Immediately following the Holiday weekend, my friend Bob and I made the trip to Kemptville and picked up the Canadiens. It was a one-day trip, but still a long one. We already had the other horses moved up from Bob's the week before. It was a good year for green growth, and there was lots of pasture. We corralled the Canadiens for a couple days until they got used to the other three horses, then let them loose. They settled in and soon acted as if they'd been born on the place. We would spend this year training them to harness, and start our breeding programme the following year.
The rest of May was taken up with closing the deal on the old cottage and coming to grips with our emotions regarding Carol and Riekie's father. Although we accepted his apology and forgave him, we still had twenty years of anguish and heartache to deal with. I remember telling Carol in September that although she was basically healed at that time, she still had twenty years of carrying the burden, and she wouldn't recover from that over night. Riekie and I were no different, with our own twenty-year loads of emotional baggage.
We realized our acceptance of Bob Sr.'s apology and our forgiveness of him was our opportunity for closure on that very painful time of our lives. But... for us to fully have that, we had to permit ourselves the luxury of closure. Diane's experience and loving support helped us a great deal. Of even greater significance and benefit was the total unconditional love we shared among all four of us, our complete openness, and our friendship.
This experience just showed us the benefit and importance of those long, emotionally draining talks on the way home from Calgary. It took awhile, and several sessions of mutual tears, but we finally came fully to grips with our past, and were granted final closure. Bob Sr. would never be our friend, but he was no longer the enemy. For Carol and Riekie, it allowed them to be able to once again look at some of the fond memories they had of their father and their family when they were very young without them being coloured by the trauma of their teenage years. We did feel lighter, and our already bright outlook on the future brightened even more.
Although just three weeks from her due date by the end of May, and as big as you'd imagine from carrying twins, Carol was still very horny. Her lovemaking was loud, wet, and wanton. Riekie and Diane were also very 'amorous', with hardly a night going by I wasn't making love to at least one, and often all of them.
We had all taken to the Kegel exercises like ducks to water, and the results in our lovemaking were mind-bending to me to say the least. Riekie's muscle control, always phenomenal, became even more so. What she could do to Rascal Sweet Prince while he rutted inside Sweet Mrs. Pussy was indescribably delicious! She could make me cum with hardly a stroke from me, and my orgasms, always intense with these three nymphs, went completely off the scale for volume and especially force of ejaculate. After claiming they felt me squirt harder than ever into them, and despite their mutual contention that hand jobs wasted His Precious Stuff, the girls performed one occasionally just to see how far I could shoot! My already excellent love life had never been better!
May rolled into June. The Spring Prom was the first weekend in June. We made a point of driving down to watch all the young men and ladies in their formal finery as they made their grand entrances to the hall. They were handsome and lovely, and so full of hopes and dreams, but they looked so young! Was that what we looked like that wonderful night twenty years before? We returned home from watching the Prom arrivals somewhat subdued, but still happy in the promise of our own future.
The weather that June was idyllic. Rain, when it came, fell at night, watering the gardens and lawns without interrupting work during the day. The pasture was lush, and the hay crop looked like a bumper year.
Carol was a peach. Big as she was, she kept her spirits up. I'd heard a lot of horror stories about women going through crazy hormonal changes during pregnancy, but she was wonderful — no wild cravings (except for sex, maybe... ), no mood swings, or anything negative. She was the picture of contented beautiful woman through her entire pregnancy. Her skin glowed and her hair became even more beautiful — thick, rich, and luxuriant. She was as 'big as a house', but never complained she looked ugly as so many do. Her breasts grew a full bra size larger, but not disproportionate to her body, and her nipples were very sensitive. She wouldn't let us baby her, and maintained as normal life as possible.
Diane and Riekie were both in their sixth month, and both showed quite large as well, especially Riekie, also carrying twins. Like Carol, they didn't experience any strange hormonal excesses except to be extra horny. All three wanted to be pregnant, and accepted the negatives with it. All my wives looked extremely sexy, to me anyway. I wouldn't be slightly biased would I?
