Becoming

The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner

When Dave got back to the flat from the hospital, he found Rachel and Dan waiting up for him, their expressions an odd combination of nervousness with a touch of... mischief? "It's a girl," he said. "Tasha Natalia Murray, delivered via c-section at 22... erm, sorry, 10:27 p.m. and weighing in at 1.7 kilos... sorry, 3 pounds and 12 ounces." He chuckled a bit as he shook his head. "I'm still not used to using American measures, my head is still metric."

His in laws chuckled. "It's to be expected," Dan said. "I trust they're both doing all right?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah, Tamar came through the surgery like a trooper, although I imagine she'll be feeling less than her best for a few weeks yet. Tasha is in NICU, but the paediatrician on duty said she seems quite healthy for a 32-week delivery and likely won't need to remain there for very long."

"Oh, thank God," Rachel exclaimed. Then she grinned. "And it seems that you're not the only one with news. We stopped for a bite to eat after leaving the hospital earlier this evening, and got home to find a message from your friend Adrian – Nathalie gave birth to their twins. He said Nathalie and the babies are all doing well, although the twins will be in the NICU for a bit as well." She actually giggled as she added, "Adrian said the twins were born not long after midnight, Montreal time. That means that even though they were born a few hours before Tamar gave birth, Tasha's birthday is the day before theirs!"

Dave blinked, then laughed as well. "Oh, blimey! Ade's gonna die laughing when I tell him." He looked at the time and did the calculations in his head. "Which won't be until after I've got myself about four hours of sleep. If I get up then, I ought to be able to catch him before he leaves to see Nathalie and the twins – and then I'll catch another few hours of sleep before I head back to visit Tamar and Tasha."

"Good night, Dave," Dan and Rachel said, almost simultaneously as they stood and headed towards their room.

"Good night, Dan, Rachel," Dave replied, moving to the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of orange-pineapple juice. He drank it and then paused by the answerphone, rewinding the mini-cassette inside to hear Ade's message for himself. Then he also headed to bed.

He set his alarm to wake up early, and called Ade as soon as he did, congratulating him on the birth of the twins and giving his own news about Tasha's birth. Both of them had a good laugh over the quirk of time zones that made Tasha officially a day older than Brittany and Natasha despite being born about three hours after them.

After hanging up, Dave went back to bed with a smile on his face, feeling better for having heard Ade's voice. He'd get a few more hours of sleep in, and then go see Tamar in hospital and hopefully have the opportunity to get properly acquainted with his daughter.

*****

In Montreal, Ade hung up the phone, a huge smile on his face at Dave's news, and scooped Dylan out of his pack'n'play. "We're gonna go see your mum, little man," he said. "And you'll get to meet your sisters, too, I hope. Or at least get to see them for a minute, even if they have to stay in a different room since you're so young yet, dunno what the rules are."

"Mumma? Dylan asked. "See Mumma?"

"That's right, Dylan, we're gonna go see Mumma, and also Brittany and Natasha, your new sisters," Ade told his son as he carried him back for a clean nappy before they set out for their visit. "Your sisters are very little babies, so now you're the big boy."

Dylan tilted his head, apparently thinking this over. "Big boy," he said proudly. "See Mumma. No sitzters."

Ade laughed and shook his head. "Your sisters are here now, little man, and we can't send 'em back. You'll learn to get along with 'em soon enough."