Aliya gave Marissa her dolls as a wedding present. She was sure her Barbies would be in good hands since Marissa treated her dolls like little princesses.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the preacher said. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Kolby lifted Aliya’s veil, lowered his head, and kissed her.
Aliya wrapped her arms around his neck and stuck her tongue in his mouth.
Some of the cowboys whooped in the background.
Aliya chuckled. It was her wedding day, and if she wanted to give her new husband a kiss to remember nothing was going to stop her.
“Save the rest of that for the bedroom,” Kolby whispered to her.
They were spending their wedding night in a room in the hotel that her family was staying at. She had reserved the honeymoon suite for the weekend. Kolby had wanted to take her away on a proper honeymoon to Vegas or Hawaii, but Aliya had talked him into taking her, Marissa, and the baby on a family trip next year and Marissa had her heart set on Disneyworld. She didn’t need a fancy honeymoon anyway, she had just married the man of her dreams, she had the best daughter in the world, and she carried the next generation of Patterson in her womb.
“I have to pee,” she told Kolby. “We have to leave now.”
Kolby picked her up and carried her to the car and drove her directly to the ranch house so she could empty her bladder. The rest of the guests followed because Sonya and Aliya’s father had prepared the wedding feast.
Their parents seemed to get along better than she expected. Aliya’s mother had come out of retirement to sing at the reception and Harry played a tune on his guitar to commemorate their wedding. Marissa looked so pretty in her white flower girl outfit. Her father had woven bluebonnets in her hair. She and Kolby toasted with champagne. She didn’t get to drink any of it. Sonya had taken the glass out of her hand and gave her another one with milk.
“Did I tell you that Kolby weighed twelve pounds when he was born?” Sonya asked as the women sat in the den talking when both mothers made Aliya come inside to rest.
“No,” Aliya said. That bit of information she thought she needed to have a long time ago. No wonder the doctor kept asking her if her husband was a big guy. She had put on a considerable amount of weight, but had contributed it to her increased appetite. Sonya was smaller than her, where did she carry him?
“The doctor had to put me on bed rest after my seventh month. I just couldn’t walk anymore, and Kolby lay on my bladder.”
Aliya was just about to enter her seventh month. Her ankles were swollen and she lived in the bathroom.
“All the women in our families have big babies,” Sonya continued. “Marissa weighed in at ten pounds.”
Aliya looked to her mother for help.
“You were five pounds and fourteen ounces,” her mother said. “You were my smallest baby.”
There was a big difference between five pounds and twelve pounds. “Did you deliver Kolby naturally?” Aliya asked her new mother-in-law.
“Ooh, lord no. I had to have a Cesarean. I couldn’t pass that big boy out of me. You look like you’re having a whopper too.”
Twelve pounds
? No wonder Kolby was so tall and fine. Maybe Sonya should have told her this before she molested her son without a condom.
“Did it take you long to recuperate after you had him?”
“I’m still recuperating,” Sonya laughed.
“Mama, stop teasing Aliya,” Genieva said entering the room. “You’re going to scare her.”
“Aren’t you afraid?” Aliya asked her equally pregnant sister-in-law. Apparently there was something in the air around that time.
“No,” Genieva said, sitting down next to Aliya.
“You should be,” Hale’s mother said. “Hale was a big baby too. He weighed twelve pounds when he was born.”
Genieva grabbed Aliya’s hand and squeezed tight.
“Mother Christian, why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because I wanted grandchildren,” the older woman said. “You would have high-tailed it to another state if I would have told you that.”
The rest of the women in the room laughed at their naivety and agreed.
Aliya looked at Genieva’s belly. She looked like she was carrying twins.
“It’s only one baby,” Genieva said as if reading her mind. “Now I understand why Doctor Pritchett keeps shaking his head when I go there.”
“He does that when I go to see him too,” Aliya said. She tried imagining giving birth to Kolby’s son naturally. She shook her head to clear that memory. “I’m going to make sure he has plenty of drugs on hand when I go into labor.”
“Me too,” Genieva said. “No wonder I look like a beached whale.”
“You do not,” Hale said entering the room with Kolby. “You look beautiful, Neva.”
“You too,” Kolby said to Aliya like she needed him to make her feel better. She hissed at him.
“How much did you weight when you were born?”
Kolby took off his Stetson and scratched his head.
“Twelve pounds, I think.”
“And you didn’t tell me that?” Aliya asked, struggling to get out of her chair.
Kolby helped her up.
“Is that important?”
Aliya hit him on the arm.
“Of course that is important. I can’t push a twelve pound baby out of me.”
Kolby rubbed his arm.
“Ouch, you’re strong. Where are you going?”
“I have to pee again,” Aliya said. She heard Sonya laughing at her as she left the room.
Chapter Ten
Kolby Louis Patterson, Junior was born August 1
st
at 1:00 am. His equally eager to be born cousin, Hale Morris Christian, Junior was born two hours later. Both she and Genieva shared a recovery room. They both also had to have Cesareans. Kolby, Junior weighed in at twelve pounds. Hale, Junior weighed eleven pounds. Doctor Pritchard was so proud since he successfully delivered both babies.
