Christmas Surprises (18 page)

"But it is," she said.  "Merry Christmas, Micah."

"Merry Christmas, Rachel."

CHAPTER SIX

Easter

It was going to be the best Easter ever.

I knew it the moment my phone began ringing during the Good Friday service at our church.

It started just as we were getting to that somber part of the service.  You know, when it's all quiet and introspective, and something like a ringing cell phone would really kill the mood.

But I'd kept the phone on when we went into church because Maddie was past due, of course, and I wanted to know the second there was any news on the baby front.  I knew Grant wouldn't call me before there was news, because he's horrible at returning phone calls. Always has been.  And it's been worse as of late because he has these periods of time now where he turns off his phone, where he leaves the restaurant, and no one can reach him, even at the little house he and Maddie just moved into a month ago.

Seriously, they don't even have a land line.  They just turn off their cell phones and ignore everyone else.

Which, you know... good for them, right?

Anyway, we were praying and singing at the Good Friday service, thinking about the sacrifice that Jesus made, when my phone started playing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy." 

(Yeah, Micah had downloaded that ring tone to my phone as a joke, programmed it to play when he called, and then made a mistake in entering the number.  Now, it rings when my brother calls.  When I told Micah to just pay to change it, he told me he couldn't be frivolous with the money, now that he's supporting three moochers and all.  This was said with a wink, of course.)

So, now, I have Rod Stewart screeching at me every time Grant calls.  Which, as I've mentioned before, isn't all that often.

But still.

There we all were praying, quietly and introspectively, when the call came.

"Ifffff you want my body, aaaaand you think I'm sexy, come on, sugar, let me know!" 

Yes.  Just like that.  Right in the middle of the Good Friday service. 

"Ifffff you really need me, juuuuuust reach out and touch me, come on, honey --"

"Shhhh," Mia and Zoe said together, their little fingers to their lips.

"I know," I hissed, getting up and attempting to make my way out, just as the phone started another ring.

Oh, good grief.

"Iffffff you want my body, aaaaaand --"

"It's my brother," I whispered apologetically to the people around me.

A few gasps followed that, of course, so I felt the need to clarify.

"He's having a baby!," I tossed over my shoulder gleefully, making my way out of the aisle and out of the sanctuary as the phone continued serenading me. 

Just as soon as I was out in the foyer, I held it up to my ear, grinning and ready to squeal... just as the click came indicating that Grant had hung up on me.

"Lousy brother," I muttered, looking back down at it, thinking that he has absolutely no patience at all, and --

"Is Huck Finn here or what?"

I turned to face Micah, who had made his way out of the service as well, Mia's hand in one of his and Zoe's in the other.

"Who knows?," I said, showing him my phone.  "Stupid Grant hung up the stupid phone before I could even get to it."

"You said stupid!," both girls chided me at once.

"Yeah," I sighed.  "I was talking about Uncle Grant, so the word stupid was --"

And then I got a buzz indicating a text.

Grant's patience hadn't lasted long enough for him to wait for me to pick up, but his excitement had been great enough to send me a text, at least.

"Eight pounds, three ounces," I read out loud, grinning.  "Twenty-one inches long."

"Perfect," Micah said, smiling.

"Kinda big," I said, glancing over at the girls.  "But maybe because I'm comparing him to six pound twins, huh?"

"And the name?," Micah asked, just as another text came my way.

Sure enough, there it was.

"Sawyer Grant Finn," I read, laughing out loud.

"Sawyer," Micah grinned.  "I kinda feel like that was my doing."

"I don't get it," Mia said.

"It's like Huck," I told her, "but different.  Oh, Micah, let's go and see him!"

"They might not want visitors, since they just had him and all, Rachel," he said.

Which was probably true. 

But whatever.  Like I'd let that stop me.

"Yeah, already letting Grant know that we're on our way," I said, my fingers already typing out the text. 

"Okay, then," Micah sighed, smiling at me.  "Maybe Grant will let us get some dinner for them both or something, huh?"

"Not likely," I said, looking down at Mia and Zoe.  "You ready to meet your cousin?"

"Yeah!," they both answered me as we began walking out to our car.

"You both already know how to help out," I said even as we made our way across the parking lot, my mind on my nephew, on Maddie, on Grant, on all the joy ahead of them.  "Maybe you can tell Aunt Maddie that you'll keep the baby at our house in a few weeks and let her go on a date night with Uncle Grant."

