Chapter 8
Five years later…
"What story would you like me to read?" I asked my handsome little boy. I reached towards his bookshelf to grab his favourite book.
He surprised me by asking, "Can we make up a story?"
"Of course. Who is the story about?"
"Micah," he replied. I smiled when he said his name. "He's brave."
I smiled and began the story. "Once upon a time lived a boy named Micah. He was shy to make friends at school, but that didn't stop him from being brave. Micah saw his parents acting brave, and he wanted to be just like his daddy," I paused, waiting for Micah to add to his story.
"He jumped off the garage like Superman," Micah excitedly said. He wanted me to tell the story of him jumping off the roof. I was amused by his train of thought.
"One day, Micah told his friends he could fly like Superman. The kids on his street said that little boys couldn't fly. Micah grabbed his cape and got his mom to snap it to his shirt. You see, Micah's mom didn't think it was safe to tie things around his neck. He listened to his mom. When Micah's mom was a little girl, she pretended to be Wonder Woman. She had jumped off the garage roof. Unlike Micah, she broke her arm. Micah climbed to stand on top of the garage. A woman wearing a Wonder Woman costume stood beneath the ledge where Micah stood, ready to jump. 'Jump to me,' said the woman to the boy. 'I don't trust you,' the boy replied. 'Do you think I would drop you?' the woman asked. The boy chimed, 'I want Spider-Man to catch me,' Micah said as he pointed to the man standing behind Wonder Woman. Spider-Man stood beside Wonder Woman and asked Micah to jump. Micah jumped high as he pushed himself forward. He smiled as he soared through the air. Then he felt himself falling to the ground," I paused for effect.
"Did he die?" Micah asked. My son was hilarious.
I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "No, Micah. Spider Man and Wonder Woman worked together to catch Micah. He was happy to have his favourite superheroes catch him."
"What happened next?" Micah asked as he yawned.
Theodore caught my eye. He smiled at our son lying beside me on the bed with his head on my shoulder. "Micah, the brave little boy, was tired from flying. After promising Spider-Man and Wonder Woman never to jump off the garage, he closed his eyes to rest," I replied. Micah yawned as he closed his eyes.
"I love you, momma and papa," Micah said.
"We love you too," I reciprocated. Within a few minutes, Micah was sound asleep.
"You're a great mom," Theodore said as he helped me shift from beneath our son. "He scared us last year."
"I know. Aunt Valerie told him about the time I jumped off the garage roof. I could have killed her when I watched Micah climb up the back of the garage. When he asked me to attach the cape to his back, I was afraid he would repeat my mistakes," I confessed.
"How are you feeling?" Theodore asked as he guided me to our bedroom.
"Tired. Sore. We should call Hector," I replied. Before he could ask what was wrong, my water broke. He called Hector as I changed my clothes.
"Dora's asleep in her bed. I had to read Snow White four times before she'd close her eyes," Teddy said. Our daughter had Teddy wrapped around her finger. She was a miniature version of me but more laid back like her Uncle Carlos.
"Carlos and Leslie are jumping on my bladder. When my water broke, I thought I pissed myself," I said as he helped me change my pants.
"Is it time?" Hector asked when he answered the phone.
"Yes, Hector. Dora and Micah are sleeping," I replied, then ended our call. I knew he would bring Vince, Manny and Junior to watch the children. Their godfathers spoil them rotten. Hector arrived with the men and shooed Zero and me out the door. Zero carried me, not wanting me to slip on the snow covered walkway. "I can walk."
"I know, but I wanted to carry you," Zero replied. Vince held the door open for Zero to place me in the back seat. Zero didn't want the airbag to harm our babies if we got into an accident.
As Zero drove to St Frances, I thought about the shooting at Covington Inc. corporate services. When I heard the gunshots and Bobby asked Lester to bring me, I thought Zero had died. I was relieved he was still alive, but the bullet had hit too close to his heart. We decided life was too short, and I wanted to give Teddy a child.
