Book 2: Chapter Ninety - His Family Is Complete!
Book 2: Chapter Ninety - His Family Is Complete!
Amelia could feel the contractions rocking her body after every few minutes. Matteo stayed by her side all the time, stroking her hair, and holding onto her hands with concern. It relieved her a lot this time, unlike the last time when she was all alone. Matteo’s family had arrived much later, and she had missed him like a sore thumb then.
“Nurse, when will you take her to the birthing room?” asked Matteo agitatedly.
“There’s time. It’s still early labor! When the contractions increase in frequency and last longer, we will take her to the birthing room.”
Unable to see her in pain, Matteo called his Mama.
“Can you come over, Mama? I’m feeling so lost with Emilia in labor pain.”
“Are you in the hospital? Where’s Mariella?” asked his Mama in a state of panic.
“Yes, Amelia started her contractions and we are in the labor room. Mariella is at my friend’s house.”
“Why didn’t you inform me before?” said his clueless Mama.
“The delivery date was two weeks later. I thought of informing you this weekend.” He had been too busy to update his family lately. Ever since Amelia joined his work, she, too, had been totally occupied.
“I’ll ask Marcello to book our flight tickets. Don’t panic, I’ll bring a nanny who will look after all of you and the house.” Matteo felt a little relieved after the phone call.
So they waited while Amelia went into active labor four hours later. Matteo accompanied her to the birthing room, swearing he didn’t want more children. If this was the pain Emilia had to bear, he would have used protection at all costs.
“Please, I can’t take it anymore. Can’t you just do a cesarean?” cried Amelia, hysterical and frustrated.
“Just push, Mrs. Ricci. We cannot perform a cesarean now. It will harm your babies.” They lay her on the birthing bed and helped her in every way. Tears and perspiration drenched her totally as she pushed with all her might. Matteo stroked her hair and coaxed her to push. She gripped his hand, her nails digging into his flesh as she heaved and pushed.
“Harder! You need to push hard,” coaxed the doctor after checking the entrance. “There’s no crowning yet.”
Amelia sagged into the bed, totally exhausted. She couldn’t push any longer. “Please revive your wife, Mr. Ricci. Talk to her. She has to push,” coaxed the doctor. Matteo panicked, fear gripping his heart. What if she couldn’t make it? What if anything happened to her? He had to revive her.
“Cara, push our babies out. You’re a fighter, you can do it. You’ve never given up earlier. For Marie and my sake, you have to live.” Tears poured down his cheeks as he stood by his wife, trying hard to revive her.
“Push, Amelia! Your babies are trying, but they can’t do this on their own. Help them!” yelled the doctor, making her stir. She pushed with all her might and the nurse checked with excitement.
“Yes, one is almost out. Push more!”
Amelia pushed harder, grunting loudly as beads of perspiration soaked the hospital gown she wore. She felt something heavy fall out of her into the doctor’s arms.
“Good job! You’ve delivered one of them! Now the next!” said the doctor. Amelia pushed and the other one, too, slipped out. The babies started howling immediately and Amelia sank into the pillow, totally exhausted.
Matteo smiled at the twins when the doctor held them up for him to see. “Congratulations! You’ve been blessed with perfectly healthy baby boys!” said the pediatrician present.
“Thank you!” said Matteo, his sparkling eyes filled with happiness and relief. He stroked his wife’s head as she smiled at him weakly.
“Are you okay, tesoro?” he whispered to her, planting a kiss on her forehead. For a moment he feared losing her, but thankfully she sailed through all the obstacles,
“Yes,” she whispered back weakly.
The doctor cleaned the newborn babies and placed them in her arms. “They look like you, Emilia!” he gasped, and Amelia smiled, watching them with awe. Yes, they indeed looked like her, except for their hair, which resembled Matteo’s.
“What will you name them?”
“Call Mariella and inform her, please. She has thought of their names already. She would be very upset if we don’t consult her,” said Amelia, and they chuckled knowingly.
“Sure I will.” The nurse took the twins away, and they wheeled Amelia to a room. Matteo noticed how tired she was. Her eyes were almost drooping shut.
“Rest for some time, Emilia. Do you want me to stay here for you?”
“No, please go home. It’s almost 1 o’clock in the morning.”
“I’ll come back with Mariella later in the morning. Take care,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead and leaving.
He messaged Lucas since they were asleep so late in the night. He would go to his house in the morning to pick Mariella up.
