Page 26 of Finding Basil (Foggy Basin Season Two)

Chapter Sixteen

Their bachelor party was a party, but it had no strippers or porn movies. They all sat around card tables and played poker, and at the end of the night, all the winnings were given to the couple to begin their lives together.

Outside the little diner they’d had the party, Herb held Basil tightly, unwilling to let him go home. “This lack of sex is killing me.”

“It’s been a week, and we’re getting married in two days. I think you’ll live.”

“See, you’ve never had sex with you. You have no idea how addictive it is. You’re not playing fair.”

Basil’s sweet laugh and heavenly blush didn’t make it any easier. “I’ll be with you soon, and from then on, we won’t have to leave each other in the morning, or anything. We’ll be married men.”

The sound of that, married, together, connected, was so good, he held Basil again, only tighter. “I want to have about fifty babies with you. We need the help on the farm.”

“Yes, we do. Let’s get the married part finished first, then we can decide on kids.”

That wasn’t to happen, however. That night, Basil was in Herb’s bedroom, shaking him awake at three in the morning. “Babe! Babe, wake up!”

Herb woke with his heart in his throat. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Sabrina’s having the babies!”

Up and dressed in seconds, Herb was rushing down the stairs with Basil, who was so happy, he was laughing all the way to the hospital.

In the truck, Herb asked him, “Were you this way for all your nieces and nephews being born?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s another party. We all head to the hospital, and Mama brings jugs of tea, Abuela has a cooler full of empanadas and donuts, homemade, ready to go. Carla will bring a little boombox this time, so we have music.”

“Doesn’t that bother the other people in the waiting room?”

“No, weirdly. They get in on the fun too. I mean, we’re all waiting for something wonderful. No one’s in a grumpy mood.”

It was amazing how Herb fell in love not only with the man, but with the entire family. They were the sweetest people he’d ever met, and no one he’d ever known had the joyous adventures they had in seemingly everyday events.

He got on the phone just then, thinking of his own family. His mother answered, a little groggily, “Herb?”

“Mom, Basil’s sister is having the twins. I’ll be at the hospital, so don’t worry when you wake up and I’m not there.”

“Oh! How wonderful! We’ll get dressed and be right there. Should I bring coffee?”

At that moment, his eyes welled with tears. He’d had his family there for such a short time, and already, they were part of the larger family he was marrying into. “Yeah, uh, Mom, that would be great. Thank you.”

When he hung up the phone, Basil asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just…yeah. I’m great.”

They got to the hospital, and the waiting room was hopping.

Michelle and Abuela were allowed into the room until the delivery, so the rest were on their own, and they were handed the little pockets of deliciousness that were empanadas, and as soon as his parents arrived, everyone was sipping gourmet coffee.

Two other families were there, and they were joining in the fun, all waiting for their newest family members to arrive. What a wonderful night, and just before dawn, Abuela and Michelle came out of the room, announcing they were taking Sabrina down to the delivery rooms.

That was when the music was turned down, and everyone paced.

Basil and Herb sat in the chairs, holding hands, and as each moment went by, Basil’s grip grew tighter.

Worry came with the celebration no matter what.

Childbirth was a serious, scary thing. Bringing a whole new person into the world, and all the things that could happen to the child and the mother, were too horrific to consider.

When Sabrina’s husband, Lawrence, came out with the widest grin Herb thought possible without the corners of his mouth splitting, he announced to a crowd of waiting faces, “The first one is born! A girl!”

They all knew it was a girl, but the surprise was huge nonetheless and they erupted in cheers, and the new father was hugged tightly by each family member.

When he came up for air, he told them all, “The other may take a while; she’s stubborn.”

“Like the rest of her family,” Juan said, and everyone laughed with him.

“I’ll be back as soon as she comes.”

Michelle was crying on one chair, and Basil sat on one side of her, Herb on the other. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, hito. Mom’s just overwhelmed. New members, making this family bigger, stronger.” She put a hand on Herb’s cheek. “Each person that comes into this family makes us better. Herb, you, the new babies, you all are adding to the love of us. Your parents too. I’m so very proud of you.”

Herb kissed her cheek and said in a whisper, “I’m more honored than I can say, being allowed into this family.”

When the second baby finally came, almost a full hour after her sister, there were as many cheers and begging to see them both. Lawrence and Michael both calmed them all down by telling them to be patient.

