She nodded. “Thanks for coming back.”

  “You're welcome. Are you okay?”

  “I am a little hungry,” she admitted.

  “Want me to ring through to the kitchen?”

  “I don’t want to bother them so late.”

  “It’s only eight and I'm sure Beatrice and Lance are still in the kitchen.” He leaned over and picked up the phone. “What would you like?”

  “A huge ham and cheese sandwich,” she said with a laugh.

  *****

  “We're going to make you comfortable Carole,” the nurse told her with a smile. It was the second week of April and she had been transported carefully to the medical center where she was going to be doing a C-section tomorrow morning first thing. They weren't sure how long her stay in the medical center would be but allowances had been made.

  “Thank you,” she smiled faintly. The doctors had examined her and assured her and Walter that everything was okay so far.

  “I'm going to be right here baby,” Walter assured her.

  “I know.” Carole eased up onto the pillows to make herself more comfortable. There were several nurses assigned to her and they came around every few minutes to make sure she was okay. “I feel spoiled.”

  “You deserve to be.” He took her hand in his. “It’s going to be fine. We're at the end now and tomorrow morning we're going to be rejoicing on seeing our children.”

  “Mama is landing today.”

  “I'm sending a driver for her,” he reassured her.

  “You really don’t mind her staying with us?” Carole asked him anxiously.

  “The place is quite big baby, and I honestly don't mind. Stop worrying.” He kissed the back of her hand. “Stress free, remember?”

  She nodded. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, my wife.”

  “Okay let’s talk about the names: Arianna Mia and Brianna Mya for the girls and Jayden Ethan and Jordan Evan for the boys.”

  “Our final decision.” He teased her.

  She took a deep breath and clung to him. “We are going to be fine. Our babies will be fine.”

  “Yes,” he whispered as he placed his hands over her bulging belly. “You will be.”

  ******

  “You are doing fine,” Doctor Miller told her with a smile as he did the examination for the third time. The nurses were gathered around the bed while Doctor Whittingham got ready to perform the operation. “The babies are about ready to be delivered.”

  Carole had been given the epidural and it had taken effect a few minutes ago. “It’s good that they're almost full term, that’s means the risks are minimal.”

  Walter was suited up and was behind her holding her shoulders up.

  Doctor Miller nodded to Doctor Whittingham and the procedure started. She had requested that she get to see everything that was being done to her and they had granted her request. Walter’s hands tightened on her shoulders as the knife cut through the soft flesh of her stomach. He went rigid as Doctor Whittingham reached in and came out with one baby and handed it to the nurse before going back in. They both watched as the second baby came out and was handed to another nurse. But nothing happened for a few minutes as both doctors peered in.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Just a minor setback,” Doctor Miller said as he looked up at them. “The cord is wrapped around one of the baby's neck.”

  “Please save my baby,” Carole whispered.

  Both parents watched as the doctor went back in and held their breaths as he came back out with the infant, lusty cries filling the room.

  “Now for the last one. This is a girl.” Doctor Whittingham took out the tiny infant and passed her to another nurse. “Clean them up and get them into the NICU.”

  “Is there something wrong with them?” Walter asked.

  “As I explained to you before, with multiple births the lungs and liver are not quite developed and we are seeing signs of jaundice in the eyes. They'll be fine.”

  *****

  Walter stood at the glass and looked at the four tiny human beings that both he and his wife had made. They were in incubators and were sleeping. Name tags had been placed on their small ‘homes’ to identify them and to tell them apart. His wife was now sleeping after that very exhaustive morning but he was far from feeling drowsy. He turned with a smile as his mother came up beside him. “They're so beautiful,” she murmured as she gazed at the raven-haired babies. The two girls were dressed in pink and the boys were in blue. “How is Carole?”

  “She's sleeping. I'm going to check on her in a few minutes. They're so tiny.”

  “They are preemies darling and will grow up very fast.”

  “She did it,” he said quietly. “She always believed that she would but I was so worried that I would lose her.”

  “You're both going to make great parents,” Barbara said touching her son’s arm.

  “My wife did most of the work.”

  Chapter 5

  “You are not supposed to be walking around, baby,” Walter protested as he took her arm and walked with her to the nursery.

  “I have to exercise. I gained fifty-five pounds carrying our children and I am going to take it off.” Carole leaned on his arm heavily as she walked slowly to where their children were.

  “You gave birth to them a week ago. It's too soon to talk about losing weight and besides, you're still recovering from the C-section.” He wrapped his hand around her waist as he supported her. He'd seen her in pain and hardly able to move before the stitches were removed. Their children were improving each day and she'd been able to breastfeed them two times a day. But the doctors insisted that she rested to get her blood pressure down. Her mother had been to visit almost every day and wouldn't be leaving until she knew that Carole and the babies were out of the woods.

  *****

  Walter kept his hands on her as they looked at the babies. “Hey there, Arianna! It’s Mommy darling, it’s your Mommy.” Tears clouded her eyes as she stared at the beautiful child. The only way anyone could tell them apart was a tiny mole on Arianna’s neck. The girls had a creamy complexion which was a mixture of her complexion and their father’s and the boys had darker complexions and looked more like her. “Is it my imagination or do they look bigger than they did yesterday.”