Once the birth control shot wore off, I refused to get another one to prolong my child-free days. It took us six months to get pregnant with Micah. Dora was born ten months after Micah was born. Zero got a vasectomy after her birth. He didn't have any swimmers, yet here we are, three years later, expecting twins.
My doctor scheduled a c-section for tomorrow, but these little ones didn't want to wait. I'm four weeks early, which isn't uncommon for multiples. However, Teddy and I decided the twins would be our last. I'm not getting any younger. I would get my tubes tied during the procedure. "Should I try to give birth vaginally?" I asked.
"Your appointment a few days ago showed Carlos was breached. It's your decision, Amore mia. We'll have a lot of help when we get home," Teddy reminded me.
"Yup. I hope Ranger and Lester don't go overboard with the assistance this time. They overwhelmed me more than managing Micah and Dora."
"Are we assigning them as godparents?" he asked.
"They made me promise, Teddy. It seems appropriate to assign Ranger and Lester as godparents for their namesakes," I replied. "Why didn't we list them as Micah and Dora's godfathers?"
Zero laughed and reminded me that Ranger and Lester decorated my office using blown up condoms when they learned I got pregnant. It was worse when I immediately got pregnant with Dora. "Right. Now, I remember. They've learned their lesson that day."
"And they made up for our grievance," Teddy added.
"That too," I agreed. Lester and Ranger were beside themselves when we appointed other men as godfathers to Micah and Dora. They knew better than to mess with me. "Do you remember that dream I had?"
"The one resulting in getting a vasectomy?" Teddy asked.
"Yup. I guess we should never have tempted fate. We got the twins anyway," I breathily replied as another contraction ripped through my abdomen. "I don't remember labour being this painful."
"Nonna said that would happen," he said. I wanted to smack him. "Sorry, Amore mia. I know better than to argue with a woman in labour."
"Smart man," I groaned as another contraction hit. "They're three minutes apart."
"Shit," Teddy said. He got to the doors leading to the emergency room. Teddy jumped from the car while Lester quickly slipped into the seat.
"I'll meet you in the delivery room," Lester said after Teddy helped me from the car. Ranger was waiting with a wheelchair. I held Teddy's hand as Ranger pushed the chair to the triage nurse. We had preregistered during the prenatal appointment. The nurse made a point of telling me that my doctor was already in the hospital. I listened as the nurse paged the doctor. She directed us to the delivery room.
Teddy lifted me onto the bed while Ranger moved the wheelchair out of the way. "Dr. Montgomery will be here shortly," the nurse told us. I wanted to deliver these babies ten minutes ago.
"I'm supposed to have a c-section because my son is breach. Will she do that here?" I asked.
"Yes, Stephanie. Dr. Montgomery requested I bring you to this room. She knew your friends would like to be in the room. On that note, gentlemen, please follow me. You need to wash up and wear gowns," she said. Teddy waited for Lester to enter the room before washing his hands and wearing the paper hospital gown.
I breathed through the contractions as the nurse set up the IV. She called the anesthesiologist to perform the epidural. "What did you inject into the IV?" Ranger asked.
"A steroid to help with lung development. It may not be necessary, but we never take that chance with multiples," she explained. Ranger nodded as he held my hand.
Teddy grabbed my other hand as Lester entered the room. "Are we ready to see our babies?" Lester asked.
The doctor heard Lester's comment when she entered the room. "You sound like a proud papa. However, we know Theodore is the biological father. Stephanie requested a paternity test to prove it to the Burg biddies. Personally, I think those women should mind their own business. Are you ready to see Carlos and Leslie?" Dr. Montgomery asked.
"Absolutely," I replied. "I'm looking forward to seeing my feet again." I wonder how long it would take for me to bounce back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Surprisingly, I only gained 35 lbs with the twins.
"Babe," Ranger said, grinning.
"Good afternoon, Rochelle. I'm here to give Mrs. Torino her epidural," the anesthesiologist said. I quickly corrected him to call me Steph. He asked me to roll onto my side and pull up my knees. It wasn't an easy position to hold, but Teddy held me and whispered. "Great job, Steph. In a few minutes, you'll be holding your babies. Congratulations." He adjusted the drip before leaving the room.
