AN: If Olivia Newton-John was an animal in Sing, which animal would she be?
Part 57
In the recovery room, Suki lay in her bed, holding one of their new twins, wrapped in a blue blanket. Marcus held the other wrapped in a pink blanket. They both had fur as black as coal like Marcus and bigger than normal but they were primarily saluki in appearance.
Suki leaned against him. "Aren't they beautiful?" She sighed happily.
"They are. I guess we need a couple of names. We talked boy names, we weren't expecting a girl," he admitted.
Suki nodded. "Well, I had an idea for the girl. Rosamund. Porsha's mother was named Rosamund." She explained and he beamed at her.
"I like that. Rosamund. And maybe we can use both boy names on this little lad," he stroked his son's chin. "Luke as a first name and Matthew as a middle name."
She kissed his cheek. "That's perfect. Should we let everyone know?" She asked with a smile.
He shook his head. "Let's give it a few more hours. It's only six-thirty and I'm sure they're still sleeping off last night."
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Johnny brought the pot of coffee and a tray of donuts that he'd had delivered over to the coffee table. "Would you like a fresh cup of coffee, Mrs. Hunter, Mr. Hunter?"
Katherine smiled. "Thank you, Johnny. You're so polite. Isn't he, Jackson?" She pressured her husband.
Jackson nodded. "He is polite, Katie." He let Johnny refresh his cup of black coffee while Katherine added a little cream to her cup.
Johnny refilled Ryan's cup and then his own before sitting down on the loveseat beside his spouse. "So, have you guys given any thought to moving down here?"
Jackson nodded. "We have thought about it but we are pretty attached to Galveston. My parents are still there." He explained. "And neither of them drive. So they still need us close."
Katherine jumped up. "That reminds me. Ryan, your grandmother asked me to give you this." She handed him an envelope thick with 20 bills. "Christmas, Easter and Birthday presents that she couldn't get to you for the last eight years. And…." She handed him a red envelope.
Ryan opened the red envelope first. "Congratulations Ryan and Johnny." He smiled. "I hope they weren't mad I didn't invite them. I didn't know if they'd be able to make the trip." He was so pleased by the congratulatory card that he didn't see a slip of paper fall to the floor.
"Oh, they understood but they expect you to come visit at Easter to compensate," she laughed.
Johnny saw the paper and picked it up. "Whoa! Ryan!" He showed Ryan the eighteen by thirty-six inch slip.
Ryan's eyes popped out of his head. "Wow, 1000!" He read the memo line. "Wedding present." He shook his head.
Jackson nodded. He'd expected his parents to throw a bigger fit then he did but they were shockingly accepting. "Your grandmother and grandfather wanted you to have something to start out with. I tried to tell them that you were pretty set, but they insisted that as your grandparents, it was their right to send you as much money as they want."
Ryan smiled and turned his head for a quick moment. He was sure that his father would have turned them against him. And while he told himself that he was content with Klaus for a father figure, it meant a lot that his grandparents accepted him.
Johnny put his arm around him. "I look forward to meeting them." He wondered what they'd be doing in April. Maybe they could do their next show at a theater there so his grandparents could see it. He'd need to talk to Eddie.
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One thing was for certain, when Gunter passed out, he didn't play around. It was almost 9am and he still wasn't awake. Eddie went downstairs to the office to let him sleep off the liquor. He found Miss Crawly getting a pot of coffee together with a big tray of food.
"Good morning, Eddie. I was hoping someone would join an old lady for breakfast," she smiled. "Congratulations again on your big night."
Eddie sat down across from Miss. Crawly. "Thanks…" he said, realizing that his head ached.
She giggled. "Did you have a little too much last night?" She teased as she got out a bottle of naproxen.
He nodded. "Thanks, Miss. Crawly. Yeah, we drained that bottle. Gunter is still sleeping. We, um… I didn't know he was attracted to me."
Miss. Crawly laughed. "I did. You have to understand, Eddie, I am an old woman with a great deal of experience. I could tell."
Eddie leaned back in his chair. "But is it okay? Buster… he's… am I being disloyal? Unfaithful?" He asked.
Miss. Crawly touched his hand. "Eddie, I understand but… the sad fact is he's gone. And he would not want you to grieve him forever. I miss him too. His mother died when he was less than a year old and his father hired me to help him with his car wash and watching over him. I watched him grow up, then after his father bought this theater, after he passed away, it became my job to assist him with running it. But I'm convinced he's always with us. He lives a little in you." She patted his cheek. "He loved you and he'd want you to be happy. You know that as well as I do."
