Page 111 of The Doctor's Twins

“Are you kidding? I’ve been ready all my life.”

“You’re so cute,” he smiled and kissed me. “Okay. Let’s get us some babies, baby.”

“I’m ready.”

The epidural wasn’t painful, just uncomfortable. Soon afterward I felt nothing from the waist down. I couldn’t see past the screen, but I listened to the chatter. I felt tugging and saw a nurse carrying a little bundle to the corner of the room.

“Is the baby, okay?” I asked, nervously.

A tiny little voice started wailing.

“Oh, yes. Your son has a fine pair of lungs.”

A few moments later, another little bundle made its appearance.

“Ben? What is it?”

Another, tinier voice, started up a racket.

“Ben?”

“It’s alright, my love. We have them both. They’re beautiful.”

I heard one of the surgeons say that he would stitch me up. Ben came around the screen and held our newborns in his arms.

“Congratulations, beautiful. We have ourselves a pigeon pair.”

30

PEYTON

“I’ll go,” Ben said and placed his hand on my back.

The twins were beautiful, but, boy, did Madi hit the nail on the head. My life was an endless array of milk-spotted bras and shirts, throw up on my shoulders, midnight feeds, and nappy patrols.

Ben was brilliant. Once the initial few days were done and Madi went back home to tend to her three children, he jumped in and helped wherever he could. There was no way I could go back to work for the time being, but I didn’t mind. There’d be plenty of time to be a doctor. I threw myself, boots and all, into motherhood.

Saturdays were our ‘family outing’ days. The babies were three months old, and Ben and I took them along to breakfast at a deli near our home. Ben bought one of those twin strollers that looked like it could be used for serious off-roading, and we took turns pushing the gang around the hood.

The waitress who had previously delivered the watermelon concoction now knew to bring me a full English breakfast and a gallon of decaf coffee. Ben stuck to the continental breakfast option and smiled whenever he watched me inhaling my food.

“Hey, I’m breastfeeding,” I’d grin.

“I long for the days when those perfectly perky puppies used to be all mine,” he winked.

“So do I.”

“I thought we could have the family over for a barbeque this Sunday,” he said and took a sip of his coffee.

“That will be nice.”

“Great.”

Leyla made a fuss, so Ben picked her up and distracted her. She adored her daddy. Chad was fast asleep. He loved his sleep. Not that I was complaining.

“She’s a feisty one. Just like her mommy,” Ben teased.

“It seems that the women in my family are built that way.”

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