26 weeks. 14 weeks to go. Today was our baby shower. Our first baby shower had been one to remember both Arizona and Mark going way over the top to make it unforgettable. This time I had insisted on something a little more low key. We had planned to have friends over for dinner, enjoy some adult company before we no longer got the opportunity to and celebrate our two sweet miracles. Arizona had also announced that after everyone had gone home that she would reveal the finished nursery that she had begged to decorate.
Because all the viable babysitters were in attendance to this event Arizona set up the second lounge as a children's play area. She put out snack foods, drinks, movies, board games, toys, anything she could think the children would want or need.
Arizona had the day off and had promised to organise everything while I worked. My schedule was lighter after hiring a young, cocky, male ortho doctor but there was still lots to do in preparation for my maternity leave and knowing full well that twins were likely to be premature I had started on the preparations a little early.
Arizona was at home, putting the final touches on the nursery that she had been secretly working on for the past three weeks. I had promised her I would stay clear of the nursery and although walking past the room everyday was incredibly difficult, I decided the surprise might be a nice thing for Arizona and I to enjoy together.
I managed to leave work at 6pm, leaving me an hour to get ready and help add the final touches to the event. Arizona was in the kitchen making a salad when I walked through the door, my body aching and my feet swollen from being on my feet all day.
"Hey," Arizona said as she tossed the tomatoes into the salad.
"God am I glad to be home," I said as I flicked my shoes off and sat down at the closest chair which happened to be the kitchen bar stool.
"Hard day?" Arizona asked me as she threw egg into the salad and covered it up before putting it into the fridge.
"Not hard, just tiring. The boys are pushing on my bladder which is making me need to pee every 5 minutes. And my feet ache," I groaned.
"Would you like me to move them?" Arizona asked as she walked around the island towards me.
"I knew there was a reason I married a pediatric surgeon" I said with a faint smile tickling the edges of my lips.
"After I reposition them, I'll run you a bath and you can relax for a bit before everybody arrives," she said as she pecked my lips hello. "Come," she said as she took my hand, helped me up out of my chair and supported me all the way to the bedroom where she lay me down.
"It might hurt for a second, that's normal," Arizona explained as she lifted my shirt up over my head.
"Do you always undress your patients?" I smirked.
"Only the ones I'm married to," she teased as she rested her hands on the bottom of my belly, her fingers moving around as she felt for the babies. When she found the one that was pushing hard against my bladder she gave it a quick shove then slowly moved it upwards, relieving some of the pressure. It didn't quite hurt but it certainly felt weird.
"Oh my god,' I said thankfully. "That feels so much better. Thank you mama," I said sincerely.
Arizona took my hands and pulled me up, I often need help getting up now days. "You're welcome Mummy," she whispered as she leant forward to kiss my lips her mouth engulfing my bottom lip as she did. "Bath," Arizona reminded herself as she pulled away and went into the bathroom to run me a bath.
I slipped off the side of the bed and stood up, steadying myself by placing my hand against the wall. I felt like a bowling ball. Moving was getting increasingly hard, my feet and back ached all the time, my breasts were more tender than they had ever been and not in a good way and all of that meant Arizona and I hadn't had sex in 3 weeks. I knew Arizona was craving the intimacy because most nights she tried to start something but I was either too tired, too sore or felt too ugly to reciprocate the feelings. I wasn't even in my third trimester but because of the added bonus of two babies it felt a whole lot like the third trimester did with Sofia.
"Your bath is ready hun," Arizona said as she came back to get me, taking my hand and leading me into the bathroom. Running around on my feet all day took my mind off all the unpleasantries attached to the later stages of pregnancy. It wasn't until I finished work and sat down that it all hit and it never failed to drain the life out of me.
I slipped out of my clothes and with Arizona's help I climbed into the bath. "I'd kill for a wine," I admitted as I sunk into the warm water, the bubbles covering the majority of my body, only part of my baby bump sticking out above the water.
"How about grape juice," Arizona suggested.
I shook my head, "I'll be alright," I promised her.
"I better go ice the cake," Arizona said as she pushed a strand of hair from my face, "You're a rockstar for carrying our babies," she smiled before standing up and leaving me to soak in the bathtub in peace.
