Red, White, & Royal Pain

3

"Are you nervous?" Henry asked Alex as he walked into the living room. His answer was painfully obvious however, as Alex was tapping his foot at such a rapid pace that even their toddler would say it was going to fall off. His fingertips he noticed, had been chewed on as well. Without waiting for an answer, Henry strode to his husband on the couch and removed his fingers from his mouth. He mentally laughed, realizing they'd have to do that same action in just a few months with a much smaller human and a justified reason.

    "Love," Henry murmured. "There's no reason to be nervous."

    "What if they cry Henry? What if they cry? You know I can't handle seeing them cry. And what if they yell or scream or—"

    "Love, you act like we're telling them we're divorcing or something," Henry calmly spoke again, taking his husband's hands in his. He hated seeing Alex like this; he often did whenever he was stressed about work or family drama or whatever it may be. But Henry knew this was too silly a situation for such a great fuss.

    "Henry, they're going to be okay, happy even," Henry smiled, already able to picture their happy little faces at what they were about to tell them. There's no doubt in Henry's mind that they'd be beyond ecstatic at the news they were to share with them, once they understood what it meant, at least.

    "How do you know? How can you be sure?"

    "Love, are you forgetting how excited Arthur was when we told him about Ella? He was bouncing off the walls, almost quite literally." Henry smiled again at the memory. Almost four years ago was when they told Arthur they would be adopting a baby girl. Henry too had been nervous, just as Alex was now, but the anxiety had subsided as soon as they relayed the news. Arthur's grin was wider than they'd ever seen and he ran around the room cheering about how he'd have a little sister like some of his friends at the preschool did. Though this time, Henry didn't expect him to be just as excited as he was then. He is four years older now, he was sure he'd be happy.

    "What about Ella?" Henry would be lying if he were to say he wasn't a tad worried about how Ella would take the news. The toddler loved attention and always seemed to crave it whenever her fathers were in the room, whether it be making them have tea parties with her or even fake crying just so one of her dad's would scoop her up and cuddle her. Alex and Henry never understood why she'd resort to crying, however; they'd cuddle her whenever, without such a dramatic act.

    "Ella will be okay, Arthur's excitement will without a doubt rub off on her if she isn't initially." That much Henry was sure of.

    "Okay." Alex took a shaky breath. "Let's do it now."

    "You sure?"

    "You just gave me tons of reasons why I should be sure so yes, yes I am sure." Henry chuckled and exited his room to retrieve the children from the playroom.

    He could do this, he mentally repeated. He's done this before and he could do it again. He'd said it like a mantra at this point. And he'd also be lying if he were to say his mantra was strictly about telling the kids and not the whole fact of having a newborn. But for the moment, he had a different matter at hand.

    "My loves," Henry spoke as he stood in the doorway of the playroom. "Daddy and I have something to tell you, can you come with me?" Arthur stood up and grabbed onto Henry's hand but Ella stayed seated, "Only if we have a tea party after." Henry chuckled at his demanding, stubborn, and probably worthy of about twenty other adjectives taught to her by Alex, toddler. But nonetheless he replied, "Of course sweetheart, after." Satisfied, Ella stood up and took Henry's other hand as he walked them in the living room.

    Upon entering the living room, Ella dropped Henry's hand and ran to Alex, nuzzling into his side to which he wrapped an arm around her as Henry and Arthur walked to the couch and sat beside them.

    "We have something important to tell you,"Alex breathed, sitting up straight.

    "What is it?" Arthur asked, staring up at his dads. Henry grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed before speaking, "Well, I guess I'm just going to come right out and say it; we'll be adopting a new baby in a few months!"

    Silence. Silent, yet deafening. And then, as if sinking in, Arthur's eyes widened with a smile identical to the one plastered across his cheeks when they announced they'd be adopting Ella. "Really?" The boy gasped.

    "Really," Henry smiled.

    "Ellie, do you know what this means?" Arthur spoke with excitement, turning towards his sister who shook her head 'no' in return.

    "Well Elle, it means—"

    "I want to tell her, Daddy!" Arthur cheered before speaking to Ella, "We're getting a baby brother or sister."

    Ella's blue eyes widened, "A baby?"

    "A baby!"

    "We're having a baby?" She asked, clearly quite confused by the concept, tilting her little head slightly and narrowing her eyes. Henry, Alex, and Arthur laughed at this as Alex explained, "Not exactly, honey. Daddy and I are adopting a little baby who doesn't have a better home and he or she will be your new sister or brother. Just like Arthur, but this one will be younger."

    Alex and Henry anxiously waited as Ella processed this before she cheered, "A baby sister or brother!"

    "Yes, a baby sister or brother," Alex confirmed, hugging her tightly. With his kids smiling, Alex happy as ever, Henry was complete.

Story 4 coming soon!!