Chapter 22 - Molly

“Are you guys ready to go home?” our day nurse, Alicia, asked as she came into the room. After three days in the hospital after giving birth, we were ready to go home. I wasn’t excited about going home to the motel, but I hoped we wouldn’t have to be there long. “I heard both little girls passed their car seat tests with flying colors.”

“My girls did an out-stand-ing job just sitting there. This dad right here helped them study,” Tyler said with a grin. I had to shake my head. He was coming up with dad jokes already! He said he was going to pull the car around as I signed the discharge papers.

“I didn’t miss them, did I?” I heard a familiar voice outside our open door.

“Livie!” I jumped up as she rushed into our room. I went over to hug our favorite nurse tightly.

“Are you still sure you want to name your child after me?” she asked as she looked down at my sleeping beauties in their car seats.

“It’s too late now. It’s on the birth certificate,” I said with a smile. “And, yes, we’re sure!”

“Well, I’m definitely honored. I’m glad we’re social media friends so we can keep in touch, and I can watch them grow.”

“You know you’re already invited to their first birthday party,” I said with a giggle.

Olivia walked out with us to the hospital exit, and I looked around for my car. I couldn’t find it anywhere, but I saw a blue Ford Expedition in the circular drive.

“Where is my car?” I asked.

“I hope you’re not mad, but I traded in your car,” Ty said with a nervous look on his face as he walked over to us from the driver’s side of the Expedition. “I wanted to surprise you. With the babies and their strollers, diaper bag, and everything else, you needed a bigger car. Plus, Penelope brought up the point that you could use it for wedding cake deliveries and other bakery related things.”

“Oh, so Penelope was in on this, too?”

“Yeah…. And she’s not the only one. Dom found this Expedition and thought you’d love it because it’s Raptor Blue.”

“I do like it, but how much more are the payments?” I asked, trying to be realistic. “I’m not sure when Batter Up! will open again. The custom baking business is bringing in some money but not nearly as much as the storefront did.”

“Well, you’re not allowed to be mad,” Ty began. “But Landon, Carter, and Dominic went in together and paid the difference as a baby gift. Mostly Landon, but Carter and Dominic wanted to help, too. They said it was the ‘favorite uncles’ gift.”

“That’s way too much for them to spend, but that is really sweet,” I said and just decided to be grateful. “It does make sense for the family and the business. I had been worrying about not being able to sit in the back seat with the girls on the way home in my car. Now, I can easily.”

The drive back to Riverbend would normally take about 30 minutes, but it took over 45 because Tyler drove at least five to ten miles under the speed limit. We got passed and honked at several times, but we didn’t care. The girls slept the whole time, and I just watched them in awe. I loved them so much.

“Hey, Ty, you just passed the motel,” I said as he wasn’t slowing down.

“Just so you know, I had nothing to do with this, and I actually just found out when I was pulling the car around while you were getting discharged.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Well, you know how you helped Ivan get the money to go back home and see Camilia?”

“Yeah. But it wasn’t just me. The whole community helped.”

“Right there. That’s exactly what happened. The whole community helped.”

“I’m confused,” I said as I looked up and gasped. Tyler pulled the Expedition to a stop in front of Batter Up! It looked exactly as it had before the tornado, complete with the red and white awning and the writing on the front window about every dessert being a homerun. The biggest shock was the “Now Open” sign on the door.

“What? How is it open?” I exclaimed.

“Let’s go see,” Ty said as he climbed out of the SUV and opened the door to take Olivia’s car seat out on his side. I opened my door and carefully got out of the car.

“Hey, Sis! Let me help you!” Dominic was suddenly at my side, gave me a hug, and then got Hazel’s car seat out for me.

“Was this all you?” I asked, looking over and seeing that Emma’s Little Sluggers Daycare sign was already hanging up next door. After the word Daycare was a little baseball player swinging a bat. It was adorable! There was a sign on the front door saying they were now accepting enrollment for students and applications for part-time workers.

“Not all me,” Dom said with a huge grin. “Welcome home, Molls.”

I followed my brother into Batter Up! and couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked exactly the same on the inside, too. Even the Raptor Pennants hung on the walls, but there were also pennants for the Lightning, the Storm, the Coyotes, and even Landon’s team, the Jaguars. I also noticed that reprints of the pictures Meadow had taken the day I found out I was pregnant and the day I thought Tyler didn’t recognize me were hanging back on the wall. There were also new pictures on the wall of regular customers, the Raptor players, and other candid shots of people in the bakery. I loved it!