"MAMA" Sofia called as she ran into the lounge to greet Arizona. "When is Zola getting here?" she asked me as she held her tablet in her hands.
"Ahhh in about an hour, why's that sweetheart?" Arizona responded as she ran a knife of blue icing over the cake she had made.
"I need her to give me some tokens for my game that's all," Sofia muttered as she walked off and sunk into the couch.
"Sof, could you go check on the nursery and make sure I didn't leave the paint bucket in there," Arizona asked. Sofia had really enjoyed nesting for the babies, she had become obsessed with being a big sister and was very intrigued by the stages of the pregnancy. As part of the parenting class we took when preparing for Sofia it said to involve siblings in the process so Arizona had sort out Sofia's help and from what I heard she was absolutely loving it.
"Ooooh Mama did you buy the picture frame for that photo?" she asked curiously as she put her iPad down.
"Oh crap," Arizona said as she put the knife down, wiped her hands on a t-towel and grabbed her keys from the key bowl. "Go into the trunk of the car and grab out the bag from target. There is the picture frame and the stuff for onesie decorating," Arizona informed her.
Sofia had loved taking on the big sister roll and we loved watching Sofia turn from the baby to the big girl that she was in the short space of a pregnancy. Sofia grabbed the keys from Arizona and skipped out into the garage to grab the bag, returning only moments later with the things she was told too, "got it," Sofia said as she closed the garage door closed.
"Can you go get me the photo from the nursery? Make sure your mum doesn't see it," she reminded her.
Sofia nodded and bounced towards her baby brothers nursery. She arrived back in the lounge just as there was a knock at the door.
"Can you get that?" Arizona asked as she grabbed the picture from me and quickly put it into the picture frame.
Sofia skipped to the front door, her assumption that it was probably Zola was wrong. When the door swung open a young, beautiful latin woman stood in the doorway holding a suitcase at her side.
"Hey, are your parents home?" the woman asked, her accent resembling more Mexican than American.
"MAMA, somebody is at the door," Sofia called out as she turned around and walked back towards her mama.
"Go put that in the nursery," Arizona said calmly as she rounded the corner, her eyes settling on the woman she recognized only from pictures. "Aria?" Arizona questioned, seeking confirmation because she didn't believe her own eyes.
"And you must be Arizona," the woman said with all the charm only a Torres could possess. "My father said it is your baby shower tonight. Our mother wouldn't let him come but I've be exiled just like Calliope so I thought why the hell not," the young black haired woman said as a laugh so closely resembling Callie's escaped her mouth.
"Ahhh, yeah. Come on in," Arizona muttered aimlessly as she stood aside and allowed the woman so foreign to her to walk into their home. In all the time Arizona had known Callie, not once had she met her sister or even talked to her. Aria had a confidence about her that stood far about Callie's but had the beauty and the mannerisms of her older sister, so much so that Arizona found herself staring. "Let me get Callie," Arizona said as she closed the door behind Aria and walked towards the bedroom we shared together.
"Sof," I said as I saw Sofia coming out of the nursery. "Could you go up to your room and do your homework before everybody gets here?" Arizona asked her in a frantic attempt to get here away from the reunion.
"I did my homework before," Sofia stated.
"Go do your math," Arizona urged her as she continued down the hallway, through our bedroom and into the bathroom where I lay peacefully, the water swirling around my very large, elephant like body. "Hey Cal, your sister is in the lounge," Arizona blurted out her eyes darting back behind her just to make sure nobody was there.
"Wait, what?" I said, shock and disbelief plastered across my face.
Arizona took my hands and helped me out of the bath, the water sinking the moment I stepped out, "Did you know she was coming?" Arizona asked me as she reached for my towel.
I shook my head as I started drying myself with great urgency, "No, I haven't talked to her since I came out to her. Go… make sure she doesn't say anything anti gay to our daughter. I won't be far behind," I informed Arizona as I wrapped the towel around my head and walked through to the bedroom to get change. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to wear at this point, most of my clothes didn't fit me, even my maternity clothes were starting to get a bit tight. I was convinced that the last few weeks of my pregnancy was going to be spent naked in bed being tended to like a stationary bowling ball.
