Chapter10
Their time in the hospital was well-spent. The two parents learned how to bathe and feed the babies. When they got home, nothing went as expected at first. Tashka and Zap were jealous to an all-time high. They looked at the babies as if to wonder, When are you taking them back from where they came from?
Zap squealed and Tashka barked whenever they heard the babies cry, which was often. Tashka began to act out by chewing up furniture and Zap began to use the bathroom everywhere. It was a balance nightmare. Whenever Tashka and Zap wanted to get to know Nicolette, she would swat at them and whenever Zap attempted to get close to Miguel, he would scream.
Neither Nichole nor Victor could get any sleep. It had only been a couple of months but they were freaking out. “We need to get some sleep. Tashka and Zap need to get used to them and vice versa.” Nichole yawned.
“I know,” Victor replied.
Whenever the babies finally fell asleep, Nichole and Victor had bags under their eyes. It was as if they really had four kids at once because Tashka and Zap wanted to behave out of term. “You’re a vet. You should know what to do,” Victor told Nichole.
“I’m a vet, not a trainer!” Nichole exclaimed.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get some sleep,” Victor replied. As soon as they were close to falling asleep, one of the babies started to cry. That triggered the other baby to cry. That caused Tashka to bark and Zap to squeal and run around.
They couldn’t win for losing. “We have to do something!” Nichole cried. Nichole brought Nicolette and Miguel into their room and made them a space on the bed between their parents. She had Tashka sleep at the foot of the bed and Zap slept on Victor’s pillow, as usual.
Nicolette and Miguel looked at each other and then looked around the room. They cooed and giggled for a moment, then they fell asleep. Tashka walked over and laid close to them. Zap of course, still slept on Victor’s pillow. Nichole and Victor fell asleep so fast that they missed everything.
They woke up refreshed. When they woke up, the babies were still asleep as were Tashka and Zap. They ordered a pizza and took pictures of their babies. Both were starting to grow hair and Miguel had started to smile in his sleep every night.
The couple examined their passed-out babies. “Miguel has your eyes,” Victor told Nichole.
“Both of our eyes are brown,” she giggled.
“No. Ha-ha. You two have the same eye shape,” he replied.
“I think they look like your eyes.” Nichole laughed.
“I think Nicolette has my eyes and Miguel has yours,” Victor replied.
“Okay, I’ll accept it. They’re very beautiful, both of them. Even though they pretty much drove us crazy, I still love them to death. If that baby wanted me to kill somebody, I just might,” Nichole joked.
“All right, just make sure their reasoning is relatable. I’d hate for them to tell you to kill somebody just because they wouldn’t share animal crackers,” Victor joked back.
Nichole giggled, trying not to wake the kids. “What if we separated them? You know, put them into two different rooms?” Nichole asked.
“That way, if one wakes up, he or she won’t wake up the other and it’ll only be half the battle?” Victor asked in return.
“Yeah, I think it’ll be easier,” Nichole replied.
Victor sneaked out of bed and went to work. One of their rooms was to the left of their room and the other was to the right.
“When they’re older, their rooms are going to be downstairs,” Victor joked through the baby monitor.
“We want to give them the chance to sneak out like we did when we were younger.” Nichole laughed.
“Exactly, except security will be in the bushes to stop them,” Victor snickered.
He worked for hours. When he was finally finished, he came and got Nicolette and Miguel. Nichole followed him to see what all he had done. Nicolette kept the already decorated baby room. Miguel’s room was a regular guest room.
“I’ll get it painted and stuff for him as soon as possible,” Victor said as he looked around. He went to the closet and grabbed a baby monitor and put it into Miguel’s new room. He put the other baby monitor on his side of the bed in their room. After that, there were no more baby problems besides the usual waking up at night screaming for Mommy or Daddy for food or love.
Tashka began to patrol the house at night when Miguel and Nicolette went to sleep. She would walk out of Nichole and Victor’s room and go to Miguel and Nicolette’s room to see what they were doing. She would whine if their doors were closed so Nichole and Victor would have to keep it cracked.