“Welcome to Batter Up! What can we get you today?” Penelope said from the other side of the counter. The bakery cases were filled with cupcakes, muffins, cookies, scones, and other treats.

“Oh, Pen!” I said with tears in my eyes. “How?”

“Janel came in and did a lot of baking. Cash’s sister, Robyn, also applied for a job here and loves baking, too. She’s a great people person and will be a great help to me until you come back full-time.”

“This is amazing! I can’t believe it!”

Penelope laughed. “Believe it, Molly. We’ve been back home and open for two days now, and it’s going great.”

“I am so happy! That is such great news!”

“Come on, lady! Order already, or move to the back of the line,” Cooper said from behind me.

I shook my head but turned around and hugged him. I knew he had a lot to do with the bakery being finished earlier than expected. I walked around the counter and gave Penelope a huge hug, too.

“Does she like it?” I heard Camden ask from one of the booths.

“Was she surprised?” Peyton asked.

“Hi!” Nico signed with a wave.

“Did you three help with this surprise?” I pointed at them and asked Mack, who was leaning against the booth the kids were sitting in, how to sign surprise.

“Touch your pointer fingers to your thumbs, right at your eyes. Then pop them open like you are really surprised,” Mack said with a huge smile.

Nico nodded enthusiastically and brushed his hand up and out from his chest a few times.

“He wants to know if you’re happy?” Mack explained.

I nodded my head and repeated the sign back to him before giving Mack a huge hug.

“Ok, kids. Now, you can pick out any one item from the bakery. Thank you for waiting patiently,” he said and signed it at the same time.

Tyler came over and gave Mack a big hug, too, and then showed off his daughters to him.

“Is it all the same in the back, too?” I asked.

“Let’s go for a tour!” Pen said. “Cash? Can you watch up front?”

The gangly teenager that had hit on me during his interview said he had it and took over at the front counter.

We walked to the back to see the kitchen was exactly as I had it before, and I was really glad. I saw Janel putting ingredients into one of the stand mixers. Near her, another woman with dark blonde hair in a ponytail and wearing a blue apron was putting a tray of items into the oven.

Penelope introduced me to Cash’s older sister, Robyn Wehmeier, who had just moved home. She and Janel were best friends in high school, and she was very excited to work here.

“You even still have my colored stand mixers!” I said with excitement as I saw them all lined up on the back counter. “We have even more colors now!”

“The company actually heard about the tornado and donated them! You have a whole bunch in the AF Kitchen, too!”

“No way! That’s so awesome!” I exclaimed.

“Hey, baby, Liv is fussy and probably hungry,” Tyler said as he came back into the kitchen, carrying our sweet girl in her Raptors jersey.

“They are probably both hungry. It’s been almost two and a half hours since I last fed them. I can go to my office to feed them.”

“Why don’t you go upstairs?” Dominic asked. “You can feed them in comfort.”

“Upstairs?” I asked, not sure if I heard him correctly. “The upstairs is done?”

“Why don’t you go check it out,” Penelope said with a huge grin.

“Oh my god, you guys?!” I exclaimed and went up the stairs with Olivia in my arms as Tyler followed close behind me.

“Can someone bring Hazel up?”

“I’ve got her,” I heard Dom say.

I walked up to the front door of our apartment and got teary-eyed as I saw a sign written in children’s handwriting with little drawings all around it:

I entered the door and walked into the family room. It was exactly as I had described to the contractor and designer. There was a navy-blue sectional couch that faced a big screen TV. I noticed that in the middle of the couch was a white pillow with the number seven on it and STONE on the back. Mrs. James had made the pillow out of my wedding day jersey!

On the same wall as the TV, there were two baby swings. We could watch baseball games and have the babies around us at the same time! There was also a box of baby toys next to the couch as well as a small bookshelf filled with the romance novels I loved to read. On the far wall, there was a big cat house with scratching pads and places for our cat to sleep and play. Peanut was asleep on the top platform. She woke up when she heard my voice and meowed at me. I stroked my hand through her hair.

