It was a late March day. A little after three o'clock, there was a knock at the door. When Joe went to answer, Marie was there. "Bon après-midi," he said. "Où sont tes parents?" (Good afternoon. Where are your parents?)

"The hospital," said Marie. "My baby brother's being born."

"Oh!" Joe jumped into Dad Mode. "Viens, dedans!" (Come on, inside!) He brought Marie inside.

"Dad last texted me when school ended," said Marie. "He said they were just starting the delivery. They could be done anywhere from in a few hours to tomorrow morning." She and Joe both sat down on the couch to finish the newest episode of Life with Johnny in California.


Several hours later, when the three were eating dinner, the phone rang. "Hey, Joey," said Blaine when Joe picked up. "Is Marie there?"

"Oui," said Joe, passing the phone to her.

"Well, Marie," said Blaine. "We did it. He's here."

If you were passing by the house that evening, it's likely you would have heard the loudest squeal on the street; possibly the neighbourhood. "When can we come see him?!"

"Easy, love," said Blaine. "Your stepmother's doing great. No more bleeding, she's got her medicine. And Connor's just peachy. Why don't you finish your dinner, and then you can come."

"How did you know I was eating dinner?" Marie asked.

"Dads just know these things." Marie swore her father winked when he said that.


After dinner was finished, Joe, Katrina, and Marie went down to the hospital to see the new baby. While they were on their way to their room, Joe was distracted by the nursery. He was mesmerized by the wiggly bundles wrapped in pink and blue.

"የትኛው ነው ያንተ?" (Which one's yours?)

Joe jumped a bit when he realized there was a curly haired nurse wearing a name tag reading "Marjani Mahari" standing next to him. He straightened his back. "Rien d'ils," he said awkwardly. "Je suis ici pour voir mon neveu, mais j'étais distraite." (None of them. I'm here to see my nephew, but I got distracted.) He cleared his throat. "Je suis ici pour voir Gina Beaufort-Stevenson." (I'm here to see Gina Beaufort-Stevenson.)

"እንደ እድል ሆኖ, እኔ ነርስዋ ነኝ." (Lucky for you, I'm her nurse.) Nurse Mahari brought Joe to the correct room.

"Oh, Joseph, tu dinde décalé," said Amélie when they got to the room, "où étais-tu?" (Oh, Joseph, you silly goose, where were you?)

"በመዋለ ሕጻናት ክፍል ውስጥ ነበር።." (He was at the nursery.) Nurse Mahari then left to give them all some family time.

"Yeah, that's pretty in character," said Blaine.

In the back, Marie was holding her new baby brother, while Katrina was sitting next to her. "Dad, you were supposed to stay with us," said Katrina when she saw her father.

"Oh, je sais," said Joe, sitting with his niece, nephew, and daughter. (Oh, I know.) Now that he was sitting, he could get a good look at baby Connor; he had brown skin, the middle ground between his parents, and his father's curly brown hair, with a streak of his mother's red.

Nurse Mahari came back with the birth certificate, which Gina and Blaine signed.

"This certificate is to welcome the birth of Connor Chase Beaufort-Stevenson, born on March 29th at 6:39 pm weighing 8 lbs 4 oz to Gina Beaufort-Stevenson and Blaine Beaufort-Stevenson."

Gina wiped the sweat from her brow. "Ca c'était tellement difficile." (That was so hard.)

"We got a perfect trio of cousins now, darling," said Blaine. "Marie, Katrina, and Connor makes three."

Gina shook her head and smiled. "Je t'adore, tu pitre," she said as she kissed Blaine's cheek. (I love you, you goof.)