During the first part of June we finished the nursery. It was already decorated, and simply lacked furnishings to handle five new babies. Diane and I already had a crib and changing table. We got four more cribs and two changing tables to match. We put two cribs and one changing table in our room for newborns and the rest in the nursery. It was a little cramped, but would only be needed until we moved into the new house.
And... like all expectant mothers, Carol had been busily 'nesting', building up a layette for the twins. It seemed every time she and her co-wives went to town or one of the nearby small cities on their not-too frequent shopping trips (I'm a guy — frequent shopping means more than once every six months!), she came home with another load of things for the babies or the nursery. I will say, though, that she concentrated on practical things. Having three 'grandmothers' helped, too — Mom, Pie and Jo were always buying some 'little' thing they just knew the babies would need. And of course, this was reciprocated on Jo, such that Dad and Paul complained to me about lack of storage space for all Jo's layette.
The shopping excursions weren't just for Carol to make baby acquisitions either — there were two other gravid ladies nesting too! For me, we couldn't move into the new house with all its extra storage soon enough, as all the baby paraphernalia they acquired threatened to overload the current house by sheer volume.
The night after the Prom, Mom called the girls and asked them to come over and wouldn't take 'No' for an answer. When they got there, Carol (and the other two!) was surprised with a baby shower. Of course I knew of the preparations, helping Mom with the guest list for this surprise party, but Diane and Riekie didn't. It was a party specifically for Carol — their turns would come. Because of their empathy, Mom had kept the arrangements secret from those two, as she didn't want them to give anything away in a moment of unguarded thought or excitement.
Carol didn't have that many friends in the area, having lived away for so long (there were some old school chums she'd re-established relations with since that day in January we met so many folks while shopping) but the guest list was still quite large. Val managed to sneak up from Montreal without Carol's knowledge, and Patty was there as well. Karen couldn't make it, but sent Mom the money and specific instructions on what gift she was to buy for her. As Carol's best friend, Joanne was Mom's co-hostess. Judy was there, as was Julie Brown. The wives of our legal team members were in attendance as well, and all of my cousins and aunts. I don't know where Mom found room for all those ladies in her home. There were over fifty of them!
My youngest sister, Joan was the surprise guest. She made one of her very infrequent visits home, just to attend this special party and meet My Wives for the first time. She knew Diane well, but had never met Carol or Riekie. She talked regularly on the phone with Mom and Heather, and had been kept up-to-date, but never experienced us 'in the flesh' as it were. Joan and My Wives hit it off with an instant chemistry, and just maybe it would give Joan a little incentive to visit home more often...
From all reports, Carol was totally delighted, once she recovered from the surprise. As if we weren't already becoming lost in a pile of baby things, Carol made out like a bandit with gifts from the guests. Notable amongst them was Karen's, a sturdy double stroller designed just for twins. The aunts got a large play pen, and Mom got her a beautiful rocking chair to match the one she got for Diane when Jenny was born. The other ladies literally 'showered' her with a myriad of baby clothes and infant toys. Storage space was becoming a premium, and of course, we still had showers for Diane and Riekie to look forward to.
Progress on the house was well ahead of schedule, thank the Goddess. With what the girls were acquiring, the spare room was filled almost to capacity, with little room for guests if we had to put them up! We needed the planned storage of the new house, and we needed it yesterday. The crew bought into our Zero Defect policy wholeheartedly, and went 'the extra mile' to ensure things were done correctly, frequently staying a little longer so a particular job was completed before going home. They fell in love with My Girls, and as they began to show more and more, were very solicitous of their well-being. With the structure basically closed in, work on the interior, the slowest part of the job, continued. The sub- trades moved in to do their jobs — electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. There were constant meetings with the crew and site foreman on appliances, colour schemes, and fine points of decorating.
