⇾ 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐄 𝐈'𝐌 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐄𝐃 | 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐌𝐜𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐈

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙮-𝙊𝙣𝙚 ➪ 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙋𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚!

ꕥ August 29, 1969 ꕥ
20 weeks

Paul stared straight ahead at the road. It appeared he was still trying to wrap his head around what we'd just been told. To be fair, I wasn't speaking either. I was just as shocked. The surprise had come out of nowhere. Bella said it explained the faster growing and the now-high hCG levels. She said it explained why I had been so sick and why the sickness had never stopped. It explained so much, yet we hadn't had any previous idea. We just suddenly went from a family of four to a family of...five. God, what in the hell were we going to do?

"Mummy, what does it mean that you're having twins? What are twins?" asked Mary. She was also still trying to fully grasp what had just happened and it seemed she was struggling just as much as us, but for a totally different reason. She didn't know what twins meant. Paul and I did, and that was why we were struggling.

"It means...it means there's two babies in my tummy," I told her, the thought making me quite nauseous. I was going to have to push out two babies. God, one had been hard enough!

"Two?" she asked incredulously. "How do they both fit in your tummy?"

"Well, they're—." I paused. "They're stretching my belly. Making room for themselves."

"Is that what I did when I was in your belly?" she asked.

"Yes, it was," I replied, smiling at her in the mirror.

"So, I get a brudder and a sister?" she asked.

"Yes, you do," Paul said. It was the first time he had spoken in quite a while. He didn't take his eyes off of the road to look at either of us. He still looked shocked and confused as hell.

I stole another quick glance at Mary in the mirror. She leaned her head against the car door, clutching Holly the horse against her chest and closing her eyes. I was glad she was getting some sleep because I felt like I would never sleep ever again.

ꕥ ꕥ ꕥ

I closed Mary's bedroom door behind me as quietly as I could. The boxes containing parts of her new bed were sitting in the hallway. We had planned to put it together today, but we hadn't ever gotten around to it.

Paul was downstairs. I could hear his guitar playing drifting wistfully through the house. He'd been in thinking mode ever since we'd left the doctor's office. He'd barely spoken a word. Quite frankly, I was worried that he was mad about this.

I folded my hands in front of me as I went down the stairs slowly. I listened to the beautiful sounds of his guitar playing all the way until it stopped. When I made it to the doorway, I saw Paul staring forward, his hands falling limp on his lap. He noticed me and looked in my direction. I saw that his eyes were filled with tears and immediately felt a ping of worry.

"Paul—," I began, but he sat the guitar aside and stood up, coming over to me. He took me by the arm and led me right back over to the couch and sat me down. "Are you mad?" I asked quickly.

A tear fell down his cheek as he shook his head. "I'm scared," he said and I felt my own eyes fill with tears. I reached my arms forward and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him towards me. He nuzzled his head against my chest as he cried.

"I'm scared too," I told him. "More than you even fucking know."

"What if I can't handle two babies and Mary?" he asked. "What if I let them down because I'm not enough?"

"Don't say that, Paul," I said.

"No, I'm serious," he insisted.

"No, don't say it," I responded. "You're the best father in the whole world. Mary loves you so much, Paul. Not to mention, you've got the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. If anyone can make room in their heart for three babies, it's you."

Paul pulled away to smile at me and he leaned forward to press his lips against mine, pouring all of the love he had into the kiss, making me know that he was always going to be here for us, no matter what. "Thank you," he said when he pulled away, putting his arms around me as tight as he could. "Thank you so fucking much. I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the greatest mum and the greatest wife in the world. I've never met anyone quite like you, you know that."

"I love you so much," I said to him between my tears.

"I love you too," he responded, wiping my eyes for me. "We're gonna get through this, okay? Together. That's what we're made for, got it?"

I nodded. "I got it."

He paused for a moment, leaning us both against the back of the couch and allowing me to curl up in his warm embrace. "Did you really think I'd be mad?" he asked me, lifting my shirt up so he could place his free hand on my belly.

I shrugged. "You've been quiet ever since we left the doctor's. I was beginning to worry."

"This is about the most over-the-top thing we have ever done," he said suddenly. "One of each?"

"Only us," I responded with a chuckle.

He placed a kiss on my forehead. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"We're outnumbered," I told him quietly. "How does that make you feel?"

"Mildly terrified," he responded honestly.

"I'm pretty tired," I said next. "How about we go up to bed?"

"Tremendous idea," Paul responded. "It's been a long bloody day."

"A hard day's night," I quipped as we made our way upstairs and to our bedroom.

"You've no idea how right you are," he replied.

We both crawled into bed and laid in one another's arms. After a long day, I always looked forward to this. Hell, everyday, I looked forward to this. Curling up as close to Paul as humanly possible was always the highlight of my day. It made me feel so safe. Home was Paul's arms and nothing could ever change that.