(A/N: Thanks so much! I didn't originally plan to have Judy and Ian move in, but I had Ethan socializing with his mother and the option popped up on the interactions menu, and well...I thought why not?)
Chapter 22 – Burglars, Best Friends, and a BabyThe whole house has been abuzz with excitement with the impending new arrival. Darlene is practically glowing; she somehow managed to avoid morning sickness for the most part, but has been dealing with a more or less constant backache since month four. Fortunately the day spa runs occasional discounts, and Malcolm hasn't seemed to mind taking care of the rest.
He has been pretty much walking on air for the past seven months. The word excited doesn't even begin to describe it.
It hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows, however. A few months ago we were all awakened by the piercing wail of the burglar alarm just after midnight. My first instinct was to run to Elysia's room and make sure that my daughter was protected, but then my police training kicked in and prompted me to get my rear end downstairs and arrest whomever had the audacity (and foolishness) to invade the home of a forensic specialist.
When I got to the foyer a familiar face met my eyes.
“Twyla Summers, hands in the air!”
“Lieutenant Bunch, I...uh...oh crud...”
At that moment Officer Hunter burst in the door. He took one look at Twyla and shook his head. “You again?”
“You'd think she would learn her lesson after the first eight arrests,” I replied. “She's all yours, Eugene.”
Twyla put up a fight, but in the end she was in handcuffs. “Twyla Dawn Summers, you are under arrest for breaking and entering and attempted burglary. You have the right to remain silent--”
“Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. Just get this over with.”
It was all over less than an hour later and all of us headed back to bed. I had thought that Elysia would be somewhat traumatized, but she was surprisingly unfazed by the whole thing. “Why should I be scared when my mommy is a police officer?” That's my girl.
She's been quite busy over these past couple of months. Back when we were renovating the house Ethan opted to have a playground built in the backyard. Now that school is out for the summer Elysia has been finally able to take full advantage of it.
And so have her two best friends, Dallas Steel and Judd Sekemoto.
I swear that the three of them are attached at the hip, because wherever one is, chances are the other two are there as well. This summer that has mostly been our house, because according to Dallas “You guys have the COOL back yard.” Both of them are pretty nice kids. Dallas is the wilder and more outgoing of the two boys, where Judd is more quiet and reserved—unless he's excited about something. Or playing pretend at the kitchen table with Elysia.
“I'm the great King of Sunset Valley!”
“I'm the great Queen! Bow to our rule and let us have ice cream sundaes!”
Who can possibly argue with something so adorable?
I will say though, I think those three are going to be a serious handful when they hit their teenage years. Oh gosh...I just realized that's only four years away. How has time flown by so quickly?
Before we knew it Darlene's due date was here, and unlike Elysia who chose to wait a week this little one was right on time. At three o' clock in the morning.
Of course, the early hour didn't stop Judy from calling everyone else in the family with the news.
“Arlo! Your sister is in labor!”
“Mooom? It's three a.m. I just got off of a late shift. Go 'way.”Undeterred she called Lisa, who was surprisingly already awake.
“Really? We'll meet you guys at the hospital!”She tried getting Ian up for the event, but that didn't work out so well.
“Ian! Get up, we're going to the hospital.”
“Mmmwwrfff...the zebra's been kidnapped,” he mumbled.
“Never mind. Just sleep.”
Ian rolled over. “Potato.”
(Judy didn't even try to figure that one out.)
Elly was wide awake and practically begging to come along. I told her that we would have to wait outside, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be there when her baby cousin was born.
Malcolm rushed Darlene to the hospital and the rest of us followed a little while later. As promised, Lisa was there to meet us with her own little one in tow. Roger is adorable, and it's sad to know that he will never know his father. (Iqbal passed away only a year after he was born.) I have to give Lisa credit though; she has done amazingly well raising her son and has still somehow managed to hold down a successful career in the military.
We made our way into the waiting room and were joined a short time later by Nancy and Geoffrey. (Fortunately Malcolm had the presence of mind to call his parents on the way to the hospital.) The eight of us sat there making small talk, caught somewhere in between exhaustion and eager anticipation as we waited for news. About an hour into it Geoffrey stood up and walked out of the room, returning a few minutes later with a pot of fresh coffee and a stack of styrofoam cups.
“You raided the nurse's station, didn't you?” Ethan asked. Geoffrey only smiled and started pouring.
Never have I been so grateful for a simple cup of hot coffee.
Another hour passed and still no news. Ethan made another coffee run, this time absconding with a few donuts from the break room for us to munch on. Fortunately we didn't have to wait too much longer; half an hour later Malcolm appeared at the door in full scrubs, a wistful grin on his face.
“We have a girl.”
And so, at 5:52 this morning Iris Elizabeth Landgraab made her debut—a healthy, happy, and very much loved baby. Darlene is resting comfortably at home and neither she nor Malcolm could possibly be happier.
Happy birthday, sweet Iris.
(Another A/N: Nope, no unibrow for little Roger.
)
