The next morning Robbie woke up, when the nurse knocked on the door. He
rubbed his eyes, and squinted as light filled the room. The nurse wheeled
in both basinets, and put them next to the bed. Mary still hadn't woken up,
and Robbie decided he would let her get a little more sleep. He picked up
Jessica, and then Justin. He sat down in a chair with them both in his
arms. He smiled as he looked down at them. They were his, he and his
beautiful wife created these two little bundles of joy. He was so blessed,
he felt like he had everything, a loving wife, a beautiful daughter, and
now a phenomenal son, and another daughter. He starred at Jessica, and
thought about how much she looked like both him and Mary, a perfect mixture
of both their appearances. She had his dark wavy hair, Mary's wonderful
mouth, his nose, and Mary's face shape. He then looked at his son, his
first son, he couldn't believe how much he already loved them both. Justin
looked just like Robbie, but with a hint of Mary in him. He was wonderful.
Robbie's eyes welled up as he thought about how much his life had changed.
He remembered the day before, when he held them for the first time. No
words could express the happiness that was going through him.
Mary had woken up a few minutes earlier, and was watching her husband. He had tears falling down his cheeks, with a huge grin on his face. Mary smiled, and kept watching him. He finally looked up, and she smiled.
"Bring me one of my babies!" she said holding out her arms.
He laughed, and got up. He handed Justin to her, and sat down next to her on the bed.
"I wanna go home. I miss my other baby." Mary whined.
"We'll go home soon enough."
"I hope."
Through the day Matt and Sarah, Lucy and Scott, Annie and Eric, and Simon and Ruthie stopped by. Simon still had Hailey, but he left her with her parents when he left the hospital. Robbie was going to home, and the next morning, come to pick up Mary and the babies. He kissed Mary's lips, and kissed each of the babies before he left.
Hailey was ecstatic the whole way home, because she could be with her daddy again. She talked and talked, and finally wore herself out. As they pulled into the driveway, she was fast asleep.
"Ok little miss chatter box, here we go." He said lifting her sleeping body into his arms, and carrying her inside.
He took her up stairs, had her use the bathroom, and then put her to sleep. He went downstairs, and straightened up a bit, and made himself frozen pizza for dinner. He went into the living room, and sat down on the couch.
"I hope there is something good on." He mumbled to himself.
He flicked through channels, but nothing appealed to him. He finally gave up, and decided to go to bed. He went into his room, and saw the bed un- made, just as they left it. He changed the sheets, and got in.
"7:30." He said to himself, as he set the alarm.
The next morning he woke up to the alarm blaring, and he quickly shut it off. He groaned, as he pulled his tired body out of bed. He rubbed his eyes, as he walked to Hailey's room. She was sleeping soundly, he nudged her a little, and she moaned.
"What?" she asked, opening her eyes.
"We're going to get mommy, and Justin and Jessica."
"Yay!" she yelled, obviously now awake.
He walked over to her dresser, and pulled out a pair of overalls, and a baby blue shirt. He dressed her, and she followed him into his room. He pulled on a long sleeved polo shirt, and a pair of khakis. Hailey and him, went into the bathroom, and brushed their teeth. Then he attempted to do her hair. He was trying for a ponytail, and he succeeded. He laughed to himself, when Hailey asked why it was crook. She meant crooked. He fixed it as much as he could, and got her shoes and coat on. They finally left the house, and stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way.
"Daddy, we there yet?"
"Almost sweetie."
"I wanna see mommy, and baby and baby."
"So do I do."
They finally got there, and went up. Mary was dressed, and she was just waiting for the twins to be brought back. About 5 minutes later they were, and Robbie held Justin, while Mary held Jessica. Hailey held on to Robbie's shirt, and they all went down to the car.
They had someone pull it around, and Robbie strapped all the kids in their seats. He opened Mary's door, and she got in. They were finally settled, and started their drive home.
"Robbie, we need to get a bigger car. There is no space back there, they are all so squished."
"Yeah, I'll look at mini vans on the internet."
"Okay."
