Addison and Derek looked at each other not knowing how to respond. They hoped that Olive's reaction would be more positive than it was.
"But it's great that it's a girl, you can play with dolls together and dress up as princesses... you love playing that.
"Sisters are silly and boring."
Amelia chuckled and then retracted when she saw Derek's expression.
"Why do I feel like this has to do with you, Amy?"
"Maybe I've complained about my sisters on previous occasions... but definitely you're the one who protests the most. Don't look at me, this is your fault. She's just repeating what you say."
Derek let out an impatient sigh.
"Olive, having a sister is great. It's the best thing that could have happened to you, you have a new best friend who will live with you. You no longer have to ask for permission to go to her house to play because she'll always be with you."
She continued to look at the baby, not very convinced by what her father was telling her.
"She looks like a frog."
Amelia laughed again.
"It's because she was born just a few hours ago, she was inside the water for a long time, and that's why her skin is wrinkled. You'll see that in a few days, she won't look like that anymore," Addison said with all the patience in the world.
"In the water? I thought she was inside you."
"There was water inside me, it's called amniotic fluid. It's for the babies to be protected and warm."
"And she wasn't drowning? I can only hold my breath for 19 seconds!"
"She wasn't breathing with her lungs when she was in there. All the air, the oxygen, went in and out through a little tube that came out of her belly button. That was connected to me."
"Through her belly button? How?"
"That's how babies breathe in their moms' bellies, you also breathed like that. You'll see that as the days go by, the cord will fall off and she'll have a belly button just like yours."
"Can I hold her?" she asked, forgetting all the conversation they had had seconds before.
"Um... yes, but you have to sit on the couch."
Olive enthusiastically sat on the couch, Addison handed the baby to Derek and he placed a pillow on the girl's lap.
"Hold the pillow... it will make it easier..."
He gently put the baby's little arms in Olive's, without letting go completely.
"You have to be very careful with her head because it's very fragile," Derek said, sitting next to her, never letting go of the baby.
"She's very heavy!" she exclaimed laughing. She was used to lifting toy babies, which didn't weigh half as much as a real baby.
"Yes, that's why you have to be careful..."
"How much did she weigh?" Amelia asked, approaching to see the baby's face up close.
"7.54 pounds, 20 inches," Addison responded.
"Wow, enormous. I feel sorry for you, sister."
"Thanks," she said, shaking her head.
"She opened her eyes!" Olive exclaimed excitedly and the baby got scared.
"My love, don't scream in her face, you'll scare her," Derek said.
"She has blue eyes," she said, laughing.
"Yes, just like you..."
"She looks more like you Derek, doesn't she?" Amelia asked, smiling and caressing her cheeks.
"I think she does, for now..." Derek smiled.
"And her hair?" Olive asked, pulling her hat off abruptly.
"Careful, daughter."
"She has brown hair!"
"Yes, I think she inherited the Shepherd hair."
"She'll be a mini Derek," Addison smiled.
"She looks like Amelia too," Derek added.
"Do you think so? I don't have those eyelashes or that nose."
"She has the same hair color as you and Dad," Olive said.
"Maybe it's not definitive, but a lot of this hair will fall out these days..." Derek said.
"IS SHE GOING TO BE BALD?"
"Ols, don't scream. No, she won't be completely bald... her hair will grow back. The same thing happened with you."
"Did I go bald?" she asked, horrified.
"Oh yes, you looked like an old man," Amelia teased, but her niece didn't seem to find it funny.
"You didn't go bald, honey. It grew back later. Can't you see? You have a lot of hair."
Arleth began to feel uncomfortable, she made small complaints in Olive's arms.
"She doesn't have teeth!" Olive exclaimed, surprised.
"When she's six months old, her teeth will start coming out, now she's very little," Addison said softly.
"And how will she eat burgers?"
"Love, babies don't eat that. They can't chew, they only drink milk," Derek laughed.
"And ice cream?"
"No, only milk."
"But you don't have to chew ice cream."
"Her stomach isn't prepared for that kind of food, Ols. She only needs to drink Mom's milk.
"Mom's milk???"
"Yes, babies drink their mother's milk. You did it for a year and a half."
"No, I didn't do that."
"Yes, trust me, you did," Addison laughed.
"Milk is from cows!"
"Humans also produce milk, Ollie. To feed our babies."
"But in kindergarten, my teacher told me that milk is from cows, honey from bees, eggs from chickens... does Mom also have eggs?"
"That's Dad," Amelia mumbled. Derek nudged her.
"Olive, humans are also mammals. That's why we can produce milk. Not only cows do it, bears, lions, sheep also..." Addison said.
"Sheep give wool."
"And milk too. You'll learn about that later when you're in elementary school. You'll learn about mammals."
