The others chuckled, and Geoff grinned. “How is the baby, Kate?”
Now she seemed to have difficulty swallowing, but she smiled through her sudden tears. “They are fine.”
Which of his friends gasped, he couldn’t tell. He only knew that he couldn’t breathe and the sounds of jubilation coming from the others, the pounding on his back, all went unnoticed as he stared at Kate open-mouthed in shock.
“They?” he finally managed.
She nodded, grinning. “You have two children, Geoff. Two beautiful, healthy babies.”
“Are… are you sure?” he stammered, shaking his head. “We’ve been trying for so long…”
She laughed and put her hand on his arm. “I’m quite sure, Geoff. I was there the entire time. You have two perfect children, your wife is delirious with joy and doing well, and if I stand here talking to you about it any longer, she will never forgive me.” She stepped back and gestured for him to enter.
He didn’t need any further encouragement. He raced into the room and saw the doctor washing his hands in the sitting room. He smiled cordially at him.
“All well, Mr. Harris,” Doctor Durham said cheerily. “I shall be back tomorrow morning to see to all three, but I don’t foresee the slightest hiccup of a problem.”
Geoff nodded and shook his hand repeatedly. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure, to be sure, to be sure,” he replied with a chuckle. He picked up his bag and left the room with a bow.
Geoff would seriously consider taking up that petition with Granger for getting the good doctor sainted.
He turned with breathless anticipation to the bedroom. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he stepped in, his eyes instantly clapping on Mary, who was pale, drawn, completely disheveled, and so beautiful it made his chest ache. She was staring down at the bundle in her arms, smiling with a serenity words could not describe.
He hated to disturb the scene, but he couldn’t contain himself. “Mary,” he breathed.
She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears, but her smile broad. “Come meet your son, my love.”
He moved to her side and looked down at the child in her arms.
“A son,” he murmured, reaching out to touch a small hand. The fingers spread out instinctively, and he was struck by the perfection of this infant. He shook his head. “He’s beautiful.”
“And he’s the oldest,” Mary informed him with a laugh, “and quite impatient.”
“This little one, on the other hand,” came Moira’s voice from somewhere behind him, “is the sweetest little angel that was ever born.”
Geoff turned to see Moira sitting in the chair with a second bundle. His eyes immediately fixed on it.
“That is our daughter,” Mary murmured softly, a smile evident in her tone. “She took a little coaxing.”
Moira stood and brought the baby over to him, laying her gently in his unpracticed arms.
Geoff stared down at the baby, a new and confusing twist of emotions playing within him. He felt a surge of pride that inexplicably caused his eyes to water and his throat to close. These were his children.
He was a father.
He tried to speak, but couldn’t. He shook his head at the embarrassing show of emotion and the nondescript sounds that emanated from his throat.
Moira smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll leave you alone to have this family time. Come and fetch me when you need a reprieve.”
He nodded, knowing he would probably want to hold his children for the rest of their lives, and also knowing that was not going to be true in coming weeks and months. But for this moment, it was.
Moira left the room and the only sound heard was the fire crackling in the hearth nearby.
Mary suddenly touched his arm gently, and he was drawn out of his reverie. He looked down at her with a bewildered smile.
“Two?” he asked.
She grinned and blushed a bit. “I’ve suspected for some time, but it seemed impertinent to vocalize them when we were already blessed to have been pregnant at all.”
He could understand that. “You could have told me,” he scolded softly, sitting on the bed next to her carefully so as not to jostle his daughter.
She shook her head. “You would have worried far more than you already did, and what if I was wrong?”
“Did Doctor Durham suspect?”
She nodded. “Towards the end, when he saw my size, and when I explained how I seemed to be feeling kicks and movements in different areas. But we were not sure until… well, until I had delivered him and the pains didn’t subside.”
Geoff looked at Mary more carefully, taking in every aspect of her appearance. “How are you?” he murmured with concern.
She smiled and put a hand on his cheek. “Perfect. Tired beyond belief, but I’m so happy at this moment, I can barely feel it.”
He doubted that, but smiled all the same. “I wanted to be here with you,” he whispered. “I could have been here.”
She stroked his cheek softly. “I know. I’m sorry, but I just… I wanted to be strong, and I knew immediately that I couldn’t be. I didn’t want you to see me like that.”
He leaned in quickly and kissed her hard. “Don’t protect me, Mary Harris,” he whispered. “I love you. For better or for worse, I am yours and I will support you. Let me.”
She sighed softly and brought her lips back to his.
He hummed with pleasure as she pulled back and she quirked her brows at him, then looked back down at their son.