They finally were home, and Robbie helped Mary get the babies settled in their cribs, while Hailey watched them. Robbie saw her just standing there, and went down to scoop her up.
"Hailey, wanna help me make lunch for mommy?"
"Yeah." She said nodding her head vigorously.
He took her hand, and walked with her downstairs, while Mary followed them. She was happy Robbie was giving Hailey more attention, because the twins were taking up a lot of hers.
When they got into the kitchen, Robbie got everything out, and put Hailey on the counter. They started making lunch, while Mary sat on the couch, flipping through channels. She felt fine, but was very tired. When Robbie and Hailey were finished making lunch, Mary had fallen asleep. Robbie laughed when he saw her, and covered her sleeping body with a blanket. He went back into the kitchen, and Hailey was in there.
"Where mommy?"
"Mommy fell asleep." He informed her, "So now we can eat her lunch!"
Hailey laughed, as Robbie scooped her up, and sat her in a chair. They divided up Mary's food, and both ate. They laughed, and had as much of a conversation as you can, with a 3 year old.
An hour later the twins started screaming, Robbie ran upstairs, and into their room. Jessica was the only one up, so he lifted her out of her crib, and brought her downstairs, so she wouldn't wake up her brother.
Hailey was on the couch, starring at Mary, when Robbie came down.
"Hailey, don't wake her up." He whispered, "Come here."
She climbed off the couch, and over to her daddy. He went into the kitchen, and went in the fridge, to get a bottle of milk.
"It's a good thing your mommy pumped already, or we would've had to wake her up." Robbie said to Jessica.
"Daddy, you feed her?"
"Yes, I am going to feed her, wanna help?" "Ya!" she said nodding her little head vigorously.
"Okay, come on."
Robbie sat down in a chair, and had Jessica in his arms, and Hailey sat next to him. He put the bottle in her mouth, and watched her as she ate.
"I touch her?" whispered Hailey.
"Yes, but be gentle."
"Okey."
Hailey touched Jessica's hand, and Jessica wrapped her little fingers around it. Hailey giggled, and looked up at Robbie.
"She likes you, she knows that you're her bug sister."
"I like her."
Over the next few weeks Mary and Robbie took turns entertaining Hailey, and taking care of the twins. It was hectic, but they all managed. When Robbie went to work, Mary and Lucy would stay with each other. It was Monday, and Mary was over Lucy's house.
"Luce, how did you loose your weight after you had Alicia?"
"I went on weight watchers, and exercised a lot."
"Oh, because I got a hell of a lot of weight to loose, so I think I'd better start."
"You don't have that much to loose." Lucy protested.
"Luce, look at me!" Mary exclaimed.
"Yeah, so?"
"I weigh 145 lbs, I need to loose 35 pounds!"
"You wanna get down to 110?"
"Yeah, that's what I used to be."
"Well I suggest weight watchers, if anything. It is the easiest, especially since you are breast feeding."
"Yeah, I will look into it." "How are the twins treating yah?"
"They are a handful, especially when Robbie isn't home." Mary said, "I have to take care of the babies, and Hailey wants attention, and I can't neglect her. So it gets tiring sometimes."
"I hear yah, I only have one, and she is a handful." Lucy laughed, "Now she is so cute though, she just turned 4 months last week, and she is always smiling, and making cute noises. I love her so much."
"Aww. That's so cute."
"How is Robbie?"
"He is good, working and stuff."
"Yeah, Scott has been working too, nothing really interesting." Lucy said smiling.
"Oh."
"Its kinda funny that all of our kids are asleep at the same time."
"Yeah, they knew we needed a break, so they all went to sleep." Mary laughed.
"Yeah, it would be good if they did it more often."
"Well I think I have to go, Robbie will be home soon, and I still have to cook."
"Okay."
"I am going to get my babies." Mary said walking upstairs.
She put each of their jackets on, and first she carried Hailey into the car. She buckled her in, and then brought both of the twins out. She said bye, and drove home. She pulled into the driveway, and was surprised to see a minivan in it. Hailey had woken up in the car, so Mary didn't have to make two trips. Hailey held her pant leg, while she held Jessica and Justin. They walked inside, and were surprised to see Robbie there. He took Jessica from her, and they brought them upstairs, and put them into their cribs. Then they went downstairs, and sat on the couch, with Hailey in their laps.
