“How are you doing, sweetheart?” asked her father.
“Good. Tired. How are you doing? How was the trip?”
We all chatted for a bit, passing the babies around and oohing and ahhing appropriately. The nurse came in after a half hour, and wanted to see if they would eat. Since Marilyn planned to breast feed for a few months, this involved a bit of work. Big Bob, Charlie, and I headed for the hallway, while Harriet gave her daughter a hand. With one baby, a woman can throw a blanket over that side and cover things up, but not with two! Maybe Marilyn was going to have to work the problem in series and not in parallel.
We stayed until they tossed us out, and then I drove us over to a Friendly’s for dinner. Charlie was asleep by the time we got home. Big Bob and Harriet weren’t far behind him. Tuesday I showed them around the latest changes to the house and the new pool, and then I had them follow me over to the hospital in their car. That way they weren’t shackled to me all day long. On the way over we drove over to my office to tell everyone the good news. I also gave the approval to Jake Junior and John to go ahead with our move. We had outgrown our original office space, and were now going to lease a much larger space in the same business park, one which could handle double our current roster. I hoped it would be enough. I drove over with my in-laws and showed them our new digs.
The Lefleurs didn’t stay at the hospital too long this morning, just long enough to say hello and pass the news from home. After half an hour Charlie was bored and fussy, so they took him home. I stayed with my wife and our daughters. By late morning she wanted to rest, so I took off with a promise to come back later. I grabbed some lunch, went to the office and did some paperwork and checked my mail and messages, and at the end of the day went back to the hospital. They had Marilyn up and walking, slowly, after we left Monday night, and she was able to move even more now. Tuesday night they were going to remove her catheter, and if that went well, she could come home on Wednesday.
The doorbell buzzed on Wednesday morning, and Charlie got to it first, racing through the house trying to beat Dum-Dum. He opened the door, and I heard his little voice saying, “Aunt Tessa! Hi! Mommy’s not here!”
The door opened up and Tessa came in, shooing Dum-Dum in front of her. She had a car seat with Carter in it, and a giant diaper bag. “I know. I came over to keep an eye on things while your Daddy goes and brings Mommy home.” She looked up as Big Bob and I came into the foyer. “Hi, Carl. Everything still on schedule?”
I nodded. “Should be. I called and nobody said anything was going wrong.” I introduced her to Big Bob and Harriet. Tessa had met them at our wedding, but that was six years ago, and she had other things on her mind that day.
Tessa said, “Well, you go on over whenever you want to. Charlie and Carter and I will stay busy. I need to be out of here by two at the latest, or Tusker will have to go home for Bucky.”
“Who’s Bucky?” asked Harriet.
“Buckman James Tusk, our first son. He was born when we got to the hospital in Utica, during the reception,” she answered with a laugh.
“You named him Buckman? After him?” asked a curious Big Bob, tilting his head towards me.
Tessa laughed, and I just protested, “It’s not like that!”
“Carl and Tusker are, like, best friends,” explained Tessa. “And Tusker would never have gone to college or been able to go into business without Carl pushing him.”
“And now we’re Uncle Carl and Aunt Marilyn, and they’re Uncle Tusker and Aunt Tessa,” I finished. “Let me get my shoes on and I’ll go get Marilyn’s minivan ready. You guys need to get one of them, too,” I told Tessa.
“Maybe this fall, we’ll see. I’ll talk to Marilyn about it.” She kept chatting with my in-laws.
I finished getting ready and went outside to see if I needed to prep the minivan. I cleaned up some of Charlie’s crap, and then came back inside. I had a surprise for Marilyn, a brand new side-by-side twin stroller, which I had kept hidden in the trunk of my car, along with a pair of matching car seats. The stroller went into the back of the van. The car seats took fifteen minutes of assembly and installation. I looked forward to the day when they would have doors on both sides of the minivan.
Big Bob rode up front with me on the drive over, with Harriet all the way in the back, and the two empty car seats in the middle. The actual pickup was somewhat anticlimactic. Our daughters were asleep the entire time, Marilyn was moving slowly, but she was moving, and her color had improved, and we got everybody wheeled out to the van in a reasonable time. I went off and drove the van back to the front entrance, and the nurses inspected the car seats and loaded us all in. Then we drove home.
Charlie and Dum-Dum greeted us at the door. Charlie wanted Mommy to pick him up, but she had to decline, saying she wasn’t feeling all that well, but she would, soon. Then Marilyn went to our room to use the bathroom and clean up, while I brought our daughters inside. They slept through everything, thank the Lord! When Marilyn returned, she promptly headed for her La-Z-Boy and reclined it. Both Charlie and Dum-Dum climbed up and kissed her, and she survived that, so I pulled Dum-Dum off, and Marilyn hugged and kissed her son back. Then he went wandering, while she rested and chatted with Tessa and her mother.
Marilyn fed the girls one at a time although she alternated sides with them. She just lay there in her recliner with a comforter draped over her while she did this. Her father was a little uncomfortable about it all, but Harriet had seen some of her other daughters-in-law doing this, too. I puttered around making lunch and keeping Charlie busy, although he seemed quite fascinated by it all.
A little after three, an unholy racket erupted in the driveway. Tusker came roaring up with a motorcycle, and when I looked out the front door, I saw that he had a sidecar on the thing, with Bucky strapped in, wearing a helmet and goggles and grinning maniacally. I turned back to the living room and said, “Marilyn, you are going to have to see this to believe it!”
“I’m not moving!” she protested.
“Your loss!”
I held the door open, and Bucky led the way in. “Hi, Uncle Carl! Hi, Aunt Marilyn!” He trooped in without taking off his goggles or helmet. Marilyn’s parents stared at the sight.
“Good Lord! You’ve had him out riding again?” asked Tessa.
“You bet! We’re going to stop by the dirt track on the way home and practice a little more, too!” answered my friend.
“Practice what?” I asked.
“Riding! Bucky’s in his first motocross this Saturday! Want to come out and watch?”
I rolled my eyes. Harriet and Big Bob looked horror stricken. “He’s too young for that!” Harriet protested.
“No he’s not. He’s in the Pee Wee division. He’s pretty good, too. A real natural. Wait until Charlie wants to try!” Tessa just smiled and shook her head.
I groaned at the thought, and Marilyn protested mightily, but I knew better. Charlie idolized his older friend. If Bucky did it, Charlie would have to try. “We’ll see. It’s going to be a few years, though.” I promised to try and make it to the race, but I wasn’t sure if I could, while taking care of Marilyn. If I went, Charlie would want to go, too. Boys and their toys!
Marilyn’s parents stayed until Sunday, allowing Charlie and me to go to Bucky’s first race on Saturday. He did okay, too. He didn’t win, but he made it through each of the various heats, didn’t get hurt, didn’t dump the bike, and finished in the top half of the riders.
Charlie’s eyes were gleaming! I knew what he had in mind! Marilyn was going to kill both Tusker and me!