Basil sat back, smiling wistfully. “It’s something so big, Mom.”

“I know. Starting a family is scary and wonderful all at once.”

“You having second thoughts?” Herb asked, only partially kidding.

“Never. This is the beginning. Scary and unsure of almost everything, but all beginnings are like that.” Basil’s head turned to him. “The beginning of our story.”

“You two are disgustingly cute, but I’m about to push those doctors out of my way to go see my granddaughters and to see if my daughter is well.”

Basil moved into her seat, and Herb took his hand, and all the world rejoiced for that one second. The beginning of a family. Herb had already considered a million ways that they could have a child. He was ready.

And a half an hour later, he realized that he’d been wrong.

Abstract thinking about the child, children they could have, were fuzzy dreams and thoughts.

When he got to hold one of the twins in his arms, he looked into that tiny face, mouth suckling at her little fist, and he realized that all those plans were suddenly not good enough.

He wanted a baby, wanted to give Basil a baby to hold, to raise, to teach the ABCs to, to watch grow into amazing people and start their own families.

Basil stood close, holding the other little girl, and when their eyes met, neither had to question what was on the other’s mind.

The babies were born, and the wedding was nearing.

They skipped the bachelor party and helped the women fill gift bags while the men grilled and raised a ruckus outside the Jimenez house.

The entire family was working, playing and being together, and Katherine got a little tipsy on the tequila shots and sang karaoke for them.

She had a great voice. Michelle told him she would be a great one to sing their babies to sleep when they had babies.

As much as they wanted kids, it wasn’t that easy, but he vowed to himself to give Basil all the babies he could ever want.

With Sabrina still in the hospital, the party was a little light. Light by three people. Basil grabbed Herb, and they sneaked out of the party to go see her.

She was resting, but not asleep, as they went into her room, just a few minutes before visiting hours were officially over.

“Hey, guys. I thought you’d be drunk on tequila by now.”

Herb sat in the chair by the bed, but Basil sat on the edge of her bed, holding her hand. “We missed you and the girls.”

“I miss you all too. Though, it’s been nice having some time with just my girls.”

“How are they?”

“Wonderful. They sleep at the same time, which is uncommon, the nurse told me. Still, when they’re asleep, I miss them.”

Herb could imagine being so close with them for nine months and then to have them outside of her body…

Sabrina nodded over to the other woman in the room with them, the other to have just given birth. “Guys, this is Tilda. She just had a little boy for a couple that can’t have kids of their own. She does that for a living.”

Sabrina’s eyes met Herb's, and he felt his insides swimming with excitement. “She does?”

Tilda weakly waved to them. “I’m new. Just had him two hours ago. Sabrina here, is the old pro at this already. She’s been teaching me the ropes.”

“I thought she said you did this for a living.”

“Well, so far, I have one. It pays well and lets me concentrate on my art while I carry my job around.”

“Sounds so…clinical,” Basil said.

“It has to be,” Sabrina scolded her brother. She doesn’t let herself fall in love with the child. It’s not hers, after all.”

“My aunt did it too. Gave birth twelve times, but only one was hers. The last one. She saved enough so that she could spend the first year with her daughter without the need of a job. They bonded so well.”

Herb didn’t want to push, not right after she’d just done it, but still, the time seemed perfect. “Do you plan to do it again, by any chance?”

“Sabrina already told me about her brother and future husband. I’d love to. In fact, you can be my first set of twins, if you like.”

“Twins?”

Sabrina explained, “Fertilized eggs, two of them, one from you and one from Herb.”

Herb’s entire body shook, and the thing was, he couldn’t distinguish fear from excitement. “Two…at once.”

“Do not scare me,” Sabrina ordered. “I’m already scared.”

“Sorry, honey. I just…this is big.”

“Don’t get in a rush now,” Tilda said.

She was a pretty woman, thick and confident, light brown skin and amazing green eyes. Not that Herb had ever felt vibes from a person or not, but…she had good ones, as far as he could tell.

“I need at least a few months to recover from this birth. That little boy that came out of me was almost ten pounds. I’ll get back into shape, we’ll keep in touch, get to know one another, and if we think it can work, we’ll start the process.”

Basil asked, “For you, what do you need just for you?”