"Whose minivan is that?" Mary asked.
"Its ours." He said smiling.
"What?"
"I traded in my car for the minivan. I am gonna take your SUV, and the minivan is yours."
"Oh, thank you so much! I needed a bigger car." She said throwing her arms around him.
"Your welcome." He laughed.
"Mommy I wanna go play."
"Okay, be careful though."
"Okey." She said running off to her playroom.
They stayed on the couch for a while, and just hugged each other.
"What do you want for dinner?"
"I don't care, whatever is easiest for you."
"Okay, how about fish sticks, and French fries." She laughed, "I really don't feel like cooking."
"That's fine."
"Okay, I am gonna go make dinner."
She made dinner, and her, Robbie, and Hailey sat down and ate. After they were done, Mary fed the twins, because they had woken up. She bathed them both in their little baths, and put them back to sleep. Robbie bathed Hailey, and read her a story. She fell asleep half way through it, so he kissed her, and turned out the lights. He sat in her little chair, and watched her. The beams from the night-light danced on her face. He listened to her steady breathing, and left after a few minutes.
He went into his room, and found Mary sitting on the bed. She was reading a book; he washed up, and got in bed next to her. She put it down, and got underneath the covers. Robbie wrapped his arm around her, and kissed her. He touched the side of her stomach, and moved his hand up.
"No, stop." She said pulling away, and turning.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I am just not in the mood."
"Mary, you are always in the mood."
"Well I am not now." she shot back.
"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.
"I am fine." She said, almost yelling.
"Okay, okay. But I know you aren't."
"Robbie, do you really wanna know what's wrong?" she asked bursting into tears, "I am fat, and I don't want you to see me. I don't feel good about me."
"Oh Mary, don't cry." He said laughing.
"Don't laugh!" she yelled.
"I am sorry." He said trying not to laugh, "Look I will love you no matter what. Even if you gain weight or anything, I will always love you. You are great. I loved you when you were skinny, I loved you when you were pregnant, and I still love you."
"I love you too. But I wanna be skinny again." She whined, wiping her eyes.
"It takes time to loose weight, and you are not fat."
"Whatever you say." She mumbled.
"And since you're not fat, can we can we.. yah know?" he asked raising his eyebrow.
"Shut up." She laughed and threw a pillow at him. "Okay."
"Okay." He mimicked.
"Hey, don't push your luck." She laughed.
"I love you."
"Love you too."
Mary had woken up a few minutes earlier, and was watching her husband. He had tears falling down his cheeks, with a huge grin on his face. Mary smiled, and kept watching him. He finally looked up, and she smiled.
"Bring me one of my babies!" she said holding out her arms.
He laughed, and got up. He handed Justin to her, and sat down next to her on the bed.
"I wanna go home. I miss my other baby." Mary whined.
"We'll go home soon enough."
"I hope."
Through the day Matt and Sarah, Lucy and Scott, Annie and Eric, and Simon and Ruthie stopped by. Simon still had Hailey, but he left her with her parents when he left the hospital. Robbie was going to home, and the next morning, come to pick up Mary and the babies. He kissed Mary's lips, and kissed each of the babies before he left.
Hailey was ecstatic the whole way home, because she could be with her daddy again. She talked and talked, and finally wore herself out. As they pulled into the driveway, she was fast asleep.
"Ok little miss chatter box, here we go." He said lifting her sleeping body into his arms, and carrying her inside.
He took her up stairs, had her use the bathroom, and then put her to sleep. He went downstairs, and straightened up a bit, and made himself frozen pizza for dinner. He went into the living room, and sat down on the couch.
"I hope there is something good on." He mumbled to himself.
He flicked through channels, but nothing appealed to him. He finally gave up, and decided to go to bed. He went into his room, and saw the bed un- made, just as they left it. He changed the sheets, and got in.
"7:30." He said to himself, as he set the alarm.
