Page 3 of Surprise Quadruplets for the Mob

“Hey,” I say softly, squeezing her fingers. “That’s what sisters are for, right?”

“Right.” A small smile appears through her tears. “We’ll do this together, just like you said.”

“Damn right we will.”

Chapter 2

Abby

Six months have flown by and here we are, surrounded by velvet drapes and crystal chandeliers. The ballroom is full of donors with deep pockets and alive with the sound of laughter. I adjust my feathered mask and scan the crowd for familiar faces. It’s the annual Owen Foxworthy Foundation fundraiser, named after our brother who died from ARPKD, and Maggie has outdone herself with this year’s theme of a masquerade ball.

“Any sign of the megabucks donor?” Maggie asks, her eyes twinkling behind her golden mask.

I shake my head. “No idea. For all we know, he could be standing right next to us.”

“Or she,” my sister corrects me playfully. “It’s a shame we’ve never been able to thank them properly. Half a million each year, and we don’t even know the person’s name.”

“Do you think they might be part of the Facebook group?” As the administrator of the official OFF page, I’ve seen firsthand how passionate our supporters are. “Could be any number of people, really.”

“Could be,” she says with a nod. “Keep an eye out for anyone who seems particularly interested in the cause.”

As we continue mingling, a wave of nausea washes over me. I clutch my stomach, scrunching the tight black material of my dress between my fingers as I try to maintain my composure.

Maggie is by my side to steady me in an instant. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

“It’s just the fertility drugs,” I reassure her. My periods have always been irregular, so I’ve been started on treatment to ensure I ovulate.

“Oh, God. I’m sorry.” Maggie bites her lip, hesitating before speaking. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I reply with a smile. “It’s only a bit of nausea here and there, and the odd headache. Mostly I’ve just been sort of… frisky lately. No big deal.”

But this doesn’t elicit the smile I’d assumed it would, and I feel my stomach drop with worry as chews her lip and stares at me with an unreadable expression. Oh no, did something else bad happen?

“I, um…I have some news. I was going to wait a few more weeks to be sure, but if the hormones are making you sick…”

I don’t like the sound of this. Especially since she didn’t say it was good news. Still, I’m trying to keep the concern out of my tone. “What is it?”

“I’m, um… I’m pregnant.” She looks at me wide-eyed, half apologetic, half excited. “Looks like the drugs I took for the previous rounds of IVF might have kick started something.”

“Uh,” I manage, shocked to my core and not sure what I’m feeling right now. “Wait, you’re…what?”

“We were so careful, and I wanted to wait a little while to tell you, just in case. But it just happened. I was late last month, and first I thought it was just stress, but then the days kept passing and it still didn’t come and…and I was scared my eggs had alldied off or something. I didn’t want to worry you, so I went to the doctor but the tests came back, and she said…well, she said it wasn’t actually all that uncommon for natural pregnancy to occur once the stress of failed IVF treatments finally stopped, and…” Her words were coming out rushed, and at some point she’d come forward and clutched both my hands between hers tightly, as she tried to stem her excitement.

My mind races, trying to process this unexpected information. “Are you serious?”

“Completely serious. It feels like a miracle. A true miracle.”

I’m still shocked, still processing, but I can tell how happy she is, and that makes me smile as I pull her in for a hug. “That’s amazing, Mags. Congrats.”

“We still haven’t passed the danger zone, and anything could happen… I’m trying so hard not to be excited, but this is all thanks to you, sis.”

My brain is still comprehending the news, the miracle that’s occurred and what that means going forward now, but I still find it in myself to snort at her declaration. “Please, Maggie, I literally haven’t done anything yet—”

“Youhave,” she insists. “Without your support, without your selflessness, I would have never had the stress-free environment that let this happen. You’re the best sister in the entire freaking universe.”

I feel myself blush behind my silver mask as she leans forward and engulfs me in the tightest hug, and I squeeze her back as the news finally settles in my mind. She’s pregnant, she finally did it. She’s getting the family she’s always dreamed of, and I couldn’t be happier for her.

She smiles behind her mask and rests a cautious hand over her still-flat belly as we pull away. “But we should probably wait a while before we celebrate too much. It’s still a high-risk pregnancy. Very high-risk.”

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