Just saying those words left a bad taste on my tongue. Hate, I never once let myself imagine that she ever could. I know I couldn’t, could never let something as dark as hate overshadow the light of the love I feel for her. I didn’t look at her, but I heard her indrawn breath and felt her stare.
“Where are we going?” I didn’t take the way to the house, down the driveway but went around to the other gate, which was actually closer to the guesthouse. It was only when I pulled up and saw Lancelot that I realized he never followed me; as angry as I was when I left here, my brother would’ve beaten me there. He knew!
“Get that look off your face; you deserve it for what you’d planned to do.” That’s the first thing he said when I stepped out of the car. The ninja turtles came running with looks of surprise on their faces when they saw her, so I knew that they at least hadn’t known.
“Grab one of your nephews.” I shut the door and moved around to the back, where Gianna had already started unsnapping the babies from their seats on the other side. At least I thought that’s what she was doing until I looked closer and realized they’d already undone themselves, and she was just helping them climb down since their little legs were too short.
There were more looks of surprise when the team saw the triplets; I carried my daughter while Lance carried one of my sons and their mother the other. I took them inside and put them down in one of the guestrooms, then stood back with my mind gone blank. “Stuff, we need stuff, like cribs and strollers and clothes and food and….”
“Breathe, bro, it’s all good. Take it one step at a time.”
Why the heck is he smiling? “I need to call Ma and Pop and let them know. Do they know? Did you tell them?” I was a little worried about their reaction, especially Ma’s. Not about the babies, but to Gianna and the fact that she’d kept their grandchildren away from them. They’d been nothing but kind to her, and they may see this as a betrayal.
As mad as I am at her, I won’t let anyone else go after her, not even in thought. I grabbed my phone and called up to the house. “Pop, can you and Ma come over here to the guesthouse? I need you.”
“Be right there, son.” I knew that telling him, I needed him would cut through the red tape and eliminate the need for me to answer any questions that I had yet to find answers to.
Gianna wasn’t saying anything, but Lancelot was beaming from ear to ear. “So, you saw my kids before me.”
“Hey, not my fault that it takes a whole team of people to get you to act right. And who better for them to call than your closest friend and ally? Seriously though, I didn’t see the kids, I just heard of them, and that was only yesterday. I’ve been on pins and needles ever since.”
“Look, Gabe, they look just like Gianna!” I know he was saying that to piss me off because even someone as far-sighted as he is could see that the kids had my damn face. His boisterous laugh somehow helped smooth some of the rough places inside me. If he could laugh and bounce his nephew on his hip, then things weren’t that bad.
If he was screaming and yelling, then I’d have to worry. What the hell is wrong with me? Since when do I need social cues from others to judge where I’m at in any given situation? Most people would cut themselves some slack. They’d accept that this was all new and would take some time getting used to. Me, I’ve lived with guilt my whole existence, I only know how to feel guilty for every little mistake, and as mistakes go, this one is a doozy.
By the time Pop walked through the door, I was about to give in to the exhaustion of both mind and body. “Gabe, what’s…. Gianna?” Pop looked from me to her and Lance and back, his mouth opening and closing pretty much the way mine had. A loud squeal broke the awkward silence as Rosa and Anna rushed into the room. Obviously, they’d followed our parents.
“Gianna, you’re…. whoa, whoa.” They both came up short, looking from one baby to the next. “Lancelot!” Anna screamed, “You saw the babies before us.” For some reason, her weird reaction seemed to break the ice. I’m almost certain they had no idea about the babies until they walked through the door, but here they were, acting as if it was no big deal that they’d just gained a niece and two nephews. And, of course, the competition between those three never stops.