Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Sibling Question
Three weeks after the accident, Keifer was finally healed enough to return to normal life.
Well, almost normal.
He still tired easily. Still had bandages to change. Still needed Jay to drive him everywhere because the doctor said no driving for another two weeks.
But he was alive. Home. Recovering.
And Keiran was getting restless.
---
The morning started normally enough.
Jay was in the kitchen, making breakfast. Keifer sat at the island, watching her with that look she loved. Keiran was at the table, eating cereal and making Rex "fly" through the air.
Then Keiran stopped mid-flight.
"Pappa?"
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Where did I come from?"
Keifer choked on his coffee.
Jay spun around, eyes wide.
Keiran looked between them, innocent curiosity on his face. "Babies. Where do they come from? Keigan said something about storks but I don't think storks are real."
Jay pressed her lips together, fighting laughter.
Keifer cleared his throat. "Uh. Well. Buddy, that's a—that's a complicated question."
"Was I a baby?"
"Yes. You were a baby."
"Did I come from Mamma's tummy?"
The question hung in the air.
Keifer looked at Jay. Jay looked at Keifer.
Keiran waited, cereal forgotten.
"Mamma?" he prompted.
Jay knelt beside him. "Baby, you didn't come from my tummy. You came from someone else's tummy. Another mommy. But she couldn't take care of you, so Pappa did. And now I'm here to love you too."
Keiran processed this. "So I had two mommies?"
"Sort of. One mommy who gave you life, and one mommy who loves you now."
"And Pappa?"
"Pappa has always been your Pappa. From the very beginning."
Keiran nodded slowly. Then: "So Pappa is my real Pappa?"
Keifer's eyes glistened. He knelt beside Jay, taking Keiran's small hand. "I'm your real Pappa, buddy. Always have been. Always will be."
Keiran beamed. "Good. I like you as Pappa."
"I like you as my son."
---
Breakfast continued. Jay thought the conversation was over.
She was wrong.
Keiran finished his cereal, then looked up with a new question.
"Pappa? Can I have a sibling?"
Keifer nearly choked again. "A what?"
"Sibling. Like Keigan is my sibling. But smaller. A baby sibling. From Mamma's tummy."
Jay's face went red.
Keifer opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"Buddy, that's—that's not something that just—it's complicated—"
"Why complicated? Mamma has tummy. Put baby in tummy. Baby comes out." Keiran demonstrated with Rex, shoving the dinosaur under his shirt and pulling it out. "See? Easy."
Jay lost it. She doubled over, laughing so hard tears streamed down her face.
Keifer looked at her helplessly. "Stop laughing! Help me!"
"I can't—this is—you're on your own—"
Keiran looked between them, confused. "Why Mamma laughing? Is baby funny?"
"Baby isn't—there's no baby—it's not—" Keifer ran his hands through his hair. "Keiran, making a baby is something grown-ups do when they love each other very much. It's not like putting a dinosaur under a shirt."
"Why not? Dinosaur under shirt works."
"For a dinosaur, maybe. Not for a real baby."
Keiran considered this. "So how DOES baby get in tummy?"
Jay's laughter stopped abruptly.
Keifer's face went through approximately seventeen shades of red.
"That's—well—when a mommy and daddy love each other—they—there's a special—"
"Special what?"
"Special hug."
Jay buried her face in her hands.
Keiran's eyes widened. "Hug? That makes baby?"
"A very special kind of hug."
"So if I give Mamma special hug, I get baby sibling?"
"NO!" Both Jay and Keifer shouted simultaneously.
Keiran jumped. "Why yelling?"
"Because—" Keifer took a deep breath. "Buddy, special hugs are only for grown-ups who are married. Or in love. Like me and Mamma."
"Oh." Keiran thought. "So when I'm grown-up, I can give special hugs?"
"When you're grown-up and you find someone you love, yes."
"And then baby comes?"
"And then baby comes."
Keiran nodded slowly, processing. Then he looked at Jay. "Mamma, can you and Pappa do special hug? So I get baby sibling?"
Jay choked.
Keifer made a strangled sound.
Keiran waited expectantly.
"We're... working on it," Jay managed.
"Work faster. I want baby."
"Keiran—"
"PLEASE? I'll be good. I'll share toys. I'll teach baby about Rex." He held up the dinosaur. "Rex promises too."
Rex stared at them with button eyes.
Keifer looked at Jay. "What do we say?"
