Sophia sucked in her breath, extremely surprised and feeling a bit winded. She had not known that the brothers had arranged for this. What generosity! They were both such good men, so keen to make her happy and provide for the baby. The fact that they were both taking financial responsibility for the baby without knowing whose it was meant everything to her. She squeezed their arms.
“We just never want you to ever suffer or worry,” Blake said kindly, reading the shock on her face.
They left the lawyer’s office and Sophia commented, “It feels like we just got married.”
“In a way, we did. I consider you my wife,” Blake agreed.
“Me too,” Adam said, taking Sophia’s hand.
“So how about we go shopping for the nursery now?” Blake proposed.
Sophia was ecstatic to satisfy her nesting instinct and start preparing the baby’s room. She had already chosen the second bedroom in her penthouse to be the nursery. With the exception of a bassinet that she would keep beside her four-post bed, she planned to furnish that room and hire a decorator. The brothers had already contracted one of the New York’s premier designers and had chosen gold and silver to be the theme, with lots of teddy bears.
The brothers told her that expense was not an issue. She ran from store to store, picking out adorable clothes and tiny shoes. She picked out dozens of teddy bears and blankets and accessories. She picked a little baby bathtub and kits for baby care. Her natural instincts guided her, but she also had plenty of advice and lists of things she needed from her new book, a gift from Marcy, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. “This book is mandatory for pregnancy,” Marcy had told her when she produced the book wrapped in blue paper at the gender reveal.
At one baby store, the brothers were drawn to a huge white crib that was priced at two thousand dollars. “Are you sure?” Sophia laughed. “I hadn’t expected to spend that much.”
“Let’s get it,” Adam urged her.
They needed the assistance of Adam’s personal driver to load up the car with all of the things they bought. It took many trips to get everything up to the nursery. They also put some toys and a Pack’n’Play in the Franklins’ apartment.
“It really looks like a baby is coming,” they joked as their apartment transformed.
Sophia was ecstatic as she began to unpack the bags and find places for everything in the nursery. It looked so cute and smelled like fresh paint. She lifted the window to let it air out. The decorator had down a fantastic job. She tenderly folded clothes in the organizer in the walk-in closet, and put little newborn diapers in neat white rows in the special baby-safe built-in dresser that the decorator had installed near where the crib was meant to go. The brothers struggled with setting up the crib and agreed to let Sophia redo it with her woman's touch.
Together, they stood with their arms around each other, surveying the room. Then they retired to the living room. Adam began to make dinner while Sophia relaxed with her feet up. She had few bad pregnancy symptoms but shopping all day on her feet made her exhausted.
“Foot rub?” Blake offered.
She nodded gratefully.
“I really feel good about this,” she said, eyeing the little brightly colored play mat that she had set in the center of the living room. It delighted her that she had everything she needed, even a car seat set up in the back of Adam’s car. Adam offered to buy her a car earlier but she had refused, having no need or desire to drive in the city. She would entrust her life and her son’s life in the driver, though, who had proved his excellent navigational abilities thus far.
“I do, too. I am so excited.” Blake laid his head against her belly and the baby began to kick. They both oohed over it and Adam hurried over to feel it. Watching these men dote on her, knowing that they were going to support her, helped her feel better. It did not matter who the father was and she was determined to never find out. Maybe it would become obvious when the baby grew older. That had always worried her. But now she knew that even if that happened, these men were never going to abandon her or lose interest.
“Even if we don’t work out, we will be good dads,” Blake promised.
“I know,” she said happily, rubbing her tummy and playing with the baby’s tiny feet. Feeling him wrestling around inside of her made her feel so whole and complete, confirming her motherhood. She loved to sit and just enjoy time peacefully feeling her child. Often she read him books and played classical music and Spanish songs that she remembered from her childhood. Sometimes she would cry, but out of nostalgia, not sadness. She liked to do this alone in order to bond with the baby and not have the brothers fawning over her, but now she enjoyed sharing this time with the fathers.
“He will go to St. Xavier’s, where we went. It’s one of the best schools,” Adam declared.
“I think he should pick his own school,” Sophia replied gently yet firmly. She hated the idea of sending her kid to a Catholic school against his will.
“Yeah, duh, Adam,” Blake said. “You really think this kid belongs in a Catholic school?”
Adam shrugged. “So maybe an alternative school.”
“We’ll decide later. I just want to thank you both.” She leaned her head back and smiled at them. “I’m really happy that this has happened.”
“Now we’re just waiting for him to come!” Blake said joyously.
“Just one more month,” Adam crowed from the kitchen, where he was making a meal specifically nutritious for pregnant women and their babies.
Chapter 16
It was a short trip from their condominium to NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Sophia thought the Franklins might have chosen New York Presbyterian because it was so close, but actually it was because it is the best hospital in Manhattan and where Dr. Sugarman had hospital privileges. Sophia was sure that the hospital was great, but right now she had a more immediate issue - squeezing an eight pound bowling ball through her legs. She had initially wanted a natural childbirth, but the pain was like something she had never experienced, so after the first fifteen minutes had begged her doctor for an epidural. Sophia leaned back against the pillows and heaved a sigh as exhaustion swept over her like a great cloud. After twelve hours of labor, her entire body was completely worn out from pushing. But with encouragement from both Adam and Blake, Sophia gave birth to a healthy eight pound seven ounce baby boy.
The nurse carried away her baby before she could see him and they rapidly swaddled him and bathed him. She could hear his little screams and she began to cry as joy overwhelmed her heart. Blake stood at one side of her. He too was crying at the sight of his new son. Looking at his face made her love him even more than she had ever imagined. Then she looked to her other side and saw. Adam, moved to tears but holding them back stubbornly, trying to be macho.
