What He Left (Hannily)

16: Everything Is Okay

Emily's POV

I've only been out of the hospital for four days and being a parent is already a huge struggle.
First of all, I haven't slept since the night the twins we're born, and they're one week old.
Second, I still have to do school work online and it's just extra stress piled on top of motherhood.
Hanna's extremely helpful though, if I didn't have her around I would've broken into my mother's alcohol cabinet by now.
I'm breastfeeding Quinn when I get a call.
"Ezra?" I answer, confused.
"Emily, hello. I just wanted to ask how you were doing?" He wonders.
"Oh, Ezra I'm doing amazing. They're the sweetest things I've ever come in contact with. I'm very happy." I tell him.
"That's wonderful. I'm very happy for you." He says excitedly. "Hey, I was actually going to ask you something before you know... you went into labor. Since I know how much you need the money, and you aren't able to work right now, would Hanna be interested in taking your position here at the Brew?" He offers generously.
"Oh wow, Ezra you don't have to do that." I try, but he insists.
"No, really. I know how hard it can be to raise a child by myself, let alone two. I want to do this." He says personally.
"Well thank you so much. I'll definitely talk to Hanna about it and get back to you." I say and we hang up.
After Quinn is finished eating I lay her and Oliver down for a nap. We don't have any baby furniture yet, but my mother has already scheduled a baby shower in four days. I couldn't be more excited about that.
So, in the mean time I just lay them out on my bed and keep the door open so I can hear if they start crying.
Hanna walks in the door from shopping, and she has tons of bags hanging from her arms.
"Jesus Christ Hanna, where did you get all that money?!" I interrogate her as she carries her bags upstairs. "No, you cannot take them in my room, the twins are asleep." I stop her from possibly smothering my children with her shopping bags.
"Okay, well where can I put them?" She asks, struggling to hold the weight anymore. I take a few to help her out and we go down to the living room.
"So, what is all this stuff? Clothes? Accessories?" I ask, nudging the huge pile of bags Hanna created.
"Mostly clothes, some accessories, purses, purfumes, lots of makeup, few pair of shoes." She says nonchalantly.
"My question from earlier still stands, where in the hell did you get all this money?"
"Em, my mother is a lawyer. Put two and two together." She laughs and so do I.
"Does that mean you won't ever need a job?" I hint.
"Of course not. I can't mooch off my mom for the rest of my life." She says.
"Great! Well you have a job on lock already!" I reveal.
"What?"
"Well, Ezra called me today. He said he knows how much we need the money so he offered you my position at the Brew." I explain.
"Em! That's great! Of course I'll take the job! Wow, he's so nice!" She says, amazed. Honestly I was too.
So I tell Ezra and he's ecstatic that he has a new worker to mingle with.

*Day of the baby shower*

Today was supposed to be Hanna's first day of work, but because my mom organized the shower for Wednesday, Ezra is giving her the day off.
At 7AM, my mother comes into my room and wakes me up. Like always, it's a struggle to get out of bed because I fell asleep at 3 o'clock due to the twins.
But hey, I love the feeling of being able to take care of them and help them when they're upset.
"Honey, we need to go to the venue and finish setting up the decorations. The shower is in three hours. And Hanna will be over in a few minutes." She wakes me and I slowly drag myself out of my bed.
"Do you want me to get-" My mom starts.
"I'll take care of them." I say somewhat defensively. I can't really help it, my maternal instincts are super heightened and I don't know why. The doctor says that happens after mothers give birth, the connection with their child is at it's peak.
"Okay. Your breakfast is downstairs, I have to run down to the office for a few minutes to turn in some assignments that are due to my boss. I'll be back in about a half an hour to pick you and Hanna up." She says and kisses my forehead before leaving.
I change both of the twins' diapers, surpisingly without any fuss.
Then I feed Oliver, who was clearly the most hungry. After that, Quinn.
I burp them, then get them dressed up for the shower.
My mother bought outfits specifically for the event, and they are the most adorable things I have ever seen.
For Quinn, a soft lilac dress with beautiful white roses all over it, matching booties, and a matching headband.
For Oliver, a pair of dark denim jeans and a royal blue button down with the cutest little gray tie fastened around his neck. His feet have black and shiny dress shoes on them with teensy white socks.
They're the most adorable humans known to man. I take almost all of my time getting them ready that I barely have time to get dressed myself.
I wear my favorite emerald green, velvet dress that goes with my brown boots and scarf. I throw my hair up into a neat ponytail and curl it, then apply a nice amount of makeup and perfume.
In the middle of all my hustle and bustle, Hanna gets to my house and she's all done up.
"You look so gorgeous!" I compliment her as she plops down on my bed.
"Not as gorgeous as the kids look! Oh my god, they're going to be very attractive adults." She says approvingly.
I laugh and agree completely.
I put together a bag for each baby and pack diapers, wipes, a bottle of water, toys, a blanket, and an extra outfit for both babies.
A few moments later, my mom pulls up and honks from out front.
Hanna grabs Ollie and I grab Quinn, and we walk outside and place them both in the car seat my mother saved from when I was born. They're both small enough to fit inside and be able to be strapped in.
Just in case, I made Hanna sit next to them and hold her arm over their abdomens so if we heavily break or, worst case scenario, crash, they'll be safe.
When we arrive to the venue, all of the girls are already here and waiting for us. We go inside and look at the decorations we have up so far, and we start adding on to them immediately. I periodically stop to take care of the twins, thankfully I packed those bags.
After almost three hours of sweaty decorating we finish an people start showing up.
A lot of my old friends from school and family members show up. The pile of gifts start piling up and I try to be humbly excited. But truth is, I can barely contain my glee.
I make polite conversation with some people and then catch up with some people who I haven't seen for a while.
Eventually I start opening my gifts while my adorable children lay on the decorative couch next to me.