Mid-month, the weather turned exceptionally warm, in the first heat wave of the year. The girls, carrying all that extra weight, became quite uncomfortable, but kept their spirits up. The were just so happy to be expecting babies, there was little that could discourage them, although Carol was so close that when the heat came, she wished she would come to term. She only had another week to go, so 'grinned and bore it'.
On the twenty-first, even though it was a Saturday, Diane, Riekie, and I were at the job site right after lunch attending yet another site meeting. Jo, showing quite large at six months herself, was keeping company with Carol because she was so close. A few days earlier, Carol's breasts had begun leaking a clear, yellowish viscous fluid Riekie called 'colostrum' so we knew she was getting very near. We all felt 'antsy' all day, and Carol said she felt 'heavy' with a pressure as if she constantly had to have a bowel movement, and a back ache, symptoms I remembered Diane having with Rhiannon and Jenny.
We didn't really want to be away from the house because it was Carol's official due date, especially since her symptoms said she was due within hours. If the contractor hadn't insisted he had only this day for this particular meeting and would keep it short, we probably would have taken Carol into the hospital sooner. Suddenly both My Girls flinched, grimaced in pain and grabbed my arm to steady themselves. Their mind-meld speech let me know what was happening:
Diane: "Ow! Jeez! David! Carol Anne..."
Riekie: "Needs us! It's started!"
Together: "We have to get to her NOW!"
I had been anticipating something soon, so I knew exactly what the girls were talking about. We took another ten minutes to wrap up the meeting and then quickly excused ourselves. We started back to the house just as Jo came to the door and called for us. We hurried home as quickly as the two pregnant ladies allowed. As we neared the house, they both stopped and grimaced again. Damn! Carol's first delivery, and the contractions were that close together already?
We had wanted a home birth, but the potential difficulty of delivering twins forced us to opt for the hospital. Because things can happen more quickly than anticipated, we took advantage of a new policy of the hospital. We pre-registered Carol and the other two so that when we arrived, hopefully with a warning phone call to allow the delivery team to assemble, we would not have to waste time filling out endless forms and answering questionnaires. Pre-registration also allowed us to name in advance who we wanted present as coaches, and set in place an automatic response at the hospital when we called.
We ran into the house. Carol was on the couch in the living room, her face flushed and obviously strained from the contractions. We had a well practiced drill — Riekie timed the contractions (Not hard to do when she and Diane were experiencing sympathetic ones) and called the hospital. She told them we were coming in, who we were bringing and why, the timing of the contractions, and how long we'd be. She asked the hospital to call Doc.
While Riekie and Diane got Carol to her feet and ready to move, I retrieved the pre-packed travel bag from the hall closet, threw it in the van and opened the big side door to receive her. Jo called my parents and apprised them Carol was in labour and we were taking her to the hospital. Then she called Joanne and let her know, too. We used the van because of the wide side door for easier access. To make it easier for Carol to step up I had made a small wooden step.
When I returned to help Carol out to the vehicle, she was able to walk unassisted and climbed into the van with less difficulty than expected. We had pre-arranged that all three of us and Mom were coaches, and would be present. Riekie had her camera, and would document the whole birth. This had caused some consternation with Doc Hackett when we said we were going to do it (He thought the camera was unsanitary, and four coaches would crowd the room.), but we had prevailed. I think Riekie's arguments carried more weight, especially when she threatened to withdraw her services from his office. Doc had gotten too used to having his extra time off...
I drove, the girls in back with Carol, comforting her and timing her contractions. We arrived at the hospital with her contractions down to four minutes. Diane and Riekie managed to 'disconnect' from the mind meld with Carol so they could function without the distraction of sympathetic contractions.
Thanks to the pre-registration, the hospital staff was ready and waiting. They got her on a gurney and wheeled Carol straight to the birthing room, a large, airy room decorated in friendly colours. Gone are the days when delivery rooms looked more like operating theatres, thank the Goddess. Doc arrived within a few minutes.
