“Fucking knock will ya!” Gabe shouts as he pulls my/his T shirt down over me, he pulls the doona over both of us as we sit up.
“Well that’s a nice welcome; we bought the parents to be breakfast in bed. Be grateful, you won’t have many moments like this once those babies arrive.”
“What the fuck are you on about? What babies?” Gabe looks at me, mouthing ‘What the fuck’ as Sam and Zac sit on the bed with a tray full of bacon rolls and another with tea and coffees on; I shrug.
“They guessed, everyone guessed except the kids and Stella and Coop and Jen.”
“Na darl, Jen was the one who mentioned to me that something was up, you weren’t drinking, you’ve put on a bit of weight and just the way Gabe was looking at ya. It all made her wonder if you were pregnant, I told her not to be ridiculous, but then I told her after I spoke to you that she was bang on the money but don’t worry, she knows not to say anything.”
“Where’s Ava?” Gabe and I both ask at once.
“Awww too cute, you even think and talk in unison.” Zac says in a totally piss taking tone.
“She’s in the pool, all the kids are.”
“The pool? It’s freezing out there.” I shiver as I speak just thinking about it.
“Na. I switched the heating back on in the week; it should be pretty warm once there in.”
Gabe grabs a bacon roll off of the tray that’s now sitting on the bed, Sam has slid under the doona next to me and has passed me a cup of tea.
“Congratulations little bro, twins, fuck, good luck with that dude.” I smile as I watch the brother’s fist bump each other and then smile some more as Gabe looks at me.
“We’ll be right mate Laurens a fantastic Mum and I’ll be there to support her every step of the way, but seriously, this isn’t public knowledge until we get all the tests done and we know everything is okay, we do not want anyone else knowing, especially not Ava or Laurens boys.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve threatened him with a lifetime sex ban if he dares breathe a word to anyone about this.” Sam says. Zac shakes his head as he shrugs and crosses his heart in a silent gesture.
It suddenly dawns on me that for the first time in many mornings, I actually feel okay. “What time is it?”
“It’s just after twelve, Jemma and Max went early this morning as they had to collect the kids, Ryder and his little dolly have left, he said he would call you later Lauren, Cooper and Jen just left and Stella went home last night after she cracked it when she realised that the beds were all taken.”
“She should have taken Ava’s bed.”
“We had Ava’s bed. We had the joy of sleeping in the pink pleasure dome with all those boy banders, I totes like swear I grew a vagina overnight.” Zac mimics Ava perfectly.
I start to laugh but then hear Gabe ask. “So where did Ava and Sophie sleep?”
“All the kids slept in the family room, on the floor and sofas, they were fine, they’re all up now and in the pool.”
“All the kids slept in the family room. Together? Louie and that spotty kid who kept eyeballing me and starring at Ava’s tits all night, they all slept there?”
Oh shit.
“Chill Gabe, all the kids, including Ryder and his Sheila, they all slept in the family room, they were fine, Ryder made sure the boys stayed on their side of the room, he told them you would have their balls if they tried anything in the night. Man, you seriously need to chill. You don’t want them bubs in there picking up on these bad vibes dude, it’s so not good for them.”
“Fuck off Zac. When your daughters are fourteen and you’ve got hormonal boys sniffing round, we’ll see how chilled you are my man, till then, shut the fuck up and stop talking shit.”
The conversation is interrupted by a loud splash from the pool and the sound of the girls shrieking and laughing.
“Don’t bring that kid here again Zac, not until Ava’s at least thirty.”
I can’t stand this anymore. “Gabe, would you just listen to yourself? She’s fourteen and gorgeous, she’s gonna have boys sniffing round, it’s a fact of life, get used to it. And one day, you know what; she will actually have sex with one of those boys. So screw your loaf, do you want her sneaking about in secret or would you rather her develop a relationship, with a nice boy, right in front of us all, where we can keep an eye on what’s going on and where she has Louie there for back up if she ever needs it? Think about it, because mark my words; you come down too strict on her, she will rebel.”
The room falls silent as all eyes turn to Gabe, who’s dragging his hand over his jaw, he looks at Zac. “ODIO quando ha ragione.”