No More No More

Wait... What

All of us waited impatiently for just about forever.  Honestly–that was the longest ten minutes I've ever endured.  Joe continued to try to get me to kiss him, Steven and the girl continued kissing, and Brad and Tom devoured their last cheeseburger.  Finally, the nurse called us all back.

        "I suppose I should've asked this earlier..." she muttered to herself as we made our way down a long, sterile hallway filled with the muffled crying of babies and screaming of women.  The nurse tried to make small talk.  "Which one of you is the father?"

        Tom and Brad chuckled, Joe gave my suddenly sweat-slick hand a squeeze before answering, "None of us," with an easy smile.

        The nurse frowned.  "Mr. Kramer?" she asked uncertainly, pointing at a door–probably the room they were in.  Joe shook his head with another smirk.  "Who, then?" she asked.  Tom and Brad shook their heads with a shrug and stifled laughter.

        The nurse knocked twice before leading us inside.  "Be prepared to pay up, my friend," Brad said to Tom.

        The nurse paused with her hand on the doorknob, suddenly weary.  We were nearly there... "I feel like I should tell y'all–everything was okay, but there was a slight problem.  It's being taken care of right now, though.  Everything'll be fine."

        She leads us inside.  Joey and Mrs. Muse stare in amazement at the little tiny life form in Julia's skinny arms.  We all freeze too.

        "Oh..." Brad starts.

        "My..." I continue breathlessly.

     "Dammit!" Tom stays loudly, getting an evil stare from Mrs. Muse and the nurse.  Brad laughs menacingly, taking Tom's five dollars.  He'll get the rest of his winnings later–you can't exactly give that stuff out in a hospital.

        "Shut up or you'll make him cry!" Julia hissed to Tom.

        "Do you have a name?" Julia's teary-eyed mother asked.

        Julia put a hand on Joey's arm–wait a minute...–and nodded.  She looked into his clear-blue eyes and smiled weakly.  What is with those two?  "Michael."  Hmm... Joseph Michael Kramer... Michael Adam Muse... And as if things couldn't get more confusing, suddenly Joey was holding Michael and a doctor was carrying another baby out of a separate room.  He handed the baby off to the nurse, and the nurse–with a smile–gave the baby to Julia.  This one was much tinier than Michael.  That must've been the problem: the second baby being too tiny.  Oh, and that there was a second fuckin' kid!

        Joey grinned down at Julia and the tiny baby in her arms.  "Wait what's that one then?" Brad asked.

        "Twins," Julia giggled tiredly.  "This one's..."  She paused, looking at Joey.  He smiled sheepishly, giving Julia a little nod.  Why the hell is she consulting him?  "Jessica."

        "Boy and girl?" Tom asked, voice full of delight.  Julia nodded.  "So that means..."

        Brad frowned.  "It means..."  He tries to think of an excuse, but comes up with nothing.  "Dammit."  He gives Tom his five dollars back with a sigh.  He turns to Joe and me.  "Annie," he says seriously, "don't have twins so that I don't loose."  I blink, too stunned to laugh off the ridiculous comment.  Joe looks at me through the corner of his eyes with an eyebrow cocked.  I do my best to ignore him and eventually he looks away.

--

Julia stays the night at the hospital with her babies, mom, and Joey.  Steven and the bimbo left in his car so Tom and Brad rode home with Joe and me in Joe's car.