For a while, security would close the doors and Nichole and Victor would have to get up to open it for Tashka. Victor ended up having to tell every one of the security guards to leave it cracked. When Tashka was done walking around, she’d come back to the room and go to sleep until she felt the need to go walking again.
Zap still showed rarely any interest in the twins. He would do almost anything to avoid them. He would walk around their doors to avoid any contact. He was used to being an only child. He was going to act snobby for as long as he wanted to.
A few more months went by and the babies were six months old. They became professionals at holding up their heads. They began to show their interests. Nicolette would stare at the television endlessly whenever there was a show about building on. Miguel became in love with Tashka.
They attempted to show Zap love, but Zap still wasn’t into babies. They cried less at night and slept longer. This was great for Nichole and Victor. The two slept more and they felt extremely refreshed as time passed on. They almost slept through their birthdays, had it not been for Melissa and Larry, they may have forgotten about their birthdays altogether.
When the kids turned a year old, Victor and Nichole rented out a building and had half of it decorated for Nicolette and the other half was decorated for Miguel. Everyone jumped for joy and partied until it was time to put the babies to bed. When the party was over, the closest friends and family headed to the Barbosa household and caught up on missed time. Melissa gave Zap all of the love he felt he had been missing out on.
Everyone had been leaving few by few, until it was only the main four, Nichole, Victor, Larry, and Melissa. “I can’t believe it’s already been a year,” Melissa exclaimed.
“I feel like it’s only been a few days,” Larry added.
“I know, right. I feel like it was just yesterday, when Victor and I brought them home from the hospital.” Nichole smiled.
They all ate cake and watched the fish swim in the tank. “I forgot about these guys. Who’s been feeding them?” Nichole asked.
“I have ma’am,” replied a security guard who was walking by.
“Oh, thank you,” Nichole replied with a smile. A phone began to ring. It was Melissa’s and when she answered it, her face turned green.
“Hello? What? Are you serious? Where? I’m on the way!” Melissa screamed.
She hung up the phone and asked Nichole to drive for her because she had too much wine. Nichole accepted and got in the car. “Okay, what’s really wrong? You only had one glass of wine,” Nichole asked her.
She looked over at Melissa who had tears running down her face. “Matthew got into a car wreck. We have to go to the hospital. I don’t want to lose my husband. I just can’t go by myself,” she sobbed. Nichole hugged Melissa and started the car and drove off.
When they got to the hospital, everything was frantic. Everyone was busy and the receptionist was gone. When the receptionist returned, Melissa quickly asked for directions to her husband’s room. They were directed to his area and when they got there, Melissa broke down.
A man with short black hair and a tall stature was sleeping in the hospital bed. Straps were holding up his leg and his arm was in a cast. “Mrs. Bryant, he has a punctured lung and he’s in a coma. He can hear you but he can’t respond to anything you do or say. I’m sorry but he may not make it through the night,” the doctor said when he walked into the room.
Melissa sat beside his bed and cried. “You remember when we were teenagers Matt? We were teenagers when we first met. I thought you were the finest guy in school and you wouldn’t give me a second look. At least that’s what I thought. You’d been plotting on me the entire time.
“Your friend came to me and told me that you wanted to take me out on a date. My heart pounded out of my chest and I was so nervous. You took me to that little pizza place on Sacs Street. Then you bought me three pizzas because I couldn’t decide. Then you gave me your jacket even though you knew you would be really cold.
“That’s when I knew you were truly the one for me. That was twenty years ago. That means we haven’t been together long enough for me to go through this. That means you’re too young for me to lose you!” Melissa cried.
He was still unresponsive until a tear slid down his eye. Melissa grabbed his hand and kissed it. “I love you Matt,” Melissa sobbed. Nichole watched from the door and she cried for her friend.
Nichole remembered when she was in the same position when Victor got shot. She knew how it felt but for Melissa it was worse. All Melissa had was Matthew and Nichole. Nichole walked over to Melissa and gave her a hug.
Melissa cried, “I love him so much. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Nichole replied, “Just talk to him. Share your good moments. He can hear you.” Melissa sat back down and began talking about all of their dates and the day he proposed and all of the times they did something nice for each other even if it was something little.
