Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are all absolutely wonderful. We still have a baby to be delivered. At this point, Britney would really like them out of her.
Chapter 57: Welcome to the World Baby Pudding Pop
August 8, 2010, 4:03 AM EDT
Daniel: Hey, it's morning here, so I thought I would check in. I heard Inacio's going away party was moved to the hospital last night. Justin shared the pictures he got from Antonella.
Daniel: I don't expect a reply because I know it's still the middle of the night in New York. Although Britney's in labor, so you might actually still be up. What stage is she in?
Monique: Britney is really in labor right now. Like she should be allowed to start pushing soon. So only a couple more hours, hopefully.
Monique: This is Mercedes, by the way. Monique and Gio are in the delivery room. I am monitoring phones out here in the suite.
Monique: I am also making sure Britney's mom doesn't fall off the couch while sleeping.
Daniel: Shouldn't you be sleeping?
Monique: My marriage imploded in spectacular style because I decided to send my kids away so they wouldn't see the fallout. Instead, their idiot father brought the fallout to them. It's hard to sleep under the circumstances.
Daniel: Will it make you feel better to know that the story of your husband cheating did not make the international media? At least not here in the UK.
Monique: Yes, actually it does. Did you know you're my least horrible relationship?
Daniel: I have also got that from Amanda. Which makes me worry about the other people you have dated. I still don't know why Betty said yes because I am definitely a work in progress.
Monique: When you accidentally got Amanda pregnant, you brought her to live with you in London. You also didn't force her into a marriage because the condom broke. That makes you definitely better than Chad.
Daniel: Well, I was already engaged to Betty when we got the DNA test, so it would be a little hard to do that.
Monique: I know you didn't expect Betty to just deal with the fact you got someone else pregnant before you got together. I overheard several conversations between you two at the wedding.
Daniel: Betty welcomed Amanda into our lives with open arms all on her own. Because that's who she is.
Monique: You got a good one there, Meade. Don't fuck it up.
Daniel: I'm trying not to.
Daniel: How are you? This has been a weird day for you.
Monique: My marriage fell apart because I married a selfish bastard. Even worse, he tried to hit the kids, and it's on camera. It will make custody arrangements easier, but I still did not want it to happen. Now I am waiting for my new sibling to be delivered at the hospital because my father literally tricked his wife into getting pregnant. To top it all off, said sibling will be adopted by my sister.
Daniel: Are you happy or upset about the last one?
Monique: I am actually happy for once. I feel like I rather have a niece or nephew at this stage in my life. I'm glad that Monique is finally going to get to be a mom. She's good with kids. I saw how much Monique protected my babies in the video. I thought she was going to deck Chad for a minute.
Daniel: She's definitely been a great mentor to Justin despite him being in another country right now.
Monique: At least she has a husband that cares about her. This is actually her second good husband. She's the one who gets to go through widowhood; I am the one who's going through a divorce.
Daniel: Widowhood sucks, though. Although I am hopeful that I will never have to compare it to divorce. I don't want first-hand experience in which one is worse.
Monique: I hope you never do.
Monique: Oh, let me just say the food for your father-in-law's going away party was delicious. He is such a nice guy, and I'm really sad that he's moving to California. Although, I'm sure I will visit his restaurant when I am out that way for business travel. I usually am every few months.
Daniel: Of course it was. His food is always great, even if other people just use his recipes. I'm very sad I don't have access anymore. That's my least favorite thing about being in another country now.
Monique: I understand that. Gio just stopped by to give an update. Britney is now in the cursing out my father every 10-second stage of labor.
Daniel: Good to know. Text me when the baby gets there. You can even text me with your own phone. We dated off and on for two years; you can occasionally say hi.
Monique: You have a point. You're the only person from high school I've talked to in the last five years. I think I avoid everyone else like the plague.
Daniel: Because we went to boarding school with assholes.
