This part is told by Lily, and is just a filler chapter to move us to the next big advance in the story.
The elevator ride to the maternity ward seemed to take forever. As the doors slid open, I was greeted my a flurry of activity; nurses bustling about, families whispering in hushed tones... probably at us because we were a oddly big family.
Sitting in the hospital waiting room was a long and boring wait. Like seriously, why did we all need to be here before the kid even came out? And it wasn't like this was Sky's first kid; it was literally her sixth!
I shook my head at the children. Mom was trying but failing to keep Kai entertained enough he didn't act up. Little Liana was making things worse as she tried to boss Kai into behaving which only made him angry. The other children, while being relatively quiet, were getting fussy, and I could see my siblings start to panic.
At least Ross was sitting next to me. Yes, his kids were also here so he was extra cautious to not look at me too long or touch me in the slightest, but we talked to each other.
"What do you think they're naming this one," Ross asked. He didn't know how to talk to me anymore, so out conversations tended to be about random or generic things.
"Probably something dumb. Let's see, it's almost summer, so maybe they'll name the kid Winter. Oh wait, that was Millie's thing."
Millie stuck her tongue out me and said, "for the last time; I picked Summer because it was a pretty name. You don't have to be born in the summertime to be named Summer."
"Whatever," I said. "At least they didn't name their twins Creek and Cabin like they wanted to."
When Sky was pregnant with the twins she and Ty wanted to name their kids Creek and Cabin in honor of the place they first hooked up. This was because the twins were born in June, the same month Ty and Sky admitted their feelings at our family's cabin. Not wanting to give their kids odd names, they decided against. I don't know how River and Tripp (again to honor the cabin) was any better but whatever.
Finally, after literal hours, Ty came into the waiting room and announced the baby was here. We all stood up and followed him into the delivery room. But Sky wasn't holding a baby... she was holding two babies.
My sister lay in bed, looking exhausted yet radiant, with two tiny bundles in pastel blankets nestled in her arms. Her face lit up when she us, and tears welled up in everyone's eyes. Except mine... I had never been very emotional or sentimental.
Mom gasped. I just rolled my eyes. The last thing this family needed was another set of twins.
"Did you know?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, we decided to let it be a surprise."
"You call that a surprise?" I asked. "You're twins with a set of twins already, I'm surprised you don't have more sets of twins," I said.
"Lily," Mom warned.
I fell silent, and leaned in closer to get a better look at the twins. I suppose they weren't the ugliest newborns. In fact, I'll even admit they were kind of cute with their tiny fingers curled into fists, delicate eyelashes and chubby cheeks. Each baby had a few strands of blond hair that hinted at their shared genetics, but no signs of how closely they were related.
One twin wiggled slightly, letting out a soft cooing sound, while the other slept soundly, blissfully unaware of her surroundings. I reached out tentatively and touched the boy's impossibly soft skin.
"Do you want to hold him?" Sky asked.
"Nah, I'm good," I replied, withdrawing my hand.
"What are their names?" Billie asked.
"The boy is Mason," Ty introduced.
"And the girl is May," Sky added.
While everyone else went "awe" I just rolled my eyes. "Because they were born in May, real original guys."
"Lily, I'm not warning you again," Mom stated. "Stop acting like a child."
My family stayed until the precise second visiting hours drew to a close. Each member of my family taking turns holding the new babies and taking pictures of the kids with the babies, making all sorts of awe noises. Finally, the hospital kicked us out.
The next day, I showed up at Ross' house unexpectedly. The morning air was crisp, filled with the scent of dew-kissed grass. As I knocked on the door, I heard me niece shout that she would answer the door. When the door swung open a second later, I was greeted by the sight of Ross' two children, still in their pajamas, their faces lighting up with joy. They rushed over to me for a hug before returning to the table to finish their breakfast.