Melissa noticed Matthew’s wedding band on the nightstand. She picked it up and put it on her necklace. She lifted up the sleeve on her shirt and revealed a tattoo that said, “M and M” in cursive.
Nichole didn’t even know she had a tattoo but she stayed silent. Melissa pulled Matthew’s covers over his chest and moved his gown over. She revealed his identical tattoo to hers. “Remember when we got these? We got these done on our third anniversary. I was too much of a scaredy cat to get it on my chest because it looked like it hurt. You got it on your chest because you wanted me close to your heart,” Melissa cried.
“I love you so much, Matt. You got to come home with me. I can’t go on without you.” Melissa held Matthew’s hand. Nichole sat next to Melissa who had fallen asleep with her head on Matthew’s bed. Nichole was there to support her friend but it broke her heart to see Melissa that way.
Victor texted Nichole, “Everything okay?” Nichole took her time to tell him what was going on. He sent his regards and told her everything at the house was fine and then he sent a picture of Zap lying next to Nicolette.
She looked up at Matthew. He was trying to open his eyes. Nichole wanted to wake up Melissa but she didn’t want it to just turn out she was seeing things. He opened his eyes and looked at Melissa. “Has she been here long?” he asked.
“Yeah. We’ve been here for about six hours,” Nichole replied.
“I heard everything she said. I just didn’t know how much time had passed. I wanted to hold her. I always hold her when she cries,” he responded.
“Wake her up now,” Nichole replied.
“No, she needs her rest,” he continued. “I still may not make it. My lung is still punctured. I heard the doctor. I mean look at me. I’m horrified. What if I don’t see tomorrow?”
Nichole shook her head. “You can’t think that way. You have to conquer this. You can’t leave my best friend.”
He smiled and replied, “I sure do love her. I’ve loved her since Algebra. She was one of the smartest girls in school and I was a dumb jock. The smartest decision I ever made was asking her to be my girlfriend. That made history.”
Melissa opened her eyes and looked at him. She hopped up and began to cry. “Matt, oh my God! I thought it was all over!” she sobbed.
“I couldn’t leave you like this,” he replied. “What would M and M be without an M?” he asked.
“M and,” Melissa laughed through her tears.
“Exactly, that just doesn’t sound right,” he chuckled.
The doctor walked in and his eyes grew wide. “I see you’re awake.” The doctor smiled. “Since you’re awake, that means you’re healing. It’ll be a while before you can leave, though,” the doctor admitted.
“He’s going to live though, right?” Melissa asked.
“Right.” The doctor smiled.
Nichole yawned. “I’m going to go check on the house and I’ll be right back after a nap,” Nichole interrupted Melissa and Matthew’s reunion.
“Okay and can you bring me some clothes?” Melissa asked.
“You got it,” Nichole replied. She headed home and she hugged Victor. All she could think about was how short life could be and how often close calls come around.
Victor climbed into bed with her and held her. She kissed him and he kissed her back. She put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer. He had her bend over with an arch in her back and he slid it in. He wrapped his arm under her stomach and she pushed up against him. All Nichole could think about was how she could lose him or he could lose her.
She wanted to feel as much affection as she could before their life clocks were up. He stroked inside of her gently, treating her like a toothpick.
“Harder,” she moaned. He began to use more force and she moaned loudly. She wanted to feel as much as possible. “Spank me,” she let out. His hand came down and crashed against her skin. She moaned with pleasure. This was an entirely new milestone for them. It had been almost a year and a half since they had sex and with that fact being mentioned, they were trying to relight the flame of their sex life. It worked. They changed positions and Victor put Nichole’s legs against his shoulders.
He slid inside of her again and pulled out to go down on her. He stopped and slid back in. Nichole felt like she was on fire. She had almost forgotten what this was like. Electricity was coursing through her body and she felt like she was in a bathtub full of plugged up electronics.
“I love you so much,” Victor said.
“I love you too,” Nichole moaned.
He began to whisper in her ear in Portuguese. It drove Nichole crazy. She felt like he was massaging her insides. Although she knew love was more than sex, it was one of her favorite ways to show it.
