Whispers of Hope

Chapter Three: Bonds of Friendships

Soft whimpers filled the room, a constant reminder that I was now a mother to two healthy boys. Jabari was sitting on a chair next to the window as he lulled one of my boys to sleep. I had finished feeding him and it was nap time for him. He had come first and it seemed that he was quick to learn too. His brother however was a complete opposite. From time to time, he seemed to forget that he was no longer in the warm womb but out here with me. I had to keep an eye on him for when he held his breath too. I was currently teaching him to latch on so that he would feed but he was having none of it. He had his little nose scrunched up and his tiny fists covering his face, getting annoyed and threatening to cry every time I shifted him from his comfortable position. But he had to feed. Once again I tried, with no success.

I sighed tiredly and laid back on the bed. I was completely exhausted but I didn't want to sleep until they were both fed. "You need to take a nap and rest. Maybe he will be ready to suckle when you wake. He might be sensing your fatigue," Jabari tried to make sense of the situation. He had arrived few minutes after I had given birth, very much excited to be an uncle. Balloons, flowers and three gifts lay on the small hospital room table. I hadn't gotten time to unwrap and see what he had brought us but I was grateful for the flowers, they made the dull room lively and the balloons added to the cheer.

"I just wish he'd latch already. He needs to feed and I don't think nurse Lil will be patient with me any longer." I explained, frustration leaking from my voice. Nurse Lil had been kind enough to help me out but over time, I could see that her patience was running out. I wasn't the only new mother she was taking care of and we did have a lot of questions and worries. I adjusted myself on the bed again and shut my eyes trying to remember what Nurse Lil had said to do, step by step.

A soft knock on the door broke my chain of thoughts and Jabari was quick to answer. He peeped, then looked back at me, wiggled his eyebrows and threw me a mischievous wink. I groaned inwardly at his bluntness and his insinuation. Tom had stayed with me through the whole process, from giving birth to making sure that we were okay and Jabari had decided to tease me about it any chance he got.

Jabari made way to let Tom in and shut the door behind him. I was surprised to see him back but curiosity filled my eyes as I noticed a gift bag he was tightly clutching in his hands. He cleared his throat, a blush forming in his face as he tried to find his words. He then threw a quick glance at Jabari and stilled when he noticed that Jabari was watching him intensely, just as I was. He cleared his throat again and thrusted the bag forward, towards me. "For the babies. I thought they would look cute on them." His black orbs were looking anywhere but me, he had suddenly found the white wall behind me interesting.

"Thank you Tom, I smiled, reaching out for the bag. This is very thoughtful of you." I peeped inside and my heart jumped a little. There lay two identical light blue onesies and what I guessed was a sweatshirt for me. I removed the onesies from the bag and laughed slightly at the writings. Mummy's - since 21st October, 2023.

"Very thoughtful indeed," Jabari teased again from beside me.

It was very cute gift. I found myself clutching onto the little clothes and thanking Tom over and over. I was surprised that he was still here but by now I was done being amazed by the kind of person he was. He was kind by default and at some point, I felt like I was taking advantage of that, wishing that my situation was different. That I had been dealt a kinder hand.

"Would you like to hold them?" I asked Tom. It was the only way I could think of thanking him, for all he had done for us. "This is Taji. He's being a little bit fussy, typical of last borns." I gestured to the now calm baby in my arms, causing Tom to chuckle a little, "and that's Ari, he's taken a lead in everything. Latches on well to feed, sleeps well, you can hold him first as well. I'm sensing hell be okay with it."

Tom carefully picked Ari from Jabari and swayed him a little when he let out small whimpers of distress from being disrupted from his comfy position. Jabari excused himself then discreetly winked at me again as he left the room, causing me to roll my eyes. He could be extremely cheeky sometimes.

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Babies are here! Let me know what you think in the comments. Vote and share too!

Love, Kiki.