Page 28 of Finding Basil (Foggy Basin Season Two)

Chapter Seventeen

Eighteen Months Later…

Hiring farmhands was a new experience for him. He’d hired many people in his past job, men and women who’d come into a pristine office, dressed to the nines, portfolios in hand and perfectly crafted resumes.

Hiring farmhands was quite different. They came in jeans, in ball caps, and they were tanned and muscled. Each and every one.

Lila was there daily, giving advice and giving away the fact she missed it. They had no problem with her being there, and he only wished that she’d do the hiring, as she knew what she was doing.

Basil was in the house, cleaning for the tenth time.

He’d heard of mothers nesting before the birth of their children, but a father?

Well, Basil had cleaned and rearranged the nursery seven times in the last two weeks, and when he figured he finally had it perfect, the rest of the home paled in comparison.

In fact, his mother, Abuela, Sabrina, Carla, Andrea and other women in the family were there helping Basil. Herb knew the minute he stepped into the house he’d be yelled at to take off his shoes, or dust off before entering.

The third person who was sitting across from him in the small barn smiled at him, and he saw she was missing her two front teeth. “Miley, right?”

“Yes, sir, Miley, like Miley Cyrus without the money.”

He laughed at that. “How long have you worked farms in the past?”

“My whole life. Born on one, and I’ll likely die on one, but not anytime soon, I hope.”

Her hands were callused and the tank top she wore showed she had a terrible farmer’s tan she didn’t seem to mind showing. She looked like someone who worked outside, and if he heard she lived outside too, he would believe it.

“This is our farm, and we’ve been experimenting with melons and such for our line of toiletries.”

“You make toilets?”

That wasn’t the first time he’d been asked that very thing, so he pushed the brochure across the table. She picked it up and thumbed through it. “Oh, fancy soaps and such.”

“Yes, we’ve got a little shop in town, but most of the time, we’re here.

Organically raised herbs was how we started.

But now, we’ve found that we could grow even more ingredients for our products which will add an entire new level to them.

We need three farmhands, freeing us up a little to work in town now and then, and to free up some time to spend with our child, who is due soon. ”

“A kid? Well, congratulations.”

“Thank you. We’re very excited. Do you have…?”

“Nah, not me, but sure want ‘em someday. So, I got the job?”

Basil was the one with “feelings” and “instincts” about people. He thought all that was superstitious nonsense, but for once, he had a feeling about someone besides his beautiful husband.

Miley was it. She’s a great addition to the farm.

“Yeah.”

She smiled and tapped the table with her hands. “Well, shit, that’s just great. And you said something about a place to live too?”

“Yes! We’ve recently renovated our old house on the other side of the farm. We have three bedrooms for our employees, and you can have your pick of the last two. I’ll take you over there once you go get your things.”

“Got my things in the truck. If I didn’t get this job, I’d be living in the truck for a while until I found a job.”

That tore at his heart. “Let me take you over now and let you get settled. We’ll handle the paperwork later.”

She thrust her hand across the table to him, and he shook it. “I can’t tell ya how much I appreciate this.”

Lila came into the barn, out of breath. He jumped out of his seat, thinking she was having a heart attack or something. “Herb, you gotta head over to the house. Tilda called. It’s time.”

Herb felt faint. He grabbed onto the table to steady himself, and Miley and Lila both rushed to him. “Fuck. I…I don’t feel so good.”

“I got my truck right out there. Let me drive you.”

“Who the hell are you?” Lila demanded.

Herb straightened and shook his head to clear it.

He was about to become a father. He had to get his shit together.

“This is Miley, our newest farmhand. Lila, get in the truck with her and let her go to the house and get settled. I’m going to the house to get my husband before he runs screaming down the road, because he suddenly forgot to drive. ”

“There’s a threat o’ that, sure. Get going, Dad.”

Dad. He got woozy again, but he ignored it and headed out of the barn, running to the house like his ass was on fire.

Basil met him in the yard, screaming, “We have to go! Where the hell have you been?”

Abuela and Michelle were there, holding him, as if they, too, knew he’d run off. “Take my car,” Michelle said, “and we’ll be there as soon as we lock up.”

“Yeah. We’ll see you there.”

Basil was a mess, running his hands over his jeans so fast, Herb knew he’d get friction burns if he didn’t stop, and he was sobbing hard.

“I can’t do this, Herb! I’m no father! A father?

Me? I’m barely a grownup! How, and how will we run the business, and there will be no time for us, we can’t do this. We can’t!”

“Honey, it’s a little late now. I promise you, if anyone in the world will be a great dad, it’s you.”

