“Ooh, goodie! I’ll make sure we’re all set.”
I doubt it was twenty minutes later, but it sure seemed like hours, before the nurse came in with an orderly and Marilyn was wheeled out of the room. I followed along, but didn’t get very far. This was surgery and they weren’t going to let me in to watch. That really didn’t bug me all that much; while I don’t get squeamish at the sight of blood, I don’t feel all that compelled to join in, either. Marilyn was getting a general, so she would be out of it anyway. I found a seat in the hallway and waited to find out what was happening. I suppose it was the same way back when my Dad was waiting for my Mom to deliver us, although I didn’t smoke two packs a day like he did then. I even paced up and down the hallway for a while. An hour and a half later, Doctor Harrington came out into the hallway and found me.
“Your wife and daughters are fine, Mr. Buckman. Everything went as smooth as silk,” she announced.
I think I exhaled for the first time in three hours at that. “Daughters. Huh.”
She smiled. “You don’t approve?”
I gave her a wry smile. “I’m still getting used to the idea of twins. It’s not like I can send them off for a refund, right? Ten fingers and ten toes?” Were my babies healthy!?
I got a grin in return. “Twenty fingers and twenty toes!”
“Oh, well, yeah, right.” I just smiled and shook my head. Twins! “Can I see my wife?”
“You can see her, but she’s still out of it. She probably won’t wake up for a few more hours. Your girls are in the nursery.”
“Can I see them? Can I hold them?”
“You can see them, but that’s about it. You can come back in a few hours and maybe Marilyn will be awake then. You should call your families,” I was told.
That brought me up short. “I don’t have a family,” I said. “Marilyn’s parents are coming down, but they live in New York, and probably won’t get here for a few more hours.”
“Well, she’s in the recovery room right now, but you can wait back in her hospital room. Or go home; there’s really nothing for you to do now.”
“Thanks, Doctor.” She pointed me towards the nursery, and I did the squinting-through-the-glass routine. Even with my glasses on, I couldn’t read the labels on the bassinets, and I couldn’t tell one baby from another anyway.
Then I went to her room to wait for her to come back from recovery. I had made a big mistake when Parker was born. He had come into the world in the late afternoon, and Marilyn looked like she had been dragged through a knothole. She was in and out of it. After seeing our son and visiting with her, she had sent me away. So I went away! I came back bright and early the next morning to find her fuming at me for doing what she wanted me to do! She wanted me to use my Jedi mind reading abilities to know that I wasn’t supposed to do what she told me to do. (This ranks up there with ‘You don’t need a Christmas list. If you really loved me, you’d know what I want!’)
Marilyn was back in the room by the early afternoon, by which time I had managed to grab lunch in the cafeteria and call Tessa with the good news. Marilyn slept until about four, at which time she woke up groggy. I held her hand while she came to, and then a nurse came in to check her out. She wanted to see the girls, but then fell asleep again.
I just rolled my eyes. I turned to the nurse and said, “Listen, I’ll be back in a couple of hours. I’m going to go home, find her parents and our son, and bring them back. Just tell her I haven’t abandoned her, okay?”
She laughed and shooed me out.
I found Harriet and Big Bob at the house, with Dum-Dum running around being a nuisance. She was put outside, and I had a chance to talk to my in-laws. “Welcome! When did you get here?” I asked.
“Half an hour ago,” answered Big Bob.
I glanced at my wristwatch; they must have gotten here by half past three. “You made good time.”
“How’s Marilyn?” asked Harriet.
I smiled. “Good. Asleep, when I left her. They had to do a C-section with the twins, so they gave her a general. Give me a few minutes to shower and change, and then we’ll go. Alright?”
Dum-Dum began scratching at the door, so I let her in and then went to our room. We could put Marilyn’s parents up in the spare bedroom. All three kids’ bedrooms were slightly different in size. Originally, Charlie had been in the largest of the three, next to our room, but he had been transferred across the hall, so the twins could share a room. Charlie didn’t mind, or didn’t really notice. Big Bob and Harriet would have the room at the end of the hall.
I took a quick shower and changed my clothes, since I had been sweating nervously all day. Now, fresh and sweet smelling, I was ready to go back. I found Big Bob playing with Dum-Dum, so we locked her away again, and then I loaded my in-laws into the Town Car. I knew we wouldn’t be using the minivan for all the kids until we left the hospital in a few days. From the house we drove over to the Tusks and retrieved Charlie, who was eager to see his grandparents and his mother. I think Tessa was eager to get him out from underfoot as well. She promised to come over tomorrow, and leave her boys with Tusker.
We got to GBMC by about six, and I held Charlie’s hand as we walked through the parking lot. He was now at the stage where he only had two speeds, fast and faster, and he wanted to tear through. We got up to her room just in time to see a pair of bassinets being wheeled in.
Marilyn was awake and propped up in the bed. She looked pale but awake, and her eyes lit up when we all came in. She was about to say something, but a nurse handed her a small bundle. “That’s one. Does the father get the other?” she asked, smiling.
“Absolutely!” I answered, and the other bundle was handed to me. I looked at my daughter, who looked a lot like her mother, sort of. “Which one is this?” I asked.
“You don’t know?!”
“Well, yes and no. They look kind of alike. Is this number one or number two?”
She nodded and looked at the bracelets on their wrists. “You’ve got number one, and your wife has number two. Do you have names yet?”
I looked over at Marilyn, who grinned and nodded. “You really want to do this?” I asked.
“Yep!”
“They are going to curse your name when they get old enough. Last chance to change your mind!?”
“Nope!” she said.
“Okay.” I turned to the nurse. “Got your pen handy?”
She pulled a pen from a pocket and grabbed the clipboard from where it was hanging at the bottom of the bed. “Shoot!”
“The oldest here is Holly Marie.” I spelled it for her, so that we didn’t get a repeat of how Marilyn got her name. “And her sister is Molly Lynn.” I spelled that, too, and looked over at Marilyn. “I get that right?”
Marilyn smiled broadly. “Yes!”
I came around to the side and bent down to kiss Marilyn. Then I held my bundle up next to hers to compare. I thought they looked the same. I didn’t think there was a test for identical versus fraternal, but they looked alike.
Charlie tried to butt in. “Let me see!” he said.
“Hi, Charlie,” said his mother, but he ignored her. He was trying to get a view of what I had.
Big Bob and Harriet went around the other side of the bed, and I bent down to show Charlie his new sister. “This is your new sister Holly.” I told him.
“She’s a girl, right?”
I nodded. “They’re both girls.”
“Can we get a boy?”
Big Bob and Harriet spluttered in laughter. I just gave Marilyn a look. Turning back to my son, I answered, “You’ll have to talk to your mother. I’m in management. Mom handles production.”
Charlie turned to face her, and Marilyn said, “Thanks a bunch! See if you ever get to see the assembly line again!”