Both men had been there with her for the past twelve hours, as she fought to give birth to their son. Exhausted, Sophia fought to stay awake so she could experience her newborn child. The doctor and nurses spent the next few minutes cleaning up the boy and then swaddling him tightly in a baby blue blanket.
“Here is your son,” the nurse said kindly, laying the little bundle against her chest.
For the first time, Sophia was able to get a close look at her son. He was a perfect mixture of the three of them. He had olive skin, and a few curls of wet red hair. When he opened his eyes to blink as his mother, she realized that they were a shocking deep blue. He was a healthy baby at eight pounds seven ounces, but he was so tiny. Knowing that this little child was all hers, and completely dependent upon her, made her feel both terrified and overjoyed. All she knew was that she loved this child in a way that she had never loved anything before. Her sense of tenderness and desire to hold this child overwhelmed her. Her heart felt as if it was bursting.
“Are you sure about his name?” Adam managed.
“Of course. I want to name him after your father,” she began. “Vincent.”
“And his middle name will be Angelo, a
fter my brother. Vincent Angelo Franklin.”
Both brothers smiled, happy with her choice. She had removed any conflict about who the father was by selecting a neutral name. But it was an honorable and noble name. “I like it,” they both agreed.
She handed the baby up for one of the fathers to hold and Adam accepted him first. At first he looked a little awkward holding little Vincent, but soon got the hang of it. Blake then took him next. They both gazed at the child that was their son and heir. They were as terrified and clueless as Sophia was, but they were also as happy as she was as well.
The nurse brought in a pen and the birth certificate. Sophia wrote nothing in the name line. It did not matter who the father was. They were all in this together. She did, however, give him the last name Franklin.
Blake and Adam tried to fit on his first diaper together. Sophia smiled and laughed as happy tears flooded her eyes. It was so nice to see both of her lovers try to be fathers. While she was not sure what to do, she was grateful for their help. The nurse seemed confused about who was the father but helped them out with suggestions.
“Are you going to breastfeed?” she asked.
Sophia nodded.
The nurse then excused the Franklin brothers to help Sophia learn how to breasfeed the baby. The feeling of little Vincent latching onto her nipple filled her heart. She was so glad to bond with him in this way. When he looked up at her, she swore that he smiled.
“That was just gas, but it’s cute,” the nurse explained.
“I think he really is smiling. I want to think that, anyway.” Sophia looked back down at him, as he suckled. She was flooded with adoration as she stroked his red hair. Already it was drying and taking on its curly redness. She was so grateful that he had turned out just like all three of them, so that it was not clear who the real father was. It would make this whole complicated situation even easier and more blessed.
“You’re a blessing, my little angel,” she whispered to him. All the stress was worth it. He was worth every little bit of struggle, every fight, and the whole ordeal with Tony and her family. She would never want this any other way. It could not be more perfect.
After a few days in the hospital, mother and child were released. Dr. Sugarman congratulated Sophia on being such a wonderful patient, and personally walked the new family down to their waiting limo. Adam had purchased a which was already hooked p in the back. Blake joked that it would be hard to fit a car seat on the back of his bike, but that he would buy a car just so he could safely take Vincent places.
They sat in the back facing the car seat, and Sophia held the hands of both of her lovers. As the car took off and the hospital faded into the background, she knew in her heart that everything would be fine. She could not wait to take like Vincent to his beautiful nursery back at the penthouse.
“Who wants to spend the first night with us?” she asked suddenly.
“Both of us,” the brothers said in unison, without a second of hesitation.
That night, Sophia took a picture of her sleeping newborn son and sent it to her family. She held the phone to her chest, not expecting a reply. But the first reply came from her brother, congratulating her. And then a few minutes later, her mother called.
“Sophia?”
“Mama.” Sophia let out all of her breath in a huge exhale. This was unbelievable.
“That is the baby?”
“Yes. Your grandson.”
Her mother was silent. Then she said wetly, “He has the Nueva nose.”
Sophia began to laugh. But tears streamed down her face. “Yes, he does.”
“I always wanted you to have a child.” Her mother was clearly crying too. “He’s beautiful.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“He’s healthy?”
“Yes, very. He was eight pounds and seven ounces.”
“That’s how much your brother weighed.” Her mother sighed. “I want to hold my jito.”
“You can meet him any time, Mother. I want you to hold him, too.”
“You know that I can never forgive you,” her mother went on.
“Can we put that all aside, Mama. For Vincent’s sake.”
“Yes,” her mother finally agreed. “I want to meet him. Please bring him.”
“Can you come here? I want to show you the penthouse. The nursery. It is lovely.”
Her mother inhaled sharply. “I can’t go there. I can’t see…them.”
“They are Vincent's father, Mother,” Sophia explained patiently.
“Dios mio.” Then her mother exhaled again, her breaths still wet. “Well maybe later. I have a lot to think about. Not yet, OK?”
“OK.” Sophia knew that that was the best she would get. And that was more than she had expected. The fact that her mother even called her shocked her, really. This was like a miracle.
“May God forgive you,” was her mother’s final sentence before she hung up. That hurt, but still, Sophia was grateful.
As she cried a mixture of happy and sad tears, the brothers held her and agreed to make themselves scarce whenever Lupe came to meet her grandson.
“I think your Mom is coming around,” Blake said, with more than a little hope in his voice.
“I'm shocked,” Sophia responded. “I honestly thought she would never speak to me again.”
“Nothing is as strong as a mother’s love,” Adam said.
Sophia looked upon her angelic son, sound asleep in his bassinet, and cried.
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