Carol was prepped and Diane and Riekie helped her change into a gown; I don't know where she had it stashed, but the girls knew, apparently, because they dressed her in the old football jersey I gave her twenty years before. She looked absolutely radiant and gorgeous in that faded red jersey with the big gold '69' on front and back. We laughed as we remembered the giggles they'd had over the 'unfortunate' number I'd worn. Carol was going to give birth the same way Riekie had, with one major difference — we'd all be there with her. The hospital staff were reluctant to let her wear the old sweater, but a stern word from Riekie and Doc soon had them quiet. They just got Carol settled onto the birthing table when her water broke, soaking the hem of her shirt, which pleased her immensely.
Carol laughed as another contraction distorted her pretty face, "Another souvenir for you, Honey. You'll hafta get a laundry marker and put our names in these so you can tell them apart. Too bad we don't have one for Muffin."
About the same time, my parents and Paul's family arrived with the four children, Paul carrying Jen. Jim, Judy and Joanne showed up a few minutes later. There was a little commotion with the staff when Mom tried to enter the birthing room, as she was supposed to be with us. Carol insisted loudly and vehemently that her Mother be with her, and we actually had to refer them to the pre-registration forms that indicated Mom was a coach. Even Doc had trouble getting the rest of the team to understand. We probably would have had less hassle if we'd taken the time to bring Mom with us, but Carol's contractions were close enough we felt we didn't have time to stop and pick her up. Dad and the others were forced to sit it out in the waiting room, though.
The kids were very upset they couldn't be with us, but after a quick word from Mommy Riekie and Mommy Diane, they settled down. Mom told them to tune their Sight as sensitive as they could, and they might be able to sense what was happening. Whether it would work or not, they joined hands and soon became lost in their concentration as they tried to See what was happening (even little Jen), achieving the result we wanted — four quiet kids.
In between Carol's contractions, I recalled for all of them, including Diane, the following story when Jenny was born and I was Diane's coach:
"When Jen was born, still wet, and they were tying off the cord, she opened her eyes and looked straight at me. I was the first person that kid ever made eye contact with! We had selected her name in advance (Guenevere if it was a girl, and Evan if it was a boy.), and I said 'Welcome to the world, Jenny' <I shit you NOT! That's a quote, and simple and inane as it sounds, I planned to use it with every new birth in our family. >. Remember that Doc? I swear she smiled (babies can't have that much gas can they?). I was instantly smitten, and lost my heart to a 6lb 8oz bundle of joy. She still has it, even though she has come dangerously close to breaking it upon occasion.
"When Rhiannon was born five years earlier, and we lived in another town, that particular hospital didn't allow fathers to be present at the birth, but... I knew the instant she came into the world as I felt the first stirring of the old Power after many years of absence. <Riekie almost swooned when she heard this and hugged me tight.> I didn't get to see Rhiannon until they brought mother and child to their room.
"I remember the nurse made a point of handing Rhiannon to me then. She was asleep, but I lost my heart to her anyway. As the oldest and therefore first, as you all know, she is still the apple of her Dad's eye, but I missed that opportunity for that deeper eye-to-eye bonding I later experienced with Jen. And before anybody starts asking, Dad's have more than one heart to give away — it's just the nature of the beast. That's how we can continue to function if one of them breaks it — we still have at least one left. Or so the story goes..."
Carol's labour was mercifully short with absolutely no complications for her or the infants. She needed neither epidural nor episiotomy, ensuring a quick recovery for her. Within about an hour, at two-fifty-three PM, EDT the first of the twins was born — the boy we expected — at 7lb 1oz, whom we named Benjamin Franklin. Nine minutes later, at three-oh-two, his sister arrived in the world — Katelyn Elizabeth, at 6lb 14oz. Carol had dibs on naming them and after a family meeting way back in the winter, where she first proposed their names, we had agreed unanimously without discussion that naming them after Ben and his wife Kate was fit and proper.
