Ned and I are helping, too.”
“As long as you and Ned are on the job, they’re in good hands.”
“That’s what I say, too!”
Leave it to his dad to make him laugh, even when he was stressed. “Love you, Pop.”
“Love you, too, son. Tell Maddie we’re thinking of her and the girls and that we already love them.”
“Will do.”
Mac waited another hour, pacing from one end of the small room to the other a thousand times before a nurse came to find him.
“Mr. McCarthy?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to see your daughters?”
“Yes, please, and if possible, I’d like to know how my wife is doing.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.”
Mac followed her into a room where he was provided a gown, mask, gloves and even booties to put over his shoes. When he was ready, she led him into a large room full of incubators and beeping machines. The girls were in side-by-side incubators, hooked to numerous machines and monitors, a sight that completely overwhelmed him.
“Are they…”
“They’re doing remarkably well,” the nurse told him. “Baby number one is just over five pounds, and her Apgar scores are good. Baby number two is four pounds, six ounces. Her scores aren’t quite as good, but it’s nothing to worry about. We want to keep them here for observation for at least forty-eight hours to monitor their oxygenation and other vitals.”
“So, they’re going to be all right?”
“They’re going to be just fine. Do they have names?”
Filled with relief, Mac nodded. “The older of the two is Emma Linda, and her sister is Evelyn Francine.”
“Those are beautiful names. I’ll make a note on the charts.”
Mac stared down at two perfect little faces. “They’re named for their grandmothers and great-grandmothers.”
“They appear to be identical.”
He wiped away tears that were equal parts relief, joy and love. For the fifth and sixth time, counting the son they’d lost, he was amazed by how his heart expanded to make room for more people to love. Identical twins. He and Maddie had read about how identical twins were truly a miracle, whereas fraternal twins tended to run in families.
For the longest time, he stared down at their two miracles until the nurse returned with news about Maddie.
“I spoke to the charge nurse on her floor, and she’s doing well but receiving a transfusion, as she lost quite a bit of blood after the birth. She’s in room four twelve if you want to go check on her.”
“Thank you so much. Would it be okay if I took some photos of the babies for their mother and the rest of our family?”
“Of course.”
Mac focused the camera on his phone on their cute little faces and got two good photos that didn’t include any of the wires or monitors. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“We’ll be here.”
Outside the NICU, he removed the protective gear and stuffed it into a garbage can before making his way to the elevator and the fourth floor, anxious to get to Maddie and see for himself that she was really okay. He came off the elevator and went straight to the nurses’ station. “I’m looking for room four twelve. Madeline McCarthy?”
“Third door on the left.”
“Thank you.” He went into the room, which she had to herself, at least for now. Maddie was asleep, but all he could see was how pale she was. A bag of blood hung from the IV pole, along with other bags of medication. Mac sat next to her bed and covered her cold hand with his. He watched her sleep for a long time before she finally stirred, opening her eyes and turning to him.
“How are they?”
“They’re beautiful.” He found the photos he’d taken and showed them to her.
Maddie stared at the little faces, going back and forth between the two pictures.
“The nurse said they’re doing great. Emma is just over five pounds, and Evelyn is four pounds, six ounces. They’re breathing independently, and their scores were mostly good. She said they also appear to be identical.”
“Which means they’ll be working against us as soon as they realize their power.”
“Damn, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I had a lot of time on bed rest to think about what it’ll be like to have three teenage girls at the same time. I may require medication to get through that.”
“We’ll get you whatever you need.”
“I’m so relieved to hear they’re doing well. I was so scared because they were early. Now that I know they’re okay, I can start to celebrate never being pregnant again.