"But I want to know about mammals now."
"When we're at home we'll look at some books, okay?" Derek offered.
"When are we going home?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Tomorrow???"
"Yes, tomorrow they will discharge Mom and Arley. Today they have to stay in the hospital."
"Why? They're not sick."
"Because the doctors have to monitor the baby's development during her first night. The same with Mom, remember she had a baby in her belly? Everything has to be checked to make sure it's okay. That she doesn't bleed too much, that..."
Olive looked at her mother with concern.
"Mom, were you bleeding?" she asked, terrified.
"No, just a little. It's normal. You don't have to worry, baby. I'm okay," Addison hurried to say, seeing that the girl was about to cry.
Arleth started crying at that moment, scaring Olive, who also felt like crying. Derek took her out of his arms and began to gently rock her to calm her.
"I think it's time for us to go, Ols," said Amelia.
"I don't want to leave Mom!" Olive exclaimed.
"I'll be fine, Ollie," Addison said, her voice breaking. The hormones and Olive's crying had affected her.
"But I wanna be with you."
"Tomorrow we'll all be together at home."
"But will I sleep alone tonight?" Olive asked, scared.
"Alone? I'm here, kid," said Amelia.
"Derek, maybe you should go home with her," Addison suggested. She preferred to stay alone rather than see Olive suffer.
"Don't worry, Addie. She'll be fine with me. You need to rest. I'll take care of her, she's my goddaughter."
"Are you sure?" Derek asked.
"Yes, Olive and I know how to pass the time. Right, kiddo? Let's have pizza in bed."
"Yeah!"
"And we'll call your grandma to tell her your sister was born, do you want to?"
"Yeah, I'll tell Grandma Carolyn and Bizzy!"
"I think Mom will tell Bizzy, honey," Derek interrupted her excitement.
"Why not me?"
"Because she's traveling," he lied, "and can't answer the phone on the plane. You know there's no signal up there."
"Is she coming to Seattle?"
"Um... no, no. Grandma Carolyn will come if you call her."
"Then I'll call her now!"
"We'll call her at home, Ols. Come on, say goodbye to your parents," Amelia said.
~•~
"How did you see Olive?" Addison asked, taking a sip of her pumpkin soup.
"Well, all things considered, she was fine. It was expected for her to have that reaction."
"It broke my heart to see her leave like that."
"It's just one day, honey. We'll all be together again tomorrow. You need to rest."
"Is she still sleeping?" she asked, pointing to Arleth, who was in Derek's arms.
"Yes, it's been a very exhausting day for her too."
"She'll need to eat in half an hour..."
"Let her sleep, Addie. If she's hungry, she'll wake up."
"It's been almost three hours since her last feeding... pass her to me."
"Finish your soup first."
"Am I Olive now?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"I think you're even more whimsical than she is."
Addison reached out for the baby, and he gently handed her over while she was still sleeping peacefully.
"I don't think I've told you yet how amazing you were today. You were so brave, Addie."
"Oh, Der..."
"You already know, but I admire you so much. I still can't believe you gave me Olive and this little one. They're so beautiful, so perfect. Only you could bring such angels into the world. Thank you for this. I know these months haven't been easy. I know the last few weeks were very heavy and endless, but despite your pain and exhaustion, you were always with the best disposition, both for Olive and Arley. And today... I have no words to thank you for today. You made me relive the best moment of my life. Thank you for this."
"I also lived the second best moment of my life..." she smiled as she gently woke the baby with caresses on her face.
"I see her and I still can't believe she's here. It all happened so quickly, so... I mean, this morning I never imagined I would end the day with the baby here. It took much longer with Olive."
"The first labor generally tends to be the longest... oh, my love, don't cry, baby... you have to eat," she said with a gentle voice she only used to speak to her daughters.
Derek watched the scene with a smile on his face. He felt like his heart was going to explode with love and pride seeing Addison breastfeeding the baby. It was like going back in time and living the first days of Olive again.
"I love you, Addie," he whispered, leaning his face towards hers, "thank you for everything."
She simply smiled and affectionately kissed his lips.
~•~
"Olive?" Carolyn asked, surprised. It was already half past midnight in New York and she was already asleep.
"Grandma, my sister was born!"
"Your sister was born? Really?"
"Yes!"
"When was she born?"
"Today!"
"Are you sure, sweetheart? Your father didn't tell me anything..."
"I held her this afternoon! Her name is Arleth and she has blue eyes!"
"Arleth?"
"Yeah, but we call her Arley. Or baby."
"Wow, I can't believe it, my love. What great news you've given me!"
"Dad said you're coming to Seattle tomorrow."
"Well, now that you say this, I will. As soon as I get tickets, I'll go."
"Will you make me a carrot cake? With chocolate chips?"
