Page 28 of Awaiting

“But you do kind of date around, from what I see and what I’ve been told, and…”

“And?”

“And I just didn’t know you wanted all that. The kids, I mean. Well, I knew that. I just didn’t realize you wanted them that much.”

“Well, I do,” Alex replied. “This is really good, by the way.” She pointed her fork down at her plate.

“Youaregood at deflecting, aren’t you?” Bexley chuckled.

“I’m not deflecting. I–” Alex started and stopped. “I don’t know what I’ll name my children. It’s not just up to me.”

“But they’ll be named after people in your family. Any nominees for boy or girl? One of the other Queen Catherines, maybe? Or it could be Anne or Marie after you. George is a solid name for a boy.”

“I want my wife to help me decide what to name them. I don’t care about tradition. I want us to buy one of those stupid baby name books and go through them all one by one until we find some names we like. I want us to pull name options up on our phones, come up with lists, and then put them together. Yes, the baby would inherit the throne one day, but this would beourbaby. I want my children to know that their mothers chose their names because they loved their names, not because someone who lived three hundred years ago and held a certain title was next up on the list of royal names. I want the whole normal experience for it, if I can get it.”

“I think that’s sweet, Alex,” Bexley replied after a long minute, causing Alex to blush.

CHAPTER 10

“You’re sure you have everything?” Alice asked.

“Al, it’s a palace,” Bexley told her. “And your nannyliveshere.”

“I know… We’ve just never left them alone before.”

“Okay. It’s ready,” Nora said, emerging from the twins’ new nursery.

“Are you sure? You’ve been in there for ten minutes. Did you fix something?” Bexley asked her.

“No, I just wanted it to be perfect when Alice saw it for the first time.” Nora wrapped an arm around her wife’s shoulders and pulled her into her side. “Are you ready?”

“It’s been months. They’ve been sleeping in the living room. I’m definitely ready.”

Nora kissed the top of Alice’s head and pushed open the door. Bexley waited outside it to give them a moment as a family. Nora had taken the twins in there when they’d been sound asleep, and judging by the silence in the room, Bexley guessed they’d stayed that way.

“Oh, my God. Nora, it’s…” Alice stopped. “It’s perfect.”

“It took as long as it did because I had to order the wood, and I only painted one wall the really dark green so it would be an accent wall for the–”

“The lights,” Alice said under her breath. “You put the Northern Lights on the wall,” she added.

Bexley wasn’t sure what Alice was looking at, so she walked into the room and turned. Then, she saw the wall. The other three walls had been painted matte white, but this wall was very dark-green, with a hand-painted mural of the Northern Lights. Bexley had seen them here and there during her trips to Kleinland, but every time she had, whomever she had been with had told her they hadn’t been as bright that night or that it hadn’t been the right season to see them at their best.

“Babe, did you paint this?” Alice asked.

“Yes,” Nora replied. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“It’s amazing, Nora,” Bexley told her. “Wait. Shouldn’t we be whispering?”

“No, they’re out,” Alice assured. “They both just ate and were burped, so they’ll be out like little lights for at least a couple of hours.” Alice walked over to Julia’s crib, ran her hand along the beautifully crafted and sanded wood, and then touched her daughter’s cheek. “Nora, this is so much more than I thought you were doing. I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time.”

Nora walked over to Alice, placed her hand on the small of her wife’s back, and said, “I love you all so much. I know they’ll grow out of this room, and probably not all that long from now, but I just wanted them to have it.”

Bexley walked over to find Tor sleeping soundly in his crib. She gently touched the soft baby hair atop his head and smiled at his open mouth and drool coming out of it. The cribs were made of dark wood and looked magnificent. There was also a rocking chair in the corner of the large room, a changing table beside it, and a sofa against the back wall. Lining the other wall was what looked to be the wardrobe with the twin’s clothes, and next to that was a large wooden cabinet that likely held supplies. The rug on the floor had bright colors and letters all over it, and there were some toys in one of the other corners, perfectly placed on top of a toy box. Nora, it seemed, had thought of everything.

“Diapers and everything else you need are in there.” Nora pointed at the cabinet. “I have a built-in refrigerator in there as well, where you’ll find the breast milk.”

“I’ve been pumping for days,” Alice said, looking down at her own breasts. “She’s not touching these all weekend.”

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