Arizona arrived back in the lounge where Aria was looking at family photos, her brown eyes taking in every detail of each family moment, "I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't want to see me," Aria said as she heard Arizona arrive behind her.
"No, she is coming. She is just getting ready. She just got home from work," Arizona defended as she moved closer to examine the photos Aria was looking at. "Who ever would have thought my sister would grow up to be a lesbian," Aria said before finally turning around to look at Arizona as if looking at her for the first time.
"Bisexual actually," Arizona corrected, "she is bisexual," Arizona repeated realising that the difference probably didn't matter too much to Aria.
Silenced loomed for a moment before Aria moved over to the window that looked out onto the street and the surrounding neighborhood. "So is that girl Sofia?" Aria asked, her voice almost showing a hint of sadness to know she was so big.
"Yeah, she is 7. 8 in May," Arizona explained as she looked around hoping her eyes would settle on me sooner rather than later.
The room filled with silence and instead of filling it with meaningless conversation Arizona walked over to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine. "Do you drink red wine?" Arizona asked her politely.
"Arggg no, can't stand the stuff. I'm a vodka girl," she insisted as she spun around on her toes and watched me pour a tall glass of wine. "Trust my sister to marry a girl who drinks red wine," she smirked.
Arizona wanted to know what that meant. There was so much about my childhood that Arizona didn't know and this woman that stood in our lounge knew it all. She knew my childhood crushes, my likes, my dislikes, my successes and failures. I had tried to give Arizona all the details but there was nothing quite like a story from a loved one. Arizona was just about to ask what she had meant by that when I walked into the lounge, my eyes watching Aria wearily.
"She didn't like red wine when I met her," I told her.
Aria glanced over to me, taking in my older appearance and my very pregnant figure, "Hola hermana mayor," Aria responded in her thick Mexican accent.
"English," I insisted. I knew Aria was trying to exclude Arizona from the conversation by speaking in Spanish. Maybe not too be rude, but more because Aria didn't know who Arizona was an didn't feel comfortable having the conversation they were going to have in front of her. "What are you doing here Aria?" I asked her curiously. That was the question we all wanted to know the answer to.
"Papa kicked me out. Mama cut me off. I have nowhere to go," she admitted.
"I'll just be… over… anywhere but here," Arizona said as she slowly bowed out of the room but Aria didn't seem to mind.
"When I came out to you, you cut me off. You stopped talking to me. Mama and Papa stopped talking to me and now when it happens to you, you expect me to welcome you into my home with open arms?" I asked her, my brows sunk together to show my frustration.
"Mama threatened to cut me off. She monitored my phone lines Calliope. What was I meant to do?" she asked me.
'It's been 11 years. 11 years and I haven't heard a word from you. You never showed up to my wedding. You didn't call when I was fighting for my life. You didn't text when Sofia was born. You missed everything Aria. The happiest, the scariest, the saddest moments of my life, you missed them," I said, sadness and anger coming over me as I spoke.
"If you want me to go, I can," Aria said so simply.
"Tonight is mine and Arizona's baby shower, if you ruin it…"
"I'm not here to ruin it," Aria interrupted.
"You treat my wife with respect," I said as a condition she had to agree to before I said she could stay.
"Of course," she responded.
"My daughter knows about you, she will be excited to meet you. Don't let her down. Don't let me down," I begged.
"I won't" Aria said, her voice serious and convincing.
I looked straight at Aria, silence falling between us for a moment while I thought about it, "you can stay," I told her.
Aria seemed thankful, I could see her clenching her first as if to thank god that I had been so forgiving. I took Aria through to the guest room and I stood at the door as she looked around her new room, taking in the surroundings of her foreseeable future. "Bathroom is down the hall, you share it with Sofia," I explained to her.
"Gracias Calliope," Aria said sincerely as she sat on the edge of her new bed.
I nodded lightly before I walked up the hall towards Sofia's bedroom where Arizona and Sofia were doing what sounded like multiplications. "Can I interrupt," I asked as I leant up against the doorway.
"Are you alright?" Arizona asked as she climbed off the bed and walked over to me, her arms slinging over my shoulders.