“Oh, wow! This is amazing,” Tyler proclaimed. I walked over to stand next to him to look at the wall behind the couch. One of Tyler’s Raptor jerseys was in a frame, and next to it was his Lightning jersey. In between the two jerseys was the homerun ball he had given me that I had found in the tornado debris. It was in a special case, and I loved that it was on the wall.

“You guys thought of everything!” I exclaimed.

At the sound of my voice, Olivia began to cry loudly. I knew I would have to explore our apartment later and needed to tend to our baby. I sat down on the very comfortable couch and began feeding my hungry daughter. Peanut jumped off her cat house and came over to sniff the baby as I fed her. She curled up and laid down next to Liv. It was the sweetest thing to see. After feeding her, Tyler took her and burped her while I fed Hazel.

After the girls were fed and burped, we put them in their swings. Dominic and Cooper proudly gave us a tour of the rest of the apartment. The kitchen was exactly as it had been before. My beautiful island now not only had stools around it but also had two highchairs. I knew the girls wouldn’t use the highchairs yet, but I loved that they were there when they were ready for them. It still had the built-in shelves next to the double oven, and I was glad they had kept the kitchen the same.

We walked through the kitchen to a hallway, which was new thanks to the expansion of our upstairs apartment. The first room was a bathroom for the girls when they got older. Inside was a small sink and toilet along with a standard shower/tub combo. The shower curtain had baseballs and cupcakes on it, and it made me laugh.

“Cooper ordered that custom-made,” Dominic said from behind me. “He knew you’d like that!”

“I love it!” I said. I also squealed when I saw the little baby bathtub that was sitting inside the tub. There was also a bin of bath toys. Rubber ducks in different colors, numbers and letters that would stick to the wall, and other bath items for the girls when they got a little older.

“I know they won’t use those yet, but they will eventually.”

“Thanks, Coop!” I said. “Great idea!”

“This next room was done by Penelope, Emma, and Meadow,” Dominic explained as we walked into the nursery. Two cribs sat next to each other, and above each crib were wood cutouts spelling out their names. Of course, Olivia’s name was in purple, and Hazel’s name was in yellow. I had no idea how they got them done when we had just announced their names a few days ago.

”How?” I asked, in shock, and pointed to the cutouts.

”Carter has a tattoo artist friend, Archer, who is great at woodshop, too. Carter asked him to make those for his nieces,” Tyler”s mom explained. ”As soon as we knew the girls” names, Archer made them and had them shipped overnight so they”d be here for the girls.”

”Meadow, Pen, and Emma painted the letters the appropriate colors,” Hayden told us.

On each crib were the baseball mobiles that we bought after we found out we were having twins. There was a gray glider with an ottoman that looked perfect for feeding the girls. Above the glider was a beautiful canvas painting that I had to get a closer look at. Two redheaded baby girls were laying next to each other in the painting and they were each wearing little onesies with baseballs and strawberries on them. One little girl wore a purple headband and the other wore a yellow headband. The details were beautiful, and I gasped when I read the name on the bottom corner of the canvas.

“Tyler!”

When my husband came over to look at the painting closer I pointed at the name. “Michael ‘Gramps’ Stone” was signed on the painting.

Tyler turned around to see his dad standing in the doorway and he went over and hugged him tightly. I knew he had said his dad used to love to paint but had no idea how talented he was. I followed Tyler and hugged his dad, too.

On the other side of the room was the changing table. I opened up the closet door and was overwhelmed with gratitude. It was filled with tons of girly clothes, probably more clothes than they could both wear. On the far end of the closet were all the boxes of diapers the Raptor teammates had given us for a baby shower gift. We wouldn’t have to worry about diapers for a long time!

The next room was Ty’s work out room. The stationary bicycle, treadmill, and punching bag fit in the room nicely. I also noticed the purple yoga mat, and I knew I had to wait to get the okay from the doctor, but as soon as I did, I would be working out in this room, too, to lose the baby weight. I also had to chuckle when I saw the two baby bouncers in the corner of the room. I knew those were there so the babies could be with us while we worked out. I know I kept saying it, but they really had thought of everything!

The room across from the girls’ was my office. Inside, I found a desk and chair along with some shelves and file cabinets. The shelves and walls were empty, and Dominic explained that they figured I’d want to decorate my office in a certain way. I appreciated the thought. On the other end of the room was a daybed with a soft white comforter covered in pretty flower embroidery. It would be a perfect guest bed.