Monique: Yes. Which is to be expected from most of the country club set. The next few weeks around them are going to be insufferable.
Daniel: Good luck and congratulations on the niece or nephew.
Monique: Thank you.
Daniel: Also, congratulations on losing the idiot husband. You know you can do better.
Monique: I heard Victoria Hartley is already trying to set me up with her son.
Daniel: That woman is absolutely awful. Although still a step up from Chad. Though it wouldn't be hard.
Monique: I'm getting that impression. I think my mom is planning something.
Daniel: I would be shocked if she wasn't.
Xxx
A couple of hours later
Labor is awful. No wonder Britney was so terrified of it. Towards the end, they were both cursing Monique's father. Unlike the normal way this happens, it really was his fault since he doused Britney with fertility drugs without her consent. Fucking asshole.
Monique and Gio were tag-team coaching Britney through the worst of the contractions. Then the actual pushing out of baby pudding pop. TV is wrong. The baby just doesn't pop out with a couple of pushes. It takes longer than that. Thankfully they didn't have to cut Britney, so the healing process will be a little better.
But then the baby was out. Brittany could finally breathe again for a moment. Monique and Gio got to help cut the cord. They also got to hold the baby for a moment before pudding pop was taken to be cleaned up and examined. Then they moved on to Brittany, delivering the afterbirth, which was again still awful. Thankfully it was much quicker than the baby.
This may have been the first time Monique truly made peace with not having biological children since losing her uterus. The process seemed very overrated. Especially when you can bring home a child who needs a loving parent anyway.
Eventually, the baby is brought back to them. Because this is an open adoption, they're not moved into another room. But they do have their own bed. Britney said that she still wants grandbaby bonding time. Half the people at the hospital think that Brittany was just the gestational carrier for her stepdaughter. Honestly, both Brittany and Monique like to think of it that way. It's less creepy than what actually happened.
It would be a little while later when Monique realizes that no one has told her yet if she had a daughter or son. They find out why 30 minutes later when Dr. Rivera comes to talk to them.
"So you're saying the reason why they could never determine the sex of baby pudding pop during the ultrasound is they are intersexual?" Brittany asked. Monique is still shocked she's not passed out yet. Maybe the adrenaline hasn't worn off enough for her to actually sleep. Monique knows it hasn't for her. Although perhaps it's the excitement of cuddling with her baby.
"Yes." The doctor replied.
"OK, so we're raising a gender-neutral/non-binary/intersexual child. Are you OK with that, honey?" Monique said, turning to her husband.
"Yes. Aren't you glad I agreed to Jordan as a middle name? It's a good unisex name." Gio said as he squeezed her hand.
"Now we're going to have to go back and choose gender-neutral first names." Maya Jordan wasn't going to work right now. Neither would Giovanni Jordan.
"Unfortunately, the state of New York at present doesn't allow for gender-neutral/intersexual to be an option on the birth certificate. Doctors like myself and the parents usually decide what sex to put on the birth certificate." Dr. Rivera explained.
"Which is completely divorced from gender, so it will deal with that later. Although it annoys me." She was very annoyed and wondering who she had to contribute money to fix that.
"I have a friend whose sister is transgender. Her father couldn't take her transitioning, so she faked her own death. Many of us initially thought it was a suicide until she came back as her true self. I don't want to ever hurt my child like that." Monique explained.
"I wouldn't want to do that either," Gio said in response.
"And this is why you two are raising baby pudding pop. Your father would've checked off the boy box no matter what." Brittany said, audibly exhausted.
"He absolutely would, no matter what the consequences would be." The doctor looked at both of them, making Monique realize that they didn't tell the doctor all the dirty details.
"I forgot to tell you that the reason why we switched to you so late during my pregnancy was my future ex-husband doused me with fertility drugs. He also lied about having a vasectomy just to get me pregnant so he could have a son." Dr. Rivera looked practically appalled even though she was trying to stay neutral.
