“Did I do that?”
“It’s okay. It’s getting close to hatching time,” Ford told him.
I put the flowers in a vase after Mr. Sampson had departed.
“Do you want to take bets on who comes next?” I wandered to the front door, expecting another car.
“Maybe more visitors would help Egg 3 get a move on.”
“Good idea.” I should call someone.
“Zack.” The urgency in Ford’s voice had me running into the bedroom.
“Oh my gods.” Egg 3 had a crack in it. “Go Egg 3. You’ve been fooling us thinking you were going to be last.
But the egg must have decided one crack was enough and nothing else happened. Eggs had their own schedule and nothing could hurry them.
The rest of the afternoon saw more visitors arrive with food and gifts for the babies. Athena and her grandsons came with firewood that the boys had chopped, and I gave them a high five.
Chuck and Veronica, the brother and sister I’d counseled, brought three baby blankets they’d crocheted, and Theo arrived with coffee which I needed because sleeping in the nest with three babies wasn’t productive to a good sleep.
When dusk arrived, I put up a sign saying, “We’re nesting,” and locked the front door.
If anyone else comes, I’ll tell them you’ve gone hunting. My bear was proud of that excuse, and I couldn’t be bothered pointing out the obvious flaw in his plan.
I’d consumed too much of Theo’s coffee, and after Ford fell asleep, I stayed awake talking to each of the eggs in turn.
“Egg 3 turned out to be a sleeper agent but surprised us by cracking first. What say you, Egg 2 and 1?” They didn’t reply, and there were no more cracks. I closed my eyes but sleep remained elusive.
Around three in the morning as I was reading a novel, a crackle alerted me something was happening. Was it Egg 3? Or had their siblings decided they were going to win the hatching race.
Egg 2 had rolled over, and there was a tiny hole in the end. I shoved a fist in my mouth and stifled a scream.
“Ford, the babies.”
My mate mustn’t have been in a deep sleep, as his eyes opened and he sat up.
“Oh, look at Egg 2. Maybe they thought Eggs 1 and 3 were getting too much attention.”
I put my arm around my mate as we watched Egg 2. Nothing happened for an hour. It must have been tiring trying to break out of a hard shell. Ford had no memories of hatching, not that I expected him to.
My mate flapped his hand at Egg 1. The shell had that crackling effect and each piece looked so fragile, as if they were being held together with gossamer thread. But the other eggs weren’t to be outdone by their sibling. A tiny claw poked through the hole in Egg 2’s shell and Egg 3 swayed. Each roll cracked the shell more.
“And we’re off to the races.” I glanced from 1 to 2 and to 3 as bits of shells littered the nest.
Egg 2’s shell collapsed, and Ford and I gasped as a tiny purple dragon lay in the remains. They looked at us with their green eyes that mimicked Ford’s and kicked their legs before transforming into their human baby self.
“A little boy.” I wrapped him in a blanket Veronica and Chuck had given us and kissed his brow before giving him to Ford.
Egg 3 kicked what remained of their shell and got on all fours. He frowned at us as bits of yellow shell stuck to his scales. But he plopped onto the blanket and his scales vanished. The baby cried, and I scooped him up and held him close.
“And another boy.”
Were we going to have triplet sons? Just as well we didn’t live in an apartment in the city. I was thankful we had lots of space for them to run around in.
“Egg 1, you can do it.”
The remaining egg’s arrival was laidback. The baby dragon poked their head out of the shell. Even in the dark, their green scales shimmered. They stood still, eyeing us holding their siblings. Their scales disappeared, and they got on their tummy and wailed.
