Page 304 of The Baby Twist
“They were fighting over a toy, and Ashley hit Ashton in the head with her baby doll.”
“Did my perfect angel hit her brother?” I hugged her tight. “That wasn’t very nice. Did you apologize to your brother?”
“Dada.” She placed her hand on my cheek. “Dada.” She scrunched her nose like Marley always did. She was the spitting image of her.
“Look at that. She’s already a manipulator,” Marley said.
“She is her mother’s daughter.” The corners of my mouth curved upward.
“You will pay dearly for that remark, Mr. Stone.”
“Promise?” I leaned in and kissed her lips.
“Oh, yes. I totally promise.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” I winked.
After dinner and giving the twins a bath, Marley and I put them to bed, but not without a fight from them.
“I love those kids so much, but sometimes?—”
“You think they’re the spawns of Satan?” Marley smirked.
“You know, babe. You really shouldn’t say that about our children.” I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
“Ha, okay. You think it too, and don’t lie.” She pointed at me with her hairbrush.
“Marley, I would never think—who the hell am I kidding?” I shook my head. When I was finished in the bathroom, I turnedoff the light and climbed into bed. “I know we’ve never discussed it, but?—”
“No,” she said.
“You didn’t let me finish.”
“I already know what you’re going to ask me. You want to know if I want more kids. The answer is no. We have a son and a daughter, and I think we’re the perfect family of four.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “I completely agree with you.” I hooked my arm around her as she snuggled into me.
“Since we’re both in agreement, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life on birth control. So, I’ll call the doctor and make an appointment for your vasectomy.” She patted my chest.
“Now, hold on a second. Who said anything about a vasectomy?”
“You’re right. I’m stopping my shots, and we’ll use condoms until I reach menopause and can’t get pregnant.”
We heard Ashton start to cry through the monitor. Turning our heads, we stared at him, pulling himself up and standing in his crib. His cries became shrieks, which woke Ashley up.
“Parent duty calls,” Marley said, climbing out of bed.
We went up to the nursery. I held Ashton while Marley took Ashley from her crib and tried to soothe her. As I sat down in the rocker to rock my son, he screamed louder.
“I don’t know why they’re crying like this,” Marley said.
“It could be their ears again. Maybe you should get the Tylenol out.”
“Tilly said they were very crabby all day, so you’re probably right. Here.” She handed me Ashley. “I’ll be right back.”
As I held both screaming kids in my arms, I rocked back and forth until Marley returned with the Tylenol. After giving each a dose, we paced around the room with them for over an hour until they finally fell asleep. We lay them down in their cribs, and I hooked my arm around Marley as we walked out of the nursery.
“Call that doctor tomorrow and make the appointment,” I said.