“I suppose we should name them,” Geoff said with a light chuckle. “Though what names we could use that haven’t already been taken up by our siblings and friends…”
“I have been thinking about that, actually,” Mary replied. “For him, how do you feel about William?”
He nodded thoughtfully. “William is a good, strong name. I don’t know a single William that I don’t like.”
Mary snorted and shook her head. “High praise, indeed.”
He nudged her with his shoulder, but otherwise ignored the comment. “And this little angel?” he asked holding his daughter a little closer.
“I don’t know how you will feel about this,” Mary said slowly, “but I’ve always loved the name Julianna. I know it is a little grand for so small a person…”
“I love it,” Geoff interrupted. “It is perfect for her.”
Mary beamed at him and kissed his cheek, then rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. “William and Julianna. Welcome to our family.”
Her voice squeaked with emotion, which made Geoff smile, and he pressed his lips to her hair. They sat together for some time, watching their children sleep.
Only when Mary yawned herself did Geoff come to his senses.
“You need sleep as well,” he told her, rising gently. “I’ll fetch Moira or Kate to take him.”
Mary sighed and looked at William. “I don’t want to let him go.”
Geoffrey chuckled. “Darling, he is ours forever. He won’t go anywhere, unless the girls run off with him, which I don’t believe their husbands will allow, as they have children at home. I can have them brought back to you the moment you are awake.”
“I suppose so,” Mary allowed with a frown.
“I insist that you rest,” he told her with a look. “Would you like me to go?”
She bit her lip, chewing thoughtfully. “If you don’t mind, I’d like you to stay. And hold me.”
He smiled, loving the warmth that he still felt when she asked such things of him. “I don’t mind at all.” He went into the sitting room and opened the door to the hall, calling for Moira and Kate, who were quick to respond. Kate eagerly took Julianna from him, and Moira rushed to Mary and claimed William.
Moments later, the room was quiet and still once more. Geoff returned to the bed and lay beside his wife, opening his arms for her. She nestled against his side and rested her head on his chest. “You know what I was thinking this morning before the babies came?” sh
e asked softly.
He chuckled. “I haven’t a clue. What was going through that devious mind of yours?”
“You never told me what your favorite part of me was.”
He looked down at her in surprise. “What?”
She met his eyes. “Before we were married, when we were just friends, and then into that melee of a season, you always complimented a part of me, and I asked if it was your favorite, and…”
“And I never told you,” he finished, nodding thoughtfully. “Well, my dear, I suppose now is as good a time as any. Nothing has changed after all these years of marriage and your miraculous bearing of two children in one afternoon. My favorite part of you is and always will be… you.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
He shrugged. “How could I ever have a favorite part of you? There are so many parts to love, but when it comes down to it, the combination of everything that you are and everything that makes you up is my favorite part. Your mind, your body, your heart, your wit, your lips, your laugh, your hands, your toes, that freckle on your back that looks like France…”
Mary burst out laughing, but clamped a hand over her mouth and beamed up at him.
He shook his head and pulled her in tight. “I just love you, Mary. You are my favorite part.”
She kissed his chest directly over his heart. “And you are mine.” She tilted her head up and kissed him, long, slow, and tender.
“None of that, Mrs. Harris,” he scolded as he broke off. “Your wiles must wait. You must rest now, and if I’m too distracting, I will leave.”
She giggled and wrapped her arms around him. “You are too distracting, but you can’t leave. I forbid it.”
He sighed a very long-suffering sigh. “Very well, if the lady demands. Shall I tell you a story to help you sleep?”
“Yes, please,” she said on a yawn.
He nodded with a smile. “Once upon a time, there was a girl who was vibrant, brilliant, beautiful, and clever, which is quite the combination to be proud of in a sensible girl. Her name was Mary, and she made even the most unruly flowers sing.”
Mary snorted, and he felt her shake her head against him.
“At any rate, Mary had this quite slow, rather stupid, and almost completely blind friend named Geoffrey, who really wasn’t good for very much, but he tried.”
“Oh, be nice,” she murmured.
“Shush,” he scolded. “I’m telling this story. Anyway, they became friends as children when Mary was found in a tree one day…”
About the Author
Rebecca Connolly has been creating stories since she was young, and there are home videos to prove it. She started writing them down in elementary school and has never looked back. She lives in Ohio, spends every spare moment away from her day job absorbed in her writing, and is a hot cocoa junkie.
Coming Soon
The Dangers
of
Doing Good
“A generous heart is a risky venture.”
by
Rebecca Connolly
Secrets of a Spinster Page 29