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Reece
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For the last two weeks, I have been working on the nursery in between work and being with my wife. Yesterday, Gloriana and Daciana had their babies. It made me realize how little time we had left until Trinity was going to be delivering our three boys. That meant that I needed to make sure that this room was ready.
Ever since Talia graduated to having a big girl bedroom of her own, there was no need for the nursery to be used. Now though, we needed to have it ready for three babies at once. This time we needed three cribs, three chests of drawers, three dressers, three wardrobes, three toy boxes, three of everything.
I was almost done with the entire room. The paint jobs had been touched up so that it all looked like new. Even the glow in the dark paint that I used for the constellations was redone so that they would shine brightly again.
I touched up the trees in the forest mural and put in all the new furniture. I bought lots of little baby boy clothes, blankets and toys. I got everything ready as quickly as I could. I wanted this room to be perfect for us and for my babies.
.....
While I was finalizing most of the stuff, I had a visitor come to see me. They just walked right in like they owned the place. Then again, I was used to them doing that by now.
“Hey there, thunder from peanut butter.” Juniper said in her joking tone.
“I don't even know how to respond to that one.” I shook my head at her while I continued to put the clothes in their proper places.
“You know, thunder from down under, but you've got candy pants that are full of Reece's peanut butter. Come on, it may not have been my best work yet, but it wasn't that hard to get.” She was shaking her head now and sighing as if I ruined a perfectly good sexual joke aimed at me and the candy.
“OK, I get it now.” I laughed and humored her. “What is it, Juniper? Did you need something?” I asked her as I looked over my shoulder.
“Well, for one thing, I have never seen you looking so domesticated.” She was watching me with the clothes for the boys. “And for two, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Ask me what?” I finished with the stack of onesies that I had been putting away and turned to look at her. “What do you want?”
“Well, I want to do something for Trinity. She supported my art so much when we were younger. She has always known how much of a passion it was for me. So, now that you are redoing the nursery, or at least updating it, I wanted to add my own contribution.” I couldn't believe what she was asking for. This was actually decent and selfless.
“What kind of contribution are you thinking about?” I was still wary though. I didn't know what she was wanting to do.
“I want to paint a mural. I know that there is one that you did, and it's amazing.” She pointed at the trees and complemented the art that I had done years ago. “B..but, well, I want to make a mural of your family. You, Trinity, Reagan, Rika, Talia, Zachary, Zander and Zayden. All of you. It will be a true family portrait. And before you say anything, Trinity told me what the boys look like.”
“Yeah, I know what they look like too.” I smiled at the memory of the little boys that I had seen on the screen before Trinity came home. “And I think that is an amazing idea, Juniper. I think that Trinity would love it for one thing. And for another, I am happy that you suggested it. That will make it mean that much more for us.”
“Don't get all teary eyed on me now, or I will have to say you've gone all Reecey eyed. You know, instead of weepy eyed.”
“Your jokes are horrible today.” I laughed at her. “That one stunk so bad that I could actually smell it.”
“Oh, look who has jokes today. And I am sorry that they're not good today. I was nervous about asking you about all of this in the first place.” She really had been nervous. I don't know why, but she had been.
“Don't be nervous, Juniper. If you do, your sap might leak out. Then we could all be in for a sticky situation.” I cracked another stupid joke at her.
“Ha ha. That was so hilarious.”
“I know.” We both laughed about the stupidness. “Give me a minute. I am almost done touching up the trees. Then we can go out for the paints that you will need.”
“I..I already got them.” She looked away sheepishly.
“Well then, I guess it's a good thing that I said yes.”
“Oh, I knew you would.” She said the words confidently, but she was still nervous. I could see it and smell it in the air. Had might have been hoping that I said yes, and suspected it even. However, she didn't know for sure that yes would be my answer. “I am going to get my things together.” She jabbed her thumb back over her shoulder, indicating the hallway.
“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”
She got everything and started to get to work. I slowly watched it all start to take shape. The outlines that she was making and then the color started to take shape. She moved fast for an artist. But she was semi professional at this. She wasn't just learning to do something for the first time.
I was done with my painting long before she was done with hers. She was still working hard on the mural, which was taking up about a quarter of that large open wall that she had chosen.
I still had some things that I needed to take care of. I needed to get the customized name signs that I ordered for the boys, one for each of their names. I was going to be hanging them on the wall above their cribs. It wouldn't just be a way to identify them, I was sure that Trinity and I would know how to tell the three of them apart without the names above their beds. It's just that the name signs were a tradition for us.
While Juniper worked, I hung the signs and then made the beds. I got the rocking chairs in just the right spot so that they would be perfect for seeing all the beds at once as well as not getting too much light so that the babies would be able to sleep. I think that it was all going perfectly well.
By the time that I was done, Juniper was about half finished with her mural. She told me she would stick around and work on it some more tonight and come back tomorrow to finish it. She wanted to get it done before the boys got here.
“Yeah, sure, no problem at all, Juniper.” I agreed and went to bed. I didn't go to the nursery in the morning. I wanted to let her finish her work in peace. And I wanted to be surprised by the finished product. I wasn't going to see it at all until Trinity was able to see it.
I stayed out of the nursery all day that day. And the next one as well. I thought that Juniper had been half done, but it turns out that she had a lot more to do than I realized. This long delay though, was getting to me. I was anxious to see the mural.
Finally, on the fourth day, Juniper texted me to let me know that the mural was done and that I should probably bring Trinity down to see it right away.
“Trinity, Little Bunny, do you want to see the nursery now?” I asked her as she sat in the bed to read a book. She had been following Griffin's orders this pregnancy and was not getting up or moving around all that much. I think that it was also partially due to the fact that she looked twice as big as when she was pregnant with the twins. These boys of ours were very big.
“What was that?” She looked up at me as she put a bookmark into her page.
“Do you want to go down and see the nursery now?” I asked her again and watched the light fill her eyes.
I don't think anyone would believe me when I told them the amount of joy that went into my wife's face at that moment. The way that her eyes opened extra wide or the way that the smile spread across her face. I don't think that they would be able to picture just how bright she looked, like a light was shining on her from somewhere up above.
It was like something ethereal had just happened to my Little Bunny. Something that was above and beyond the everyday normal. This was special. This was amazing. This was what true love and happiness was able to get you.
“It's finished?” She asked me, the shock still there in her face. “I..I didn't think that it would be finished today since you didn't go down there today.”
“Well, Little Bunny, someone else was doing something for me. Now that they are done, I want to take you there to see it.”
“Yes, Reece. I can't wait to see it. Please, lets go now.”