“It actually has a trundle bed under it so it can turn into a full-size bed or keep it as two twin beds,” Hayden told us as he came into the room. “There are extra sheets, comforters, and pillows to match in the closet over there.”

“I love it! Thank you!”

We walked into our master bedroom, and just when I couldn’t think of things getting better, I was wrong. There was a huge king-sized bed with a purple and blue comforter and lots of pillows. It looks so comfortable and inviting. There were two small end tables with matching lamps on either side. On my side, there were a few of my favorite books, and on Ty’s side of the bed was a video game controller. Across from the bed was a big TV and a gaming console sitting on top of the dresser. I walked over to the closet and opened it to see a nice sized walk-in closet filled with both of our clothes. When I closed the closet door, I noticed the two bassinets on the other wall.

“Penelope said you’d probably want them close to you if you were breastfeeding them, and this was the best thing to do until they outgrow the bassinets,” Cooper explained.

I picked up a soft yellow blanket lying in one of the bassinets. There was also a yellow bunny rabbit in Hazel’s bassinet. In Olivia’s bassinet, there was a purple elephant along with a purple blanket.

“Peyton, Camden, and Nico picked out the stuffed animals,” Hayden told me.

“They are perfect!” I said.

“For this next room, we did get some of Ty’s input,” Dominic explained as we walked into the bathroom. My dream bathtub was along the right wall, a deep soaker tub, complete with jets. Next to it was a shower that would easily fit two people, and it had the special detaching shower head I loved. There was a toilet on the other wall next to a double vanity. On one side, there was Tyler’s shaving gel, toothbrush, and other things guys needed. On my side was my make up kit, shaving items, toothbrush, and all the products I used.

“I will never be able to thank you guys enough,” I said with tears in my eyes.

“No kidding. You guys are amazing! I can’t believe you did all this,” my husband said.

“Well, we did have a lot of help,” Hayden said.

“We wanted you to be able to bring your babies home to your apartment,” Dominic told us.

We all walked back to the family room, and that is when I noticed a picture frame next to our door. It was a whole collage of pictures. Dr. Campbell and Mack hammering along with the construction crew. Meadow and Penelope painting along with Emma, Hayden, and Ivan, while the season was still going on. There were candid shots of the Raptor players, along with Dominic, Carter, and Tyler’s dad, carrying furniture and bakery cases. Another set of photos showed Camden, Nico, and Peyton baking along with Tyler’s mom, Janel and Robyn. There was even a picture of sweet Mrs. James putting flowers in a vase and setting them on one of the cafe tables.

The best picture was in the middle of the collage and showed a whole group of people standing in front of the bakery. So many familiar faces that had helped our family. It was unbelievable. I definitely would want another copy of the group picture in the bakery.

“When did all this happen?” I asked, overwhelmed by the generosity and love our family, friends, and community put in for everything to be ready when we came home from the hospital.

“It was actually the day you went on bedrest, and the contractor, McDonald, came to my apartment looking for you,” Penelope began to tell us. “He said it was almost done, and he hoped it would be finished soon. Dominic asked if it could be done sooner if we got people to help. His goal was to make it where you wouldn’t have to bring the babies back to the motel. We put together a schedule of what people could help with and when and made it happen.”

I walked over to my brother and gave him a huge hug. I was so thankful he was in my life.

“I can’t take all the credit,” Dominic said. “Everyone helped just as you did for to be able to go home, but others stepped up, too. It was the same thing here.”

“Thank you so much, everyone,” Tyler said and wiped away the tears that were coming down my cheeks with his thumb.

“Yes, thank you, guys, for making sure our babies will be safe at home! I love it so much!”

After Batter Up! closed for the day, we all gathered in our family room. Some people were sitting on our new couch, on the floor, or on kitchen barstools all facing our big screen TV. I sat on my husband’s lap on the end of the couch and loved when he pulled me as close to him as he could. I smiled as my brother took Hazel in his arms, and Penelope took Olivia to hold while sitting on the floor surrounded by her kids. I snuggled into Tyler’s embrace as we all watched Landon’s Jaguars play in Game 1 of the World Series against the Cleveland Rockets.