Chapter 49

ANNA

Just moments after our daughter came into the world, they handed me both babies. Jasmine’s team was already on their way to collect the umbilical cord blood for Olivia’s transplant.

I’m filled with joy, but there’s fear too. Liv needs her transplant right away, but I can’t be there with her. I’ve just given birth. It’s a terrible feeling.

I want to be there for my daughter, but I have to be here for the other two.

I feel a tiny hand on my chest. I lift my shirt and try to get them to latch on. In no time, they’re both feeding, and I feel so whole.

We had no idea we were expecting twins, but it makes a lot of sense now. Like why I was so much bigger this time around, and why my emotions were all over the place.

It explains a lot, and it’s kind of a relief to know I wasn’t going crazy.

I just sit and watch them. Right now, I don’t care that they were a surprise or that they’re twins. All I feel is love. Love for my son and love for my daughter.

We have a lot to do at home—we only prepared for one baby. But I couldn’t care less.

“We still need to choose a name—or rather, names,” James says, his laugh a little forced. He looks at me, his eyes full of love.

I gaze at my babies, both feeding so well. Their pink cheeks and their lips wrapped around me. God, they’re adorable.

“How about Andrew and Nora?” I suggest. “Simple but beautiful.” We’d already chosen these names for a boy or a girl.

“I love the name Nora, you know that. But I don’t see him as an Andrew,” James admits, looking at our baby boy. He’s so cute, all rosy and warm.

I do like the name Andrew, but I see his point. Andrew sounds serious, formal. And when you look at this baby, you don’t see a bureaucrat. The name just doesn’t fit him.

We’ve always liked short names. But right now, I’m drawing a blank.

~This is why we had names picked out already.~

“What do you think about Owen?” James suggests. Owen Brown. I like the sound of it. I look down at him, and it fits—yes, he’s definitely an Owen. Nora and Owen. Short and sweet. They go together. Yes, I like it.

“I love it. Nora and Owen Brown,” I say, smiling. Together, we fill out the hospital forms, making their names official.

“I wonder how Mom is,” I say to James, my smile shifting from the twins to him. How can I not smile? Life is so precious—you can see that in this moment.

The love in his eyes is priceless. He rubs his hands together, eager to hold one of the babies.

But just then, Dad comes into the room pushing Mom in a wheelchair, with two babies in her arms. She looks worn out but satisfied, her eyes locked on me.

I see the relief wash over her. Her blue eyes are filled with unshed tears of fear, as if she hadn’t just seen me a few hours ago.

“Oh, Anna. I’m so glad you’re okay,” Mom says, tears streaming down her face. I really look at her. Her red hair is in a messy bun and her face is a picture of worry and exhaustion.

“Hi, baby girl. How are you?” Dad asks me. He looks like he might have fainted during everything. He’s as pale as a ghost, but I guess, since he’s standing, he’s feeling better.

“I was just wondering how Mom was, actually. Mom?” I ask her.

“I’m tired, but seeing you healthy and happy puts me at ease. I was so scared something bad had happened. Brittany had a guilty, confused look when she came by.

“I just assumed the worst,” she confesses, and I see the worry lift from her shoulders as she fills me in.

I understand why Brittany feels guilty for missing a baby. A whole baby. She did say it happens more often than we think, but still, with modern technology, it’s amazing she missed it.

She apologized, but I didn’t need an apology. She didn’t do anything wrong. The baby hid the entire pregnancy. No one saw it. I didn’t even feel it.

Dad pushes Mom’s wheelchair closer to me. The room is quite large, as we opted for an extra big room. I want Olivia to be here after the transplant, so with the big room, another bed can be added.

Their eyes move from me to the two babies in my arms.

“Holy shit!” Mom exclaims. Dad covers his ears but his eyes widen as the reality hits him. With Mom’s outburst, all four babies start to cry.

“Thanks a lot, Becca,” James scolds her, taking Owen from me with a small smile and calming him down by walking around the room. Within a second he’s calm.

The soothing power of James-Freaking-Brown. He does that with Liv too.

“But. B-but…,” Mom stammers as Dad takes one of their babies from her and coos at the little one.

“One of the babies was hiding the entire pregnancy. Brittany was shocked to see me having contractions again. That explains the guilty look you saw,” I explain to her.

“I don’t even know what to say. God, I’m shocked. I can only imagine how you two feel,” she says.

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head like she’s dreaming. As if by shaking her head hard enough, she’ll wake up from the dream.

“It was, but I couldn’t be happier. We have two healthy babies. How did it go with you?” I ask her.

Dad smiles as he walks toward me with the little one in his arms. He shows me the little one wrapped up in a pink blanket. I look to Mom and see another pink blanket around the baby she is holding.

~Girls.

~

“Oh, God. Dad, you have three daughters,” I tell him, laughing. He shrugs his shoulders, not caring one bit.

He didn’t give a damn. I knew the depth of love he had for his kids was off the charts. His love for me was immediate. It took him a mere three minutes to understand what it all meant.

And just a minute more to step into his role as my father.

“Anna, meet your sisters,” Mom introduces with a warm smile.

“Alice and Allison,” Dad completes her sentence, gesturing to Alice in Mom’s arms and Allison in his.

“Keeping the ‘A’ tradition alive, huh?” I remark.