Both were fairly big for twins, but not surprising considering the size Carol got to be at the end. Most twins are born early, but ours went full term. A few minutes later, with both babies held to her breast, she passed the placentas as well. Riekie used up several rolls of film photo-documenting the entire process.
Both babies were full-term, healthy and normal with lusty lungs. Each newborn was laid on their mother's tummy while the cord was tied. Under Riekie's watchful eye, and the ever present eye of her camera, at Doc's invitation, I was honoured to cut the cord of each. I learned later this was becoming a more widespread practice, the general consensus being it involved new fathers even more in their wives' deliveries. I couldn't agree more. Carol's red jersey with the gold numbers was stained with their birth blood similar to Riekie's.
Never were two babies so fussed over. As Carol's first, they were special (First children to the first First Wife.). They were special, but would receive no different treatment than their four older siblings or the three to come — special, but no special treatment — all our kids are spoiled <grin>.
Because of my earlier experience with Jenny, my wives and I ensured we arranged ourselves where we could see the babies being born. Of course, Riekie positioned herself or moved around as needed to get the best camera angle. Mom stayed with Carol and held her hand through the whole birth, reassuring and quietly encouraging her.
There is nothing more moving than being present at a natural childbirth and seeing the miracle of live birth, especially when they're your own. The wonder and awe of it cannot be overstated. The miracle of birth is one of the most spiritual events anyone could ever witness. Having the High Priestess of Wicca present with one of her apprentices added to the spirituality of the moment.
Benji was born wide-awake and alert. His eyes were as brilliant a blue as his mother's, and his fully formed hair was the colour of wheat. Because of the angle and my position, I was the one who made initial eye contact with Benji, and like his older sister, I swore he smiled when I said, "Welcome to the world Benjamin Lloyd."
Mom said a prayer to the Goddess as I cut his cord. After that, the nurse, a former schoolmate, took him to be dried, measured, and weighed. She wrapped him in a light blanket then placed him in my arms. "Hold your son for a few minutes, Dave, while your wife finishes her work."
I took the small bundle from her and had my first good look at my first-born son. I was instantly captivated by his brilliant eyes that seemed to hold a wisdom and intelligence beyond time. I tickled his tiny hand and his wee fingers wrapped around my big one. Once again I lost my heart to a newborn and I knew then I'd sell my soul if necessary to protect and nurture this wonderful young man. Here was my new Best Friend.
Nine minutes later, Benji's sister Katelyn swam out of the womb with an ear-piercing howl. I'm sure they heard her back at the farm. With lungs like that, she was her mother's daughter... She also had her mother's startling blue eyes, but her full head of hair was a little darker than Benji's and you could already see the red highlights. Without a doubt, she was another Princess.
I was holding Benji, swaddled in my arms. He was awake and alert, and appeared to be watching as closely as the rest of us for his sister's arrival. As Katelyn entered the world, I repeated my greeting, "Welcome to the world, Katelyn Lloyd."
Katelyn's eyes seemed to scan the room and take in each of us almost in recognition with just a hint of a smile. Each of us tried to make full eye contact with her, but she seemed to pause only a second on each one, lingering longer on Mom, as if searching. As she held me in her gaze for a brief second, it suddenly shifted to her brother, held in my arms. I swear a spark passed between them as the two infants made full eye contact.
The experts say neo-natal infants can't focus their eyes for several months, but I swear these two knew exactly what they were seeing. Those same experts say newborns don't smile either, but if you had seen these two, you'd have sworn they smiled in total recognition and absolute joy upon first seeing each other in the light of day.
I handed Benji off to Riekie who fussed and cooed to him while I performed the cord cutting for Katelyn and Mom said another prayer to the Goddess. The nurse then took her to be dried, measured, and weighed. When she was returned to me a few minutes later, wrapped in a light blanket, I got my first look into those marvelous eyes that, like her brother's, held a wisdom and intelligence that was almost supernatural. As she took my finger in her tiny fist, I gave away another Dad heart and again felt my soul being stolen with the love of this precious bundle.
