Mariposa Dulce, a girl with one foot, has know the Madrigal triplets since they were little. Now she's fallen in love with the youngest triplet, Bruno. Will their story be one for the ages?
No lemons, some strong language
I smiled as I looked at my nine month baby bump. "What do you think, Bruno? Boy or girl?"
Bruno smiled. "I'll be happy no matter what."
"What will you name them?" Pepa asked.
"We've decided on a boy's name but we're still figuring out a girl's name," I answered. "I like Sofia."
"I like Maya," Bruno shrugged. "If it's a girl, we'll decide when she's born."
"If I remember correctly," Pepa said curiously, "the names you chose last time both started with L."
"They did," Bruno nodded.
I pulled the old cloth scrap from my pocket. "We decided that choosing different names was for the best. Luna and Lucian are best left with this little scrap and our candle."
"That's so sweet," Pepa smiled.
~~~
"Eat," Julieta said handing me a polvorocas.
Trying my best not to pass out before I saw my baby, I took it. The moment the cookie touched my tongue, I felt renewed. I ate the cookie quickly. "Let me see them."
Julieta nodded and motioned for Bruno to bring them.
Bruno sat beside me on the bed with a bundle in his arms. He offered me the newborn swaddled in a lime green. "She's slept since Pepa swaddled her." He quickly knocked on the wooden headboard.
"Sweet Sofia," I smiled.
"Don't forget her doble," Agustín said, passing me an identical baby girl swaddled in her father's green.
"Dearest Maya," Bruno smiled.
I nodded and smiled. "Beautiful... "
"And," Pepa smiled, "the smallest of all. " She passed me a boy swaddled in my favorite blueish green color.
I smiled at the three children in my arms. "My little Maya, Sofia, and Fernando." I smiled at Bruno. "Look at what we made..."
"They're as beautiful as you, mi cielo."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~ ~ ~
A soft knock came at my room door. "Are you awake?" Alma's voice said quietly.
Bruno looked at me to say if he should answer the door. I nodded and he stood up. He quietly cracked the door. "I am, Mami. "
"If Mariposa's asleep, I'll come back later," Alma said. "I just wanted to meet my gran bebé."
I sighed as I stood up. I couldn't avoid my mother-in-law forever. She'd probably spend all day seeing if I was awake so she could see the children. I picked up my crutches. "Come in quietly, Alma."
"Thank you." Alma entered our room for the first time and followed me to the bassinet.
"Alma," I said, "meet Maya, Sofia, and Fernando."
Alma's eyes went wide at the sight of my unexpected triplets. "Hermosos bebés arco iris..." Alma gasped out quietly to not wake them.
Fernando began to get fussy. I picked him up from between the girls and he grabbed my braid tightly. "Shh... It's okay, Nando..."
Alma smiled at the girls sleeping in the bassinet. "Thank you," she turned around to leave. She paused for a moment in the doorway. "Dinner is in two hours."
I put Fernando down to sleep again. "We're not eating downstairs with your mother tonight."
"I agree, mi cielo," Bruno smiled, turning the lock on our door as the habit had become. "You need to rest." He kissed my forehead.
~~~
I woke to the sound of my babies crying. I sat up with a yawn and picked Fernando out of the bassinet. The girls became less fussy as he left. "It's okay," I said quietly as reached for the bottle of milk he'd refused only twenty minutes earlier.
As the girls stopped wailing I noticed that Fernando's voice was much weaker than his sisters' and he was a good three pounds lighter than the heathy girls.
Bruno sat up suddenly.
I looked at him as I shook the bottle. "It's okay, Bruno. He's just hungry."
Bruno didn't say anything as he scrambled to leave our room in just his boxers.
I raised an eyebrow. "What is he doing?"
Bruno came back as Fernando went quiet. "No no no," he muttered. "Not this time." He threw the lid of a small jar of jam on the bed. He slid his finger in Julieta's homemade jam and put it in Fernando's mouth.
Fernando suddenly wailed loudly again. In my tired stupor, I hadn't noticed before but he had stopped breathing in my arms.
"Oh sweet boy," Bruno sighed as he took our son and his bottle, setting the jam on the night stand. He sat beside me as he tipped the bottle up for Fernando to drink.
I sat, mortified, for a second. My baby boy had nearly died in my arms. I felt tears run down my face as I looked at my empty arms.
"Mariposa?" Bruno asked quietly. "Are you okay?"
I looked at him. "I almost lost him too, Bruno..."
Bruno looked down at the green eyed infant in his arms. He set him back in my arms and I held the Fernando close to my chest as he ate. Bruno wiped the tears from my face. "It's okay, mi cielo. He's still here." Bruno kissed my forehead and picked up the jam jar. He put the lid back on and sighed. "He's not as strong as his sisters."
"Bruno," I sniffled, new tears replacing the old ones as Fernando stared up at me with my own eyes. "We should stay here."
Bruno looked surprised. "Are you sure? It would make my family happy but what about you?"
"It's not about me, Bruno," I said, staring at my beautiful child. "It's about him." I smiled at the bassinet. "And it's about them."
Bruno smiled. "I'll tell Mama in the morning."
I nodded as I kissed Fernando's forehead. I laid the now peacefully sleeping boy between his sisters again. I looked at Bruno with a smile before I laid in his lap. "I love you, mi amor. Don't go..." I began to dose off.
I just managed to hear, "I'm not going anywhere, mi cielo, I promise..."
