Page 6 of Better Than Baby (Better Than Stories #9)

five

Murphy chased the tennis ball Henry tossed, immediately dropping it to chase after Holly’s ball.

Holly squealed gleefully while her brother pouted with frustration.

I didn’t have the heart to warn her that Murphy’s retrieving follow-through was a work in progress.

He was easily distracted by everything from a butterfly to a new scent in the air.

The only thing that assured Murphy’s solid focus was food.

And Holly had figured that out.

The four-year-old held her palm up, jumping excitedly as she eyed Murphy, who still had the ball but showed no signs of returning it. “Can I give him a treat, Uncle Matt?”

“Me too!” Henry raced over, swiping his nose on his forearm.

“Don’t wipe your nose like that, Henry. Come get a tissue,” Jay called from the deck.

“I don’t need one,” my peppy godson insisted, peering at me from under a fringe of blond hair, an eager smile fixed on his adorable mug. “If I give Murphy a cookie, he’ll bring me the ball, right, Uncle Matt?”

“No, I was first. It was my idea.” Holly glowered at her brother and hip-checked him.

Henry didn’t seem too concerned, but he delivered a sneaky side shove that their dads would likely miss from a distance.

“Hey, no pushing,” I reprimanded, kneeling in front of the twins. “Here’s the thing you have to remember about Murphy: he’s still a puppy, and he doesn’t always listen.”

“Gee, that sounds familiar,” Peter muttered under his breath as he sidled next to me.

“We listen, Papa.” Holly flashed her baby blues at her father, and damned if she wasn’t his doppelganger.

Seriously. Holly was a beautiful little girl with dark hair and blue eyes like Peter, while Henry was a carbon copy of Jay with blond hair and blue eyes.

Two eggs, one surrogate, and the ultimate success story.

Aaron and I wanted exactly this. Well…not twins, necessarily, but the healthy, happy, well-adjusted part sounded kind of perfect.

“ Mmhmm .” Peter tugged the edge of the red ribbon in her hair playfully and motioned to Murphy, who was busy sniffing dandelions. “I have an idea. I’ll throw the ball, and you’ll take turns trying to catch it and show Murphy how to bring it back.”

“Me first!” the twins said in unison, jumping up and down.

I chuckled. “You could go together and see who can catch it.”

With that, they both took off running.

Peter snorted. “This may end in tears.”

“Nah, we have cookies and popsicles, and since we’re guncles, anything goes at our house.”

“Ha. Well, remember, payback is a bitch.” Peter slapped my shoulder before launching the tennis ball so high, it was impossible to see it in the sun’s glare.

The kids shaded their eyes, squealing in delight as it tumbled from the heavens as Murphy danced around them, his tailing wagging excitedly.

“How’s it going, by the way? I heard you found a surrogate. ”

I focused on the melee on the opposite end of the yard. “We did. Her name is Lena and…I’ve learned more about ovulation than high school anatomy taught me. More than I ever wanted to know, to be honest.”

Henry had the ball, and Murphy wanted it. His rambunctious yips and a mini case of zoomies provided a sweet distraction. Holly doubled over with giggles at the puppy antics as Henry chased Murph.

“I bet.” Peter tossed a second ball sky-high and called out to the twins to catch it.

He was a good dad, attentive and present.

In some ways that wasn’t a total surprise.

Peter loved his family…no doubt about it, but this was the same guy who wore expensive designer suits and hobnobbed with DC’s political elite as a high-profile environmental lobbyist. I’d sort of assumed he’d be a little more hands-off and leave the messier parts of child-rearing to his husband, Jay…

who also happened to be Aaron’s best friend. That wasn’t the case at all.

Jay was a consultant who was able to work from home and handle preschool carpools, play dates, and day-to-day shenanigans while Peter worked in the city.

If Jay had a meeting, Peter tweaked his schedule so that he could be there for the kids.

They made a formidable team. Aaron and I admired how effortless they made fatherhood seem.

The pang of longing hit me hard.

God, I wanted this.

“So far, so good,” I reported. “I know Aaron has filled Jay in with all the details, but the ball officially got rolling yesterday. Embryo transfer complete, and now…we wait.”

“Congratulations!” Peter grinned, punching my biceps.

“Don’t congratulate us. Nothing has changed and…

” I trailed off as Murphy raced by us, Henry and Holly at his heels, heading straight for Aaron and Jay sipping coffee on the deck.

My lips curled at the corners as Aar crouched to pet Murphy and chat with the kids.

He’d been happier lately…optimistic but not consumed.

Sometimes I thought Aaron was better at the never-ending ambiguity than me.

I liked spreadsheets and plans. None of that mattered here.

I turned to my friend with a shrug. “Now we wait.”

Peter nodded, unhooking his aviator sunglasses from his T-shirt collar and slipping them on his nose. “It’s tough. I hated the waiting.”

“It sucks.”

“ Hmm . I’m sure you’re sick of hearing everyone telling you to hang in there after everything you’ve been through, so I won’t say it, but I’ll tell you something…

you won’t remember this part. None of it.

When you’re old and gray and grandkids are trampling through your garden, you won’t think about the nights you worried about the embryos that didn’t take or the babies you almost adopted who got lost in bureaucratic BS.

It’s not that you’ll forget, it’s just that…

good things are coming. Beautiful things that will demand your utmost care and attention.

I know this because I lived it. Nothing about those two little monsters has been easy, but God… they were worth the wait.”

His serene expression was full of love. I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I nodded, stooping to pick up a dog toy to give my hands something to do.

Just then, Murphy came flying at me out of the blue, knocking me flat on my ass. And right behind him were the two little munchkins. Henry dove onto my stomach as Holly straddled my legs and Murphy licked my ears.

“Whoa! I’m being attacked! Help!”

“We’re not ’tacking you, we’re tickling you,” Holly squealed, digging her tiny fingers under my rib cage.

“Tickle, tickle, tickle!” Henry slid off my chest and did his worst on my other side.

I let them have their fun for a moment before scooping them into my arms and over each shoulder like a couple of potato sacks.

Murphy barked his head off and wouldn’t stop until I lowered the twins onto the grass…

and took off, daring them to catch me. And yes, now I was that grown-ass adult being chased by two pint-sized minions and a puppy.

I circled the perimeter of the yard, pausing to do a somersault.

They caught me, Murphy nipping at my T-shirt and the kids climbing me like a jungle gym.

I could hear Aaron and Jay laughing in the background.

Someone was taking pictures, someone was chiding the twins to go easy on their Uncle Matt… and all of it felt so damn sweet.

More so on a beautiful spring day on a weekend where, for once, there was no rain in the forecast. The skies were blue, the grass was warm and soft, and the world felt ripe with possibility.

This was enough…more than enough.