Call Your Girlfriend

Part 37: In Which 6 Months Have Passed

"Happy Birthday to You!" We all sing to Luna on my patio. Max helps Luna blow out the candles and I take photos of  them. It's hard to believe that she's one. It feels like it was just yesterday my little munchkin was born. Setting my phone down, I take Elowyn from Vijay and hold her on my hip. At 6 months old, her and Sylas have become quite the pair. I mean since day one they have always had their own personality. Sylas is still the laid back, easy going sweet little boy and Elowyn has proven to be very extroverted and now rather sassy. Max says she gets it from being with me most of the day- but that can't be true.

"Leesy, what are you doing?" I ask the child as she tries to remove her little hair bow. "No, no- baby girl. You leave that in your hair."

Luna starts eating her cake and we watch her. She's so dainty and proper about it. When the icing gets on her hand she holds it up to Max, to clean it off.

"I blame you for this." Max says to me as he wipes her hand.

"What?" I ask and everyone laughs.

"You have made her into a clean OCD baby. Can't ever get dirty." He states and I shake my head.

"She likes to play in the sink. It's my fault she's a lady." He rolls his eyes and Luna continues to grab some cake, eat it and give her hand to Max to wipe it off so she can repeat the whole process. Lauren cuts the other cake for everyone else and Iggy helps hand them out. I look over at Casey, who has Sylas on his lap, just laying back with his pacifier in his mouth and arms behind his head without care. We all sit down to eat cake and chafe and Max comes over to sit by me. "She looks so happy."

I watch Luna. Kapoor has taken over the wiping of her hand and Max just shakes his head slightly.

"She is...what's this peanut up to?"

"Just causing a fuss with her hair bow."

"I told you she wouldn't keep it in. She doesn't like them."

"Yes, I know. But she's going to wear them over my dead body." In six months, Max has not only moved into the house with me, but has also managed to get me my department back at work. Now that I'm department head again, a lot of my days, I have at least one of the twins strapped to my chest for rounds and Max has the other. We tried doing the day long daycare thing with them, but it's usually Elowyn that starts causing a fuss in the nursery, which leads to Luna 'parenting' her. Elowyn definitely has a mind of her own and enjoys making a scene to liven up the room. It's both funny and kind of worrisome. I can't imagine her as a teenager- what kind of problems we may have.

"I don't know why you fight it. It always comes off."

"Because if I give in- then she going to think she's in charge and that's not happening. She's already strong willed as she is. Add the Alpha complex to it and we're going to be having a problem here." I state and he laughs at me.

"She's 6 months old, Helen. She's not going to get the Alpha complex." Raising an eyebrow to him, I shake my head.

"She needs a firm hand and you know that. You let her walk all over you and you're going to learn real quick that you made a mistake."

"Helen's right. Iggy let her boss him around and now, he's the slave and she's the queen with the whip." Lauren states and Max doesn't know if he should laugh or argue with the statement.

"Iggy is a push over for everyone. How can you say no to those beautiful eyes she has?" He asks and takes her from me.

"She knows men are such suckers." I say and Lauren agrees.

"Especially when she bats her little eyelashes. She's going to be president of a major cooperation one day with that sense of attitude."

"Haha, she's going to have every man wrapped around her finger. I mean look at that face. Such attitude and sass." Max looks between us and then at Elowyn, who has already manipulated Max into taking off her bow and rubbing her belly. She loves having her belly rubbed for some reason. It really just relaxes her. "See, already has Daddy doing her bidding."