Lily had already abandoned the couch and was running toward the kitchen. "Uncle Franz! Uncle Franz! The baby moved! He heard us! He knows we're his big sister and big brother!"
Franz appeared in the doorway, wiping his hands on a dish towel. "He responded to you?"
"I talked to him and he moved," Lily said. "Then Leo talked to him and he moved again. He knows our voices!"
Franz crossed to the couch and knelt beside Arianne, his hand resting on her belly. He didn't say anything at first. Just felt. The baby shifted under his palm—not a kick, just a slow push, testing the boundary.
"He's been moving a lot lately," Franz said. "I think he likes it when I sing to him."
"You sing to the baby?" Lily asked.
"Sometimes. When Mommy Aria is trying to sleep and the baby won't stop kicking."
"What do you sing?"
"Whatever comes to mind. Lullabies. Old songs. Things I remember from when I was young."