The next morning, he woke up with a start, seeing an incoming call from Lucas. “Congratulations, man! Shall we come down to the hospital at ten? The visiting hours are at 10 o’clock, I think.”
“Thanks. Yes, I hope it won’t be a problem.”
“No problem at all. Sienna and Alexia want to meet the twins, too.”
“Okay then. I’ll see you at the hospital.” Matteo smiled and quickly got ready to leave for the hospital. He wondered how Mariella would react to her brothers!
In a few minutes, he reached the hospital and went upstairs to see his wife. She smiled at him while feeding the twins.
“Good morning, mia cara! How are you today?” he asked, planting a kiss on her forehead.
“I’m fine. The doctor was here a minute ago. Did you meet her? They’ll be discharging us today.”
“Is it? That’s great news. I can’t wait to take you home. I’ll see the doctor right away. Lucas is coming here with his family and Mariella.”
“Did you call Ryan, Gia, and Brooklyn to inform?”
“Oh, I’ll call them soon. I’m going down to the reception to fetch Lucas and the others.”
He waited at the reception and soon they rushed in with an excited Mariella gripping Alexia’s hand. They both searched for him, eager to see the twins.
“Papà, where are they?” asked Mariella on seeing him approach them.
“Congratulations, Matteo!” said Sienna.
“Thanks! I panicked last night when she couldn’t push anymore,” said Matteo..
“It’s quite natural to feel scared. Why didn’t you call me?”
“It was late, and you were with the children.”
“Papà, let’s go to see the twins!” exclaimed Mariella, and they all smiled at her.
“Yes, let’s go. Have you thought of their names yet?”
“Yes, I have. Have you kept their names already?” she asked with dread.
“No, how could we? Your Mama and I were waiting for you.” Mariella looked quite pleased, and they all went up to the nursery to check the twins.
“They’re adorable, Papà! They look like Mama. I love them already!” she gasped, watching them with wonder.
“I love them too,” said Alexia longingly.
“Dad, can we have babies too?” she asked Lucas, who gaped at Sienna.
“Sure we will soon, Alex,” said Sienna, and Lucas looked at her with interest.
“We will?” he asked with amusement, making Sienna blush.
Matteo grinned at their exchange and led them to Amelia’s room.
“Mama, how are you? Can I stay here with you now?” asked Mariella.
Amelia hugged her and smiled weakly. “Yes, you can. We will go home today after lunch.”
“Yay! And what about Aurelio and Armano? Will they also go home with us?” Amelia smiled at the cute names.
“Yes, they would also go home with us. So why have you chosen these names, Marie?” asked Amelia with curiosity. Mariella had thought of the names months ago but never disclosed them to her.
“It’s because I look like Papà, and my name starts with an M. I waited to see who they looked like before finalizing their names. They look like you, so their names should start with A. Right?”
They had to agree to her logic. “I love the names, Marie! We will call them Aurelio and Armano!” said Amelia.
“Yes, I love the names, too. So, if they resembled me, what would you have called them?” asked Matteo curiously.
“Maximo and Maurizio!” said Mariella.
“Wow! You’re a genius!” said Lucas, making her color a little.
“Thanks, uncle Lucas, but I didn’t think of them on my own. My uncle Marcello helped me a little with the names. He is my Papà’s brother.”
Later, Lucas and his family helped him get Amelia discharged and carry the twins home. It was all so sudden that Matteo hadn’t been able to set up the nursery for them.
Freddie and Lucas helped him set up the nursery all day. They bought baby supplies and Sienna too helped. It was evening when his Mama arrived with Marcello and a nanny. Lucas and his family left and a haggard Freddie went home for the day.
His Mama explained the work to the middle-aged nanny who would live with them from now on.
“Mila doesn’t have anyone in the world. She needs a job to survive. She will take care of everything. Don’t worry.
“Thank you, Mama. Taking care of babies and a house is the toughest job on earth.”
“Yet Emilia did everything single-handedly for the last five years,” reminded his Mama.
“Yes, she’s special indeed! Thankfully, my family is complete now!”
His Mama and Mila took over, and Matteo heaved a sigh of relief to have someone to help. His Mama handled the house and the children efficiently and he could go to his shop for a few hours.
His life was now a rollercoaster ride, with so much to do both at home and at the shop. Yet he was happy with the way things had shaped up. Initially, everything looked bleak, but Lucas’s presence in his life changed everything for the better. He indeed was blessed to have a friend like him.