30. Clara

30

CLARA

E arly November offered us the best Silverbrook had to offer. Snow covered the buildings and draped itself over the hills and mountains but left the roads clear and passable.

The promise ceremony had been perfect and now Alexander drove us all down Mom’s street, his lips spread in a delicious smile I’d come to know and love. He angled a look at me from the side. “No peeking.”

I rolled my eyes. “I never agreed to that. I can’t close my eyes or I’ll get carsick.” I patted my rounded belly. “These three always have to make things exciting.” The sapphire and diamond ring twinkled on my ring finger, today’s newest addition of a diamond-encrusted band catching light and sending it around the car in a kaleidoscope of rainbows.

Ethan and Liam nudged each other in the backseat. “When does the new car arrive?” Liam asked Alexander.

“Tomorrow.” Alexander’s look shifted to one that held the barest hint of caution. “And the car seats will be installed already.”

It was all becoming real. New cars. Car seats. The babies were almost to term. I couldn’t say that I loved being pregnant, but I would miss having them so close, so safe and protected. “I can’t believe Mom put you up to this.” I tried to cross my arms, but my baby belly prevented the motion and ended up making me look ridiculous. “You don’t have to agree to everything she says.”

“Yes, we do.” Ethan’s knuckle grazed the side of my cheek. “She wanted to see you after the ceremony.”

I huffed but released the smile I’d been hiding. “You’re all wrapped around her pinky. She could tell you she needed a boat and you’d have one in the street by the weekend.”

“She’d never ask for a boat.” Liam shook his head, complete seriousness deepening his voice. “Your mom isn’t the water type. A horse-drawn carriage, though?” He held up a hand and examined his nails. “She might ask for that.”

“Please tell me you did not buy my mother a horse and carriage.” I groaned and rested my head on the back of the seat.

“She wanted to celebrate.” Liam kissed my shoulder through my thick sweater.

Mom’s house came into view, the newly painted exterior bright blue against the piles of snow tucked beneath the windows.

Alexander pulled into the driveway beside Mom’s and turned off the car. A beat of silence wrapped me up tight before he motioned at the two-story house with a gabled roof and gingerbread scalloped trim. “Surprise.”

“What the…” I gaped at him, then swiveled toward Mom’s house. “What are you up to?”

Instead of answering me, he opened the door and stepped out into a blast of icy wind.

“Liam?” I turned as far as I could in my seat.

“Nope.” He opened his door at the same time as Ethan, the two of them leaving me alone in the car.

Alexander opened my door and held out a hand. “Careful. I had the driveway and sidewalks clear, but you’d better hold onto me.”

It wasn’t any great trouble to hold his arm and walk toward the house. “I still don’t understand.”

Mom’s side door opened, and she hurried out. Ethan ran over to offer her a hand. I stopped to wait for her, and she laughed when she caught up with us. “Welcome home, baby girl.”

“Home?” I eyed the house again. “I have a house.” A small house with no room for three babies. It had barely been big enough for me once business took off and I needed extra equipment to keep up. Snow flurried into the air thanks to another gust of wind. I smoothed my hair down and followed Alexander with slow, measured strides. “Did you buy me a house?” The question came out as an accusation.

“Yes.” Ethan laughed when I glared at him. “You kept talking about how you wished your mom would come live with you. Since you’d told us about how stubborn she was, but we also knew how much you meant to each other, we talked to her about this.” He motioned at the house. “It was built two years ago but never sold.”

“Too rich for this neighborhood.” Mom scoffed. Color dotted her cheeks and she’d gained a few pounds this month. Everything about her seemed brighter, healthier. She’d reached what her doctors called a critical point in her recovery. Things were supposed to get better from here on out. Like always, she was right about all of this. The house sat empty because it didn’t belong in this neighborhood.

“We have some ideas for that.” Liam handed me a key. “We’ll talk about that inside, out of the wind.”

Mom shivered, and that was enough to drive me forward. The door opened soundlessly, swinging inward to reveal a wide foyer covered in dark gray hardwood. Bare walls painted a pale off-white begged for a pop of color. I inched into the foyer so Mom had room to follow me inside.

“Wow.” My whisper almost echoed in the vast space. “Part of me wants to say I can’t accept.” I threw my arms around Alexander’s neck and hugged him tight. “Thank you.” I hugged each of them in turn. “This is amazing. Our kids are going to love it here. The neighborhood might be lower income, but the families are wonderful.”

“We know.” Ethan patted my back and kissed my cheek. “We talked to all of them.”

“All? All of them? Why?” I stammered out my questions.

Liam kissed me, his lips firm and welcoming. “Harrington wants us to start a green project here. At no cost to the neighborhood. Upgraded housing. The works.”

Mom caught my look and pointed at her chest. “It was my idea. Alexander pitched it for me, but Harrington and I had a long conversation about the neglect and indignity people like us were forced to endure.”

“You’re something else. All of you.” I clapped my hands together and spun on my heel. “I want to see the rest of the house. Bedrooms upstairs and down?”

Alexander led me through the house on a personal guided tour. We walked until my feet ached and my daily nap time crept up on me. Color schemes and designs bombarded my thoughts. “There’s so much to do. I need to set up the nursery.” I sat upright on the couch, not even remembering sitting down. “We need to get the cribs. Swings. We can put all three babies in the nursery at first, then they’ll have their own rooms once they’re bigger.”