"He's disappointed that Mercedes and I have vaginas. Apparently, he doesn't think we can take over his empire because of that. Regardless of the fact we both became the heads of corporations before our 30th birthday. He also completely forgets that the part went to mom is now valued at about seven times his own empire, and she's personally worth $25 billion." Monique said darkly.
"Didn't he only have to give her 20%?" Britney asked.
"That's what he was supposed to give her, but she got 15% in the end. The man's an asshole." Monique hopes to never see him again and is very thankful he signed over all parental rights to her kid. Her child will not have his poisonous influence in their life.
"Who should be arrested along with the doctor that helped him." Dr. Rivera commented. "I really wish you would've told me this earlier."
"In Britney's defense, the complete truth about the fertility drugs did not come out until Thursday. Before then, we just thought the previous doctor was creepy." Her husband remarked.
"The next time I saw you, I was in labor. Also, I kind of like everybody thinks that I am Monique's gestational carrier. It makes things feel less dirty." Britney answered.
"Do you think we can feed that story to the press?" Gio asked. "I don't want the kid to discover the ugly truth in 20 years via Google."
"I think they'll be so focused on us raising a baby pudding pop instead of a boy or a girl that it might just work," Monique remarked.
"People are idiots. We should use that to our advantage." Her husband said as he kissed her cheek.
"They are. Since the state of New York is forcing us to work in the confines of a gender binary at present, I suggest putting female for the sex right now. Although we could run some more tests. However, I feel like you're the type of person who doesn't want to put a newborn through invasive tests now." The doctor explained.
"Do we need to make this decision right now? I would like to talk to my friend's sister first before making that decision." Monique asked.
"The birth certificate can wait for a while. We don't even have a name yet. There is no need to switch the baby to a blue or pink blanket. The green is adorable. I don't think this is something we should rush. I want to do some research too." Gio told the doctor.
"Or we can switch to purple. Mercedes brought over some of the baby couture, so we have tons of high-end options. Now we can use everything. Actually, I was going to do that anyway." Monique suggested.
"OK, the bracelet will just say baby Osborne Ross, and we will figure out the rest later." The doctor reassured.
"Thank you, Dr. Rivera, for understanding." Monique smiled at the doctor.
"I'm glad to have parents like you. You're probably the first set of parents who have not wanted to immediately push their kids into a gender role. Or force me to run a bunch of tests that I really don't want to run on a newborn."
"Monique is not most people. I've learned to go with her on these things." Her husband said, smiling.
"I really did choose the best parents." Brittany smiled.
"You did. Rest up, Britney. You did a good job." Doctor Rivera said as she left.
"Do you think I can go show the baby off to your sister and Britney's mother?" Gio asked.
"Yep. I will contact Alexis, and then I'll send out the mass baby text message. As soon as you get Mercedes to give me my cell phone back." Monique said, remembering that she had given Mercedes her phone earlier. Someone had to monitor communications.
"Will do. We still need a name for pudding pop. I don't think we can use Molly anymore." Her husband remarked. Molly was supposed to be the middle name if they had a girl. Maya Molly didn't feel right for pudding pop. "Think about it while I go get your phone."
"You're so good to me," Monique remarked as Gio left.
"You and the hubby get to choose the name. Although I want to be called granny Britney. I'm the young, energetic grandma." Britney commented.
"Mom wants Nana. I haven't even talked to my biological mom yet. I don't know if she wants to be a grandmother. Tamika said that she would let her know so she wouldn't find out from TMZ." However, Monique hasn't heard from her cousin since they talked yesterday afternoon during the impromptu party in the guest in the visitor lounge. Although the last she heard, Tamika was bringing breakfast.
"How is she going to take that?" Britney asked.
"I think she would be happy for me." Monique wasn't entirely sure about that. "But she's a doctor, so she's probably going to ask a ton of questions. I think she'll come up from DC though to see the baby, maybe."