"We could do that!," Mia exclaimed.  "I can fix him a bottle like I do for Joel.  But I'll let Zoe change the diapers."

Yes, the girls had been getting lots of experience with the newest Morales baby.  Jacob and Gracie were still living with us, but their house would be move-in ready in a few more months.  We were already planning our summer vacation for the week after they'd move out, knowing we'd all need a little break from normalcy before we adjusted to life as just the four of us again.

Well, the four of us.  And Joy and Taylor, who were still living with us half the time.  And Brian and Natalie, who had spent more and more time at our place since the wedding.  Our house was very nearly always full.

I loved it.

"I don't want to change diapers," Zoe argued as we all four got our seatbelts buckled and Micah began heading towards the hospital. 

"I'll change the diapers for you," I said, reading Grant's text to myself.  "He's good with us coming, Micah."

"Excellent," Micah answered, handing his phone back to Mia.  "Text Gammy and let her know that the baby is here."  Then to me, "She wanted to know the second we found out.  Has some project she's working on and needed the baby's name to finish it.  Some quilt thing."

I smiled at this.  "She finally picked up knitting," I said.  "Like you once suggested she needed to do, like a good widow and all."

"Ha, ha," he muttered. 

But he muttered it with a smile.

"How do you spell Sawyer?," Mia asked, Micah's phone in her hand.

"S-A-W-Y-E-R," I spelled for her.  "And tell Gammy that --"

"Just got a text," Zoe said, reading over her sister's shoulder.  "It's Brian, Daddy."

"What does Brian have to say?," Micah asked.

"Congratulations, Uncle Micah," Mia read.  "How many miles did you run today?"

Ahh, this.  Micah and Brian are, believe it or not, training for that half Ironman Brian mentioned over Christmas.  Training separately for the most part because their schedules don't always match up with work and all the mini-vacations Brian and Natalie have been taking since the wedding, but they still coordinate schedules and share their progress with one another.

It's been a bonding experience.  Sorta.

"Tell him that I ran ten miles this morning before sunrise," Micah said rather smugly.  That had been the first time in years that he'd run that many miles, and he'd been understandably impressed with himself, telling me
it took me two whole hours to get it done, but whatever.

Mia sent it.  Then, another buzz.  "He texted back," she said.

"What did he say?," Micah asked.

Zoe read it to him.  "I ran thirteen miles.  Took me an hour and a half.  Eating too much of your mother's cooking.  Slowing this old man down."

Micah frowned.  "Sounds to me like that old man is taking some PEDs along with that home cooking," he muttered.  "How is he outrunning me, out swimming me, and out biking me when he's thirty years older than me, and --"

"Isn't it fun that Daddy and Brian are friends now?," I asked the girls, thinking about how there have been good days with all of us, easing into this new situation and our new reality.

"Yeah," Micah sighed.  "Maybe we can talk him and Gammy into coming to Walt Disney World with us this summer, huh?"

Already done.  Natalie and I have been making plans and finalizing details.

"That reminds me," I said, looking over at Micah.  "Your mother and I were --"

"Daddy, you just got another text," Zoe announced.  "From Jacob."

"What did he say?"

"About to leave for Houston," Mia read.  "Will be at Sadie's house for the weekend.  Had to treat your couch with cleaner because Sugar peed on it, so let it dry for the next few hours."

Demon dog.  She's not biting anymore.  Just peeing everywhere.  I think I prefer her drawing blood rather than having her shoot me a look, squat down, and --

"Still a puppy," Micah said, all but reading my mind.  "It's like having a baby."

And with that, the very mention of baby, we're at the hospital. 

"You know," I said, my mind going back through all the people we love and all the people who fill our lives, "they'll probably release Maddie and Sawyer both to go home on Easter Sunday."

Micah smiled, even as he found a parking spot.  "Sure will make a great Easter memory."

"Best Easter ever, I think," I said, sighing contentedly at how life is not perfect all the time... but it's still pretty wonderful. 

"Let's go, Mommy," Mia said, even as she and Zoe unfastened their seatbelts.

And so we did.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenn Faulk is a full time mom and pastor’s wife in Pasadena, Texas.  She has a BA in English-Creative Writing from the University of Houston and an MA in Missiology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  She loves talking about Jesus, running marathons, listening to her daughters’ stories, and serving alongside her husband in ministry.  You can contact her through her blog www.jennfaulk.com