Jay took a deep breath. "Baby, we can't promise a baby. Sometimes these things take time. Sometimes they don't happen at all. But we love you, and you're our priority, okay?"
Keiran pouted. "But I WANT baby."
"I know, baby."
"Want baby NOW."
"Can't happen now."
"TOMORROW?"
"Probably not tomorrow either."
Keiran's face crumpled. He looked at Keifer with heartbreaking disappointment. "Pappa, why you no give Mamma special hug? You don't love Mamma?"
"I LOVE Mamma! I love her very much!"
"Then why no baby?"
"Because—" Keifer looked at Jay for help.
Jay was no help. She was crying with laughter.
Keifer turned back to Keiran. "Buddy, making a baby is complicated. It's not just about love. It's about timing and health and—and—"
"And special hugs?"
"And special hugs, yes. But Mamma and I are happy with you. You're our baby."
"I'm not baby. I'm big."
"You're our big boy. But you'll always be our baby too."
Keiran considered this. Then he sighed dramatically. "Fine. But I still want sibling."
"We know, buddy."
"Tell Mamma's tummy to work faster."
"I'll... pass along the message."
---
The conversation followed them all day.
At lunch: "Mamma, you eat more. Need energy for baby."
At snack time: "Pappa, no coffee. Bad for baby-making."
At dinner: "Keigan, how long for baby to grow? Keigan knows everything."
Keigan looked up from his phone. "What?"
"Baby. In Mamma's tummy. How long?"
Keigan stared at his little brother. Then at Jay. Then at Keifer.
"I'm not answering that."
"Why?"
"Because I'm eating."
"You always eating."
"Exactly."
Keiran huffed. "No one helps."
---
By bedtime, Keiran had a full plan.
"Mamma sleep in Pappa's room tonight. For special hugs."
Jay tucked him in, keeping a straight face. "Baby, we already sleep in the same room."
"Oh. Good. Keep doing that. Make baby."
"Keiran—"
"Mamma." He grabbed her hand seriously. "I want baby. I'll be best big brother. Promise."
Her heart melted. "I know you would, baby. You'd be amazing."
"So you try?"
"We'll... see what happens."
He nodded, satisfied. "Good. Rex and I will wait."
Rex nodded solemnly.
Jay kissed his forehead. "Love you, Keiran."
"Love you, Mamma. Love you more when baby comes."
She laughed. "Fair enough."
---
She found Keifer in the hallway, leaning against the wall, listening.
"He's planning our reproductive future," she said.
"I heard. He's very determined."
"He wants a sibling."
"He's been asking for months, apparently. Keigan told me. He just never asked US before."
Jay leaned against him. "What do we think?"
"About a baby?"
"About the possibility. Someday. Not now. But... someday."
Keifer was quiet for a moment. Then he pulled her close.
"I think... I'd love to have a child with you. When you're ready. When we're ready. Not because Keiran demands it."
She smiled. "Good answer."
"But if we do, Keiran can never know he influenced this decision."
"Absolutely not. His ego is big enough."
They stood together, wrapped in each other.
Then Keifer's phone buzzed.
Percy: KEIRAN JUST TEXTED ME. HE SAID YOU NEED TO GIVE JAY SPECIAL HUGS. I'M DYING. THIS IS THE BEST DAY.
Keifer: How did he get your number?
Percy: HE HAS ALL OUR NUMBERS. HE'S THREE AND HE HAS CONTACTS. THIS CHILD IS DANGEROUS.
Percy: ALSO GIVE JAY SPECIAL HUGS. FOR THE GOOD OF THE FAMILY.
Keifer: I'm blocking you.
Percy: YOU CAN'T BLOCK ME. I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND.
Keifer: Watch me.
---
The next morning, Keiran appeared at their bedroom door at six AM.
"Baby yet?"
Jay groaned. Keifer buried his face in the pillow.
"Keiran, it's six in the morning."
"Baby?"
"No baby."
"Why not? You had ALL NIGHT."
"Babies take longer than one night."
Keiran's face fell. Then he brightened. "More special hugs tonight?"
"Keiran—"
"MORE HUGS. I'll make chart." He disappeared.
Jay looked at Keifer. "He's making a chart."
"Our three-year-old is tracking our sex life with a chart."
"Apparently."
"We're doomed."
"Completely."
They looked at each other.
Then they started laughing.
---
End of Chapter Twenty-Seven