Orsen was the largest of our three babies by a lot. His chubby cheeks lit up my world. Oberon placed him on my chest and I looked down at my sweet boy in awe.
“We’re dads,” I hugged our youngest a bit closer. “Look at us, we’re dads.”
“We are.” Tanner placed Armelle in my other arm. “And while I would love for us to stay here all night and enjoy this bonding time, we are woefully unprepared for this. Want me to go get supplies?”
I hadn’t thought about that when the overwhelming need to come out here for the birth took hold of me. And now that we were here, we were going to need food because I wasn’t ready to leave. This time was too important.
“I don’t want you to go, but…” I sucked in a breath. “Yeah, maybe you could get some things.”
We made a list and he promised to hurry.
“This feels important.” I said as a half apology to my other two mates.
“You’re feeling our cubs’ pull towards this land. It has belonged to our family for a long time, it would makesense they’re connected to it.” Huston covered me with the blanket.
“Do they want to see your beasts?” I’d not thought about that until now. But maybe they were looking for their bear fathers all dressed in fur.
“Not today. Today they want to connect to you. And when the time is right, we’ll go home and show them their nursery.” Huston kissed my forehead.
“We should call home so they don’t worry.” Molly and Saul might be employees but they were family too.
Oberon phoned them and gave them the good news, minus me giving birth outside by my favorite boulder. They were thrilled the babies were here and offered to come to the house and help, which we declined. We promised to call if we needed anything and to take lots of pictures.
Tanner came back shortly thereafter with more supplies than we would need for a week. It took him two trips with a wheelbarrow to get it all to us. If anyone came into the clearing after his visit, they would assume we were camping here.
When all was said and done, we ended up staying only one night, but itwas exactly what we needed. We slept, or sort of slept, under the stars and moon, our babies waking to eat and be changed, but for the most part sleeping.
Morning came, it was time to bring our children to their new home. Molly and Saul were thrilled to meet the new additions to our household and insisted on helping them get settled in so that I could take a shower and get into comfy clothes. It was fair to say that our kids were going to be spoiled in the very best of ways.
“They all look like you,” Molly smiled down as she brought me tea. “Like your dad.”
Not a day went by that I didn’t miss him. “I think so too. He’d have been a fabulous grandfather.” We didn’t always get on, but at the end of the day I loved him dearly and he loved me. I refused to let what happened after he passed to taint my memories.
“He’d be proud of the man you’ve become.” She turned to walk away, but looked back and added, “I am too, Candrin. I am too.”
39
CANDRIN
Just for show
Armelle was suckling and I had my eyes closed as there was a ruckus from the nursery.
All three mates were in there and while there wasn’t a peep from Barrett or Orsen, they were either asleep and oblivious to their fathers or they were very much awake and being entertained by whatever my mates were doing.
“I changed Barrett’s diaper five minutes ago. There’s no need to do it again.” That was Oberon who considered himself thebest diapering dad around.
“And it was falling off.” I didn’t need to see Huston to know he had his hands on his hips.
“You just woke Orsen with your arguing,” Tanner said.
“Are you sure?” Oberon asked. “He didn’t make a sound. You probably just wanted to pick him up.”
“Hello.” My three mates, two of them holding our sons, poked their heads in the room. “If anyone would like to burp Armelle, we can get dressed and go to the other house.”
The other house was my mates’ former home and today they were going to show the babies their bears. I had no idea about the appropriate time and had asked if my mates should shift when the babies were born. But today was the day apparently. My mates said it was a tradition in their family to show the babies their beasts when they were only a month old so who was I to argue.
My mates said they’d get the three kids dressed and the baby bags prepared. There was a lot of stuff needed for three babies when you wanted to leave the house. But I was able to take a leisurely shower while they got everything organized.
