It wasn't long after they'd sent a letter to Wendy's family informing them of the news that they received an extremely excited response both congratulating them and saying that they should come to California to visit sometime. Considering Charlie was now almost halfway through her pregnancy and mobility was become increasingly difficult for her, and the fact that they'd likely not have time to travel after the twins were born, they decided to make preparations to visit Jack and his family as soon as they could, which happened to be the upcoming weekend.
Charlie was in the bedroom folding clothes to put in a suitcase, pausing every so often to feel for any particularly strong movements. Nothing so far though. She started to resume her fold when she felt a particularly strong bump from within her. Gasping softly, she dropped the clothing and brought her hands to her belly, hoping she hadn't just imagined what she'd felt. Surely enough, there was another strong bump underneath her hand.
She quickly looked towards the open doorway. "Maxy! Maxy come quick!" Charlie's voice echoed down from the bedroom.
Maxwell darted up the stairs, worried that something was wrong. He rushed into the bedroom and came to a stop. "Charlie? What is it?"
Charlie sat on the bed and smiled at him, her hands on her rounded belly. She motioned to him. "Come."
He came over to the bed and sat down next to her, still unsure of what was going on. "Is everything alright?"
"Shhh…" She turned towards him and took his hand and placed it on her belly. "Wait for it…"
They waited in silence for a few moments, then he felt it. A solid kick underneath his hand, followed by another one, and then another.
He grinned excitedly. "They kicked!"
She smiled again. "I know! They've moved around before, but this is the first time they've actually kicked!" She inhaled slightly and put a hand on her abdomen after one of the twins kicked her particularly hard. "Apparently, they're pretty strong too."
Maxwell laughed and rubbed her stomach gently. "Hey there little ones," he spoke softly to them, "go easy on your mother now. She's been working hard to assure you two come into the world as healthy as possible."
She blushed slightly. "It hasn't always been easy, but I already know it'll be worth it."
The kicks gradually eased up as the twins got comfortable once more. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. "I think they've finally decided to settle down."
He kept his hand on his stomach as he listened. "Does it hurt? When they kick like that?"
"Not too much, surprisingly," she replied. "I mean, I can certainly feel it, but it only seems to hurt a little when they get me rather hard." She put her hand on his, and looked at her stomach for a silent moment. "Can you believe it though? Just a few more months and then we're gonna be parents!" Her last word came out a few octaves higher than the rest of the sentence. She giggled at herself. "Pardon my enthusiasm."
He put his hand under her chin and brought her in for a kiss. "I love your enthusiasm."
She giggled. "Thanks, I love it too." She scooted on the bed so he could sit next to her. "So, are you almost ready for the trip on Friday?"
"Just about." He sat down on the bed. "Do you still feel like you'll be able to travel? Because we can always tell them—"
"Of course I still wanna go, Maxy," she cut him off, "we might not get another chance to visit anytime soon. That, and I'm sure Wendy will want to see us." She paused, then sighed. "I hope she took the news well… After hearing what happened to Abigail, I just sometimes wonder…"
He put a hand on her shoulder. "Jack said in the letter that she was excited, though I think we'll have to talk to her ourselves to really find out."
She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I suppose so."
Friday came quickly, and they were soon on a train ride headed for the town where Jack's family lived. It was a short cab ride from the train station to their house, located just off of the town next to a grassy plain, which was connected to the edge of an evergreen forest. Maxwell tipped the cab driver, then came around to the side and opened the door.
"It's beautiful out here." Charlie couldn't help but admire the landscape as he helped her out of the cab.
"Yes, they managed to get a rather nice piece of property out here." He replied as he gathered their luggage. They walked from the road to a cobblestone path, which led to a simple, yet elegant white house.
She looked at her husband as they made their way to the household. "Does Jack still know you as William?"
"Ah, yes," he kicked himself mentally for almost forgetting that, "I never told him about my name change. He's always known me as William, so I supposed it was best to keep it that way."
"Hm."
He set the luggage down on the front porch as Charlie rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a middle-aged man almost as tall as Maxwell, with short, dark hair that was streaked with grey and white. He grinned as he recognized the couple standing in front of him. "Will!"
"Great to see you again, Jack." Maxwell took his hand to shake it, but was instead pulled in for an unexpected hug.
"Feels like I haven't seen you in ages, brother!" Jack laughed as he released him, then turned to Charlie. "And Charlie, always a pleasure to see you as well."
Charlie laughed as he brought her in for a smaller, much gentler hug. "It's great to see you too, Jack."
"And if you don't mind me saying, you look absolutely stunning."
"Oh gosh," she blushed slightly, "thank you."
"No problem at all." He answered, then he seemed to remember that they were still outside. "Oh, where are my manners? Come on in!" He opened the door all the way and led them into the house. "You can just set your suitcases anywhere, and then we can head into the living room. Evelyn just got done making tea."
As if on cue, a woman who looked to be in her mid-40s entered from another doorway, her greyish-blonde hair tied up in a bun, with a tea-tray in her arms. She gasped as she saw Charlie and Maxwell coming down the hallway. "Jack, you didn't tell me they were here already!"
"They just arrived, Eve." Jack looked back at them, then went over to one of the chairs in the living room and sat down.
Maxwell took a seat while Charlie took off her coat. "Thank you again for the hospitality, Jack."
"Hey, what are siblings for?" He laughed, then leaned forward to take a tea cup when Evelyn set the tray on the coffee table. "I have to tell you though, I thought you were joshing us when we opened that letter and saw you guys were having twins." He paused to take a sip. "Must run in the family!"
"Yes," Maxwell took a cup for himself, "believe me, we were just as surprised as you."
"So Charlie," Evelyn sat down in the chair across from them, "how have you been doing so far?"
"Great," she smiled as she sat back down next to Maxwell, "we felt them kick for the first time a few days ago."
"Ah, it's an exciting moment isn't it?"
She nodded and put a hand on her belly, then remembered something. "Now that I'm thinking about it, how did Wendy react to the news?"
Jack thought for a moment. "She took it well, actually. Surprisingly well." He paused again. "Oh! That reminds me. Charlie, she mentioned to us that she'd like to chat with you one-on-one when she got home from school today. I'm not sure what she's up to but…" He shrugged his shoulders.
Charlie smiled. "Oh, it won't be a problem at all, Jack. I'd love to talk to her."
Jack smiled back. "I appreciate it. It's sometimes hard to tell what's going on in that mind of her's."