Published November 15, 2023
"Birth"
Whenever Carmen paid an unexpected visit, Shadowsan reacted with a combination of joy and concern. This one, nearly two years after she and Graham married, was no exception.
"Is everything alright?" he asked at once after showing her into the apartment.
Carmen smiled. "More than alright." She took off her shoes, hung up her hat, and then slowly, deliberately removed her coat.
Although Carmen had long ago grown into the red Carmen Brand Outerwear coat, it was still loose on her—so loose that her stomach's new roundness could not be seen until she took the garment off.
Shadowsan's eyes widened, and traveled quickly from her stomach to her eyes. Carmen was smiling, proud and happy, but there was also something he thought he recognized there: a kind of hope for approval.
Tears stung his own eyes. He had long ago accepted that he would never have a wife or children. During Carmen's upbringing on V.I.L.E. Island, he had feared that she too would be denied the opportunity to have a family of her own. That she was able to have this gift was almost more than he could bear.
"This is why you came?" he asked, understanding.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Five months down, four to go." She framed her stomach with her hands as she approached him. "You can touch, if you want."
Shadowsan hesitated. He knew a lot about the human body, but most of his knowledge had to do with how to interact with it in a fight. He knew exactly where and how to strike for certain results—paralysis, unconsciousness, injury, death. But he knew relatively little about pregnancy, and he had never, to his knowledge, touched a pregnant woman.
Carmen smiled, took his hand, guiding it to her bulging stomach. "That's the head, and up here are the feet—" She broke off, laughing, as a movement from the baby startled Shadowsan. "Yeah, it kicks sometimes. Zack called it a little ninja-in-training."
Shadowsan smiled, and placed his other hand over hers. "I am very happy for you."
Carmen smiled gratefully.
He waited until after serving tea before he asked the inevitable questions. They both knew how risky it would be to bring an innocent child into the lives of two professional thieves. "Does anyone else know?"
"Only my family, and our closest ACME allies. Chief has promised to help us if we ever need cover—new IDs, travel papers, whatever's needed to keep them safe."
How ironic, Shadowsan thought, that the woman who had killed Dexter Wolf was now committed to protecting the man's grandchild.
Carmen spoke freely about her family's plans. She and Graham intended to continue traveling, but would probably maintain a home base close to Carlotta, so she could see her grandchild grow up. They hoped to have at least one more child after this one.
"After it's born," Carmen said, "I was wondering if you would come to the christening. I've asked Zack and Ivy to be the godparents—technically you have to be Catholic to have that role. But I'd love for you to be there."
"Of course." That brought to mind another question. "Have you decided what name to give the child?"
Carmen's proud, strangely shy smile returned. "If it's a girl, we're going to name her Carlotta Senta." She paused, rubbing her stomach for a moment, before meeting his eyes again and continuing, "If it's a boy … we'd like to name him Dexter Suhara."
Shadowsan stared, and he blinked hard as his eyes grew watery once more. "That would be a great—and undeserved—honor."
Carmen shrugged nonchalantly. "You can think of it as making up for all the times I disrespected you."
Shadowsan smiled; then he grinned, bowing his head slightly. Then he started to laugh—the first time Carmen had ever heard true, uncontrollable laughter from him. Then she realized he was crying too.
"Oh, Shadowsan …" She reached over and took his hands in her own. He could not speak, but he bowed his head over their clasped hands, kissing them and wetting them with his tears.
When he had calmed down, Carmen asked, still holding his hands on the table, "Will you be a part of our kids' lives? You can be an ojīsan, if you want."
He nodded. "Hai, musume. I will. With all my heart."
Instead of using a registry for baby gifts, Carmen and Graham asked their friends to give children's books and baby items from their home countries.
Shadowsan selected One Hundred Poems from One Hundred Poets, one of the most important works of literature in Japan's history. Hideo also contributed an anthology of Asian folk tales.
Julia happily purchased a collection of stories about Robin Hood, thinking it the perfect gift for the child of a thief with a heart of gold.