The next morning he woke up to the alarm blaring, and he quickly shut it off. He groaned, as he pulled his tired body out of bed. He rubbed his eyes, as he walked to Hailey's room. She was sleeping soundly, he nudged her a little, and she moaned.
"What?" she asked, opening her eyes.
"We're going to get mommy, and Justin and Jessica."
"Yay!" she yelled, obviously now awake.
He walked over to her dresser, and pulled out a pair of overalls, and a baby blue shirt. He dressed her, and she followed him into his room. He pulled on a long sleeved polo shirt, and a pair of khakis. Hailey and him, went into the bathroom, and brushed their teeth. Then he attempted to do her hair. He was trying for a ponytail, and he succeeded. He laughed to himself, when Hailey asked why it was crook. She meant crooked. He fixed it as much as he could, and got her shoes and coat on. They finally left the house, and stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way.
"Daddy, we there yet?"
"Almost sweetie."
"I wanna see mommy, and baby and baby."
"So do I do."
They finally got there, and went up. Mary was dressed, and she was just waiting for the twins to be brought back. About 5 minutes later they were, and Robbie held Justin, while Mary held Jessica. Hailey held on to Robbie's shirt, and they all went down to the car.
They had someone pull it around, and Robbie strapped all the kids in their seats. He opened Mary's door, and she got in. They were finally settled, and started their drive home.
"Robbie, we need to get a bigger car. There is no space back there, they are all so squished."
"Yeah, I'll look at mini vans on the internet."
"Okay."
They finally were home, and Robbie helped Mary get the babies settled in their cribs, while Hailey watched them. Robbie saw her just standing there, and went down to scoop her up.
"Hailey, wanna help me make lunch for mommy?"
"Yeah." She said nodding her head vigorously.
He took her hand, and walked with her downstairs, while Mary followed them. She was happy Robbie was giving Hailey more attention, because the twins were taking up a lot of hers.
When they got into the kitchen, Robbie got everything out, and put Hailey on the counter. They started making lunch, while Mary sat on the couch, flipping through channels. She felt fine, but was very tired. When Robbie and Hailey were finished making lunch, Mary had fallen asleep. Robbie laughed when he saw her, and covered her sleeping body with a blanket. He went back into the kitchen, and Hailey was in there.
"Where mommy?"
"Mommy fell asleep." He informed her, "So now we can eat her lunch!"
Hailey laughed, as Robbie scooped her up, and sat her in a chair. They divided up Mary's food, and both ate. They laughed, and had as much of a conversation as you can, with a 3 year old.
An hour later the twins started screaming, Robbie ran upstairs, and into their room. Jessica was the only one up, so he lifted her out of her crib, and brought her downstairs, so she wouldn't wake up her brother.
Hailey was on the couch, starring at Mary, when Robbie came down.
"Hailey, don't wake her up." He whispered, "Come here."
She climbed off the couch, and over to her daddy. He went into the kitchen, and went in the fridge, to get a bottle of milk.
"It's a good thing your mommy pumped already, or we would've had to wake her up." Robbie said to Jessica.
"Daddy, you feed her?"
"Yes, I am going to feed her, wanna help?" "Ya!" she said nodding her little head vigorously.
"Okay, come on."
Robbie sat down in a chair, and had Jessica in his arms, and Hailey sat next to him. He put the bottle in her mouth, and watched her as she ate.
"I touch her?" whispered Hailey.
"Yes, but be gentle."
"Okey."
Hailey touched Jessica's hand, and Jessica wrapped her little fingers around it. Hailey giggled, and looked up at Robbie.
"She likes you, she knows that you're her bug sister."
"I like her."
Over the next few weeks Mary and Robbie took turns entertaining Hailey, and taking care of the twins. It was hectic, but they all managed. When Robbie went to work, Mary and Lucy would stay with each other. It was Monday, and Mary was over Lucy's house.
"Luce, how did you loose your weight after you had Alicia?"
"I went on weight watchers, and exercised a lot."
"Oh, because I got a hell of a lot of weight to loose, so I think I'd better start."
"You don't have that much to loose." Lucy protested.
"Luce, look at me!" Mary exclaimed.
