“Six centimeters,” she informs me. “You’re close, darling.”
“Good.”
“It’s a shame your mother can’t be here,” she says, matter of factly. “It can be a wonderful moment for both of you.”
“I’m sure,” I say, thinking of Zia. It would be good to have her here with me. As for my other mother figures, one I never met and the other I barely knew.
I didn’t attend Corinne’s funeral. It was a small affair. A non-religious service. The FBI was there alongsidethe Whitehall fam. The feds are investigating Corinne because of a bunch of tax havens she set up in the Cayman Islands. It seems that Mr. Parker was using his payments to her to launder money he’d defrauded from his smaller tech companies. All of my stepmother’s assets have been tied up in legal fees, but at least one thing was made very clear, our old house belonged to Margot.
She went against my uncles’ wishes and sold it, splitting the money between my brothers and me, using her cut to buy herself an East Side apartment and to go back to college. We’re closer these days, meeting up for coffee and walks in Central Park and I hope that when the baby comes she might visit Velvet House for the first time. My brothers and I aren’t on speaking terms, but since it’s come out that they were heavily involved in helping Corinne whitewash Mr. Parker’s money, I don’t care so much.
“Seven centimeters,” Sienna informs me. “I’m calling for the other midwives. It might be time to get into the pool.”
I nod, trying not to grit my teeth. Outside I can hear someone cursing their ass off in Italian. Doc, it sounds like. His main response to my impending pregnancy has been anger. He’s been regularly going to an MMA gym and beating the shit out of anyone who will let him. I don’t know how to feel about that, but it’s better than criminal activity, I guess.
The rest of the time he’s been working on Orchard. There’s been a major breakthrough, something to do with an enzyme that slows down the rate of the aphrodisiac and helps the stomach dissolve the chemical that reacts to preservatives. I don’t understand it very well, but Doc and the scientists Mr. Parker originally pooled together are running trials on lab rats. Apparently, everything looks promising.
“In five years, millions of women’ll be banging onAlessia,” Doc told me when we took a romantic garden walk last week.
“I still don’t know if you should rename Orchard after your sister,” I said, stroking my stomach. “Isn’t that weird?”
“Fuck no, Tits. Nothing would make my gay sister happier than turning on every woman in the world. It’s the best tribute I could ever give her.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Besides, good taste has never been in Doc’s nature. I’m sure we’re going to need to talk about him calling meTitsin front of the baby.
Another contraction comes and this feels different. I sit upright, arching my back and screaming. Three extra midwives burst into the room as I grip Sienna’s hand. “What’s happening to me? Make itstopppppppp!”
“To the pool,” Sienna urges. “Right now, January. You’re going to have your baby.”
***
I stare intomy son’s sleeping face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful. I was sure I was having a daughter; everyone was. But we were wrong. It’s a son. A sweet, gentle, perfect son. He shifts in his swaddling, his rosebud mouth twitching into a little snarl and I laugh out loud.
I thought my baby would look like me, that we’d need a DNA test to know which of the guys fathered him. But there’s no denying who this little boy belongs to and part of me feels like I always should have known. The rest is just grateful that he’s here.
“He’s gorgeous,” Sienna says. “Are you ready for the stampede? You can take a little longer if you need to.”
I glance up to sayI’m fine, let them in, and I swear I see her: Just over Sienna’s shoulder, Zia Teresa stands in her old housecoat. She smiles at me, her brown eyes crinkling, and my overflowing heart somehow fills some more.
Zia presses her fingers to her mouth and kisses them and then she’s gone, back to being here and not here. As she always will be. My heart splits wide, breaks completely and I lift my son and kiss his beautiful cheeks over and over and cry tears of misery and complete and utter joy.
“Send them in,” I sob. “We’re ready.”
They thunder into the room like a herd of disturbed rhinos, knocking over the bedside cabinet and sending a lamp crashing to the floor. None of them notice as they crowd around my bed. They seem very male after eight hours with only women. Very male and very handsome. I beam at them, turning the baby a little so they can’t see his face. “Hi, guys.”
Adriano moved behind me, smoothing his rough, tattooed fingers over my shoulders and head as though checking for injuries.
“I’m fine,” I say with a laugh. “I promise.”
“You fucking bitch torturer,” Doc says, fists deep in his hair. “I had thirty different heart attacks in that waiting room.”
Bobby punches him in the side. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
“She nearly killed me.”
“She just gave birth!”
I laugh because I’m so glad there are enough men in my life to keep one another in line. A family where everyone has a place to feel safe and loved. Eli pushes his brothers out of the way, there’s a delicate platinum and pink diamond necklace between his fingers. So pretty it almost takes my breath away.