Doc was amazed at how quickly and easily Carol delivered her babies. "How do you do that? I've delivered many babies, and none has been as easy as this one, except for one, possibly." He looked at Diane, remembering how easily Jenny had been born. "You two have got to be related. Jenny was the easiest delivery I ever had before this. What makes it even more remarkable, you delivered twins."
Diane's contractions for Jenny started at about five AM and Jenny was born shortly after eight. With Rhiannon, her contractions started about two AM and the baby was born at five-twenty. Both were easy deliveries, and she needed no epidural or episiotomy either. We had always remarked on how easy her small frame delivered babies — 'like squeezing out tooth paste'. Carol was no different.
At Doc Hackett's comment, Diane smiled lovingly at Carol and took her hand, squeezing it fondly. "She's my cousin and my wife, and I love her with all my heart."
A tired, but happy Carol pulled her down for a kiss. "And I love you, Muffin. Princess! Lover! Those Kegel exercises really worked! I feel better down there than what they said I would."
Mom relinquished her hold on Carol's hand as Riekie moved to her side. She took Carol's hand and leaned in for a sweet kiss, holding Benji in her free arm. "Yeah, My Love, they do, and keep doing them, even now. They'll help your uterus return to normal size much quicker. I think they'll help with post partum bleeding too. They can make someone else feel good, too..." <Giggle>
Carol, tired as she was, giggled too. "You mean I can make David howl like you do? Awesome! I can't wait to try it!"
Riekie laughed. "You should have been doing it already, but maybe you just made him feel good when you could have made him feel terrific. With the strength from the exercises comes control. Here's our beautiful son, I think he wants Mommy."
Riekie kissed Benji and carefully laid him on his mother's breast. Both mother and son visibly relaxed as Carol cuddled the newborn to her breast. Benji was already smacking at his fist, making sucking noises. Carol greeted our son with a mother's kiss. "Hi little Benji! We've been expecting you, young man! Mommy loves you so much! You are one handsome boy!"
I moved up to join them, laid Katelyn on her mother's breast, and kissed her myself, tears of happiness coursing unashamedly down my cheeks. "Oh, Sweet Wife, my First Love! Look at these miracles we've wrought together!"
Katelyn joined her brother, cuddled to her mother's breast, her fist to her mouth making similar smacking noises to Benji. The two infants faced each other, their gaze locked on one another. Carol cooed to the little girl and kissed the top of her head, "Hi, Katelyn! Mommy loves you so much! Oh, you're so beautiful!"
Carol, holding the two bundles of joy in her arms, returned my kiss, her eyes moist. She looked down at them and smiled so sweetly, resplendent in her happiness. "Ah! David, my Husband, my True Love! You sure can keep a promise, Lover! They are just too beautiful!... Uh! Oh! Another big cramp!" Riekie took her camera to the foot of the birthing table and Mom moved to join her as she snapped several pictures. Holding the babies to her breast, Carol's face showed a momentary strain, then she relaxed.
Doc, observing the results of Carol's latest contraction spoke to us. "Ah! Totally clean parturition! Carol, you're an amazing woman!"
Mom examined the expelled placentas (fraternal twins have separate placentas) before allowing the staff to remove it and pronounced, "Yes! Totally clean. The Goddess is pleased!"
Carol looked up to me and giggled. "Sorry 'bout that little interruption, Lover! Just had to pass something else! <giggle> Where was I? Oh yeah! Took us long enough! I wanna do it again! I can't wait to show you what I've learned. How long do we have to wait?"
At that particular moment, having sex with my beautiful wife who had just given birth to two beautiful babies wasn't high on my list of priorities, but if she was willing, I'd certainly move it up... (It's a guy thing... ) I answered as intelligently as I could. "Dunno."