  “I'm sure it’s your imagination,” Walter teased as he looked down at them. He couldn't wait to get them all home but they still had to stay another week or so.

  She looked up at him tenderly. “Dare we hope that we can stop being afraid and that everything's going to be fine?”

  “I would like to think so.” He kissed her nose.

  She leaned into him and looked at her babies. “I think Brianna looks more like you. I know that they're identical but look at her little nose.”

  “Are you saying my nose is small?” he asked her indulgently.

  “Your nose is cute and straight,” she corrected him. “Look at Brianna’s nose and then at Arianna’s. Hers is slightly more flared.”

  “I can see no difference.”

  “You're not looking carefully.” Carole stopped as her daughter stirred and opened her eyes. “Oh look, she's awake! Hey baby girl, are you hungry?”

  “Are you going to feed her?”

  “Of course.”

  “I'll bring her to you.”

  “It’s really a blessing that they don't all wake up at the same time.” Before the words were out of her mouth, the other three opened their eyes and started crying.

  “I guess I spoke too soon,” she said ruefully as three nurses came hurrying in.

  *****

  “The Bingham quadruplets are on their way home!” the headlines made the announcement. There had been reporters camped outside of the remote medical center just to get the first scoop on the babies born to the billionaire and his wife. But their efforts hadn't been very successful as they had been bundled up and placed in their car seats in the back of the vehicle that had come for them. They had taken a picture of mother and father and the two grandmothers with a child each as they put them in the car but that was it.

  ******

  “Honey, here give her to me,” Cynthia said as she reached for Brianna. There was a flurry of activity in the nursery as two maids including Sara helped out. It was late evening and they'd arrived two hours earlier and were still settling in. It had seemed like she'd been away for three months instead of three weeks. Her mother-in-law had stayed for a little bit and then had made her way back to her apartment.

  “Thanks, Mama.” Carole eased the nipple out of her daughter’s mouth and kissing the baby’s cheek she handed her carefully to her mother. Sara handed her Arianna and she started to feed the little girl. The boys were already drifting off to sleep.

  “Jayden and Jordan are easier than the girls,” Carole murmured as she guided her nipple into the baby’s mouth. It was exhausting having to feed them around the clock but she loved it.

  “And boys tend to give more trouble,” Cynthia was staring down at the girl in her arms and Carole saw her smile with pleasure for the first time in a long time.“They are beautiful children honey.”

  “They are,” Carole said with a nod. She looked up as her husband came into the room. “Hey baby, what are you up to?”

  “Making sure that you're not wearing yourself out.” He crouched down in front of her, his grey eyes darkening as he watched his daughter suckling enthusiastically.

  “I'm making sure of it as well,” Cynthia told him.

  He turned to look at her and smiled. “I appreciate it. How about something to eat when you're finished feeding our daughter?” he asked.

  “Great idea.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. “Thanks for always looking out for me.”

  “My pleasure.” He got to his feet and went to look at his sleeping sons for a bit. He stepped back and giving his wife a brief look he left the room.

  “I think that man of yours is one of a kind,” Cynthia said gruffly as she rubbed the baby’s back to make her burp.

  “He is,” Carole glanced up at her mother. “He loves me.”

  “You're very blessed.”

  “I would like to think so.” She eased her nipple out of her daughter’s mouth and put her up to her shoulder, rubbing her back at the same time. “Mama why don’t you stay here for a little bit?”

  “I wouldn't want to impose,” she protested, but Carole could tell she wanted to.

  “Nonsense Mama! I would love the help and it's a chance to bond with your grandchildren. I'll discuss it with Walter but I'm sure he'll say yes.”

  “I would love that honey,” Cynthia gazed down at the child who was slowly closing her large dark brown eyes. “I really want to help with these babies.”

  “Good, then it’s settled.”

  “Thank you honey,” Cynthia told her quietly.

  *****

  “Are you sure?” Walter asked her quietly as they got ready for bed. They'd eaten out on the balcony and he had helped her to take a shower afterwards. She was still a little sore but was getting better each day.

  “She really loves the children and I think this is something that's good for her.” She rubbed cream into her hands as she looked up at him. “What do you think?”

  “It’s up to you.” He came over and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know that there has been bad blood between you for a very long time.”

  “And this is a chance to mend all that.” She leaned back against him. “I just want to know “If it’s okay with you.”

  “Anything that's okay with you is okay with me.”

  “Thanks, baby.”

  “Ready for bed?”

  “Actually, I am.” She got to her feet and took his hand in hers as they made their way to the bed. He helped her up and pulled the covers over her. “You're not coming to bed?”

  “I have some things to deal with.” He bent and kissed her lips softly. “I won't be very long.”

  “You should go back to the office.” She placed her hand on his stubble-roughened cheek. He needed a shave, she thought absently.

  “I'm planning on working from here for a few more weeks.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Go to sleep.”