"She was here for your wedding. She congratulated me on divorcing the idiot," Monique smiled at that.
"She comes for the big moments. She stayed with me for a month when Jordan died. She helped get me into a rehab program when it was obvious I had a problem. But our relationship is still complicated." How could it not be, considering she exists because her mom was forced to have sex with the asshole for the sake of her employment.
"But you have one, though. I do want a relationship with pudding pop, even if I'm grandma Britney." Brittany explained.
"You'll be the best grandma Britney," Gio said as he brought the baby over to both of them. "Now that I have Monique's phone back, I will take a few pictures to send to everybody."
"I want one grandbaby cuddled, then I want a nap," Brittany said, kissing baby pudding pop on the head.
"You deserve all the naps," Monique said as she kissed both Brittany and baby pudding pop on the head.
"I so do."
Xxx
Monique: We have a baby pudding pop.
Breanna: Congratulations. Although I thought you would send out a group message first.
Monique: I will, but I need to talk to Alexis first, and I wanted to check with you to see if she's up to that this morning. I don't even know what time it is yet.
Breanna: I'm not surprised you have no sense of time after delivery. Alexis senior is up and about, but why do you want to talk to her?
Monique: So, the ultrasound had pudding pop's sex as TDB because baby pudding pop is intersexual.
Breanna: One in every 100 babies is intersexual, so this is not that surprising.
Monique: Unfortunately, the state of New York requires that you arbitrarily assign a sex to your child to fit into the binary. Which seems even more ridiculous after that statistic you just gave me.
Breanna: Obviously, you are not happy.
Monique: I am seriously pissed off. Right now, our plan is to raise pudding pop as an intersexual/gender-neutral/gender non-binary child until they can decide if they want to fit in the binary. However, to satisfy the state of New York, we might check the female box for the birth certificate. Or maybe see if we can leave it blank. I'm going to check with an attorney.
Breanna: Definitely check with the attorney. Also, start having your mom call all her friends in Albany to get that fixed, so there's a non-binary/intersexual option.
Monique: That is an extra action step that I didn't think about because I haven't slept in at least a day.
Breanna: Oh god, you're probably exhausted.
Monique: Not as much as Britney, who just passed out as I started texting. Good news I can text and hold the baby simultaneously.
Breanna: OK, Alexis is reading this over my shoulder, and she agrees with your plan of action. She's going to email you a bunch of resources. I'm going to put you in contact with the Director of my youth center, Dakota. They are intersexual and identify as gender non-binary. I feel that they can help you.
Monique: You are both wonderful. Look for the official group text message in a few minutes.
Breanna: I can't wait.
Monique: BTW, did Matt tell you that Austin knows they are siblings because he tricked Tiffany into confirming his suspicions?
Breanna: Fuck. No. He definitely should've called me.
Monique: I'm sure he was planning to eventually, but he sort of got stuck watching my nieces. It's been a busy 24 hours, and he was already worried about Chicago.
Breanna: Chicago?
Monique: Text your nephew. I have a baby to pacify.
XXXX
Number unknown: I am officially an aunt. This is Mercedes, by the way.
Daniel: Congratulations. So do you have a niece or a nephew?
Mercedes: I'm currently googling the gender-neutral version of that. Baby pudding pop is intersexual. Monique being Monique, is planning to raise a gender-neutral or possibly gender non-binary baby until pudding pop is old enough to make any decisions about gender themselves. I'm still looking up the different terms. The brother-in-law trusts his wife's judgment on this because apparently everyone would like to avoid the situation that was your sister.
Daniel: That is definitely something to avoid. The term you are looking for is nibling.
Mercedes: OK, that's cute. I like it. How did you know that?
Daniel: I did a lot of research and soul-searching when Alexis came out. It took me a while to get there, but I learned a lot. I'll send you some links.
Mercedes: Thank you.
Daniel: There are even some children's books. However, Brianna might know those better since she got them for Alexis Junior. DJ got the teenager/preteen version which might work for Freddie. I can ask.