Mom blushes a deep red and swallows hard. Dad returns to her side with Allison and plants a kiss on her forehead.

“Your name was the only thing I got to choose, and we love that all our girls’ names start with the same letter,” Mom confesses, her voice wavering slightly.

~Hormones after childbirth~…

“Oh.”

That’s all I manage to say. I didn’t see that coming. Even though our relationship is so much better now, with all our heart-to-heart talks about the past.

You’d think we could discuss it without any pain.

But I guess the pain is something we’ll have to live with. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s about accepting the truth.

The pain is a reminder of how our family was formed. The family we all dreamed of.

“Mom, I love that,” I assure her. “And I’ve always loved my name. So, thank you.” Seeing her smile makes me feel a little better.

“Now, what are the names of these two?” Dad asks, handing the baby back to Mom and rubbing his hands together as he approaches me, ready to hold one of the twins.

“James is holding our son,” I begin, and Dad’s eyes widen.

“A boy?” Mom and Dad exclaim in unison.

I understand their surprise—we’ve only had daughters until now. He’ll be the only boy in our family until they have their own kids.

They turn to James, who is cradling Owen with such pride. His eyes are sparkling as he gazes at Owen, it’s a sight worth capturing.

“Uh-huh, his name is Owen. And then our little miracle—and most welcome surprise. Our daughter, Nora,” I inform them, passing Nora to Dad.

“Olivia, Owen, and Nora. I love it, it has a nice ring to it,” Mom comments proudly, looking at her grandchildren.

“For two people who didn’t know they were expecting twins, you both look very calm. Almost too calm,” Dad observes with a hint of worry.

I just shrug. I don’t want to stress over something we couldn’t control. You learn a thing or two when you have to surrender control to someone else.

“I’ll order everything from the same store and buy some gender-appropriate clothes. We only need an extra crib and maybe an extra changing table. But we’ll manage.

“Right now, I just want to enjoy my babies,” I confess.

“We do too, sweetheart. Did Jasmine come by yet?” Dad inquires, and I shake my head.

“Her team came in to collect the blood for the transplant, but that was it. What about with you?”

Dad nods. “She collected it herself. We might have too much, but who knows, maybe they can freeze it or something in case we need it in the future.”

That’s actually a smart idea. Cancer is known to come back. And just because we were able to harvest the stem cells now doesn’t mean we would be so lucky again if we needed it.

“That’s a great idea, Dad,” I agree.

“Hey, do you know if Peter stayed?” I ask him, and he nods.

“He’s been pacing in the hallway this whole time. I think he just wants to see if you’re okay. Lizzie and Jim are with Liv. I’ll go to Liv in a minute, and then they can come see you two.

“I believe James will have to accompany me to put her under for the transplant?” he questions. The mood in the room turns serious instantly.

“And there goes our happy vibe,” Mom laments with a frown.

“What?” Dad squirms.

“It’s okay, Mom. Dad is right, the babies are fine. Right now, Liv is our top priority,” I reassure her, and I glance at James. He kisses my forehead as he places Owen in his crib next to me.

“I’ll text Lizzie so you two will have someone to help you out,” he promises. “You both gave birth less than two hours ago, and you will not—and I mean will not, A—overdo yourself, understand?”

“I’ll ask the nurses to bring Becca’s bed in here, along with the twins’ beds,” Dad announces. He rushes out of the room.

I try to stop him, but Mom shakes her head.

James exits the room, already texting, but not before kissing us all goodbye. A moment later, the door opens again. Peter steps into the room cautiously, his hands in his pockets.

He shifts from foot to foot nervously.

“Thank you for staying,” I initiate the conversation.

He looks up at me with a smile. “I wanted to make sure everything was okay before heading home,” he explains.

“We’re all fine. Mom is fine,” I assure him, pointing at Mom, who’s tending to the twins in her arms.

Peter smiles at her. “They look just like Anna,” he observes.

“They are beautiful,” Mom agrees, kissing Alice’s head. Then she does the same for Allison.

“Anna’s also fine,” she adds. “A big surprise today, but she’s fine.”

Peter looks at me, puzzled. Then he notices the cribs.

“Oh, boy. You had twins…?” he asks me, pausing for a moment.

“Nora was apparently hiding during the entire pregnancy, which does explain a lot. She’s healthy, and so is Owen,” I inform him.

Peter’s smile is gentle and affectionate. “And where are the boys?” he asks, scanning the room.

“Dad and James are with Olivia. They are prepping her for her transplant right now.”

“Transplant?” His voice is filled with disbelief as he shakes his head.

All I can do is nod in response.

“Liv’s cancer is rare, but it’s not unbeatable. The stem cells from these four could be her lifeline. If it works, it means an end to those grueling chemo sessions. But we won’t know until we try,” I explain, trying to keep my voice steady.

Peter buries his face in his hands, as if he’s trying to hide from the world.

“Oh, God. And we didn’t even want to help you…” His voice breaks, and he starts to cry.

“But you did help. And for that, I’m grateful,” I reassure him.

“Don’t thank me, Anna. I don’t deserve to be here right now. I don’t deserve the forgiveness you’re offering me. But I’m so grateful that you’re even considering it.”

“Peter, you’re forgiven,” I tell him gently. “You were forgiven a long time ago. All I ever wanted was a sincere apology.”