  **********

  “They're so adorable!” Carrie exclaimed as she stared at the children lined out in their cots. “They're what now? Two months old?”

  “And two weeks,” Carole beamed as she adjusted the cover over the Arianna’s head. It was a positively lovely summer afternoon, and she'd taken them out to the pool side. Her mother had gone into town with one of the maids to get something for the gripes that she swore was bothering Jayden and making him unable to sleep comfortably at night. The children were fed and looked drowsy from the afternoon heat. They were fully shaded from the glare of the sun.

  “Lord, I miss having a baby.” She laughed at the look on Carole’s face. “Please don’t tell my husband I said that.”

  “Your secret is safe with me,” Carole said in amusement. She'd gotten a steady stream of visitors with Kadine flying in one day last week to see her and the children and to give her some well-meaning advice.

  “What about nannies?” Carrie touched the cheek of the little girl nearest to her.

  “Mama's here and she's doing a great job and of course Sara insists on helping out along with Beatrice. I'm scared of hiring someone new and have to be worried that they're going to harm the babies.”

  “What does Walter say?”

  “He wants to hire nannies.”

  “The wives have a special agency that have the most qualified ones. Babies Inc. has quite a reputation,” Carrie told her.

  “I heard about them. I'll have to consider it along the way but right now I want to spend time with them without strangers dictating what I can or cannot do with my children.”

  “I know what you mean. So how does it feel?”

  “To be the mother of four children born at the same time?” Carole asked with a soft laugh. “Scary! And wonderful. I find myself going into the nursery when they're taking their naps and making sure that they're still breathing.”

  “Honey, whether you have one or four it’s the same thing,” Carrie told her. “We as mothers tend to do that. It’s natural.”

  “Oh good! I wouldn't want to think that I'm being paranoid.”

  “Well, maybe just a little bit,” Carrie said with a grin. They both looked up as a uniformed maid approached them. “Miss Carole would you and your guest like something to munch on?”

  “Thanks, Laura. We would.”

  “I wasn't planning on staying so long,” Carrie told her.

  “Oh stay! Please! Ever since Walter went back to work, I've been starving for a little gossip. Mama and the household help are more intent on taking care of the babies than talking to me.”

  “Okay, you have me convinced,” Carrie said with a smile. “Now, let’s see what you haven't heard yet.”

  ******

  “Baby slow down! I can hardly hear what you're saying.”

  “They're crawling Walter,” Carole’s voice sounded breathless over the phone.

  “What?”

  “Our babies are crawling. Brianna started first and then Arianna and right after Jordan and then Jayden followed. You should see them crawling all over the playroom. A little wobbly of course, but stronger every minute.”

  “I hope you videotaped it for me,” Walter said, his heart thumping inside his chest with pride.

  “I almost didn’t and Mama and Sara reminded me. Oh baby, our babies are growing up so fast!”

  “They are,” Walter felt a moment of regret that he'd missed it. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “Of course. When will you be home?”

  “Around six. Remember, we have that dinner to go to on Saturday.”

  “What dinner?”

  *****

  “The one with the business associates. We're thinking of opening more locations in several areas and are looking for backers. Remember?”

  “I totally forgot!” Carole cried. “Do I have to be there?”

  There was silence for a moment and Carole almost apologized.

  “I'll talk to you when I get home,” he said before hanging up.

  Carole forced a smile to her lips as she put away the phone and turned to the two women in the room. “Walter is so excited.” She dropped to her knees and looked at her babies. “Look at you making strides,” she whispered. “Brianna you certainly are a trendsetter.” She scooped up her daughter in her arms and nuzzled her. She looked down as she felt a small hand on her knee. “Arianna sweetie are you feeling left out?”

  “Someone has a stinky diaper,” Cynthia exclaimed as she lifted Jordan in her arms.

  “And I think this young man needs some food,” Sara exclaimed. She looked at Carole. “Want me to get Laura to help with the bath?”

  “Thank you, Sara. I'll take them into the bathroom to get them ready.”

  *******

  “We're going,” Walter told her firmly as she sat there in the thin black camisole and put cream on her skin.

  He'd come home and gone straight to the nursery to play with the children for a little bit before helping to put them to bed.

  “It’s not easy taking care of four children—”

  “Stop it!” he said with quiet force as he took off his shirt. “You have more than enough help here and I've offered to hire more and you refuse. I need attention as well Carole, or have you forgotten that you have a husband?”

  “That’s not fair!” she rounded on him. “I've been through a lot since the pregnancy and the C-Section and breastfeeding all four children. I'm tired.”

  “How long are you going to use that, Carole? When was the last time we had sex?”

  “We had sex—” she stopped to consider and realized that it had been quite some time. “It’s been hard.”

  “It was three weeks ago and it was interrupted because Brianna woke up and was crying.”

  “They're babies and they need attention!”

  “So do I!” he shouted. Taking a deep breath he headed to the bathroom. Carole sat there for a little bit before she followed him into the bathroom. Her breath caught as she stared at his naked body. He was just about to step into the large shower that they'd spent so much time making love in.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22