Riekie was more on the ball, and of course, as a doctor, she knew the answer. "You should wait for five weeks to allow your uterus to contract to its normal size and allow the bleeding to stop. You should also practice your exercises several times every day to get your vagina tight again. There's some evidence to suggest breastfeeding helps the process. You shouldn't be thinking about that just now, though." Five weeks! I didn't know if Carol and I could keep our hands off each other that long!
Carol smiled sweetly at us. She pulled me down for another kiss then gazed lovingly at our new twins. "Seems so long! Bu-ut you're probably right, as usual, Princess. Let me just hold our babies, now. I think they're hungry. I hope so — my boobies feel so full!" As she spoke, wet spots started to appear in her shirt as her breasts began to leak.
Already Carol had forgotten the discomfort of pregnancy and the pain of labour — oh, she'd feel some blues and some cramps later, but right now she was on an adrenalin high. She'd also forgotten that I was already the beneficiary of her practicing her exercises while she was pregnant. All my wives had excellent control over their muscles, but the regimen Riekie had instituted had been heavenly. Diane and Carol hadn't gotten to the point of consciously manipulating them the way Riekie had so I fully expected to have some pleasant surprises in store for me as they became more adept.
Before Carol or the babies could get involved in their dinner, Mom asked to hold them. Diane and Riekie each took one from Carol and handed them into Mom's waiting arms. Mom beamed as she took the infants then had Diane stay by her side. She kissed each of the children then intoned. "They're so darling! Ah! To be present at the birth of your own grandchildren! I feel so blessed. On this Midsummer's Day, the Goddess is pleased, and blesses these infants with their names."
She looked first at Benji and held his gaze. The little bugger never flinched or wavered. "The Goddess and your family name you Benjamin Franklin Lloyd. May the Goddess continue to bless you and guide your spirit." We would teach him about his Canadian namesake, our dear friend, and benefactor, and hopefully he wouldn't get too hung up on the other idiosyncrasies of the historic one.
Then Mom addressed Katelyn. Like her brother, little Katelyn held Mom's gaze solidly. "The Goddess and your family name you Katelyn Elizabeth Lloyd. May the Goddess continue to bless you and guide your spirit."
Diane raised her arms skyward and breathed. "Our venerable Mother, the High Priestess has named our children. The Goddess is pleased."
The babies were returned to Carol's waiting arms, and the medical team finally managed to shoo us out of the birthing room, saying Carol and the babies needed to rest a bit and have their first feeding for which they needed some privacy. I wondered at that, as Carol and the twins appeared totally relaxed, and we had all seen Carol's breasts before, but that's the way of hospitals I guess.
I thought it was just the staff flexing their administrative muscle after we had forced our intents upon them... They said the excitement of having so many people around might keep Carol from releasing her milk easily the first time and she also needed a little instruction on best techniques for feeding twins. They certainly didn't know the exhibitionist side of Carol! We were told we could visit again as soon as they were moved to their room in about an hour. We had paid the extra and arranged for a private room, although our insurance was good for semi-private. On our way out, Doc squeezed my hand and kissed Diane and Riekie sweetly in congratulation.
With an hour to kill, we joined the rest of the family in the waiting room. The kids were excited, bubbling over with enthusiasm and happiness, and claimed they had Seen the births, but from the twins' point of view! We didn't have time to explore what they had to tell us, but I wanted to hear more. From the little I did gather, though, far from an exercise to distract them to keep them quiet, apparently they were actually able to give almost a running commentary to the amazed adults in the waiting room!
From the waiting room we made our way to the cafeteria. A cup of coffee looked real good to me about then. Everyone had a drink and seeing the time of day was close to supper time, we all had some of that ersatz slop the hospital nutritionist optimistically called food and hung labels on naming it common dishes we all normally like.
I bolted down my cardboard 'lasagna' and while the rest finished eating, made my way to the pay phones, calling card in hand. First on my list — Bob and Karen. Both were home when I called. Karen answered.