Eddie nodded. "Yeah, I do. And if the situation was reversed, I'd want Buster to find love with whomever he could." He looked down. "I think I might be ready but… well I might be jumping the gun. Being attracted to me doesn't mean love. And it's definitely too soon, too new to say that anyway."
The iguana nodded. "That's wise. Take your time, there's no rush. Enjoy what you have now and take it further when you're both ready." She smiled. "Now tell me, what's next season?"
He laughed at her. "All business. Well, I was wondering if it might be possible to do a stage adaptation of Grease. That was always a fun movie. I'd love to see if I can find a script for the stage version. Or even Xanadu might be fun."
Crawly smiled. "I loved both of those movies. I bet Gunter would get a kick out of either." She said encouragingly. She looked up. "Good morning, Gunter. Come join us for breakfast."
Gunter looked a little green and covered his mouth. "No, thank you, Miss. Crawly. I'm… übelkeit verursachend."
Eddie blinked but when Gunter got sick into the wastebasket, he understood. "Yeah, I woke up with a headache…"
The hog nodded while grabbing a bottle of water from the mini fridge, sipping it to clear his throat. "That was some night alright. Especially the end." He smiled at Eddie once he was able to see straight. The sheep blushed.
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Johnny washed the coffee cups and the pot and threw away the trash while Ryan said goodbye to his parents. "Are you sure you can't stay a few more days?" He asked his mother.
"I wish we could, son, but the next flight to Galveston isn't until Wednesday and your grandmother has an appointment on Tuesday," Katherine explained.
Ryan hugged her. "Call me when you're on the plane and when you get off." He told her.
She returned the hug and pulled away. "I will, sweetheart. You take care of yourselves now." She kissed his cheek. "Johnny, put down those dishes and come give me a hug," she ordered.
The gorilla laughed and dried his hands before crossing over to the door to hug his mother-in-law. "It was great seeing you. Thanks for coming to opening night." His phone buzzed and he had to pull away. "Give me just a moment." He opened the text. "It's from Dad. The twins are here! Ryan, it's time to go to the hospital."
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Porsha and Nooshy were at the mall with Meena and Alphonso. Nooshy was dancing in the parking lot to draw a crowd to the food truck and it was working. Porsha had taken a part-time job on the truck.
"Thank you again for letting me help, Alphonso," Porsha said. "I never realized just how much I cost my father until I saw the grocery bill when I went shopping with Big Daddy."
He nodded. "It's a pleasure to have you. I'd rather work with people I can call my friends. It makes the work meaningful." He smiled at Meena who was scooping waffle batter into the waffle maker. She smiled back and blew a kiss.
Porsha tied her apron tighter and addressed the next customer in line. "Oh, hey Lance," she said as she saw the porcupine coming to work. He was reading a piece of mail. "What's wrong?"
He held up the mail. "There's a date for the first custody hearing. The only thing in our favor at this point is the lawyer that Clay hooked us up with got the hearing moved to the Calatonia courthouse."
"What about the fact that she's had no contact with the kids since they were born?" Meena asked. "Seriously, what right does Becky have to them now?"
Lance shook his head. "That's something too but family courts are notoriously biased towards the mother." He sighed. "I don't know what to do. I mean, is she right? Does she have a right to get to know them if she wants to? I want to do what's best for them."
Porsha listened to the conversation. "I don't think so. If I was either of your kids and in this situation, I'd want nothing to do with her. They've already adopted Ash as their mom, they don't need her." She inwardly wondered if there was anything she could do. Why did this woman want custody after five years? Her phone rang and pulled her out of her thoughts. "Oh!" She answered and stepped away. "Hey Big Daddy, how's Mama Suki? They are! Great! We're on our way." She hung up. "Nooshy, Meena, Alphonso, the twins are here!"
Alphonso nodded. "Let's finish these last orders and get shut down." He put up the closed sign. They would open later that night at the theater. "Porsha, Nooshy, Meena, you guys go ahead in the car. Lance and I'll follow in the truck."
Meena put away the waffle maker and washed her hands before removing her apron. "See you soon dear." They shared a quick kiss before she and the girls went off to the hospital.
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Rosita and Caspar arrived at the theater at a little before ten. They found Gunter and Eddie resetting the stage for that night's show.
"Did you boys have a good night?" She asked while she and her son jumped into help.
Eddie nodded. "Sure did." She was happily surprised at how easily he said that.
She smiled at him. "Be careful Caspar." She said when her son started moving things with Uncle Gunter. She helped Eddie with what he was moving. "You sure seem in high spirits."