"Olive..." Amelia whispered from behind.
"Of course I will. Whatever you want, my dear. Listen, are your parents there?"
"No."
"Who are you with?"
"Aunt Amy.
"Can you pass me to her?"
"Okay."
"See you soon, sweetheart. Grandma loves you."
"I love you too, Granny. Bye," Olive said as she handed the phone to Amelia.
"Hello, Mom. Sorry for calling at this hour, you were probably already sleeping, but a certain little someone wasn't going to leave me alone if I didn't call..."
"Amy, how is it that the baby was born? Is it a girl?"
"It's a girl, yes. Arleth Elaine. She was born at 2:45 pm, over seven pounds, natural birth, and everything went well. She's perfectly healthy."
"Derek didn't tell me that Addison was in labor!"
"It all happened very quickly, Mom. I was in surgery and as soon as I came out of the operating room, I was asked to go pick Olive up from kindergarten. I was with her for a while until they let us go see her."
"Do you have pictures? Who does she look like?"
"She looks like Derek, I suppose. Although he says she looks like me. But I think she has some of Addie too. She has the same nose as Olive, and the eyes..."
"My baby, she's beautiful. I can't wait to see her."
"I imagine you'll come..."
"Tomorrow, first thing in the morning I'll go to the airport and take the first flight to Seattle."
"Okay. Will you come alone or...?"
"I'll ask your sisters if any of them want to come... Send me photos or videos. I want to meet her, I need to see her face!"
"I will... let me know what time your plane arrives, and we'll pick you up with Olive."
"Okay, see you, Amy."
"See you, mom."
Amelia hung up the phone and turned to Olive, who was looking at her as if she were expecting something from her.
"What?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Why did you tell Grandma that I wouldn't leave you alone?"
"I said that? I don't remember. I think you misheard."
"Yes, you did."
"Here we go again..." Amelia muttered under her breath. Olive didn't understand what she said.
"Do you hate me?"
"What? No. Why do you say that?"
"Because you said I wouldn't leave you alone," she said, with tears in her voice.
"I already told you that I didn't say that."
"Yes, you did!" she exclaimed, crying.
"Well, it's too late for you. You're tired and you're getting silly."
"I'm not silly!"
"It's just a figure of speech, I know you're not silly, you're the opposite of that, sometimes your intelligence irritates me, and... hey, stop crying already Olive, your parents will kill me."
"I want my mom and my dad!"
"They're at the hospital with your sister."
"Then I wanna go to the hospital!"
"No. You're going to put on your pajamas and go to sleep."
Olive cried more intensely. It had been a day filled with new emotions for her. She woke up like every day, went to kindergarten, and when she got out she went to the hospital to see her new sister. She was tired but at the same time overstimulated.
If it had been a normal day, Addison or Derek would have gone to her bed and stayed with her until she fell asleep, reading her a story or singing her a lullaby, but that wouldn't happen now. They weren't there. Now they were with their other daughter and she had been left practically alone.
"Okay, I'll go with you to put your pajamas on... we can sleep together," suggested Amelia, knowing how she would feel that night.
"I want my mom!"
"We can sleep in your parents' bed!"
"I WANT MY MOM!" she cried.
Amelia rolled her eyes back. Olive wasn't usually a difficult child, in fact, she was the opposite. She had always enjoyed spending time with her aunt, she didn't usually complain, and certainly didn't cry. She didn't even call out to her mother in such a loud voice, not even when she left at night to attend a birth or an emergency. Undoubtedly, the birth of the baby had affected her.
"I know! I have an idea you'll love."
"What?"
"We can camp tonight!"
"How?" Olive frowned, confused.
"In the trailer! Your parents' old trailer."
"Mom doesn't let me be in the trailer."
"Your mom doesn't have to find out about this. What do you say? Do you want to sleep there? We can make popcorn and watch a movie there!"
Olive wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and nodded.
"Do you want to watch The Little Mermaid or Tangled?" she asked, knowing that those were her niece's two favorite movies.
"Tangled..."
"Let's go then, go get your pink blanket and your teddy bear. Put on your pajamas and wait for me on the couch while I make the popcorn."
"With caramel?"
"Of course, kiddo, what else?"
"Dad likes them with salt."
"Your dad's a fool."
"No, he's not."
"Yes, he is. And he doesn't know anything."
"No!"
"Yeah."
"No!"
Amelia laughed as she opened the bag of popcorn and poured it into a pan over the fire. She loved to make her angry, it served to distract her.
"If you don't go upstairs now to get your pajamas, you'll sleep alone here, because I'll go to the trailer and watch the movie alone."
Olive ran to her room. Amelia shook her head and continued preparing the popcorn. She would do anything to make her goddaughter happy.