“Please! I am no father! How did my dad do it? He’s got too damn many kids, and how the hell did he think he could do it? Why can’t I be like him, and just…know?”

“You are. You are the one who has dreamed of being a dad for a very long time. You’re going to be the best dad who ever lived.”

Basil was still crying, but his tears slowed at least. “Really?”

“Really.”

They’d decided to do the babies one at a time, knowing how overwhelmed Sabrina had been when she’d had the girls. The first baby was from Basil’s sperm, but he’d be the child of them both. In fact, Herb knew he’d love the baby more for being a little piece of Basil, the love of his life.

Not that he’d love his own less. In fact, Tilda already had them marked down for her next surrogacy. A year after this baby was born, they’d do the IVF again, only with Herb’s sperm.

“Tell me we will be okay.”

“We’ll be more than okay. We’re going to have a baby, and our love is going to be so big, so much, that we’ll swim in it.”

Basil laughed for the first time, and his tears dried like magic. “We will be happy. I know it.”

“We will, baby. We’ll be so happy.”

They parked and ran into the hospital, rushing around corners and down halls, being told to slow down by not one nurse but two.

At the maternity ward, they asked where Tilda was and was directed to her room, seeing her in full labor. The nurses got gowns and masks on and they hurried to her side right after they were as sterile as they could be.

“You two! Where have you been?”

Herb was shocked that she screamed at them, but Basil didn’t flinch. The meltdown Basil from the car was gone, replaced by this calm guy with a voice as smooth as melted butter. “We came as fast as we could, honey. We can’t miss the big entrance.”

“Big! It’s gonna be big, so damn big, how am I ever going to get a man now?”

Herb’s jaw dropped, and Basil glared at him until he righted it.

“Honey, you are going to get the best man in the world, well, third best.”

She squeezed Herb’s hand so hard, he thought his bones would snap as a contraction came on her. “This fucking hurts! Why the hell am I doing this?”

“To have the money to live while you work on your art, and it’s working. You have a show next month!”

“Fuck off! Fuck you, and fuck you, and fuck you all!”

Herb was shocked to his core. Tilda had never cussed. She said she didn’t want the baby to hear that language, but she didn’t seem to mind any longer.

Basil helped her with her breathing, and she calmed some, then he kissed her forehead and whispered, “You’re doing great. You’re doing so great.”

Nice of him to talk when he wasn’t the one getting his hand crushed.

Tilda screamed and laughed and went through seventy different emotions while the baby moved down the birth canal, on his way to greeting the world.

It was two long hours of that, and he was glad he’d taken his hand from hers after that first bruising squeeze.

Basil was a rock, getting her through her Lamaze, having Herb fetch the ice chips, and when the baby’s head crowned, Basil held his uninjured hand tenderly, watching with a serenity that seemed to flow over the room.

Herb’s awe as he watched his son being born was heavier than anything he’d ever felt. This tiny little human, coming into the world wet, squirmy, and so beautiful, took Herb’s breath away.

The two of them held the scissors together to cut the cord, and then a blanket was thrown into Basil’s arms and the baby placed there, screaming with lungs that could break glass.

He looked just like his beloved Basil. Dark hair, tiny nose, full, cherub lips. Oh, he was beautiful, and Herb fell madly in love with his son the instant he looked at the baby.

That, however, wasn’t half as much as when Basil handed him to Herb. Holding that tiny creature…oh, love just radiated, pulsed through him and embedded into his very core. “Hi, baby. Hi. I’m one of your dads.”

Tilda was being worked on, getting ready to deliver the placenta, and Basil was holding her hand and hugging her around the neck. Herb told her, “Thank you. I cannot ever thank you enough. I truly owe you the world.”

“One more time, Dad. Then…you can find another girl for the baseball team or whatever you’re going for.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

They walked out as soon as the baby was cleaned and dressed and ready to be taken home. When they emerged, the entire family, including his parents, were there, all getting a glimpse of the new Jimenez/Buffet child.

Abuela held him first, and she cooed at him. “You look just like your daddy,” she said, then guiltily looked up at Herb. “I mean…”

“The next one will look like me a little, I hope, but I love this one looks like Basil. He’s the love of my life, after all.”

Basil kissed him while the family passed around the baby, and said, “I can’t believe how happy I am right now.”

“I would bet I’m as happy.”

“Of course. Shall we tell them his name?”

Herb nodded, and Basil took the baby from Carla, who’d been making silly faces at him.

“Everyone,” Basil said. “This is Sage.”

Not only did everyone clap and cheer, most also threw in some laughter.

Juan teased, “They had to name the kid after an herb. Are these guys cheesy, or what?”

“That’s us,” Basil said.