"Scott residence." Nice formal touch, that.
"Hello, Karen Michelle?"
"Yes?... David?..." She sounded a little hesitant. "Why are you calling at this time of... ? " A bell went off in her head, I think. "Eeeeeeek! Carol Anne had her babies! Didn't she?! Oh, David! Tell me she did!! Eeeeeeeek!!" Her shrieks of happiness made me hold the phone well away from my ear.
"Yes, she did, Karen Michelle, they just shooed us out of the delivery room while they get her and the twins moved to their room. Tell Bob I owe him a cigar or two."
"Eeeeek! David! Tell me everything! Hang on, I gotta call Robert. It's a wonder he didn't come running when I screamed. He must be out in the yard." She put down the phone and I heard her scream. "RO-O-B-E-R-RT!!" Then a pause. "David's on the phone! Carol Anne had her babies!!"... "YES!!" There was a clatter as she picked back up. "Sorry about that, David. He's coming now. Oh god! I'm so excited! Tell me everything!"
"Whaddaya mean 'everything'?"
Excited and happy, she fired off a string of questions. "Oh, David! I'm so happy for you all! Tell me all about it! How long was she in labour? What time were they born? How much did they weigh? Is Carol Anne OK? How're the babies? What's their names? How're Muffin and Princess? It's a wonder her labour didn't set them off, with their close empathy!"
I laughed at her excitement, it was actually funny. "Ha! Ha! Whoah, Girl! Slow down! I'll try to answer as best I can. Yeah, we're all pretty excited, too. I don't have a lot of time — I've got a bunch more calls to make before we go back in to see them. Here it is in a nutshell. We'll try to call again tonight as usual or maybe not until tomorrow to give you the details.
"Carol's first contraction was just after lunch, but she was having some more general symptoms all morning. Our Son was born at two fifty-three our time, and Our Daughter came along nine minutes later at three-oh-two, so her actual labour was only a couple hours. Damn! She's like Muffin! Like squirting toothpaste out of a tube! We named them Benjamin Franklin and Katelyn Elizabeth after Ben and Kate. Benji weighed 7 lb 1 oz, and Katelyn was 6 lb. 14. I forget how long they said they were. The nurse wrote it all down and we'll get a copy.
"They were full term, Karen Michelle, and according to both Riekie and our Doctor, they're healthy as can be. Carol Anne came through like a trooper. She's fine — more than fine! HA! She's already talking about making more! Hee! Hee! Muffin and Princess are a little jealous right now, I think. They felt her initial contractions but were able to disconnect from their mind meld so they could concentrate on what they had to do, but I think they're re-connected now."
Karen must have written down the pertinent facts, because she repeated back to me. "OK. David, I know you have other calls to make. Just let me check with you I got it right — let's see... Benjamin Franklin at two fifty-three Eastern weighed 7 lb 1, and Katelyn — is that K-A-T-E-L-Y-N-N? — at three-oh-two and 6 lb 14."
"Yeah, you got it mostly. Katelyn with a 'K', but only one 'N'. OK? Listen, I gotta go. We'll call you later."
"OK, David. I'll tell Robert what you've told me so far. Sorry he didn't get to the phone in time to talk. I'll let you go now. Call us when you can. Love you all. 'Byee!"
"G'bye, Karen Michelle. We love you guys too."
The next call was to Robbie and Jamie with whom we'd also kept in regular contact. It went pretty much the same as the call to Karen and Bob, less the screaming, although they were pretty excited that 'Mom' had given them a new 'brother' and 'sister'. I gave them the details I gave Karen and promised to call later in the weekend to flesh it out. They said they'd let Beth Richards know. The calls to Val and Heather were almost identical to the one to Karen, screams included. They said they'd start spreading the word. Roy and Patty, and Bob and Liz were the last ones one my list. Everyone else who needed to know quickly was already at the hospital. We'd call all our other friends tonight.