Mercedes: That's nice. I can definitely use all the help I can get. I should also Google some books on divorce.
Daniel: There are several. But none about complex custody arrangements due to asshole grandparents.
Mercedes: I feel like there's a story there.
Daniel: Someday, I'll tell you the story of how I have custody of my nephew at the moment but not today. I want more baby pictures.
Mercedes: [image one attached]
Daniel: Gio looks really happy. You have an adorable nibling.
Mercedes: Gio really is. They are just the most adorable baby. I'll keep sending more pictures.
Daniel: Thank you.
x
Betty: I heard Austin knows that you're his brother. How are you dealing with that? Please tell me you didn't lose consciousness this time.
Matt: Not yet, but I may schedule a fainting spell as soon as I'm not the designated adult. Technically your sister is here, but I want to prove to her that I can do this, and fainting would be bad.
Betty: It would be best to stay conscious. Hilda can hold a grudge.
Matt: I'm processing. I would totally tell Tiffany I told you so, but I don't want to talk to her now. Especially since we're working on trying to keep Austin in New York. She's the one who told Austin the truth after he tricked her into doing so. Apparently, it was Justin's idea.
Betty: That's my nephew. I know Daniel set up a meeting with his lawyers for Austin. Although I heard Austin already set up something for Tuesday. So this was coming for a while.
Matt: I am going with him. Your sister is too because I don't think she trusses me with him.
Betty: That's smart. Is your aunt going to call into the meeting?
Matt: I don't know because I haven't told her anything that happened this weekend yet.
Betty: You haven't told your aunt?
Matt: I've been busy trying to acclimate. Plus, your sister was yelling at me all evening yesterday. She told me I should've told Austin before he found out on his own, and I didn't listen. She says it's a miracle he wasn't completely traumatized by the experience. She mumbled something about knowing that from personal experience. I don't think I was supposed to hear that part.
Betty: She's right about that.
Matt: Hey, I have to go. Apparently, Breanna found out, and now I'm being yelled at.
Betty: You should've told your aunt.
Matt: I know.
XXXX
As soon as Betty was done with her conversation with Matt, she walked over to Daniel. She quickly passed her phone to him.
"He is an absolute idiot for not telling Breanna," Daniel remarked. "You don't want to get on her bad side. She's going to be yelling at him for hours."
"He is an idiot, but that wasn't the message I wanted you to see. Look up." Betty placed her finger on the screen to show Daniel the message he needed to read. "I am now 99% sure that Hilda is technically my biological half-sister."
"That seems very likely. Does that change things for you?" Daniel asked.
"No. Hilda is my sister. The two of us having different biological dads doesn't change that. It doesn't matter." Betty told her fiancé firmly.
"Good,"
"I just wish I could actually speak to her." Betty is so tired of the months of silence. At least she understands why. It's easy for her to say that nothing's changed. But for Hilda, things have. She may perceive herself completely differently now. Unfortunately, Hilda had to process this on her own, and Betty feels horrible about that.
"There might be a Mode shoot in Paris in early October or late September. We won't know until Tuesday for sure, but I think it's going to happen." Daniel explained, placing an arm around Betty. He knew she needed the physical comfort right now.
"And you will make sure it's another one of DJ's visit weekends with his grandparents?" Betty asked. They had to do one of these visits at least every month. There was another one next weekend. At least this time, it's just dinner. At a 3 Michelin star restaurant but still only dinner. They were trying to avoid another Disney Paris situation, and therefore Daniel entered serious negotiations for minimal time.
"More like we might head out a day or two before to do something nice for DJ that doesn't involve his grandparents to make up for the court-ordered visit."
"Which I might not be able to do." They were already fighting about her taking maternity leave, and she's only going to be able to leave a few hours early Friday. "And it might be too late by then."
"It's never too late." Daniel kissed her shoulder.
