The guys painted it a gorgeous sky blue and added clouds. There was even a plane hidden away up there. The decorations ranged from animals to vehicles to musical instruments.
Nothing gender-specific. Pink had never been my favorite color, but I didn’t want all blue or all pink or even the more gender neutrals of all green. I wanted colorful, thoughtful, and personality-filled.
Not that the baby would care at first. Everything I’d read said the first few months the baby would need us more than anything else. I couldn’t wait to meet him or her. The doctor who had done the ultrasound, she knew.
We voted three to two to wait.
Poor Jake and Archie, it was killing them, but they’d agreed that the majority ruled on this one, and it wasn’t until we voted that it even occurred to me I kind of wanted to be surprised.
“Next time,” I promised them, and they’d both brightened up. “Next time, we’ll find out early.” I mean, I was the swing vote. Coop and Ian had only laughed.
Still, it was getting closer every day, and I couldn’t wait to meet them.
February
My back ached, and the baby was tap dancing on my bladder. With a lot more ease than my ungainly body suggested, I slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I swore I had to pee like every other hour.
It was ridiculous. Needed to go somewhere? Go to the bathroom and tinkle before leaving. As soon as I got there, find a bathroom, because I’d need to tinkle again. It was hard to explain to the guys how awful it was to need to pee so badly, and then it was just all drip, drip, drip.
I was starting to wonder if the bump had left me anything remotely resembling a bladder anymore.
Ian was sitting up when I came back out of the bathroom, and I sighed. “Sorry,” I whispered. I was too achy to lay back down, so he got up and brushed a kiss to my head. Jake and Coop were still out. Archie wasn’t in here, but maybe he had crashed in his room.
No, we found him downstairs in the kitchen with work spread out on the dining table. He gave us a guilty look when we came down. “Crap, did I wake you up?”
“The bump,” Ian and I said at the same time. As it was, I didn’t want to sit but needed to pace. In a little while, the bump would settle, but currently, they were acting like I had trampolines instead of internal organs.
Archie fixed me tea while I paced, then he and Ian discussed the engine issues that Jake and Archie had been having.
“Anthony?” I suggested.
They both paused to glance at me. “Not bad, not loving it though,” Archie said. “What about Andrew?”
“Could be—I dunno—Archibald?” Ian suggested, and we both gave him a look, but he raised his hands. The decision to name our children with the initial of their biological father was an idea that I’d just clung to. I liked it. They were all the dads. They were all excited and doing their various reading.
They’d be great fathers. They took turns going to appointments with me. Someone was always around if I needed assistance. I never had to get up in the middle of the night alone. When I got horny—they’d even taken to tag-teaming to give everyone time to recover.
They were hilarious when they talked about going for the gold. Still, it was nice that they took my needs so seriously. We had “I” names and “C” names. The J names weren’t being as cooperative, though I did love the name Jennifer. The guys weren’t as fond. The “A” names were proving a lot harder than I imagined.
Baby Bump, I said mentally as I continued to pace in time with their bouncing. You need to settle down because you have more energy than all of us.
It would be a bit yet. Eight, maybe nine weeks. We were firmly in the third trimester. The doctor promised to do the paternity test immediately after the birth. Bump would have a day or two just being Bump, but then we had to have a name ready.
March
Jake worked his thumbs into my lower spine, and I wanted to cry. It felt so damn good. We’d finally found the secret to letting me get more sleep. Bump settled right down as soon as one of them had a hand on my stomach. Especially if they talked to the bump while they did it.
Granted, I slept better with their hands on me too. “Right there,” I said with a groan as he found a particularly stubborn muscle.
“You did too much today,” he said in a gentle, if accusing tone. “Aren’t you supposed to be cutting back at the office?”
“Today was the day for me to hand off a few of my responsibilities,” I admitted. “Eddie came in to supervise, and trust me, he was fussier than you guys about the number of breaks. But it also made the day last so much longer.”
And I hadn’t had the heart to tell Eddie he was making it worse. The man had been over the moon from the day we told him. I swore, he and Hank had found even more reasons to bond as they took bets on which of them could get the baby’s sex out of us.
So far, neither was winning. Archie suspected that his dad would bribe our obstetrician, so he got a promise out of him to not do that.
They were insane.
“He means well,” Jake said gruffly.
“I know. And your mom called this morning. They’re working out a calendar so they can all come for various weeks that will give us backup with the baby.”
Jake chuckled. “Mom’s dying to come and take care of you. So are Carly and Sara. I have a feeling they would have been here already if they didn’t think it would be smothering.”
I laughed. “First grandchild,” I said. “They are going to be insufferable.”
“In the best way,” Jake agreed as he eased me back to lay against him. Arms wrapped around me, he settled his palms on my belly and began to rub in gentle circles. “Now, Bump is going to nap, and so are you. Dinner will be another hour.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
“You guys are going to be the best fathers,” I told him as I yawned. “You already are.”
Best fathers.
Best husbands.
Best friends.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ALMOST SIX YEARS AFTER THE WEDDING…
ARCHIE
By late April, we were all ready for the bump to arrive. Frankie’s appointments were now weekly, and she still went out for daily walks. Through mutual consent, we scheduled for one of us to be with her or at least close by at all times.
Frankie appreciated the company, but she also got irked if we hovered. So, we split the difference. Today was my day, and I’d come with her to the appointment, sat in the chair while the doctor did her exam and then told her we were still on target for a few more weeks.
That was it.
For some reason, that irritated the shit out of me. I wanted more definitive answers. I wanted actual dates. The doctor, as she had said numerous times before—we really should compensate her for how many times I’d asked—said that the bump would be here when the bump was ready.
Some of my frustration must have shown because Frankie gripped my hand as we were stepping out of the doctor’s office. It was a beautiful day, sunny, breezy, and not too cold. Though Frankie barely noticed the chill at the moment.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested and I frowned. “Before you tell me it’s too far or you don’t want me to overdo it or any of the dozen other reasons I can see you listing in your mind—it’s a beautiful day, I’m with my husband, Bump is actually quiet, and I want to just take a walk together.”