The Twins' Mom [Taylor Swift x Joe Alwyn AU]

iv

The next afternoon at six minutes after one, Taylor knocked on the door of Joe penthouse apartment, brimming with nervous excitement, her heart in her throat. She had barely slept last night in anticipation of this very moment.

Though she had known that when she signed away her parental rights she might never see the girls again, she had still hoped.

She just hadn't expected it to happen until they were teenagers and old enough to make the decision to meet their birth mother.

But here she was, barely five months later, just seconds away from the big moment.

The door was opened by a woman. Taylor assumed it was the housekeeper, judging by the maid's uniform. She as tall and lanky with a pinched face and steel gray hair that was pulled back severely and twisted into a bun. Taylor placed her in her mid to late sixties.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked in a gravely clipped tone.

" I have an appointment with Mr. Alwyn."

"Are you Miss Swift?"

"Yes, I am." Which she must have already known, considering the doorman had called up to announce her about a minute ago.

She looked Taylor up and down with scrutiny, purses her lips and said, " I'm Ms. Cruz, Mr. Alwyn's housekeeper. You're late."

"Sorry I had trouble getting a cab."

" I should warn you that if you do get the job, tardiness will not be tolerated."

Taylor failed to se how she could be tardy for a job she was at 24/7, but she didn't push the issue."It won't happen again."

Ms. Cruz gave a resentful sniff and said, " Follow me."

Even the housekeeper's chilly greeting wasn't enough to smother Taylor's excitement. Her hands trembled as she follow through the foyer into an ultra-modern, open concept living space. Near a row of ceiling-high windows that boasted a panoramic view of Times Square with the afternoon sunshine washing over them like gold dust, were the twins. They sat side by side in identical baby chairs, babbling and swatting at the colorful toys.

They were so big! And they they changed more than she could have imagined possible. If she had seen them on the street, she probably wouldn't have recognized them.

She was hit by a sense of longing so keen she had to bite down on her lips to keep from bursting into tears.

She forced her feet to remain rooted to the deeply polished mahogany floor while she was announced, when what she wanted to do was fling herself into the room, drop down to her knees and gather her children in her arms.

"The one on the left is Summer," Ms. Cruz said, with a hint of affection in her tone."she's the loud, demanding one. The other is Winter. She's the quiet, sneaky one."

Sneaky? At five months old? It's sounded that Ms. Cruz just didn't like children. She was probably a spinster. She sure looked like one.

Not only would Taylor have to deal with a partying egomaniac celebrity, but also an overbearing critical housekeeper.

How fun.

And it frosted her that Joe let this pinched, frigid, nasty old bat who clearly didn't like children anywhere near the girls.

"I'll go get Mr. Alwyn." she said striding down a hall that Taylor assumed led to the bedrooms.

Alone with the girls for the first time since their birth, she crossed the room and knelt down in front of them. "Look how big you are and how beautiful," she whispered.