An hour and a half later, and about four baby breakdowns (all taken care of thanks to my mother) all of my gifts are opened.
I received the following:
• two new car seats, purple and green
• a crib that separates into two as the kids get older, then turn into toddler beds
• plenty of blankets that vary in texture and color
• hundreds of outfits and accessories
• a double stroller with cup holders and lots of storage space
• a play pen
• a swing that vibrates and plays music
• lots of cute baby toys, teething rings, rattles, etc.
• two homemade picture frames with the baby's names engraved on the border, and their birth dates (September 28th, 2015)
• tons and tons of bottles, pacifiers, diapers, baby powder, shampoo, lotion, hair and toothbrush sets, and all the other cleanliness necessities
• a double changing table with six drawers
• new diaper bags
• a breast pump, and bags to freeze the milk in to save for later use
• a gift card for baby furniture and decor (paint, wall decorations, nursing chairs, curtains, etc.)
• a nursing pillow
• baby monitors with audio and video monitoring
• a variety of baby books and movies
• a baby carrier that you can wear on your front or back
• last but not least, a few outfits for me as well as parenting and relaxation books, just what I need

I feel myself starting to get emotional as I look at my children, and all the people that are here to support me and my kids.
Hanna comes over and starts playing with the babies as everyone starts coming over and speaking to me.
The event ends, and we start shipping all of the gifts to the house and getting them set up.
We drive to the house and it gives me a chance to use the new car seats. I can't wait to get inside and start building the crib, and the changing table, and just enjoy all of the babys' new things.
As soon as we arrive, we haul every last box inside and up to the vacant, future nursery.
I immediately start building the crib and once I start, I can't stop.
I sort out the parts and read the manual to figure out what goes where. Before I know it, I built a crib and now I'm moving on to the changing table. I do the same thing and soon enough, I have a changing table. After that, the play pen.
I set them where I think they would look best and then I stand back to admire my work. In the middle of my admiration, my stomach growls loudly and I wipe my forehead.
I didn't even realize how exhausted I've become.
I jog downstairs and my mother and Hanna are rocking the babies while chatting amongst themselves.
"Well, Bob the Builder has finally emerged from his workshop." Hanna teases and I stick my tongue out at her.
"Hey, I got a lot done. Only downside is I'm starving and sweaty and tired. But if my babies have a bed to sleep in, it's worth it." I shrug and head into the kitchen to get dinner. Pasta, chicken, and green beans.
Hanna sits next to me at the bar with my daughter in her arms.
"So Emily," my mother starts as she begins to wash the dishes, "what color are you thinking for the baby's room?" She inquires.
"Well I was thinking a neutral color, like a soft gray. It would go great with the dark oak furniture." I propose.
She nods in approval and Hanna makes a noise.
"Gray? Em, that's so tired." She laughs.
"Oh really?" I challenge, "What would you suggest?"
"I was thinking a baby green and the trim would be a dark brown, matching the furniture. We could make it jungle themed, and have paintings of animals, trees, vines, and all the other jungle related stuff." She says with her adorable face she wears when she's talking about a plan, or the future. Eyes slightly squeezed shut, talking with her hands, a concentrated crease in her brow.
She's so damn attractive.
"That could work to. Sounds much more exciting than my idea." I laugh and she disagrees sarcastically.
I finish eating and my mom finishes the dishes, so I feed the twins and put them to bed in their new room.
They lose consciousness almost immediately. I can tell they're already happy with the new bed, as opposed to the makeshift beds we made for them out of throw pillows, and very fluffy blankets.
I stand next to the crib for a few minutes and admire the pure beauty of my children. I feel my eyes start to droop and my muscles start to go a little weak.
I head down the hall to my room where Hanna has already fallen asleep. I climb under the covers behind her and wrap one of my arms around her waist, gently pulling her towards me.
I revel in her warmth and inhale her naturally sweet scent.
I could get used to falling asleep like this.