Chase wanted to give Les Misérables—if not the whole novel, at least the first volume—but Julia urged him to choose a more child-friendly story, like The Little Prince. He settled for Madeline and the Bad Hat, since that story involved French and Spanish characters engaged in a rivalry.
"I hope you are not implying that Carmen's hat is bad," Julia said, mildly concerned.
"Mais non, ma cherie. It is a story of misunderstanding and reconciling with one's enemy. I thought it quite fitting."
Player did not read many books himself—at least, not in print—but he remembered one from his own childhood and had a copy delivered to the Calloways: ABC of Canada.
Zack and Ivy had the same idea for their contribution: a copy of Make Way for Ducklings, a story set in Boston. As the child's godparents, they also gifted a storybook Bible and a rosary. The latter came with a pamphlet that had prayers printed in English and Spanish, as well as the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
When Carmen and Graham looked at the small library set up in the nursery, she said, "This kid's going to have the most multicultural upbringing in history." It might have been a prediction, or a resolution.
"Even more than yours?" Graham questioned.
"Definitely. I didn't leave V.I.L.E. Island until I was a teenager, and that whole time, I didn't even know where it was. Our kids will actually get to visit the places they learn about. The whole world can be their home."
No one asked Shadowsan for his opinion on the matter, but he, for one, was glad that Carmen decided to give birth at home. He had never been inside a hospital for a happy occasion, and he did not like the idea of seeing Carmen in a hospital bed again—the last time had been when she nearly died of hypothermia. Furthermore, it was safest for her to remain off the grid, and they now had to consider the safety of her child as well.
When she went into labor, Player passed on updates from Graham, practically in real time. The young "uncle" proudly announced the birth of Carlotta Senta Calloway to all interested parties. Graham sent a picture a few hours later, a selfie of him, Carmen, and the baby, who they had decided to call Lottie to differentiate her from her grandmother. It was like looking at a picture of Carmen as an infant, though there were also traces of Graham in the shape of her face.
A week later, Shadowsan, Hideo, Zack, and Ivy flew to Buenos Aires for the christening.
The Bostonian siblings arrived with their arms full of gifts, most of which made Carmen laugh. Among them were a toy magnifying glass, some soft plastic racecars, and a Red Sox onesie. They also brought a gift selected by Player: a red baby-sized fedora.
All of this made Shadowsan feel rather inadequate. He had thought about getting flowers or something, but that seemed more like a gift for someone who was sick, or mourning the loss of a life rather than celebrating the beginning of one. Besides, who would be interested in flowers when there was a new human being to marvel at?
He was about to apologize for his lack of a gift, but then Hideo pulled out a package. Inside was a baby-sized red kimono. Shadowsan sent his brother a look of gratitude while Carlotta praised the practicality of such a garment for a baby.
The excited godparents held the baby the most during that first visit, but Carmen made a point of giving Shadowsan a turn. It was not an insignificant moment. The last baby Shadowsan had ever held was Carmen herself; but he had never kissed or cuddled her then. He had barely even held her, aside from the trip from Buenos Aires back to V.I.L.E. Island, when he had to hold her close in order to soothe her. After the faculty decided to keep her, Coach Brunt had become her primary caretaker, and Shadowsan had distanced himself from her, physically as well as emotionally.
He felt uncharacteristically nervous. In truth, he barely knew how to handle or interact with a baby. But once Carlotta seated him in a rocking chair and showed him how to hold the child, he warmed up to it. He made no effort to fight or hide his affection as Lottie looked at him, squeezed his finger, and smiled up at him. By the time his turn was over, he was able to feed her a bottle and rock her to sleep on his shoulder.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile so much in one day," Carmen remarked as they put Lottie down in her crib.
Shadowsan looked at her with unconcealed happiness. "This is a day I never expected … for either of us. I am grateful."
Her smile was tearful. "Me too."
Author's Note: I think I will have one more chapter as a sort of epilogue or follow-up.