Page 81 of Power Move
“Well, the babies are doing really well,” Eva said. “We got some more pictures.”
She flailed, trying to stand. “They’re in my purse.”
“In the entry?” I asked. “I can get them.”
I stood, found her purse, and brought the photos to her mother.
“Oh my. Look at these faces,” Emma cooed.
Bert leaned over from his chair to see. “They’re looking like babies. I swear the technology is getting so much better than when you were kids. Just like Brooke’s kids.”
“And the tests were good?” Emma asked.
“They were perfect,” Eva said. “We’re having two very healthy boys.”
My mouth dropped. “I didn’t realize we were telling everyone the gender.”
“It’s the sex,” Eva corrected. “And I wasn’t planning on a stupid gender reveal. It’s gauche.”
“I agree,” I said. “I just… didn’t know wecould.”
“Well, we can tell your mom this weekend,” Eva said. “Since you’re dragging me along to that party.”
“It’s Mum’s birthday,” I said. “I am not sure how it would go.”
“Announcing the sex of our babies to her would be a problem? I mean, we don’t have to make a big deal out of it?—”
“She wouldn’t like that,” I said.
Eva suddenly looked sad.
“I would love to,” I said. “But she wouldn’t like it. It’s got nothing to do with you or the twins. It’s just Mum being Mum. Trust me.”
Eva
“I cannot imagine a world in which I would complain. I’m so happy for two more boys,” Mom said.
“I wasn’t too over-the-moon about it,” I admitted. “I wanted agirl—two if we had twins. But… it wasn’t meant to be. I am getting over it. We’ll love them all the same.”
“What is your concern, sweetie?” Mom asked.
“Raising boys to be good men is more of a challenge,” I said. “Toxic masculinity and all of that.”
Mom rolled her eyes.Predictable.
“I think you raise them like any children,” Dad said. “Just raise them to be kind and have empathy. Raise them to care about other people. That’s all you can do.”
I shrugged. My relationship with men remained complicated, even if Davey tried to give his entire gender a glow-up. The pillow may have been stupid, but it showed he cared. I’d never been treated so well by a man apart from my father.
“I agree,” Davey said. “Although, Dad always said trying to raise us was harder than with the girls. And given that all of them aremuchmore mature, I’m not sure there’s a way around it. Daphne is the most grown of all of us.”
“Daphne seems like a nice woman,” Mom said.
“She is,” I agreed. “And she’s about to go on leave, so Davey is panicking.”
“I’m not. But I am relying on you to keep me abreast of literally all of technology. I cannot even fix a computer, but you’re?—”
“My job is to translate and filter it,” I said. “And I will do that. Of course, now we have the added complication of?—”
