Chapter 22

Catherine wondered where they were going, but it seemed like Vincent wanted it to be a surprise so she restrained herself from asking. After a short walk he stopped at a doorway and stood aside for her to enter first.

It was darker in the chamber than in the hallway so it took a few moments for Catherine's eyes to adjust. When they did, she was not terribly surprised to find herself in the tunnel's nursery.

"Hello Vincent," the young woman who had just placed a baby in a cradle looked up and said.

"Good evening Olivia. I would like you to meet a friend of mine, Catherine. Catherine this is Olivia. She and Kanin are the proud parents of this little guy right here," Vincent indicated the baby Olivia had just put down. After the two women had greeted each other, he asked, "How is Luke doing?"

"Growing like a weed! He's not even a month old yet and he has already doubled his birth weight!"

"You can always blame it on William's good cooking," Vincent offered.

"Vincent, Luke isn't eating solid food yet! I am still nursing him!" she teased.

"I know that, but you eat William's cooking and then feed Luke, so…anyway, William would be thrilled to be blamed for Luke's weight gain."

"He would, wouldn't he!" Olivia giggled. "I think I will bring that up to him at breakfast tomorrow."

While the two of them had been talking, Catherine had been listening politely, but she had also been taking the opportunity to look around. Other than Luke, there were two other babies in the room. One was about a year old and the other possibly six or seven months old. However, there were about five cots in the room as well, but no children around to occupy them.

Vincent saw her puzzlement and said, "The children that sleep in the cots are at dinner now, but they will be brought back here later. The nursery is where all the children stay until they are considered old enough to move into the girls or boys dormitory. They usually are ready to move out of here around the age of three or so."

"Unless of course it was Vincent!" Olivia laughed.

"Oh?" Catherine asked.

"At the grand old age of twenty one months, he declared that he was old enough to be in the boys dorm, so he could be with Devin. When Father told him he had to be out of diapers before he could move out of the nursery Vincent tore his off and said now he was ready! Mary explained to him that Father meant he needed to be potty trained, not naked. Vincent told her he would go in the potty from then on. He hadn't even started potty training yet, but from that day on he was fine with not even one single accident. He was very determined little boy!"

"It sounds like it!" Catherine answered with a smile as she looked at the embarrassed Vincent.

Olivia, seeing Vincent blushing, decided to change the subject, turning to Catherine she asked, "How far along are you Catherine?"

Throwing a shocked and hurt glance at Vincent, she said, "I didn't want anyone to know!"

Having seen the look Catherine gave Vincent, Olivia was quick to respond, "Don't blame Vincent! I figured it out on my own!" At Catherine's skeptical look Olivia added, "It's true! Once a woman has been pregnant herself, it's easier to spot it in others. You just have that 'look' about you. Your skin is glowing and your eyes have that quiet 'panicked' look about them. Plus you couldn't take your eyes off of Luke, and while I am his mother and know how incredible he is, others just see him as an ordinary baby…oh and the entire time you were staring at him your hand was on your tummy."

Before answering Olivia, Catherine turned to Vincent, "I'm sorry Vincent, I thought it had to have been you who told her because you were the only one who knew."

"It is alright Catherine, but please know, I would never tell anyone until you told me it was okay to do so."

"I should have known that! Again I am sorry!" Turning to Olivia she said, "I would really appreciate it if you didn't say anything to anyone about this yet."

"Oh don't worry! I can keep a secret too, but I would just like to say that I think you and Vincent are really lucky and will make great parents!"

To be continued….