November 29th 2022
Chapter 333
Our Pride For Friendship
"You swear, you really don't know?" Maya asked with a pointed look and a smirk that said very plainly to her oldest friend that she had nearly three decades of experience deciphering her expressions, so lying would be of no use.
"I swear," Riley beamed. "Double swear, triple swear," she added for emphasis. The baby kicked, and Maya felt it. "See? Kid's saying the same thing."
"Fine, fine…" Maya sighed, then, addressing the very rounded belly where her future niece or nephew resided, "It won't be long now, your secret will be revealed," she whispered.
It was early morning, barely after breakfast. Maya had gone over to the Orlando house, along with the triplets and the little sisters, to help with lunch prep… and to ensure that her near-to-popping best friend kept herself seated. Lucas was at Marianne's soccer practice and would be bringing her along as soon as it was done.
"What do you think?" Maya turned to Emily and Megan Orlando as they hovered around their favorite aunt, helping her in her tasks. "Brother or sister?" she asked them. The two girls, at five and three, had a lot of different opinions, sometimes different from the opinion they'd had just a day earlier… or even an hour earlier. Right now, it came down to…
"Sister!" Emily shouted.
"Brother!" Megan shouted at the same time.
"What if it's the other way around?" Maya asked them, and the girls didn't understand. "What if it's not… the one you each said?" she pointed to either one of the girls, rotated her hands around. "That's good, too, right? Still a baby sibling?" Megan nodded, satisfied plainly. Sure, she wouldn't mind a baby sister. According to Riley, that was what she'd wanted when she'd first gotten up that morning. Emily, for her part, looked doggedly determined that she did not want another brother. She loved Nicky, sure, even if they bickered sometimes, but she'd much prefer no more boys in the family. And she was five, so hiding it was not so easy.
"Come on, a baby brother would be good, too," Riley told her eldest daughter, reaching out so she'd come over to her. She did, along with her little sister, who had never refused a Mommy hug in her young life. "With big sisters like you? I have little brothers, two of them, and they're great, aren't they? Uncle Auggie, Uncle Hunter?" They were the only people who still got to call him Auggie, those girls and their brother.
At the counter, Maya did her best to keep her snort as quiet as she could when she felt it coming. Riley probably heard her or at least saw her laughing to herself. Yes, she loved her brothers, but Maya remembered very well when Riley was not much older than her girls were now, when she'd become big sister to her first little brother, and she'd been a lot closer to how Emily was reacting now. It had been some time before she'd come around to the idea even if she had, of course, done so. Better that they keep this notion away while they were trying to readjust the girl's mindset, in case she did have a brother.
As it turned out, they were going to find out a lot sooner than expected. It was not long after Lucas arrived, and Marianne ran along in her soccer uniform to talk about how the morning had gone. The rest of the turtles, original and junior, were arriving, too, and the house was filling up with people and noise. Marianne was showing her mother how she'd fallen and now had a band-aid on her leg, not the slightest bit concerned and actually kind of proud, when Nicky Orlando came barreling down from upstairs to find his father and say that his mother had said to tell him that the baby was coming.
For having had a baby in the middle of a Halloween party, in her own house, Maya realized how easy she'd had it. Back then, barely any of them had kids of their own. Now, the Orlando house was chaos as everyone ran around to either help Riley down the stairs and into the car, or gather all the kids to figure out what they'd do with them, or see to the start of the meal that had been cooking in the kitchen… It was a wonder they all got out the door in time and Riley didn't have to have her baby right there at the house. Sure, she would have had a couple of doctors on hand, and she would likely have been fine, but she would be much more at peace at the hospital, and frankly so would Dylan and the others.
Thankfully, they made it in time. Riley and Dylan disappeared off to get settled in, while their friends looked after the three Orlando children… and all of their own. There had been some intent at first to leave most of them back at the house, with some of the group sticking around to watch them, but that had nearly caused a riot. This was their new friend coming, their new Turtle. They even had his or her new mask at the ready, matching his or her older siblings, which the trio had with them, same as all the other kids. Even little Aubrey had hers, but Lucy was keeping an eye on it so she wouldn't try and eat it… again. It was impossible to say no to all that… So, they had all gone, and now they were here. Mia Babineaux and Giulia Choi were the eldest of the bunch and so made it their mission, along with Marianne Friar, to see that the little kids didn't wander off or get too loud while they all waited for the baby to be born. The Minkus family had been unable to drive down from Dallas this week, though of course now that Riley was having the baby… They just might get to see the likes of eleven-year-old Ada and nine-year-old Bertie joining their pack.