The sheep looked away. "Really? I mean, last night was awesome. We really pulled off something. Look at these reviews!" He showed Rosita the morning paper.
"I know, I read them this morning with my coffee," she said. "Buster would be so proud of you." She hugged him.
"Thanks, Mama…" He wondered if he should tell her about the night before but wasn't sure. He could still be completely wrong about Gunter. They had been drunk the night before. No, he needed to wait until he actually had something to tell. Simultaneously three cellphones went off, Eddie and Rosita looked at theirs together.
"Oh! Gunter, we need to go to the hospital!" Rosita called. "Miss Crawly, would you object to watching Caspar?"
The old iguana shook her head. "Not at all, Rosita. Go on, I can look after him."
Together, Rosita and the boys hurried off to the hospital in Eddie's convertible.
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Ash knew Lance was very worried about the custody battle coming up. She wanted to do something to help. "I don't know what to do, Clay. He's terrified that she might actually win." She said while visiting with her father-figure. "I love those kids, Clay. It's not fair! Why should she have any right to them?"
Clay nodded. "You have to have faith that she won't. Go with him and let the courts see how the kids see her versus you. All the court officially cares about is what is best for the child or children in question." He advised her. He picked up his phone as it buzzed in unison with Ash's. "Looks like it's time to go see the new babies. Sitara, do you want to come with us?" He asked.
"I'd love to, darling. Let me grab my purse," Sitara replied. "Ash, have you and Lance talked about…"
"Marriage?" Ash asked. "I think he tried to ask me before but he hasn't since. I'm thinking maybe I should be the one to bring it up. Do you think it would help the case?"
The mother elephant nodded. "I don't think it could hurt. They would see that you are committed to each other and those kids." She shouldered her purse and they went to the family car. Clay still had the bike but with a new family, it was impractical most of the time.
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In the recovery room, Suki sat with Linda while Marcus went to wait for their family to get there. "How'd it go last night?" Suki asked first and foremost while Linda held Baby Rosamund.
"It was fun. I never knew how fun it could be on stage like that," Linda gushed.
Suki nodded. "I know. I loved doing the rehearsals and I'm so disappointed I didn't get to play my role." She giggled. "But thank you for filling my spot and saving the show. I won't be back tonight unfortunately. Would you object?"
The horse shook her head. "Of course not. Maybe I've found my next career if I can't find an honest reporting job here."
"I was thinking about that. You know, the theatre could really use a publicist. Someone they can trust not to railroad them," Suki explained. "I could talk to Rosita if you'd like."
"Talk to Rosita about what, Suki?" Johnny asked as he came in with Ryan and his dad. "Awww!" He cooed when he saw the pups.
Marcus laughed at his son. "Son, meet your brother, Luke Matthew, and your sister, Rosamund." He was so happy he could burst.
Johnny's mouth fell open. "Wow! A brother and a sister! Wow! Congrats Dad."
Linda passed him Rosamund while Suki handed Luke off to Ryan. "I will Ryan's eyes were bright. "They're both adorable! Oh I want one!" He laughed.
Johnny nodded. "I would love kids." He leaned against his husband.
Suki smiled. "Have you started looking into it?" She asked.
They sighed. "Not yet," Ryan admitted. "We've been so busy with the show and… we're not sure if we want to go adoption or surrogacy."
Johnny nodded. "It's a big choice. Either one can fail for a variety of reasons." He explained. "But we are talking about it."
Ryan hugged him with his free arm. "Someday…" he promised his gorilla.
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Porsha and Nooshy were allowed back after Ryan and Johnny's fifteen minutes were over. Nooshy was in awe of the two infants. These two tiny new lives.
Marcus watched as she took Luke into her arms, carefully, as if afraid of hurting the baby. "You're a big sister."
The lynx nodded. "Yeah, I never thought it would be possible. I'm a big sister." She didn't know why she was starting to cry. "I'm sorry, I'm alright. I'm so… I'm happy but…"
Marcus hugged her. "You have a family." He summed up where her head was. "A mother, a father, two sisters and now two brothers, three if you count your brother-in-law. You're not alone anymore."
Nooshy wiped her eyes. "I have a family. I always dreamed but I never thought it would happen. I thought I'd be alone forever." She wept into her father's arms, the reality of her situation washing over her. She finally had everything she ever wanted.
AN: Think this chapter has gone on long enough. Gunter and Eddie will eventually talk about that night but right now they're both riding out the after effects of the liquor. One should never discuss relationships while hung over.