May 9th 2023
Chapter 129
We Remember How We've Grown
Dear Mrs. Friar,
It's just before three in the morning as I'm writing to you. I've got Alexandra against my chest, and I finally got her back to sleep, but if I move her or try to get up and bring her back to her crib, she wakes up immediately and starts like she's going to cry, so now I'm just staying here. I am dictating to my phone, because I figure that the sound of my voice will help her sleep better. I'll clean this up later if I end up sending the letter to you, which I probably will. I was just sitting here, trying to stay awake, and I had the TV on low volume. There was a commercial for Heart of Texas and Goldenheart, and that made me think of you, so here we are.
I'm sure you've seen plenty of pictures thanks to Milena, and August, and thanks to Cecilia, too, but I had to send you one more. It's one of my favorites of Alexandra's since she was born, and I've sketched a version of it in the book you gave me when she was about to be born. I've been filling the pages, once every week since the day we had her, and it's incredible to see how much she's already changed. She's two months already, I can't believe it. The more she grows, it's hard to decide who she looks like the most. Both Cecilia and I can't help but see our mothers in her and maybe that's who she looks like. It's either that or it's just what we want to see.
It doesn't matter. She's ours and she's just perfect the way she is, even when she won't sleep. I'm out here with her tonight so that Cecilia can get some rest. She always wants to be up and looking after her night and day, but she can't keep this up forever. I may have guilt tripped her into staying in bed a little bit, but I know she knows that it was for a good cause. It's been hard on her, the end of the pregnancy, the birth, and the weeks after that. I don't think we'll try for another baby anytime soon, if ever, and that's alright. If we're just the three of us and happy, then that's all we need.
I try not to worry so much about Cecilia, but I still do sometimes, and I don't know how to talk about it with her. She's trying so hard, and I don't want her to think that she's not doing enough because that's so not what's going on here. I don't mean to unload on you like that, and I might say to never mind or just not send the letter at all, but I know I'll probably send it anyway and for the rest, well, I'll leave it up to you.
I should finish up this letter. I think Alexandra might be good for the night now. If she isn't, then there will be a very long P.S. at the bottom of this page.
Good night and all the best,
Tony Janacek
.
Dear Tony,
I have very vivid memories of those sleepless nights when any of my girls were as small as yours is, so I have been where you are. Feel free to dictate me as many letters as you need to if it will help get your Alexandra to sleep, and maybe her father, too. It's not always the easiest thing to balance, especially the first time around, but I believe you'll get through it, and that goes for you and Cecilia both. If I know her the way I think I do, and you do, too, then she's more than aware of your being concerned for her. You will find a way to communicate, I believe that, too, and I won't get involved more than either of you wants me to.
On a brighter note, thank you very much for the picture. I can see why you like it so much, and I'd be happy to see the sketch you did if you wished to share it. I may never have had the privilege of knowing either of your mothers, but I have seen pictures, and I think Alexandra looks like both of them, yes, because you and Cecilia look like them, too. I can't wait to meet her in person, so until then, please give her a kiss and a hug from me.
Until next time,
Mrs. Maya Friar
X
They were looking after Toby Matthews that morning. August and Milena's son could have been anywhere, with his grandparents, his aunt and uncle and Orlando cousins, but all of them had been busy enough to be unable to take him, and so Riley had suggested that her brother call her best friend. Toby got along so well with the Friar girls, so they would be just thrilled to have him around as he would be to be with them. So, he was dropped off with them for the day.
It was a pretty quiet weekend day. None of the girls were due for their usual activities, so they could just stay home, and they'd decided to make the most of it by doing not a whole lot. This day would not be about chores or work of any kind. They would play, and relax, and simply be together as a family, now with an added Toby. This started off with some outdoor play that went pretty well until Remy tripped and fell, coming up with a big scrape on her chin. She was a lot less distressed about this than her sisters, her fellow triplets especially. What she was most concerned over was the possibility of what they'd have to use to clean the cut. She was familiar with the sting and the burn that came with something like this, thanks to more than one scraped knee or elbow. Maya tried not to give it away with how she inspected her face, but it was right there, and this led to a brief chase, the better to catch her and bring her back into the house.
They got her in the end, screeching and trying to pull away though she did. They had to get Kacey and Lucy to stand on either side of her and hold her hands while Maya had her in her lap, arms around her waist, as Lucas sat across from her. He spoke to her as calmly and soothingly as he could while he tended to her face. He may have been a veterinarian, but he was excellent at treating cuts and bruises on small girls, too, especially the ones as fretful as his four-legged patients. When it was all over, he held her and let her be quiet until she felt better.
