Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“What’s wrong?”
“Miss Elle’s water broke,” Talisa says. “We need to get her to the hospital.”
“Oh,” I say as the news settles in. “OH! I’ll call everyone and meet you there. I’ll be right behind you.”
I rush back upstairs, pausing when I reach the stop landing and grimace at whatever mess there might be on my kitchen floor. I’m going to have to clean it before I leave. Down the hall, I hear Noah talking to the babies. He’s telling them about his game last weekend and how he wished it wasn’t so cold out because then they could go.
“Babe,” I say as I come into the room. “Real quick, Elle’s water broke and she’s on the way to the hospital. Can you call Ben while I go down and clean the floor? And then maybe your parents can come over and help with the babies?”
“Are you good driving yourself to the hospital or do you want me to take you?”
“I’m good. It’s only a couple of blocks.”
Noah nods. “Go, go be with your sister. I’ll clean up and then I’ll meet you there.”
I rush to him and press my lips to his. “I love you.”
“Love you more, Auntie P. Now go.”
I wish I could say I broke all the speed limits getting to the hospital, but I didn’t. Thanks to handsfree, I’m able to call our dad and tell him what’s happening and luckily for us, he’s at Liam’s. My in-laws offer to keep Oliver with them while they come over to our house. I love my little brother but fear his grabby hands might be too much for the triplets. Deep down, I know I have to trust Josie and Liam. They’re not going to let anything happen to their grandchildren.
The hospital parking lot is packed, and I end up circling until I find a spot. When I finally make it to the maternity ward, my parents are in the waiting room, pacing.
“Hey,” Dad says as we hug. “She’s already pushing.”
“Seriously?” I look at mom for confirmation. She nods.
“She’s early,” mom says as she runs her hands through her hair. “I don’t know if they tried to stop labor or what. She doesn’t want anyone in there except for Ben.”
“He made it then?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he broke every speed limit in town to get here.”
“Well, that’s good.” I pace for a second. “So, I guess we wait?”
“Yeah, unlike with you we knew how long it would take. With your sister, she could be hours,” Mom says.
“That would suck.”
I turn at the sound of my name and find Noah coming toward us. When he reaches us, I give him the update and ask him about the three.
“My parents are there. Everything will be okay. Besides . . .” He holds his phone up, showing me the video app of the kids’ rooms. “We can spy on them.”
Noah and I sit. My parents pace. It makes me wonder if they did the same while I was in here weeks ago or if they sat and watched television. Knowing my mother, she paced and the hospital has probably replaced the tiles already.
An hour goes by.
And then another.
I go to the window and look at the darkened sky and see that it’s snowing. Christmas is in two days, and I don’t know, there’s something magical in the air.
“Ben.”
My dad’s voice has me moving from the window to the front of the waiting room.
Ben’s smiling. “Elle’s fantastic. She gave birth a little over an hour ago and we just needed some time to gather ourselves as a family before I came out to get you.”
“Is my daughter, okay?”
Ben’s smile widens. “She’s damn perfect.”
Noah pats Ben on the shoulder. “It’s a whole other feeling, isn’t it?”
Ben tries to hide the tears in his eyes but can’t. “I love my wife, but damn, I’ve never felt my heart soar like this before. It’s a whole other level.”
“Not to be an ass,” I say. “But can we go in? I need to see my sister.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry.” Ben leads us in and while I know what to expect, my parents and Noah don’t.
“Oh, shit,” Noah says when he sees Elle.
“Elle! Oh my God, twins?” Mom screeches as Elle beams. Elle’s in her bed, holding a baby in each arm. Mom then looks at me. “You knew?”
I nod. “I keep my sister’s secrets,” I say with a shrug.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dad asks.
“Honestly, once we found out Peyton was having triplets, Ben and I wanted to keep this to ourselves. I’m surprised no one figured it out with how big I was.”
“Well, I was huge, so they probably thought you were normal.” I step closer to inspect the babies. “Are you going to tell us their names?”
Elle looks down at the baby in her right arm. “This little guy is the oldest by eight minutes,” she tells us. “Everyone, I’d like for you to meet Mason Jett Miller. We’re going to call him Jett.”