“Daddy.” A tiny hand tugged on my pants leg. “Daddy,” she repeated.

I looked down at her, and instantly, my heart melted. The little girl had me wrapped around her finger. Her wild, curly black hair framed her face and made her look bigger than she was. Her hazel eyes sparkled with mischief, and she puffed her lips into a frown. At almost four years old, she could already play me like a fiddle.

“What, baby doll?” I asked her as I picked her up and set her on my lap.

“Gigi is being mean, Daddy.” She hugged me, resting her forehead on my cheek. Her tiny fingers found my ear and tugged on my earlobe.

“What’s that bad Gigi doing, Tamara?” I kissed her soft tanned cheeks, inhaling the sweet candy smell of her skin.

We’d made a monster out of Gigi. For a long while she was the only baby in the family. We doted on her and gave her everything she wanted. Even after Tamara was born, Gigi was still spoiled. Everything she did was a big deal. The first time she walked, I swear my mother called everyone in the family and had a celebration.

Even today, I still look at Gigi with a special love. She wasn’t mine, but she was the first baby that tugged at my heartstrings. She was the reason that Max said she wanted a baby. Without Gigi we wouldn’t have Tamara. The first time I held Gigi I knew I’d never be the same. The first time she smiled at me when I made a funny face, I was a total goner.

When Tamara came into my life I thanked my lucky stars. I’d felt a little jealous of Joe when he became a father. I wasn’t through the entire Suzy “eat everything in my wake” pregnancy, but when I saw that little girl, I understood it. He’d have someone who would love him unconditionally and for life. I wanted that. That pure love and someone to call me “Daddy” until the day I died.

“She won’t let me play with her dolly.” She pouted and glanced toward the floor as she toyed with my ear.

“Sweetheart, you have a doll too,” I replied, brushing the stray hairs away from her face.

“I like hers more.” She batted her eyelashes, something she had learned at a young age from her mother.

“It’s Gigi’s doll, Tamara. If she doesn’t want to share it, she doesn’t have to, and it looks just like yours.”

“But hers has a pink dress, Daddy.” She laid her head on my shoulder, resting her forehead on my neck.

“Want to stay with me and watch television?”

“Frozen?” she asked.

“Baseball,” I replied.

“Ew.” She picked her head up and pulled at her lips.

“Why don’t you go see if Aunt Izzy is okay or go see Nona outside with the girls?” I rubbed Tamara’s back as I looked out the sliding glass doors and watched my wife.

Max sat outside, talking as she unconsciously stroked her belly. After Tamara had been born, we’d decided we wanted one more child, but we wanted to wait until we were past the diaper point to have another.

When I’d held Tamara in my arms the first time, I had known I wanted more. As she had grown, she’d become more and more like her mother. Both girls had me. They could get away with murder, and I’d help them cover it up too. I loved them so much, more than I had ever thought possible.

Max’s greatest fear was passing on the disease to her baby, but we decided it was a risk worth taking. No one had a certain future, and we all walked through life with an unexpected fate.

My biggest regret in life was not having children sooner. I wished I’d met Max sooner and started a family. I was an old father. Now that I was in my forties, everything was a little harder. By the time Tamara graduated from high school, I’d be pushing sixty. It’d be tough to chase the boys away, but with the help of a gun, I’d be able to protect her.

“Lemme down,” Tamara said as she kicked her feet and pushed my chest. She slid down my leg, placing her feet on the floor. “Ice cream?” she asked with her eyes big and a smile on her face.

“Not yet. Nona will give you some later, baby.”

“I’m not a baby, Daddy.”

“You’ll always be my baby.”

She shook her head slowly as she frowned. “I won’t be. Mommy’s having a baby.”

I bent down and cradled her face. “Tamara, sweetheart, you’ll always be Daddy’s baby girl.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

“Ice cream?”

“No.” I shook my head and sighed. It was already hard to say no to her. I was totally fucked when she got older.

“Nona will give me ice cream.” She smiled and stuck out her tongue. Tamara marched off and headed right toward Ma to get exactly what she wanted.

She hadn’t picked up the eye rolling yet. I figured I had another eight years or so until that became a habit. She had nailed sticking her tongue out, though. When words failed her, she went with that damn tongue. I couldn’t be mad. It always made me laugh.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Joe asked as he sat down.

“What?” I asked as I sank back into the couch and watched Tamara while she tried to push the giant sliding glass door open.

“How much our lives have changed in five years.”

“Yeah,” I said as I kicked my feet up on the coffee table after Izzy slid the door open for Tamara. “Everything has changed, but in the best way possible.”

“I can’t believe Izzy is having twins. God has a sense of humor.” Joe slapped me on the leg. “She’ll get hers.”

“The fact that she’s having boys is the best thing ever.”

“It’s her curse for always bitching about us.”

I nodded with a laugh. “It is. It’s going to be interesting to see how she deals with them.”

“James is going to have his hands full.”

“He already does.”

“I what?” James asked as he walked into the room with a cup of coffee.

“Have your hands full with our sister.”

“Ugh,” he whined as he sat down. “She’s a beast.”

“They all are,” Joe said.

“I don’t know how much longer I can take the pregnancy deal. She’s so damn demanding.”

“That’s Izzy.”

“Dude, it’s so much fucking worse. Oh, and while you’re all laughing at me, ever think God is cursing you two because he gave ya girls?”

Joe and I looked at each other and grimaced. We’d pay penance for all the havoc we wreaked on womankind. Hopefully the baby inside Max was a boy. I didn’t know how I could deal with two girls. I needed a boy to even things out.

Just then, Lily ran into the room screaming and headed straight for Mike.

“Lily,” he called out as he held out his arms. “What’s wrong?” He searched her face and wiped away a tear.

“Daddy, Tommy.” She pointed toward the kitchen.

“What did Uncle Tommy do now?” Mike asked as Thomas walked into the living room.

“I was just having fun with the kids. Chasing them, but I snuck up on her and scared her.” He grimaced.

“Lily, it’s just Uncle Tommy. He won’t ever hurt you.” Mike stroked her blond hair, holding her head to his chest. “You’ll be okay, sweetheart.”

“Sorry, Lily,” Thomas said as he kneeled down in front of her and Mike. “I won’t do it again.”

“Okay.” She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

“Soon, you can scare your own kid,” Mike said as he kissed the top of Lily’s head.

“He’s barely walking. I don’t think I’ll be able to scare Nick for a while.”

“He’ll be running before you know it,” I replied as I thought about how rapidly time had passed.

Five years ago, I was alone and not looking for love. Today, I had a beautiful wife, an amazing daughter, and a baby on the way. Everything about the family had changed. We were all parents, or about to be. It was no longer about us, but about our kids.

Ma was beyond ecstatic. She had become the official babysitter, begging for us to drop off the kids and go out for a night. She spoiled the kids, but then again, we all did. The Gallo kids would grow up not wanting for anything. They’d probably be monsters by the time they were teenagers.

Life couldn’t get any better than it was right now. I was thankful to have a beautiful daughter, a loving wife, and an amazing family. The house had been bursting at the seams every Sunday since the kids started to arrive. They’d be close cousins and probably give us heart attacks as they grew. I hoped to God that Tamara would be a calm child and a recluse as a teenager. The thought of her having a boyfriend someday made me break out into a cold sweat.

I tried to enjoy the little moments in life, savoring the small things, such as tiny kisses from my daughter, the way she laughed with Max when they played on the floor during the day, and holding my wife in my arms. I’d worry about the future when it arrived, but for now, I’d bask in the happiness that surrounded me.