Page 54 of Bear with Me
"He's been having contractions all day." Mom rolled her eyes. "Sure beats Dan's weekly trips to the hospital with Braxton-Hicks."
"Nina's a healthy baby girl," I reminded her. My niece had been born in February, and it wouldn't be long before she'd be walking on her own, if today's demonstration of pulling herself up to stand by the couch was any indication. "Dan loves her and Zander. Please give them a break."
"Fine." She sighed. "You're still my favorite," she whispered to Blake.
"You shouldn't have favorites!" The words were out of my mouth before I could temper them. I'd learned from a young age to censor my speech, so my mom didn't scream at me over every flippant word.
Instead of scowling, she beamed at me. "You're my favorite son. It's only fair that your mate should be my favorite, too."
I blinked at her, my mind trying to fit her words with my experience. I was her favorite? How could that be? She'd been so hard on me.
"Oh, honey."
She shimmied off the bed, where she'd sat beside Blake, and came around it, arms spread. I hugged her tight, and she rearranged my spine with her powerful squeeze.
"You've always been my favorite. You listen. You know the difference between a flathead and a Phillips screwdriver when I ask for one. You're the one most like me."
I snorted at that. I was nothing like my mom. She had a temper a mile long. I'd learned early to control mine, so we didn't butt heads. "I don't see it."
"He's nothing like you," Dad said from the doorway. "Is it safe for us to come in while we wait for Denise?"
Mom laughed and returned to the bed, patting the mattress at her side. Dad sat beside her.
Cassie peeked around the doorframe, her eyes wide. "Are you finished with your family squabble?"
Mom laughed. "Yes. Ollie and Blake know their places now."
Cassie grinned and sat at Blake's feet, rubbing his arches with her thumbs. "Our parents used to argue over nothing," she said after a minute. "Remember when they forgot the name of the amusement park in Los Angeles?"
Blake laughed and then whimpered when another contraction hit him. He squeezed my hand and breathed through it.
His breathing returned to normal after a minute, and he said, "Yeah. 'It was Six Flags.' 'No, it was Magic Mountain.'"
"It's Six Flags Magic Mountain," we all said together. My family had gone there, too, before the triplets were born, the only other time I'd been on a plane before I flew to Oregon.
"Do you think they had favorites?" Cassie asked.
Blake's laugh sounded a little more natural this time. "Of course they did. I was their favorite son, and you were their favorite daughter."
She nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
We sat like that for a while, with Mom timing Blake's contractions. They were a minute apart when I heard a knock on the door.
"That had better be Denise." I kissed Blake's hand and placed it on the comforter. He clenched it into a fist, balling up the soft material.
When I opened the door, Denise rushed inside without a word and hustled our family members out of the bedroom.
"Fuck!"
Blake's shout drew me back to the bedroom door.
"I'm sorry. You probably could have hopped in your tub when the contractions were mild, but these babies are coming now."
I returned to the living room. "We don't have time for a water birth."
Mom nodded. "I told you so."
Dad laughed and pulled her closer, kissing the side of her head. "Nobody likes a know-it-all."