It was already after noon by the time they all made it to the hospital, so of course the kids' quietness was contingent on them getting to eat. Lucas, Asher, and Zay took on the task of getting food for everyone from the cafeteria, and this was distributed around the waiting room, to the satisfaction of all, adults, and children alike. Everyone ate, exchanging on some of the conversation they would likely have had around the Orlandos' table if not for their change of plans. When there was only discussion left, all food containers left empty around them, Mia and Giulia took up the responsibility of picking up everyone's trash, receiving thanks from their parents, aunts, and uncles, and assistance from their fellow junior turtles.
"You did so good!" Sophie beamed as two-year-old Santiago came dashing back to her after having done his part, tossing his empty things in the trash bag his big sister had held out to him. The boy was all smiles as he was hoisted up on to his Mommy's lap and held there, snug, and happy. Ever since he was a baby, he'd always loved to be in her arms, and play with her hair… He had thankfully outgrown his pulling phase by now and merely patted it or twisted it around if he could. He did so now, which played in the favor of his coming down for a nap before long.
Her baby boy, in every way… Him and Valentina were the youngest of the joined up family, and as the… issues of this fourth of four planned pregnancies, surprising though they had been as they'd been twins, they were meant to be it. No more babies, and as they'd now had two whole birthdays already, and they were running around and learning to speak and do everything that their older brothers and sister were already doing, it was impossible for them not to keep thinking about it. It was especially so thanks to the offer that had been made to them, a few months back.
There had been no more discussion of it since then, not as far as anyone else was aware within the group. For sure, Sophie, Chiara, Asher, and Ray would have talked it over, and maybe Rosa and Jenna with them, as the former of the two had been the one to offer herself, to be their surrogate, if they so chose to have another baby. Chiara was done, she'd said it, and they all accepted it. And they had accomplished what they had set out to do, getting these wonderful little ones for it. Giulia, Connor, Jae, Allie, Santi… Should that be the end of the line for them and children, that would be just fine. They didn't need to entertain this thought of rebalancing things by having one more, that they might all have three to point to as being biologically related to them. If that was the only reason, then it wouldn't be a good enough one.
Instead, if they were going to have another baby, it would have to be for one reason, and one reason only, being that they had set out on this plan of theirs, nearly a decade back, of four kids, one born of each mother/father combination they could get from the two couples… and now that they'd done it… Now, they were on the other side, proud parents of five, and maybe they could now realize that… they didn't actually feel as though they were done. Maybe their family had more love to give.
Right now, maybe it was that they were all here, at the hospital, waiting to meet the newest Orlando, all of them there, surrounded by their friends, all the children… Whatever it was, here was Sophie, turning a look to her wife that needed no interpretation. It made Chiara smile knowingly, reaching over to brush at their son's hair. It also made her look over to where Jae was showing the coloring book he'd found among the magazines to his fathers, which had them spying around for any kind of coloring pencils or crayons that they might have been able to give the four-year-old. Surely, there had to be some of those somewhere… It made them look to where six-year-old Connor was sitting with his two-year-old sister in his lap, looking up to the silent television up on the wall and pointing for Valentina to look, too, which she did. It made them look to Giulia, eight years old already and such a wonderful eldest sister for the rest of them to have… And today wasn't the day when they would formally ask Rosa if she was still willing, but later, they would be certain it was the day when they decided to go for it if she said yes.
In the meantime, they were still here, waiting to hear about another baby, waiting to hear that both mother and child were doing well, and they finally got that news in mid to late afternoon. They only had to see the smile on Dylan's face when he came to find his friends, his children and the others with them, his parents, his siblings, his in-laws…
"What is it? What is it?" Megan was the loudest as she and her brother and sister hurried up to Dylan, so he chuckled and looked at her directly to let them all know.
"You've got a little sister," he told her, and the three-year-old cheered and hopped. Behind her, Nicky looked at once like he was very happy to have a third one of those, yes, but at the same time had kind of wanted to have a brother this time. Meanwhile, for how vehement she'd been about not wanting one of those, Emily looked almost disappointed now that the option had been removed. She'd gotten what she'd wanted, but at some point, she'd come around to the alternative. It was only a mild disappointment, especially once she was asked if she wanted to go and meet her. Yes, she most certainly did, and soon everyone else would get to go and see Riley and to meet the newly arrived Aimee Orlando, named in honor of her great grandmother.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
