Against All Odds

Chapter Thirty-Two

Crying wakes me from the nap I had been taking. My eyes automatically blink open, the sun shining light throughout the room. The clock on the nightstand tells me that it is a few minutes shy of two in the afternoon. I had come up here over three hours ago, so the crying from the living room makes sense. The boys are probably starving.

Sure enough, the door to the bedroom is being cracked open, the crying getting louder. Ollie looks sheepish as he looks at me, both boys laying on his chest.

"Sorry to wake you, love, but I think the Ezra and Ellery are hungry." He walks over to the bed, carefully climbing up next to me. "You know how they refuse the bottle."

"So stubborn," I say, words coming out raspy from sleep. Grabbing the handy pillow that Virginia had bought us, I get it situated. Once I'm ready, Ollie set the boys down.

Ellery is crying his little heart out, eyes scrunched in his wailing. Ezra is just letting out little whimpers, gnawing on his fingers. It takes a bit of maneuvering, but eventually, both boys are latched, the room suddenly quiet. Ellery is still having some trouble with his latch, despite being a month old, and I have to pull his bottom lip a bit, making it more comfortable for both of us.

"Can you hand me my water, please?"

Ollie nods his head, leaning over to grab my water bottle. "How was your nap?"

Finishing off the bottle, I set it down on the bed. "Great. Thanks for taking care of them, love."

Ollie just rolls his eyes. "I'm their Opa. It's no problem for me to watch them on my own while you take a nap." His fingers brush over Ellery's head, causing the baby to whine, before moving to do the same to Ezra, who is already dozing. "But, it is nice to have help." He looks up at me then. "I wish I could stay home longer."

"You're not going back until November, Ollie. That's six months. By then, I can bring the boys with me to the coffee shop, so don't be making yourself feel guilty for having to go back to work."

He sighs. "I know, I know. I just don't want you to feel overwhelmed."

With my free hand, I tangle my fingers in his hair, pulling him down to plant a soft kiss on his lips. "It's bound to happen sometime, to both of us, especially with two babies. But we'll be fine. Our main stressor is gone, anyway."

Predictably, Ollie tenses at the mere mention of Aaron. "His court date is coming up."

"Do you want to go?"

His eyes meet mine. "No. Do you?"

Smiling, I look down at my babies. "No. I don't ever want to see him again. I just want to enjoy my family."

Ollie is smiling too. "Me too, love." He leans back against the headboard. "Besides, the police already got our statements, and Nico says that the case is pretty cut and dry. They won't need us to come speak at court."

"Good."

We are both silent for a while, the only sounds being Ezra and Ellery as they eat. They are both so different already, it astounds me. Ellery is so particular, only falling asleep when laid on your chest, and only eating small bits at a time. Despite being a month old, his hair is already wild, curling around his ears. His eyes are still the newborn blue, but they seem to be lightening.

Ezra, however, is a rather calm baby, going with the flow. Sometimes, we even have to wake him up to eat, since he will sleep for long periods of time. His hair is much thinner than his brothers, meaning that it most likely will be straight when he gets older.

My love for them is overwhelming, and I find my heart skipping a beat whenever I look at them. They are just so perfect. Despite refusing their bottles and waking us up at all hours, I am ever grateful that I get to be their Oma.