Aliya woke up first.
Genieva woke up several minutes later.
Kolby slept in one chair and Hale slept in another like both of them had physically delivered babies.
“How can they sleep when I feel like the bottom of my stomach has dropped out?” Genieva asked.
“Feels like I’ve been cut from my T to my A,” Aliya said. “And have you seen the boy? He’s one big papoose.” She wondered what Kolby would look like in a loin cloth and feathers. No, that was too much to ask. She’d probably just end up pregnant again if they role played.
“No, I haven’t seen him yet. I was too busy in labor with his cousin. Little Hale has brown hair like his father and blue eyes. He looks like a sumo wrestler.”
Aliya chuckled. “Ouch, don’t make me laugh.”
Genieva laughed and groaned too.
Hale woke up first. “What are you gals laughing at?”
“Our big sons,” Genieva said.
“I’ve seen both of them,” Hale said. “Kolby and I will have to sell a lot of cattle just to feed them.”
“Are you going to breast feed too?” Genieva asked Aliya.
“Yes,” Kolby answered for her.
Aliya scowled. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was. Then I heard the word breast.” He sat up and yawned. “When are they bringing the babies in?”
“I don’t know,” Aliya said. “I barely know where I’m at. Did I scream much?”
“No,” Kolby answered. “You just squeezed my hand hard. That’s when the anesthetist came in and sedated you.”
Genieva laughed and groaned again.
“I went in asking for drugs.”
The door opened and two nurses entered with little incubators.
“Time for their feeding,” one of the nurses announced. She handed Aliya her bundle of joy. She helped Aliya take out a breast and Kolby, Junior latched on and began sucking.
“Look at him go,” Hale said excitedly.
The other nurse did the same for Genieva.
Aliya heard Hale, Junior smacking all the way over to her side of the room.
Kolby chuckled. “He sounds like Hale guzzling beer.”
“We’ll be back to get them later,” the nurse said. Both of them left.
Kolby came over to watch. He ran a finger through the baby’s jet black hair. “He’s beautiful. You did well.”
“Thanks,” Aliya said. “I think I’ll keep him.”
“You were thinking about giving him away?” Kolby asked.
Aliya nodded.
“I got tired of peeing.”
“Don’t make me laugh,” Genieva said on the other side of the room. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“He looks a lot like Marissa, but I think he’s going to have brown eyes instead of blue,” Kolby said.
“Did you think I was capable of producing a blue-eyed child?” Aliya asked.
“No,” Kolby answered. “And he has a permanent tan. He won’t have to sunbathe like me.”
“I liked looking at your butt that day,” Aliya admitted. “I’m sure his future wife will have no complaints.”
Little Hale began to cry.
“How much milk do you want, little boy?” Genieva asked. “I am not a moo cow.”
Little Kolby hadn’t come up for air yet.
“I think he’s going to be tall,” Aliya said. “And he has a strong kick. I bet my insides are black and blue.”
“I can’t wait to take my son to his first baseball game,” Hale said. “My father has already brought him a catcher’s mitt.”
Kolby had already brought his namesake a little red wagon. It was in the attic of their new house waiting for him to get old enough to play with it.
“You think Marissa is going to take care of him?” Aliya asked.
“Are you kidding?” Kolby asked. “She’s been blowing up my cell phone most of the night. She wants to babysit him. She better be asleep right about now.”
Marissa was spending the night at her friend’s house.
Their son finally got tired of sucking. Aliya gently leaned him across her arm and patted his back. He belched loudly. “Rude boy,” she said. She wiped the spit up milk off his mouth. “Do you want to hold your son?”
“Sure,” Kolby said. He put a white diaper over his shoulder.
Aliya placed the baby into his arms and Kolby sat down with him.
Little Hale finally belched. Genieva gave Hale his son.
Kolby unwrapped the baby’s blanket and began inspecting him.
“What are you looking for?” Aliya asked.
“His feet,” Kolby said. “Darn they’re big, and he’s long. He’s going to make some woman very happy.”
“Mine too,” Hale said. “They are going to be just like us.”
“Bragging is a sin,” Genieva said with a sleepy yawn.
Aliya felt tired too. Giving birth took a lot of energy out of her.
The nurses returned to get the babies.
Kolby kissed her.
“You get some sleep. I’ll see you when you wake up again.” He started to walk away, but Aliya grabbed on to his sleeve.
“Where are you going?”
“To the waiting room to talk with our parents. They’ve been here all night.”
“Another kiss before you go,” Aliya said.
Kolby leaned over and kissed her again.
“I love you,” Aliya said.
“I love you too, darling,” Kolby said. “Thank you for making my life complete.”
Sleep overtook Aliya.
“You too,” she said just before she drifted off.
The End
About the Author
Imari Jade hails from Marrero, Louisiana, where she works as a financial analyst. She collects anime and Asian drama and considers herself a multi-genre author. She is the mother of three sons and does the bulk of her writing riding on a bus to and from work five days a week. Currently she writes for Passion in Print, Sugar and Spice Press, Siren-Bookstrand, Melange Books, Phaze Books, Eternal Press, and Totally Bound.