“We’ll take care of everything.” Ethan smoothed the hair back from my face and kissed my forehead one more time. “Get some rest, and when you wake up, we’ll start ordering whatever you want.”

My doctors had warned me about this. The nesting phase, they called it. Coming here, to this gorgeous but empty home set off a need to fill the space with light and color and joy. The nursery needed to be perfect, the clothes all washed and put away in white dressers, one for each baby. I had so many ideas of how I thought it would go.

We spent as much time as we could preparing the house. Ethan, Liam, and Alexander agreed to my every whim and spent hours putting together furniture for the nursery. By the time my water broke, everything was mostly ready. The nursery was perfect, and Mom came to help at every step.

Her excitement mounted the closer we drove to the hospital. She squeezed my hand and reminded me to breathe, even though it felt like my entire body rejected the necessary breath. The babies came quickly—according to the doctors. It felt like an eternity plus a day for me, but all three came out healthy and with enough lung capacity to make my ears ring with their cries.

Mom and I cried over how perfect they were while Liam, Ethan, and Alexander stood around the bassinets in complete awe. I had to remind them they could hold them, and they moved with such care that it made me fall in love all over again.

“I can’t believe it.” Liam lifted one of our girls and tucked her into the crook of his arm. “She’s perfect.”

“They all are.” Two girls and one boy. I sighed happily and snuggled down in the bed. Thankfully the maternity beds were much nicer than the ER ones and I’d gotten a whole two hours of sleep between feedings. I already felt the strain on my body, but one look at my babies and I knew it was all worth it. Through the fear of the emergency delivery and nurses coming in all hours to check on us, we were doing okay. “We’re going home tomorrow.” I rolled the bassinet closer when our little boy snuffled and cried out in his sleep. With a hand on his chest and a soft croon in his ear, he drifted back into dreamland. He would want to eat again soon. They all would.

“I double-checked everything on your list.” Ethan wiggled his phone in my direction. “We’re as ready as we can be.”

Five of us and three babies. We were going to be fine. Mom had agreed to stay over the first few nights, just until I felt settled. She kept talking about not overstaying her welcome or being a burden on us. No matter how many times I reassured her, she refused to listen. Stubborn woman.

I lost track of the days. They turned into an endless loop of diapers, feedings, changing clothes, and trying to remember to take a shower when the babies napped.

We did find a rhythm to the madness, a pattern that suited our situation and the babies’ schedules. Liam cooked whenever he could. Alexander and Ethan watched the babies while I slept or showered. We alternated burping and changing. And when breastfeeding started to overwhelm me, Alexander ordered a breast pump and bottles, completely changing the ballgame.

This was our world, our family.

Mom came to visit on Christmas Eve and grinned at me like she read the thoughts in my face. “Can you believe it’s almost Christmas?”

“No.” I dabbed my eyes with a corner of the sheet and blinked rapidly. “I’m glad I bought all of your presents a while ago.”

“So am I.” Alexander picked up Baby A, now named Alice, and patted her bottom while rocking her side to side.

Mom stayed for dinner and even helped Liam cook. All of us shared a meal while passing the babies back and forth. The night was perfect in every way.

I opened my eyes and peered over at the Christmas tree, its bright white lights sparkling in the dark room.

Alice squirmed in Liam’s arms. She opened her eyes and yawned. Lights reflected in her perfect, blue eyes and she made a cooing sound as her eyes widened. I checked the clock on the table beside me. Two a.m.

“It’s Christmas, baby girl.” I touched Alice under the chin. “Your very first Christmas.”

We’d opened presents at midnight, while everyone was awake after feeding all three babies. My husbands had fallen asleep one by one, each with a baby in their arms.

Alice smacked her lips but remained content with Liam. I almost took her so she wouldn’t wake him, but the sight was too precious. I found my phone in between the couch cushions and snapped a series of pictures. Light from the tree provided just enough exposure to highlight the moment in photos I would treasure forever. I understood now why Mom was partial to her scrapbooks and photo albums.

A soft whine sounded at my feet. I hunkered down to pat the puppy on the head. He’d been my gift from all three of them, a gorgeous Spaniel puppy that would grow up alongside our babies. He’d already tried to climb into the swing with Alice and stole one of Ethan’s socks. We’d laughed at his antics for hours, and when he fell asleep with his paws on the baby swing and his nose tucked into the seat, I’d known he loved them.

Snores ripped through the living room, startling me into whirling around. Liam’s mouth hung open, the horrendous noise coming from him was loud enough to wake the neighbors.

I walked around to the back of the couch and slipped a pillow beneath his head.

Alexander and Ethan snored together, working in unison as they often did. Heavy breaths rushed through their chests and lifted the babies. They held them secure enough I didn’t worry, and when Liam readjusted his head and joined his friends with a window-rattling sound, I turned my phone from camera to video and tapped the record button. “Let’s have some fun. What do you say, Alice?”

Still wide-eyed, she made a wild waving motion with one fist.

“Yeah, I think so too. They’ll never believe it without proof.” I recorded a full minute of the snoring before I woke them one by one with a soft kiss. “Merry Christmas.”

I’d come to several realizations over the last year. One: happily ever afters did exist, they just might not come the way we expect. Two: I was totally and completely in love with my life.

My happily ever after had led to a beautiful home full of amazing men who loved me unconditionally and three of the cutest babies ever. And this fairytale ended with me not only keeping my job but becoming the best in the business.

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