"We both know that's not true," Betty said as she remembered both of them saying goodbye to their parents at various hospitals. "I have a meeting with Lindsay Tuesday. I'll see if I can get the days off around Labor Day. That way, I can fly back with Justin to New York. He will probably say no, but…"
"It doesn't hurt to try."
"Exactly."
Xxx
Aunt B: OK, what's this about Chicago that Monique just mentioned when she told me that she now has a kid?
Aunt B: Also, Austin finding out that he's your brother is something you should tell me about immediately. I don't care what time it is or what's going on with Alexis and me; you tell me this sort of thing.
Matt: Sorry, I should have. But as soon as I found out that he knew, I had to go to a work event. Then Monique's nieces caught their father with his new boyfriend, which blew up.
Aunt B: All over TMZ, actually. I told Mercedes not to marry him. She didn't listen. Her trust fund from the wretched grandmother wasn't worth the shotgun wedding.
Matt: I didn't know that you two knew each other, but I shouldn't be surprised. Then Britney went into labor, and I ended up having to watch her kids with Austin, which was a very interesting experience. I'm sorry. It has just been a lot.
Aunt B: I met Mercedes when she was dating Daniel years ago, and we stayed in touch after it fell apart once they started college. Mercedes is actually how I met Monique before she started at Wedding Bell. I get that things were chaotic yesterday. However, it takes 30 seconds to send a text message.
Matt: Things are more complicated. Victoria got George a job in Chicago. Tiffany wants to get Austin the hell away from all of us. So George is taking the job. Unfortunately, they're forcing Austin to go with them.
Aunt B: Bullshit.
Matt: Austin doesn't want to leave at all. I'm looking for a loft for us to live in. I plan to put the loft in his name. Although I don't know if that's actually going to be an option.
Aunt B: You are his half-brother. But with your mom being the way she is, it might be better that he not live with you until the threat is neutralized. However, if we go the emancipation route buying him a loft couldn't hurt. You could buy the one next door.
Matt: I just had coffee this morning with Monique's mom, and she's even willing to let Austin live with her. She likes him. He's super polite and managed to keep her grandchildren from crying all day which Vivian considers a bonus. She also doesn't want her granddaughter's best friend to end up in Chicago. Antonella has been doing good in therapy, and Vivian doesn't want her to have a setback.
Matt: I think Antonella asked her to get involved, but I can't be sure.
Aunt B: I'm not at all surprised by the offer. Vivian is always picking up kids. She fostered a few children when she was younger. I think she might still be a registered foster parent.
Matt: She still is. Although nobody has been placed with her for a while. Actually, the last person that was technically placed with her was Antonella. This happened after her parents died because of some bullshit with the aunts and sourdough girl.
Aunt B: Oh, that was definitely messy. It's also the real reason for Gio leaving sourdough girl.
Aunt B: I think Vivian might be the best of all the options. Especially in the eyes of the state of New York.
Matt: Why?
Aunt B: In addition to being a registered foster parent, Vivian Wyndham West is the only one of us more powerful and politically connected than your mother. The wicked witch won't touch him if Austin is under her protection.
Matt: Good point.
Matt: I assume you'll want to call into the meeting with the lawyers tomorrow?
Aunt B: I will. Actually, I would love to be there in person, but Jordan is on location. I can't leave Alexis alone with baby Lexus right now. As much as she would want to play with her new baby cousin, baby Lexus won't want to be away from her other mommy.
Matt: Good point. Small children are exhausting. I've been taking care of Mercedes kids since lunchtime yesterday. Even with Hilda and Austin, it's been grueling. Especially when baby Mo woke up crying. It took me like an hour to get her back to sleep. I think that only happened because her mom stopped off to get fresh clothing before going back to the hospital, and Austin stepped in to help. Her assistant was kind enough to bring her things to the hotel.
Aunt B: The poor kids have had a long couple of days.
Matt: Although they are looking forward to moving into a hotel until mommy buys a new house.
