Molded Joy

Prologue

A hand petting her head waked Molly. Annoyed, she pushed it away and turned over in her bed. It wasn't morning, she knew. In the mornings she could see the sunlight streaming in from her window through her eyelids even before she opened them. Why someone was trying to wake her when it was still dark was beyond her and she'd rather not, too. That was because she'd been having quite a nice dream where there was a blue-green ocean and pink butterflies that could swim with her in the water!

The hand that had woken her moved on to shaking her shoulder.

"Noo…" Molly whined as she curled up around her dolly.

A chuckle filled the room, and Molly knew instantly that it was her daddy who'd been trying to wake her. Flopping over to her other side so she could face her daddy, she squinted up at him.

"What, Daddy?" she demanded.

Molly could tell even in the darkness that he was smiling as he reached down and gently pulled her up. "Mummy had the baby, little girl, I know it's a bit early, but I thought you might like to come and meet them."

"What? Really!" she shrilled in pure, blissful joy. She'd been waiting so long for the baby! For forever and then some! Nearly falling out of bed in her eagerness, she asked, "Is it a boy or a girl, Daddy? Please say it's a girl. I wanna have someone to play dress-up and tea with!"

Gently catching her as she got tripped up on her quilt for the third time in as many seconds, her father swept her into his arms and kissed her cheek with his scratchy mustache, making her skin itch. "Sorry, little girl, it's a boy."

"Aw," Molly pouted. But even that couldn't keep her down long. She knew from playing with boy-cousins from Mummy's side of the family that they could be just as fun–especially if you knew they had done something they weren't supposed to. Like Rupert, he'd cussed in front of her when he knew he wasn't supposed to and promised to play whatever she wanted when he realized she'd heard him and could tell his Mummy and Daddy.

Little arms winding around her daddy's neck, Molly asked, "What's his name?"

"Your Mummy's still deciding," the man told her as they left her bedroom for her parents' down the hall. Walking into her daddy and mummy's bedroom, Molly's view of her mother and brother were blocked by Daddy as he shifted her down lower on his hip before setting her down in the dressing chair Mummy kept by the wardrobe.

The room lit dimly by yellow lamps, her father's twinkling eyes looked all the more joyous as he said, "Close your eyes, won't you, little girl?"

"Why, Daddy?" She frowned.

His smile widened a centimetre as he told her, "There's a surprise along with your new brother."

Very curious then, Molly did so. She listened with rapt attention as Daddy moved away to Mummy, Granny, and Aunt Tessie, who were all huddled by the bed.

"Got her?" Mummy spoke.

"Yes," Daddy replied.

A minute later, she felt somebody, probably Granny from the smell of flour and daisies–arrange her arms so it would be easy for Daddy to put her baby brother in them.

A moment later, Molly felt a warm little body be settled in her right arm, and in her left, she felt–!

Eyes popping open, she gasped. "Two babies!"

All the adults were giggling quietly at her reaction. Mummy, looking quite tired from where she was in bed holding Aunt Tessie's hand, smiled at Molly. "I hope you don't mind that you have two little brothers instead of a little sister."

Shaking her head at her mummy, Molly beamed at the babies. "I love them," she declared.

It was true. Looking into their pig-pink faces that were all wrinkly and mushed, she loved them. Just holding them, she could imagine all the amazing things to come–the first time they opened their eyes for her, the first time they cooed, gurgled, laughed, and smiled. The first time they spoke with her, walked with her, played with her…