Chapter 1
“Happy Birthday, Kateri and Jarren. Happy Birthday to you.” Amidst the clapping and cheering, father and daughter blew out the candles on their cake. Jarren Mathews then gave his three-year-old daughter a kiss on the cheek and a hug, her princess tiara going askew. Kateri started to squirm, giggling as she tried to reach for the cake. Jarren set her on the ground instead, and she circled the table to hug her other father’s leg, hoping to get him to let her have a piece of cake.
Jarren’s blue eyes roamed up that leg until they met with the tender green eyes of his husband. Detrich grinned at him, eyes sparkling with love as he picked up the
rambunctious toddler. Jarren smiled back, noticing how radiant Detrich seemed to be. His heart fluttered in his chest at the thought of how lucky he was to have this man be a part of his life.
It was a beautiful March day. The sun decided to show its face today after many days of cloudy weather and snow. Jarren couldn’t have asked for better weather to celebrate his and his daughter’s birthdays. Everyone they cared about had shown up to celebrate. After all, a little girl only turned three once in her entire life, and it was a special day. Jarren remembered when Detrich told him that their baby was coming. Looking into Detrich’s eyes, he could tell he was thinking the same thing.
“I’m in labor,” Detrich had said, almost with too much ease. Jarren remembered how his heart had gone into his throat, and how it had been so difficult to swallow it back down the rest of the day. Jarren hadn’t envied the pain Detrich must’ve been going through that day. The hours of heart-wrenching screaming. . . He remembered holding his newborn daughter in his arms for the first time. How he’d never felt such pure joy in all his life. A glacier couldn’t have moved him from his spot, so strong was the love for the little girl in his arms.
He looked down as a piece of marble cake was set in front of him. He knew it would be delicious, as Casey Mackenzie, Detrich’s younger sister and baker of the family, had made it. Jarren only hoped that he had room for the cake after eating so much spaghetti, courtesy of Detrich, as he possibly could. Four years together and he still hadn’t grown tired of Spaghetti Thursday, or special occasion spaghetti. After sniffing the buttercream frosting, he knew he’d have just enough room for this and nothing more.
Kateri had already dug both hands into her piece of cake, all notions of using a fork gone as she stuffed crumbs into her mouth with a satisfied smile. Detrich leaned down to kiss his daughter on the top of the head. After she had finished her first, and then second piece of cake, Detrich lifted her from her booster chair and carried her to the kitchen sink to wash her face and hands. Little girls couldn’t open their presents with crumby, frosty fingers.
After she’d been dubbed satisfactorily clean, Detrich set her down and she squealed, zooming into the living room so that she could begin opening presents. Everyone laughed and followed her before she opened everything by herself. Jarren caught her as she stood in the middle of a pile of large gift bags, deciding which one she wanted to tear apart first. He set her in his lap, as his mother, Reggie, handed her a bag with a pink tiara on it.
Kateri sent the tissue paper flying, not caring who the gift itself was from. Jarren read from the tag it was from Grandma Sam, and he smiled in thanks at her. She smiled back. Kateri squealed in delight, discovering her very own baby doll. Detrich smiled at his mother, receiving a wink in return.
Jarren took his turn next with a present, from Casey. He unwrapped it to reveal a new wristwatch, as his had been dropped in the toilet by Kateri months ago.
“Thank you, Casey. I’ll definitely take care of this one so that Kateri doesn’t get at it again.”
“No problem. And if she does, I spent the extra money to get the lifetime warranty.”
Jarren smiled at his sister-in-law.
“Hope it’s waterproof, just in case,” Julian Mathews, still in his punk stage at the age of twenty-two, asked as he shook his head at the two of them, green and blue hair flipping side to side. Casey confirmed it was, and that accidental drownings in the toilet were covered under warranty.
Finally, all the presents were unwrapped and Kateri was happily admiring her hoard. She’d received a new stuffed giraffe, her current favorite animal, from Grandma and Grandpa, books from Casey, and clip-in multi-colored hair extensions from Julian. Jarren had raised his eyebrows at his brother, who just shrugged. Detrich and Jarren had gotten her a new tricycle, complete with a basket and a bell.
Jarren had received a certificate from a vehicle detailing from Sam, which he knew had to have been quite expensive. From his own parents, new work shirts and ties, and Julian apologized, saying he’d spent the money he’d had left on Kateri’s present and couldn’t get his brother one as well.
Either way, Jarren was satisfied, happy enough to share his birthday with his daughter. A small envelope addressed to him appeared in his view. He reached for it, looking up at his husband, who was smiling quietly, an excited look in his eyes. Opening it, he saw a letter and another, smaller envelope.
Happy Birthday, my love.
I hope you enjoy this present
as much as I did in discovering it.
Thank you for everything.
Your love,
Detrich
Perplexed, Jarren opened the envelope. Every eye, except Kateri’s, was on him. Detrich James Mathews was the first thing Jarren saw. He suddenly got a chill running up his spine. His heartbeat quickened.
Inside the envelope was an ultrasound picture of a baby. Tears welled in Jarren’s eyes as he stared at the picture of the baby now growing inside Detrich. He rose to his feet, smiling at his husband through tears.
“Really?” Detrich nodded and leaned in to kiss him, a collective sob reaching them from the three ladies present.
“I’m ten weeks” Detrich said, resting his head on Jarren’s shoulder. “That trip I made to Chanceport to see my mom the other day was actually to see the doctor. I knew that flu bug I had was more than that.”
“He’s very good at giving you extremely priceless gifts, isn’t he?” Reggie Mathews concluded thoughtfully, standing to help Casey pick up the discarded wrapping paper.