Aunt B: Smart kids.
Matt: OK, Monique just sent baby pictures, and they are adorable.
Aunt B: They really are. Alexis Junior wants to go to New York to play with the baby. I hate saying no, but maybe we will come up for the ball if Alexis feels better.
Matt: I look forward to it.
XXXX
Group text message to The Monique and Gio are now parents group.
Monique: I am now legally a mommy.
Amanda: Congratulations, you will be the best mommy.
Monique: Baby pudding pop was born this morning at 6:44 AM EDT.
Monique: [image attached]
Matt: You have a cute kid
Marc: Give us a name. All the fashion houses are going to want to send you things. We should probably do our own press release.
Monique: I will leave that to you and Tamika. We are still working on a first name, but the middle name is Jordan, and the last name will be Ross-Osborne. Or possibly the other way around. It depends on what looks better altogether.
Mercedes: Your husband really agreed to that?
Monique: Yes, because I married the best man in the universe. Actually, he's willing to let me use Jordan as a first name, but I want the baby to have a name that's original to them. Please send me all your gender-neutral first-name suggestions.
Amanda:?
Monique: Pudding pop is intersexual.
Amanda:?
Betty: I will send everybody a primer. I've actually started putting something together since Mercedes told Daniel a little earlier.
Marc: How did Daniel find out first?
Mercedes: We are old friends from high school, so of course, I texted him first.
Monique: I'm letting you all know now. Unfortunately, the state of New York requires that we choose either female or male for the birth certificate. At present, there is no third option.
Monique: Anyone with friends in Albany, please help us fix that.
Mom: Of course, darling. I will take care of it.
Wilhelmina: I also know some people. Mostly people that hate my father, so it would be my pleasure to help.
Claire: I will also call in some favors.
Monique: You are all wonderful. For now, since we have no choice, we're putting female on the birth certificate. Unless our lawyer says we can leave it blank. They're getting back to us. We're going to use gender-neutral pronouns and choose a gender-neutral name. When baby pudding pop is older, they can decide what they want to do.
Alexis: I really do think that's the best course for now, even though changing your gender on your birth certificate is time-consuming and expensive. I also have some resources that I can send to anybody who has questions.
Daniel: The gender-neutral term for niece or nephew is nibling. Please use it.
Monique: Especially all of you that have already been designated as honorary aunts or uncles. Which is probably most of you. Thank you for all you've done so far. I appreciate the balloons and teddy bears.
Tamika: I like nibling. I'm definitely going to be an aunt.
Monique: You're in the Mercedes category. It's not even honorary with you.
Mercedes: You are cranky when you are sleep-deprived.
Tamika: Your mom and I will work on the official press release later. Do you want me to call my aunt and tell her that she has a grandbaby?
Monique: Yes, she's not on the chain. I would do it, but Mercedes is right; I am sleep-deprived. I look forward to reading all of your name suggestions later.
Monique: Mercedes is taking my cell phone again because she doesn't trust me not to wake up in the middle of the night and respond to all of you.
Mercedes: Not at all. It's mid-morning. Seriously little sister, get some sleep. The first rule of mom-hood is to sleep when your baby is sleeping. That would be now.
Monique: This is my final text message. I am handing the phone off to Mercedes now. Good night/good morning, everyone.
To be continued…
Gio and Monique are parents.
They were already, but now they have a pudding pop. Antonella also has a nibling. Yes, that is the term, and I think it's kind of cute. Although that might be because I called my own niece nibbles when she was growing up. I feel vindicated.
Background notes: The seat of the New York State government is in Albany. Our characters are using Albany as shorthand for the state legislator.
New York was the first state in the United States to allow for a third option on birth certificates. However, this did not happen until 2016. This story takes place in 2010. In the story's universe, I feel like Vivian, Claire, and Wilhelmina may get that done a few years earlier. Of course, Victoria would be lobbying for the opposition.