"Yeah," I whispered against her cheek. "She is going to stay in the spare room," I informed her. Arizona nodded. She didn't care. Had it been anybody else I would have run it by Arizona first but it was my sister and as much anger that I had for her, I loved her.
"Sof, do you want to meet your Aunty Aria?" I asked as I rested my arm around Arizona's waist.
"YES PLEASE!" she shrieked as she slammed her math book closed and cimbed off her bed.
"Go on then," I said giving her a nod towards the door. Sofia was off leaving Arizona and I a few minutes to catch up on what just happened. "Mama and Papa kicked her out and cut her off," I explained.
"You don't have to explain yourself, she is welcome here anytime," Arizona said as she embraced me again, kissing my ear just to reassure me everything was going to be okay.
Arizona grabbed her wine from Sofia's night stand and we walked back into the kitchen to see Sofia and Aria chatting away in the lounge.
"Cómo es tu español? Aria asked Sofia who was more than happy to show off her Spanish.
"Bueno. Mamá me enseñó. Mamá lo odia cuando hablo en español porque piensa que estoy hablando de ella," Sofia responded with a slight chuckle.
Arizona lowered her glass and looked at me for translation. "She is saying her Spanish is good, I taught her but you hate it when she speaks Spanish in front of you because you think she is talking about her," I translated quietly.
"Buen español Puede que tengas que enseñarle a tu mamá algo de español," Aria said to Sofia.
"En ingles por favor," I chimed in knowing that Arizona was starting to get stressed about the fact she understood nothing that came out of either one of their mouths.
"Told you," Sofia exclaimed.
"Sofia," I warned, my tone stern as if to warn the young girl.
"Mama can I show Aunty Aria the nursery?" Sofia asked eagerly.
Arizona looked at me in search of the answer. We both wanted to say no but Arizona wasn't ready to be the bad guy. "No sweetheart, I haven't even see it yet. Aunty Aria can see it tomorrow," I informed her. "It's a surprise, big reveal and all that," I explained to Aria. "Why don't you show her your artwork from school. Our Sofia is quite the wee artist," I said with a smile gracing my lips.
"Oooh yes," Sofia said excitedly as she took her Aunts hand and pulled her along behind her to her bedroom.
"God, we still have people coming over," Arizona said as she rested her head against my shoulder.
I slipped my arm around Arizona and ran my hand up and down her back to calm her nerves. She seemed dead set on making a good impression with Aria while also hosting an entire baby shower.
Meredith burst through the door at quarter past 7, baby Ellis in one arm and a bag of presents in the other. "Don't forget the wine," Meredith yelled back at Amelia as Bailey and Zola pushed passed Meredith in a hurry.
"Hi Aunt Callie, Hi Aunt Arizona," they called in unison as they made there way straight to Sofia's room.
"Sorry we are late, Maggie took forever to do her hair," Meredith grumbled.
"You don't know what it's like to have black hair," she said as she walked through the door, both their eyes looking up and landing on the unfamiliar face of Aria Torres.
"Oooh sorry," Arizona said. "Meredith, Maggie, this is Callie's younger sister, Aria," she said.
"Who?" Amelia asked abruptly as she walked through the door carrying two bottles of wine.
"I'm the long lost sister," Aria repeated with a smile trying to make the introduction slightly less awkward. They had obviously heard of her, or even worse, hadn't.
"Don't worry, I'm one of those," Maggie laughed which broke the ice slightly.
As each guest arrived, the house got louder and louder and more and more hectic. We ate, drunk plenty of wine, well Amelia, webber and myself didn't, and talked about anything and everything friends and family talked about. At the end of dinner we all sat down in the lounge, kids included, to open the babies presents.
"Us first," Meredith begged as she looked to Zola, "Zo Zo, get Aunt Callie and Aunt Arizona their present," she instructed. Zola jumped up from her spot in the circle and ran over to the corner of the room to grab a small package.
"Thanks sweetie," I said as I took the present from Zola. With all eyes on me I opened it revealing a card and scrub onesies. I laughed as I held up one onesie so Arizona could see it. On the front it said orthopedics. "Wait, there is another," I informed everybody as I put the orthopedics onesie down and picked up the other that read pediatrics across the front.
"They are wonderful," Arizona said as she took them from me and put them into a box she had put beside her for all the gifts.
