“What happened?” I pant, trying to calm down my racing heartbeat.
“Dalila called me,” he explains. “Mom went into labor. Everything is fine so far, but it happened really fast. She told me not to worry. Mom’s at the infirmary, and Dad is with her.”
I still feel nervous. Hopefully, everything is alright, and nothing goes wrong. Everything needs to be okay! Mom deserves all the happiness in the world.
We make it to the pack in record time and, five minutes later, run through the infirmary towards the maternity ward. Dalila and Elodie are already waiting for us. “Oh shit,” I blurt out. “I forgot to call you, babe.”
Elodie just chuckles. “I know. It doesn’t matter. Dalila thought ahead and called me.”
Dalila lets Tony hug her and smiles at him. “Don’t worry. Everything is fine. There are no complications.”
Her words finally make the weight drop off my shoulders. I’m about to ask her more when we hear a baby cry. This is… can it be? So fast? I don’t need to wonder for much longer because Dad peeks out the door. “I knew the ruckus and noise can only come from my sons,” he says with a smile. He is beaming in joy, though his eyes are teary. “Come inside and meet your sister. She was in a rush to meet all of us, it seems.”
We don’t need any more invitation and carefully slip into Mom’s room. When Dalila and Elodie want to stay behind, Dad shakes his head. “Come, you too. You are part of the family.”
I can feel Elodie beside me, her hand in mine, while I watch the little baby in Mom’s arms. Mom looks a bit tired, but other than that, she is beaming with joy. Tony is the first to find his voice. “Well, happy birthday, little sister!”
Mom chuckles. “My silly boy, do you want to hold her?”
“Can I?” he asks.
“Of course.”
“Can I, too?” I ask.
She smiles. “Of course.”
I watch Tony cradle our little sister, a gentle smile on his lips. “Do we already have a name for you, cute little button?”
“Rosemarie,” Mom says. “It was my mom’s name, and your father and I want to honor her for the way she supported us through all our hardships.”
Grandma died when Tony and I were still little kids, but Mom and Dad talk a lot about her and how kind she was. She was the one to protect Janice when Dad’s parents wanted to get rid of her.
“Aw, Rosie.” I smile while I carefully brush over her cheek. She is so tiny. Tony coos at her for a bit longer before little Rosie starts to wriggle and whine a bit. He hands her back to Mom, as she starts crying for real.
“She is probably hungry.” Mom sits up a bit. “Hold her for a minute, Henry.”
I’m terrified at first to hold a crying baby, scared to hurt her, but the moment Mom hands her over, she stops crying and stares at me wide-eyed.
Tony snorts. “You are the baby whisperer.” He grins. “You hit the jackpot, Elodie. Once you have your own, you can toss them all at Henry.”
Dalila and Elodie giggle. “And I can go out while Dad is on baby duty,” Elodie says.
I smile slightly. The teasing doesn’t bother me. She is talking about our future kids. She can see us with a family, and Arlo and I are both very pleased with that.
“You got that from me,” Dad says proudly while he watches me cradling Rosie.
At that, Mom bursts into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Dad mutters.
“Nothing.” Mom winks at Elodie and Dalila. “At least our three men don’t lack confidence.”
“That they don’t.” Dalila giggles.
Elodie laughs, too, and brushes through my hair. Now that Rosie has calmed down, Dalila and Elodie get to hold her before handing her back to Mom and Dad. Mom holds her gently, looking down at her, full of love and joy.
“She is so small,” Tony says in awe.