The Greatest Gift

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 5 × 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘵

Jaison, Shayne and I ran as fast as we were allowed into our Mom's hospital room. She was in a hospital gown, sitting up in bed. Hs looked at us and smiled big.

"There are my strong boys!" she said.

We ran up to her and hugged her gently.

"Where are the twins?" Jaison said softly.

"Over there," Mom said. "Dad's with them."

We rushed over to the window. Underneath it was two clear plastic bassinets lined with white blankets. The bassinet on the left was holding a tiny baby swaddled in a blue blanket, and the one on the right held a baby swaddled in a pink blanket. Both of the sleeping babies had curly, light blond hair.

I gasped and my heart stopped. My brothers held my hands.

Dad looked at us and smiled. "Do you want to hold them?" he asked.

All three of us nodded.

Jaison go to hold them first.

He sat down in an easy chair that was next to Mom's bed. Dad showed Jaison how to hold the twins and support their heads, then he carefully placed both of the twins in Jaison's arms.

I'd never seen Jaison smile that big.

He kissed the top of both twins' heads. "Wow," he whispered. He sniffed, and his eyed welled up.

"In the moment it was the longest 9 months of my life, but now that you're actually here it seems so short," he whispered to our baby brother. He kissed him again.

"Can I hold them, Jaison?" Shayne asked quietly.

Jaison nodded and handed the twins back to Dad.

Shayne sat down in the chair, and Dad showed him how to hold them before placing them in his arms.

Shayne's eyes filled with tears and he struggled to hold them back. The room was quiet.

"What are you thinking, honey?" Mom asked him with a smile.

Shayne smiled big and let out a half-laugh, half-sob.

"This is amazing," he said. "I can believe I actually..." He blinked back tears. "I actually have baby siblings," he whispered. "This is... amazing." The tears started rolling down his cheeks.

He leaned in close to our baby sister's face. "I love you so stinking much," he whispered.

He looked at me. "Bennet? Do you want to hold them?" he said.

I gulped.

What if I dropped them? What if I didn't hold them right and one if them got hurt? What if they started to cry?

I nodded quickly before I could change my mind.

Shayne smiled and handed the twins to Dad.

I sat down in the chair, Dad showed me how to hold them, then he put them in my arms.

"Meet your new baby brother and sister," Mom said. "Sadie and Conor."

I looked down at their tiny faces. They were so small and delicate and cute—was it possible that they were actually my little siblings? Did this mean I was a big brother now? I wasn't the youngest anymore?

A million thoughts flooded into my mind a once.

I was a big brother.

For my entire life I had watched my big brothers Jaison and Shayne. They had been like my second mom and dad. When I cried, they cheered me up. When I broke something, they fixed it... or tried to. When I got hurt, they carried me into the house and put on a band-aid. They made me snacks. They tucked me in at night. They played with me. And on and on.

If I had a little brother and sister now, did that mean I had to do that, too?

My head was spinning, and in the background I could hear Mom asking if I was doing okay, when all of a sudden a nurse barged into the room carrying a clipboard.

She walked over to the computer in the corner of the room, then stopped when she noticed me sitting and holding Sadie and Conor.

She smiled warmly. "Aww," she breathed. "How cute. You're doing a great job, big brother."

I felt an odd sensation of what felt like pride bloom in my chest. Along with it was protectiveness and love.

Was this what it felt like to be a big brother?

I looked down at the twins again. Conor opened his mouth and yawned.

There was that feeling again.

I kissed him on the forehead.

"Well, what do you think, Ben?" Mom asked.

I smiled. "I love them," I said softly. "A lot."