"Open the card," Meredith called, "more an adult gift," she informed us.
I handed the card over so Arizona could open it. She flicked the envelope open and opened the card. Inside was a couples massage coupon and a message to boot which Arizona read aloud. "Welcome to the mum of three club, membership includes very little sleep, plenty of mess and lots of school charity events."
"Thanks meredith," I said sincerely.
Sofia grabbed the next gift in front of her and shook it in her hands, "can I open this one?" Sofia asked.
"Sure you can baby," Arizona responded, "Who is this one from?" Arizona asked curiously.
"Us," Jo said, referring to her and Alex.
"From Aunt Jo and Uncle Alex," Arizona informed the small girl who was already ripping into the gift.
"Ooooh it's walkie talkies," Sofia announced.
"They are baby monitors," Alex corrected her. "So your mama's can hear the babies cry all night," he laughed.
The night went on. Present after present usually followed by a joke regarding the lack of sleep, double trouble or the excessive amount of poopy nappies we would have to change. April and Jackson were the last to leave at 11pm. Harriet had been sleeping in a makeshift bassinet in our bedroom and neither one of them were prepared to risk waking her up.
I closed the door behind the three of them after waving them off out of the driveway. The house felt silent again.
"Hun, can you check on Sof?" I called as I walked into the lounge and sat on the couch to rest.
"I just did, she is passed out," Arizona informed me. "Thanks for doing the dishes Aria," Arizona added as she came to snuggle up next to me, the first bit of intimacy Aria had seen between us.
"Not a problem at all, least I could do for letting me crash your party," she said as she wiped down the bench and hung the cloth from the tap.
"You didn't crash anything, you're family so you belong here," Arizona responded.
I slid my arms around Arizona, my hands clinging to hers as we watched Aria move around the kitchen so freely.
"You have nice friends," Aria acknowledged as she walked over to the lounge, settled in on a chair, her eyes fixated on the two of us.
"The best," I agreed.
We sat in silence for a moment before Arizona kissed my ear, "Do you want to see the nursery now?" she whispered into my ear. I nodded.
"Sofia and Arizona have been decorating the nursery for the boys. It's been a big surprise until now," I explained to Aria. "Would you like to see?" I asked her politely.
"Thanks but that seems like something you might want to do alone," she said as she stood up off her chair. "I should be heading to bed anyway, it's been a long day," she admitted. "Goodnight," she said finally before exiting the room.
Arizona and I lay together, wrapped up in one another's arms for a little while long before Arizona finally got up and pulled me with her. We walked hand in hand down the hallway to the room that was located directly opposite Sofia's room.
"Close your eyes," Arizona instructed.
I slung my hand over my eyes as I listened to the door swing open and what I assumed was the light turning on.
"Open," Arizona eventually said.
I removed my hand and my eyes gazed upon a room that was 100x better than what I had expected. There were two baby blue bassinets, each with a hook hammered into the end of them so that we could hang their respective names from them, when they got them. Overhanging each bassinet were mobiles, both unique in their own ways but perfect for boys. On the wall closest to us was a wall decorated in children's fish painted in a blue and green theme. On the wall where the bassinets rested there were three family portraits that hung from the wall in beautiful large black frames. The one on the left was of Sofia, myself and Arizona. The one in the middle was an ultrasound picture and the one on the right was a picture of Sofia, myself, Arizona and Mark. At this point I was crying silent tears, tears that I didn't even know were falling from my eyes. In the the bottom left corner were a pair of white draws, a mirror attached to the top and small ornaments and baby toys resting on top of the dresser. The nursery looked like something out of a magazine.
"This is my favourite part," Arizona said as she stepped inside and closed the door. On the back of the door was a framed picture drawn by Sofia. It was a picture of me pregnant with two babies drawn inside my stomach holding hands with Sofia who was holding hands with Arizona. Above her head drifted another body that I could only assume was Mark watching over us.
I was speechless. It was everything I dreamed of and more. "It's perfect," I said as I covered my mouth in shock as tears dribbled down my face. I turned around and I hugged Arizona tightly, drawing back slightly to take her face in my hands and to kiss her, "god I love you," I whispered against her lips as I continued to kiss her.