Of all the things that could have helped to calm her down and cheer her all the way up, the one that came was as surprising as it had been expected. Mateo called, letting Maya know that her sister had gone into labor. The third Arroyo was on their way. When Maya shared the news with the rest of the group, the reaction was immediate: they had to go out there now! They had to meet the new baby when they would be born! Remy turned to look at her father, and she smiled around the bandage on her chin. She couldn't wait to meet her new cousin.
Toby was not a big fan of hospitals, as they discovered, but he did want to meet the baby, too, because he loved babies, especially his cousin Alexandra, though he'd only met her in person the one time when he and his family had flown out to meet her. So, he accompanied the Friars as they joined the growing party of waiting family and friends, eager for the arrival. They were joined by Felix and Manny, the future big brothers. The first, at nearly four, was naturally a lot more vocal about his anticipation. His younger brother, being just shy of his first birthday, may not have understood exactly what was going on, but everyone was happy, and that was good enough for him.
"Alright, Fe, my guy, what do you think?" Sam asked as he hoisted his nephew up into his arms and held him back enough that they might look at one another. "Brother or sister this time?" Felix looked back at him, every bit of him that was like Cara coming on strong. He shook his head and laughed, shrugged his little shoulders. "No clue? Nothing? What do you want it to be?" Felix kept smiling, but he grasped his uncle around the neck until he could whisper at his ear. "Uh huh, uh huh... Interesting..."
"Hey!" Maya 'complained.'
"What about us?" Eliza asked, matching her tone, and barely holding down a grin. She had Finn in her arms, while Wyatt had Hannah in his and matched her expression.
"Maybe he just likes me more," Sam teased his siblings.
"Not true," Maisie stepped up, notably shorter than the rest of them. All she had to do was hold her arms up and the small boy excitedly reached for her.
"Are we playing favorites again? Why do you even try with her around?" Teddy asked as he arrived, Priya and Lily at his side, and Emma and Dakota following right behind.
"Amateurs," Emma smirked even as Maisie held Felix and compelled him to whisper his secret to her, too. "See?"
"All hail the queen," Maya smiled along with the rest of her siblings.
They would wait, all of them together, to discover whether Felix and Manny would have a new brother or sister and what the first of them had whispered to his aunt and uncle. It was an immediate subject of conversation, while they waited, for everyone to wonder what had happened to Remy's chin, and the tale was shared, coming off entirely more harrowing, coming from the girl herself, as she told everyone about how they had cleaned up her face afterward.
Finally, Mateo appeared, the smile on his face announcing plainly that the baby had been born, that both mother and child were healthy… More than that though, there was something about his smile, about the way he walked, that registered different, and to anyone who might have noticed this change – as Maya did – the suggestion was very easy to follow, and just as easily confirmed by the new father: after two sons, Cara and Mateo had now welcomed a daughter. Felix had gotten the sister he'd wanted.
"I'm having a little trouble believing that you have three whole kids already," Maya commented with a smile when she was reunited with her own little sister.
"Well, get used to that number, because I'm pretty sure I'm done now," Cara breathed with a tired smile. Maya nodded approvingly even as she looked at her newborn niece, cradled in her arms. "I think she's got the most hair of all of them…"
"She does, doesn't she?" Maya agreed. "So… Does she have a name yet?"
"I was so sure we were going to have another boy, we both were," Cara looked to Mateo, who had both their sons in his arms, the better for them to get a proper look at their baby sister. "It's not like we didn't want it to be a girl, we really did, but nothing jumped out at us because we were so sure. Now she's here and she's just Baby Girl Arroyo… What if we can't decide?"
"I don't think your daughter will be nameless forever," Sam promised her. "If you need inspiration, Samantha is a great name," he added with a grin. Eliza and Teddy snorted, while Emma lightly smacked his arm.
The new baby may not have had a name yet, but she was certainly loved as she was welcomed into her family, with aunts and uncles and cousins, brothers, grandparents, so many people there to take her into their arms and show her that she was so very safe and so very adored. Later, her parents would say that watching them with her had contributed to their picking her name. They said how it had felt as though she was a little princess, making her way from one person to the other, and later, when it had been just the two of them, their sleeping boys, and their baby girl, the thought had stuck, and the words… A little princess… It had been one of Cara's favorite stories when she'd been little, and as she and Mateo had reflected, they'd known… Their daughter's name would be Sara Elizabeth Arroyo.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
