Tyton came over with our youngest daughter on his hip. “Someone wants her mother.”
Hannah was two and a half, and too heavy for me to carry around in my third trimester.
“Let me just sit down and I’ll take her.”
Our toddler climbed on top of me as soon as I sank down on the garden bench.
“She’s so pretty.” Claire sat down next to me and stroked Hannah’s soft curls. Once again, I felt bad that she and Lucas still hadn’t been able to conceive children of their own.
“Hey, sweetie, do you want to cuddle with Aunty Claire?” she coaxed Hannah, who reached out her arms to her favorite aunt.
“You’re so lucky that you keep having girls,” Marni said with a sigh.
“I had Justin,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but he’s more like a bonus twin to Caro, isn’t he?”
Placing my hand on my belly, I smiled. “I just hope the universe gives me one more girl so I can name her Maria.”
Tyton and I had named our first daughter after my nana, whose name had been Andrea. She was six and a half now and the proud sister of our four-year-old twins, Caroline and Justin, named after my oldest siblings, and sweet Hannah, who was two years old. In three months’ time, I would be giving birth to our fifth child.
“How many are you going to have?” Marni asked while gesturing with her arms for the children to come and eat.
“We both wanted a large family but I’ve told Tyton that after this one, I’m done.”
Claire smiled. “I don’t believe you. If I could, I’d have at least ten children.”
Marni snorted. “Just wait until you have to push them out of your body. I swear, when I was having my fourth, I was cursing at myself for being stupid enough to let Henry get me pregnant again.”
“But the joy of having children outweighs the pain, doesn’t it?” Claire asked me.
I smiled at her. “Yes, it does.”
“The food is getting cold.” Joan came over and joined us.
“Then how about you use your grandma super powers and reeling in all the children?” Marni gave her mom a large smile. “I’ve whistled and shouted, but they would rather play than eat.”
“So, let them.” Joan shrugged. “We adults can eat and then when they complain that there’s only sad leftovers for them, they’ll learn. Maybe it will teach them to come when we call next Sunday.”
“All right.” I kissed Hannah and got up. “I’ll get you a plate, Claire.”
Tyton and the other men were sitting in the sun, talking. Frederick had his youngest son on his shoulders and they were laughing at something.
“What’s so funny?” I asked as I passed them.
“We were just talking about how lucky we were to be born as free men.” Lucas lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. “It’s fucking sad that the Motherland Council are indoctrinating women who believe we’re monsters.”
“I know, but it’s not all bad in the Motherlands.”
Henry snorted. “Name one good thing.”
Touching my stomach, I thought about it. “Ehh… well, the Motherlands is a place of caring and nurturing. They may go overboard sometimes, but it’s colorful, and no one is left behind in poverty or sickness. They care about animals and have high ambitions when it comes to cleaning up the earth.”
“But you can’t swear, fight, or fart.” One of Marni’s and Henry’s sons had joined the conversation.
“Or drink beer,” Tyton added and raised his bottle to his mouth.
“It’s true that it’s illegal to drink beer and swear, but the thing about farting is an exaggeration. It’s not illegal per se… more like bad manners.”
