“Nicky honey, my ankles are swelling again!” I wailed from my spot on the living room couch..
“Brian, mine are too!” Kari called out to her fiancé pitifully. “Please come over here with a bucket of hot water, and now!”
It was now nine months into my pregnancy, and Kari was at the last leg of her eighth month. It was summer and the heat was making us feel worse, so Kari and I stayed at my house while Brian and Nick were catering to our every whim.
Brian came running as fast as he could with two buckets of water. He delicately picked up Kari’s feet and placed them in the water. Then he did the same to me. “Call me if you need anything else,” Brian said as he wearily trudged out of the room. He was knocked flat on the ground by Nick as he came flying into the room with Autumn like a bat out of hell.
“Amy, Amy! Autumn said her first word!” Nick yelled excitedly as he placed Autumn on my lap. “Go on sweetie, say it for Mommy.”
“Dada,” Autumn cooed softly reaching her arms out for Nick to pick her up.
“Did you hear that, she said Dada and then reached out for me! Isn’t that great?!”
“Not really,” I answered dryly as Nick took the baby from my arms. “What’d you do, brainwash my daughter? She should have said Mama, I do everything for her.”
“You do not! You, Kari, and Nicole are always gallivanting around town and leaving me home with the kids!” Nick argued.
“That is so not true, and anyway who’s always going to meetings with their management?!”
“Who cares,” Brian groaned. “You’re giving me a headache.”
“SHUT UP!” Nick and I screamed in unison.
“I’m the one who plays with them, bathes them, and feeds them, Autumn should have said Mama!”
“No she shouldn’t have, ‘cause she knows I’m the better parent!”
“Oh no you’re not! If you’re such a great father, where’s Summer?” I challenged him.
“She’s uh… taking her nap.”
“Liar! Just admit that you forgot about Summer.”
“I did not.”
“You did too.”
“DID NOT!”
“DID TOO!”
“DID-”
“Everyone shut the hell up!” Brian said angrily. “I think I hear Summer crying, I’ll go get her.” Brian raced up the stairs and soon returned with the crying baby.
“See what you did Nick, you made Summer cry. Come here sweetie.” Brian placed her in my arms and rocked her until she stopped, then I stuck my tongue out at Nick. “There, now who’s the better parent?”
“I am.”
“Why you stupid-”
“Mama.”
Everyone looked at Summer in amazement as the words came out of her mouth. “What did she say?” Kari asked, shocked.
“Mama,” Summer repeated, then cooed happily.
“Summer, you’re such a sweetheart. I guess Daddy didn’t get a chance to brainwash you like he did to your poor sister.” I hugged her tightly.
“Oh playing favorites are we? I didn’t see you hugging Autumn when she said her first word.”
“That’s because you pulled her away from me so fast. I’m proud of both my girls.”
“You are not. You favor Summer over Autumn.”
“I do not.”
“Do too.”
“DO NOT!”
“DO TOO!”
“KNOCK IT OFF!” Brian screamed, startling all of us. “You’re all acting so immature.”
My cheeks flushed with the embarrassing realization of how stupid Nick and I had been acting. “You’re right Bri, I’m sorry Nick.”
“No you’re not.”
“Yes I am.”
“No you’re not!”
“Yes I am!” I screamed. As I did, I suddenly felt wet. Uh oh, it’s time, I thought nervously. “Nicky honey, my water just broke.”
“It did?!” I nodded meekly. “Oh shit, what are we gonna do?!”
“First off, you need to calm down,” Kari said. “Aim, do you have your bags packed?” I nodded again. “Okay. Nick, you call the doctor and tell him Amy’s water just broke. Brian, you run up to their bedroom and get her bag, and while you guys go to the hospital, Bri and I will watch the girls. And we’ll also call your sisters and Jane to tell them what’s going on.”
“Okay. Thanks Kari,” I said as Nick and Brian ran off.
“It’s no problem. You and Nick were there for me when I had the twins, and so I’m here for you.”
“God, I hope I’m not having twins,” I said worriedly. “Having one set is fine, but who needs two?”
“Do twins run in your family?”
“Yes,” I groaned when I realized that my Mom’s mother had a twin sister and my aunts were twins.
“Don’t worry about it Aim, what are the odds?”
“Pretty damn good.”
Just then Nick came running back into the room. “Okay, we can go to the hospital now.”
“Here’s the bag,” Brian called, chucking the bag down the stairs for Nick to catch.
Nick slung the bag over his shoulder and helped me out of the house. “’Bye guys, I’ll call you if there’s any news!” Nick slowly helped me to the car and we were on our way to the hospital.
* * * * *
“Nick I’m gonna kill you!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as the doctor instructed me to push once more. “If you ever, and I mean ever, come near me again I will beat the living shit out of you!”
“You’re doing great honey,” Nick said soothingly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Just a couple of more pushes and it’s all over.”
“Shut up, you’re not the doctor!”
“Just a couple of more pushes,” the doctor informed me. Nick shot me an I-told-you-so superior look. “You ready?” I nodded numbly and began pushing, screaming in pain each time. “Just one more Amy, you can do it.” After the final push I collapsed backward on the bed, totally exhausted.
“Congratulations Mr. And Mrs. Carter, you have a boy,” the doctor annoucned. The nurse who had been in attendance took our son away to be cleaned up.
“Did you hear that Amy, we have a son,” Nick said softly, tears welling up in his eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you more.” Nick leaned in to kiss me, just as the nurse returned with our son.
“Here you are,” she said pleasantly, gently placing him in my arms. I looked down at my new son and saw the striking resemblance to Nick. “What have you decided to name him?”
“Nickolas Gene, Junior,” Nick answered proudly.
The nurse nodded in approval. “Oh, and by the way a man named Brian, whose girlfriend is in labor right now, told me to tell you that your daughters are with Jane in the waiting room.”
“Okay, thank you,” I said. She took little Nicky from my arms and left the room. “Do you believe that? Now Nicky and their baby will have the same birthday.” I yawned and leaned further back in the bed. “If you don’t mind, I’m kinda tired right now.”
“All right sweetheart. I’ll go tell everyone the news. You rest.” Nick kissed my forehead and ran off as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
* * * * *
“Amy, wake up. We have company.” I slowly opened my eyes and saw my bed was surrounded my the Backstreet Boys and Nicole. In the bed next to me was Kari.
“Hey guys,” I said softly. “Thanks for coming to see me and little Nicky. So Kari, how was child birth for the second time?”
“No better,” Kari groaned. “But Brian and I have the most adorable little girl, Mackenzie Shavonne.”
I looked over at Kari and smiled. I thought back to all the crazy things that happened after we left home: sneaking in to the arena and getting a job working for the Backstreet Boys, going out with Nick, Kari having Summer and Autumn for us, getting married, almost loosing Kari, and having a son. But if I had gotten to go back to that humid June day when Kari and I went to the Backstreet Boys concert, as strange as it seemed, I wouldn’t change a thing. True there were some problems along the way, but everything always worked out in the end. To think that it had all started out so simply with two girls, five guys, and a tour bus.
