Dad turns to look at me and my new baby boy. He smiles and grabs a baby blanket on the way. When he’s at my side, he drapes it over Axl.
“Is it cold in here?” I ask.
“It’s not.” He pulls the hassock over and sits beside us. “But he’s been wrapped in a body surrounded by an average of almost a hundred-degree heat.”
“Ah.”
I shift so Dad can see Axl’s face a little better. I can’t quite see him since he’s tucked under my chin, so I watch Dad instead. I wonder if I look at Axl like that. So damn in love with him. This little human, who is only hours old.
“Want to hold him?” I offer.
“Yes, but not now.”
“I’m glad you’re the first to meet him,” I say, and for some reason, Brek flashes in my head. Something in my chest says he should have been the first.
I have to shove it away because that’s not what we are. I don’t know what we are, but we’re not together. Not like that.
“I am too,” Dad says. “It’s remarkable how like Loren he looks.”
“I’ve always heard that kids look more like their aunts and uncles than they do either of their parents.”
“Yes, that’s why the triplets look like Noaz with short hair.”
“Do they?”
“You don’t remember them growing up, huh? When Noaz was eleven and they were four, the triplets had long hair. Remember? Your mom thought they were adorable with long, messy hair.”
I smile. “I remember they had long hair when they were young.”
“Noaz had started growing his hair out, too, and your mom used to get a kick out of everyone thinking Noaz was their brother. Every day, she had a story about which neighbor confused Noaz for one of you since they looked so much alike.”
“And now I have a baby Loren all my own.”
Dad smiles. “I’m curious to know what Loren thinks of that.”
“You think he’s even going to see it?”
“He’s far more observant than you all give him credit for. But I’m not sure he’ll see himself. He didn’t see himself as a baby, after all.”
“Which uncle does Noaz look like?” I wonder.
“Mm. Uncle Emilien. Although now more like Aunt Signy. The style, the fashion, the makeup, and hair… Aunt Signy was always very glamorous. As a kid, I always thought she should have been a model.”
“I can see that.”
“What’s really interesting about the way our brains try to find patterns is that the other day, I was thinking how much like Arath Emerson looks, which is ridiculous since they share no biology.”
“I can see that, too,” I say, laughing.
Axl makes a quiet whimper sound, and I kiss the top of his head. He sighs and settles as I gently rub his full head of hair.
“He’s going to love that growing up,” I say once Axl has fallen back asleep again.
Dad nods. “Before I forget to tell you, I put the kitchen staff on rotation for someone to bring you milk every three hours. The delivery from the hospital of breast milk arrived an hour ago and is properly stored.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He rests a hand gently on Axl’s back. “Kairo is going to be insufferable that he didn’t get to meet your boy first, too,” he muses.