"Yeah, so?"
"I weigh 145 lbs, I need to loose 35 pounds!"
"You wanna get down to 110?"
"Yeah, that's what I used to be."
"Well I suggest weight watchers, if anything. It is the easiest, especially since you are breast feeding."
"Yeah, I will look into it." "How are the twins treating yah?"
"They are a handful, especially when Robbie isn't home." Mary said, "I have to take care of the babies, and Hailey wants attention, and I can't neglect her. So it gets tiring sometimes."
"I hear yah, I only have one, and she is a handful." Lucy laughed, "Now she is so cute though, she just turned 4 months last week, and she is always smiling, and making cute noises. I love her so much."
"Aww. That's so cute."
"How is Robbie?"
"He is good, working and stuff."
"Yeah, Scott has been working too, nothing really interesting." Lucy said smiling.
"Oh."
"Its kinda funny that all of our kids are asleep at the same time."
"Yeah, they knew we needed a break, so they all went to sleep." Mary laughed.
"Yeah, it would be good if they did it more often."
"Well I think I have to go, Robbie will be home soon, and I still have to cook."
"Okay."
"I am going to get my babies." Mary said walking upstairs.
She put each of their jackets on, and first she carried Hailey into the car. She buckled her in, and then brought both of the twins out. She said bye, and drove home. She pulled into the driveway, and was surprised to see a minivan in it. Hailey had woken up in the car, so Mary didn't have to make two trips. Hailey held her pant leg, while she held Jessica and Justin. They walked inside, and were surprised to see Robbie there. He took Jessica from her, and they brought them upstairs, and put them into their cribs. Then they went downstairs, and sat on the couch, with Hailey in their laps.
"Whose minivan is that?" Mary asked.
"Its ours." He said smiling.
"What?"
"I traded in my car for the minivan. I am gonna take your SUV, and the minivan is yours."
"Oh, thank you so much! I needed a bigger car." She said throwing her arms around him.
"Your welcome." He laughed.
"Mommy I wanna go play."
"Okay, be careful though."
"Okey." She said running off to her playroom.
They stayed on the couch for a while, and just hugged each other.
"What do you want for dinner?"
"I don't care, whatever is easiest for you."
"Okay, how about fish sticks, and French fries." She laughed, "I really don't feel like cooking."
"That's fine."
"Okay, I am gonna go make dinner."
She made dinner, and her, Robbie, and Hailey sat down and ate. After they were done, Mary fed the twins, because they had woken up. She bathed them both in their little baths, and put them back to sleep. Robbie bathed Hailey, and read her a story. She fell asleep half way through it, so he kissed her, and turned out the lights. He sat in her little chair, and watched her. The beams from the night-light danced on her face. He listened to her steady breathing, and left after a few minutes.
He went into his room, and found Mary sitting on the bed. She was reading a book; he washed up, and got in bed next to her. She put it down, and got underneath the covers. Robbie wrapped his arm around her, and kissed her. He touched the side of her stomach, and moved his hand up.
"No, stop." She said pulling away, and turning.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I am just not in the mood."
"Mary, you are always in the mood."
"Well I am not now." she shot back.
"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.
"I am fine." She said, almost yelling.
"Okay, okay. But I know you aren't."
"Robbie, do you really wanna know what's wrong?" she asked bursting into tears, "I am fat, and I don't want you to see me. I don't feel good about me."
"Oh Mary, don't cry." He said laughing.
"Don't laugh!" she yelled.
"I am sorry." He said trying not to laugh, "Look I will love you no matter what. Even if you gain weight or anything, I will always love you. You are great. I loved you when you were skinny, I loved you when you were pregnant, and I still love you."
"I love you too. But I wanna be skinny again." She whined, wiping her eyes.
"It takes time to loose weight, and you are not fat."
"Whatever you say." She mumbled.
"And since you're not fat, can we can we.. yah know?" he asked raising his eyebrow.
"Shut up." She laughed and threw a pillow at him. "Okay."
"Okay." He mimicked.
"Hey, don't push your luck." She laughed.
"I love you."
"Love you too."