She knew they had a connection that many people would kill for. She planned to enjoy every minute of it. When they finished they went to sleep and when they woke up, they took a shower together and they got ready for the day. Victor was taking the kids to a play date and Nichole was going back to the hospital.
Nichole grabbed some of her clothes for Melissa and she passed by a mirror. That’s when she noticed herself. She was back to her normal shape and had been so busy with life, she hadn’t even noticed. Victor walked in to see her admiring herself. Nichole touched her face and felt her stomach.
“I think you finally see what I see when I look at you,” Victor announced.
Nichole jumped and looked at him. “What do you mean?” Nichole asked.
“When I look at you, I see a queen with a gorgeous body. Your intelligence makes you shine. Your confidence was always so shiny but now, I see you’ve found new beauty in yourself. The beauty you see now is the beauty I’ve seen since before we met.
“You don’t know how bad I wanted to taste you that night we met. I didn’t expect you to be in a small robe when I came to your hotel room. You look exactly as you did that night that I first laid eyes on you,” Victor admitted. Nichole smiled.
“I love you. Thank you for helping me realize that I’m beautiful,” she said before she walked out the door. “I’ll see you later my love!” She stopped by the kids’ rooms and gave them kisses and hugged Tashka and Zap. “Bye my beautiful children!”
She headed on over to the hospital. Melissa was sleeping on the bed with Matthew and he had one arm wrapped around her. He was watching TV when Nichole walked in.
“Hey,” Nichole said as she walked in. She set down a duffel bag and asked Matt what he was watching.
“Ghost stories. Melissa turned it on and went back to sleep.” He chuckled.
“How are you?” Nichole asked.
“I’m feeling better than I was yesterday. I’m just really tired but I can’t sleep. I can’t wait to get out of this bed and back into my own,” he responded.
“I never knew you guys had those tattoos,” Nichole admitted.
“I know, nobody does.” He laughed. “We got them on a drunk night. We always live large. Go big or go home,” he replied.
“Why didn’t you two ever have kids?” Nichole asked.
“We will. Once I get a new job,” Matthew answered.
“What do you mean?” Nichole asked.
“I quit my job last year. We can’t afford a child right now,” he replied.
“Melissa makes eighty thousand a year, what do you mean you can’t afford one right now?” Nichole asked.
“I don’t think you understand, Nichole. You married big. You have nothing to worry about,” he replied.
“I do understand, I had money before he and I met but so does Melissa,” she continued. “You can’t compare that to me. I didn’t mean to get pregnant. I didn’t even know if I was really in love with Victor until we actually got to know each other. You two have been together for years on end.”
Matt sighed. “The truth is, Melissa can’t have kids.”
Nichole gasped. “I never knew.”
Matthew sighed again. “Neither did I until I caught her crying one night. I asked her what was wrong and then she told me. We would need a surrogate but we can’t afford one right now.”
“What if I bought you guys one?” Nichole asked.
Matthew sat there, shocked. “You would do that for us?”
Nichole chuckled. “Melissa is my best friend. She’s practically a sister to me. I would do anything for her and nothing on this Earth will change that.”
Melissa woke up and looked around the room. “It’s about time you showed up. What did you bring me to wear?” Nichole opened the bag and Melissa gasped at the clothes she saw in the bag.
“When did you start wearing the big brands Ms. Old Navy?” Melissa joked.
“Victor went out one day and brought it all back for me. You know I’m not attached to it.” Nichole giggled. “You know I’d do anything for you, right, Mel?” Nichole asked.
“Would you kill for me?” Melissa asked.
“Duh, I’ve already done it like six times already.” Nichole laughed.
“Ha, yeah, I know you’d do anything for me. Why? What’s up?” Melissa asked as she looked through the bag of clothes.
“What if I found you guys a surrogate?” Nichole asked. Melissa’s mouth dropped and she became teary-eyed.
“Really? You would do that?” Melissa asked.
“I just told you I would do anything for you.” Nichole laughed.
Melissa ran over to Nichole and gave her a big hug. “I would love that!” Matthew smiled and mouthed, “Thank you,” to Nichole.
Melissa continued to hug Nichole with tears streaming down her face. The doctor walked in and chuckled. “What did you win, the lottery?”
“Something like that,” Melissa replied.