Another huge turn of events had happened over the last few months; they had finally made the headlines. However, two close to full gestation in vitro babies seemed less important than the fact he and Kane were the first gay couple to get this far in the game. Avery doubted either guaranteed a headline. He suspected it was more the tie to his heritage that kept them front page news across the country, but regardless, they were heavily debated on the national news and hands down their decision was widely criticized, especially in the Deep South. Yet, here in Minnesota, the community seemed to protect them. No one cared anything more than that an Adams was back to having babies and that excitement superseded anything else that could matter.
Avery tried to keep all the negative national media from touching his husband. Paulie seemed as determined to shield Kane as well. Together they made a pretty impressive team, but for the most part, Kane seemed immune to it all. They had made the decision not to watch television, which was paying off. Kane's only focus was preparing their home for the twins' arrival. Avery loved how resilient his honey had become. He was accepting who they were as individuals and who they were as a couple. That pleased Avery most of all.
"No, I hired a registered nurse to come over this week and make sure we're set and ready to go. She's going to work with us on the care of the twins. They have these life-like dolls now. They called them interactive, and we'll practice everything with them," Kane said, telling Avery's mom all about the dolls he'd found and the classes he had arranged for them. She sat right next to him as he opened the presents the guests brought. Kane's comments caught Avery's attention, just as Sophia's hand came to rest on his thigh.
"He's doing so well. He's so excited," she said quietly. Avery didn't miss the amusement in her eyes, and he gave her a showy eye roll.
"The nurse and classes are news to me," Avery said back in little more than a whisper. He didn't want to squelch Kane's enthusiasm.
"It's admirable. He's determined to care for these two without any help. He's trying, you have to give him credit for that," Sophia said, patting her round belly. Avery couldn't help the laugh that slipped out at that thought. He was absolutely certain Kane would pull off taking care of the two babies, but as someone born with a nanny waiting in the wings, he was breaking all sorts of new ground for himself.
"Things have changed so much since Avery was a baby. Pampers are from God. I remember the days of cleaning those cloth diapers," Kennedy said as Kane unwrapped a box of disposable diapers.
"I think we're going to give cloth diapers a try," Kane said and immediately looked down at the gift in his lap. He was too much of a gentleman to not try and make that right. "But we've decided to use disposable diapers when we go out. We think that will be the simplest way to care for them." Avery chuckled at Kane's expression as he tried to reassure their guest that he loved their gift.
"Is that true?" Sophia leaned in, whispering to Avery after he hid a more serious laugh by taking another sip.
"Hell no! Kane is earth friendly, environmentally aware, and ecologically safe all the way now," Avery whispered back, hoping no one heard him.
"That's the impression I got," Sophia quietly said.
As fun as sitting in the living room, opening all these gifts and listening to the hundreds of stories about raising children was, Avery couldn't help but give in to curiosity and take a peek at what was going on in other rooms in his house. He slanted his head to the right to see if he could get a good look inside the game room.
From this angle, he could see some of the men shooting pool. For the most part, the men had gone straight to the game room when they'd arrived, while the women stationed themselves inside the living room. Paulie was the last stray to hang on, and without question, it was only to show support for Kane, but after so much "women talk" Paulie finally bailed. Avery was left all alone, listening to the Pac-Man arcade game ding in the background, calling his name to join them.
Both groups seemed to be having a great time. He kept telling himself that was all that mattered.
Avery sat on their blue velvet sofa and watched as Kane opened the gift from his mother. He was as surprised as Kane, and cut his eyes to her, a little stunned and completely uncertain as to how she accomplished such a feat. She had baby pictures of both Kane and Avery framed together.
To Avery's knowledge, Kane had nothing of his past, and the moment Kane's eyes landed on the photo, they shot back up to meet his. The same shock pooled in Kane's eyes as he turned the framed photos toward Avery. Kane was the happiest he'd ever remembered seeing him.
In that moment, Kane's emotion took his breath away. He could do nothing more than stare. He had become so lost in the happenings of day to day life, he'd taken for granted he'd married the most handsome, kind, gentle man he'd ever met. Kane's soul whispered and reached out to embrace his. Good God, he loved that man. Their connection was so strong, he didn't want to take his eyes from Kane.
"Oh no!" All the heads in the room whipped around to Sophia, who sat on the edge of the couch clutching her stomach. The bewilderment left most of their faces, kicking everyone into action as it became clear the spot where Sophia sat was saturated. She struggled to stand. Her pants were soaked, and the liquid pooled on the hardwood floor beneath her feet.
"Get Thomas," she said urgently and gripped her stomach. Avery was up, holding on to her as she doubled over in pain.