Dr. Montgomery ran a pen down the bottom of my feet a few times until I said that I couldn't feel it. She draped a blanket over my bottom half and obscured my vision. Lester and Ranger watched as the doctor opened my womb to remove my babies.
She pulled Leslie Anne from my body a few minutes before Carlos Mateo. Both infants weighed 5 lbs, 2 oz, which surprised me. Carlos was 18 inches long, while Leslie was only 16 inches.
"Are you nursing these little ones?" Dr. Montgomery asked. I smiled at her name for the babies.
"No. I plan to formula feed unless we can use carnation milk diluted," I replied. Dr. Montgomery promised to give me pamphlets and samples to try with the babies. Some formulas were better than other ones. "When can I take them home?" I watched the nurse wheel the babies away in the incubator. Lester and Ranger followed her from the room.
"I want them to remain in the hospital for the first two weeks. They were born at 36 weeks which is preterm. Keeping them under observation for two weeks ensures their lungs get fully developed. The babies can't get discharged until they can maintain their body heat, master feeding while breathing simultaneously and breathe on their own. We want Leslie and Carlos to grow up strong like their uncles."
"How long does Stephanie need to stay?" Teddy asked while the doctor closed the incision.
"Ranger arranged a private room for your family and a nurse to watch the babies. He asked that Stephanie stay at the hospital until her children get released. We can bring cots for you and your other children if required," she said.
It was too much. Ranger must have donated a ton of cash to get the hospital administration to agree to this request. "Amore mia, you know Ranger wouldn't want you to worry about the cost. He wants you and our children to be healthy when we go home," Teddy explained.
"Most of your restrictions would get lifted when you go home. However, you can only carry the babies, one at a time, until six weeks. You can go up and down the stairs, but not while carrying anything," Dr. Montgomery stated. She covered the incision with bandages and called the porter to move me to my room. "The babies will get brought to you soon."
"Thanks, Dr. Montgomery. Did you take care of the tubal?" I asked.
"Yes, Stephanie. You shouldn't have any more children," she said. After tapping my foot, she left the delivery room.
"Are you ready to get to your room?" Evelyn asked when she entered the room with my nurse, Kelly.
"Yup. I'm finished with this room," I joked. "When are you due?"
She rubbed down her barely noticeable baby bump and replied, "Six months. Steven's third birthday is next week. I assume you can't come to his party?"
"Unfortunately, no. Carlos and Leslie can't go home yet. I don't want to leave them. Besides, I had a c-section," I answered.
"No problem, Steph. Joe will understand," Evelyn said as she walked us to my room. I got Teddy to grab the package from my hospital bag after Kelly and the porter got me settled in the bed. The porter took the delivery bed with him to get cleaned. "When can Joe and Steven visit?"
"Do you mind giving us a few days? I know my Merry Men will visit today and tomorrow, as will my parents, sister and nieces."
"Okay. I'll see you in four days. That should give you a day to recover from your mom's visit," she joked. I hugged Evelyn before she left.
We stayed in the hospital for three weeks before the twins were strong enough to go home. Lester and Ranger temporarily moved into our house to help with the children. I didn't know how Teddy and I would manage everything without them.
As I had predicted, my mom had to show proof of paternity to the Burg women. They spread rumours that Lester and Ranger were the biological parents of the twins since I named them after their godfathers.
Dad was fed up with the bullshit from the Burg and sold the house. Mom and dad live a few doors down from us. They visit with us daily but respect our privacy.
When I got cleared for sex, Teddy and I went to Atlantic City for a weekend getaway. My Merry Men arranged their schedules to babysit.
"What's on your mind?" Teddy asked.
"Everything. Nothing," I replied. I took a deep breath. "Amore mio, I never thought I'd get married or happily raise children. With you by my side, I can do anything."
It's amazing how a childhood connection could build into something so spectacular. My children are healthy and happy. I can't wait to see our children grow up. Teddy and I know they will be loved and protected. They would have the opportunity to spread their wings and fly.
I wouldn't have achieved everything I have without the love and support of my Amore mio.
