casey returned Sophia's kiss. "You go change into something comfortable, and I'll put the flowers in water."
"Oh, could you out on a pot of tea, too?"
Casey winked at Sophia as she headed towards the kitchen. "Way ahead of you, Starshine. Just take your time."
And so the couple settled in for another long night… although for once, it was to talk about the future.