“He certainly is,” Jarren agreed, capturing his husband’s mouth with his own.
-------------------------------------------
“Sweetheart, you should go to bed,” Jarren told his husband later that evening while they cuddled on the couch, watching a program on the television. His feet hung over the edge of the footrest, a blanket draped over the two of them. Detrich lay with his head on Jarren’s arm, watching the program through half open eyes.
“I’m not tired,” Detrich replied. Even so, his mouth stretched into a wide yawn, teeth glimmering against the glare of the television screen. Jarren grinned, kissing his nose.
“Come on, Detrich. It’s been a long day, and you need the rest.” Detrich simply nestled himself closer into his husband’s warm body. Jarren sighed. “I’m not going to carry you upstairs.”
“I know,” Detrich answered. “I just want to lay here for a while longer.”
“You need to go to bed, love,” Jarren said sternly. “You and our baby need sleep.”
“What I should do is get up and finish cleaning the kitchen.” Detrich yawned again.
“Let me do that, love. You’ve done so much today, and so much for me. Let me do one thing for you.” At this, Detrich sat up and looked at him in such a way that made his heart flutter.
“You’ve got that backwards. You have given me two children, a house, your love. A new reason to live.” He carded his fingers through Jarren’s black hair.
“I second that,” Jarren said as he sat up to pull Detrich into his arms and kissed him tenderly. “I love you,” he whispered, feeling a smile against his lips.
“I love you too.”
A small whimper from the stairs made them break apart.
Kateri was standing in the doorway, rubbing her right eye while she clutched her bear to her chest. It was obvious that she was crying.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Detrich asked as he got up, Jarren following suit with a sigh. Someone had had too much excitement for her birthday, and perhaps a touch too much juice.
“I wet the bed,” she answered with a sob. Detrich lifted her into his arms with a soft grunt and felt the world spin slightly. Jarren caught him swiftly around the waist.
“Love, let me carry her. You shouldn’t exert yourself so much.” He smoothed back his daughter’s hair as she buried her face into Detrich’s neck. He was thinking of that time, a year ago, a week after Jarren and Kateri’s birthdays, when Detrich had a miscarriage. He’d been barely six weeks along when it happened. Nobody knew he had been pregnant, not even himself.
Jarren remembered, painfully, as Detrich collapsed at Sam’s and how his jeans had quickly grown dark with blood. He recalled the screeching of Sam’s tires on the tar. He remembered the months of crying afterward. How the death of the baby hung over every head.
“I should be fine, Jarren. I am entitled to carry my own daughter.”
“Yes, my love, but you are pregnant.”
“Pregnant, not fragile,” Detrich frowned. “I’ve been doing this for several weeks now. It was just a momentary stumble. I’m fine, love, truly.”
Jarren conceded his point but still took Kateri from him anyway. “I’ll start her bath, why don’t you get her cot ready in our room, so she doesn’t have to sleep on the wet mattress?” Detrich nodded with a sigh and made his way up the stairs.
Detrich took the pony-decked bed sheets from Kateri’s bed and sprayed the mattress so that the urine stain would be easier to remove after he put Kateri’s wet things into the washer. He gathered the sheets into his arms and went to the bathroom, where he could hear the water running. He opened the door and smiled at his two favorite people as he gathered up his daughter’s pajamas.
“I’ll bring you a clean pair of jammies after I get this going in the wash.”
“Can I have the princess one?” Kateri looked at her father with hopeful big blue eyes. Detrich smiled.
“Of course, sweetheart,” he answered as he left the bathroom, his smile instantly fading from how sick he suddenly felt. Jarren watched him leave with a frown. He knew that Detrich was tired and not feeling well. It was hard to believe that they were going to have another baby. No, not hard. He knew he could believe it. But there was the looming presence of the baby they had lost, and Jarren did not want to go through that pain again. He didn’t think he could handle watching Detrich cry.
As he set Kateri into the tub, he heard the low hum of the washing machine. Jarren sat on the toilet seat and ran his fingers through his thick black hair. He watched as Kateri splashed around in the tub for a while, happy to be taking a middle of the night bath. It was as if she wasn’t tired at all. Jarren certainly felt tired. He yawned widely at the thought.
He leaned back against the toilet, closing his eyes for a moment. He imagined what having a newborn would be like while taking care of a toddler like this. It had been a while since Kateri had last wet the bed, but sometimes accidents happen. If he was this tired from one, he couldn’t fathom how two would be.
“Daddy, scrubbies,” Kateri chirped, and Jarren opened his eyes. He smiled as she held up her washcloth for him, and he knelt on the floor, taking it. He soaped it up and lathered her up, careful not to wet her hair. Luckily, the urine hadn’t gone up that far.
“All clean?” Detrich asked as he reentered the room. Jarren turned to him, seeing the man’s shoulders sag in exhaustion. Detrich and the baby were only going to grow bigger from here on out. His exhaustion was going to reach its limits in the coming months.
“Her royal highness is ready for her bedtime gown and awaits her carriage to dreamland,” Jarren said, lifting the girl from the bath, wrapping her in a soft, fluffy towel. She giggled loudly as he dried her off and then got her dressed in her undies and princess nightie.
All three went into the master bedroom, and Kateri at once crawled into her cot, snuggling down with no less than three stuffies. She sighed happily, her arms resting at her side over the blanket. Her fathers laughed as they said good night.
Detrich went back to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, and Jarren undressed to his boxers. Detrich came back and he took his turn in the bathroom. When he came back, Detrich was already in bed, facing him. Jarren crawled into bed, pulling his husband closer. They kissed as Jarren caressed his knuckle along Detrich’s belly.
“Thank you, my love.”
“Happy birthday.”
