I cut the nurse off. “I will take care of Natasha.”
I lay Jordana in her little wheel around crib and help Tash out of bed, and then I push the crib as I help Tash. It seems weird having two people to look after now.
“You can leave the baby here. I will watch her.” The nurse smiles.
“I can take care of them both,” I reply. Now more than ever, my protective instincts have kicked in. I’m not leaving either of them alone for even a minute.
I park Jordana into the corner of the bathroom and lead Tash into the shower, helping her wash the blood from her body gently.
She’s so swollen and she has lots of stitches. “Oh, baby,” I whisper, this is horrific. “Are you ok?”
She nods and holds me tight.
To be honest I’m feeling a little fragile myself, that whole birthing thing is other worldly.
She kisses me, and it’s as though our relationship just hit a whole higher level of intimacy.
“I have never loved you more than I do today,” I whisper.
We stand alone in the shower in each other’s arms, selflessly blocking out the rest of the world as we kiss and celebrate the making of a perfect little girl.
Jordana May Stanton.
Four Years Later
Natasha
“Jordy why are you in different clothes?” I ask as she flits around the kitchen in a little pink ballerina costume.
“I got dirty,” Little Miss replies.
I shake my head at Joshua and he smirks. This is her fourth outfit today. Jordana, A.K.A, Jordy, Jay or Jay bird, is… hmm, what’s the word for it? Strong willed, just like her father.
She gives the word defiant a whole new meaning. She’s super intelligent and super bossy.
We live at Willowvale now with Jordy and our other two children. Estella, who we call Ellie, is two and a half, and Blake, our son, is one. We are outnumbered. There are more little people in this house than adults and we don’t stand a chance of getting out of here alive.
The beautiful mansion that I once thought was a museum is now strewn with toys, highchairs and nappy wipes. Joshua’s office has Lego on the floor and tiny little handprints are all over the windows. Ellie waddles after Joshua and holds her hands up. He picks her up without thinking. Ellie is the only placid child we have, and Joshua says she’s the only drama free person in the house. Being attracted and married to a dominant male is hot… but bringing up his two dominant children is just damn hard work. Ellie points to the walk in pantry and Joshua walks over and opens it for her. I watch them together. In fact, I watch him with all of our children. This huge, muscular man is a pussycat at the mere mention of the word daddy.
“A banana?” he asks as he holds one up.
She shakes her head. She has sandy hair that curls on the ends, and large blue eyes. She is fairer than the other two “Yogie,” her little voice tells him.
“Yoghurt?” he questions.
She smiles broadly and nods as he takes it from the fridge. He fills her a bowl and sits her in her high chair, placing everything out for her to devour.
He watches her lovingly for a moment as she spoons it into her mouth. This one has him wrapped around her little finger.
Jordy and Blake look like Joshua with darker hair and darker skin and blue eyes. They are like him in personality, too – strong willed and unmanageable. Joshua is getting payback, and I love every moment of watching him try to control them. It’s a battle of the wills, constantly.
The dog barks and we hear the crunch of tyres. Jordy’s eyes widen in excitement and she runs to the front of the house to peek out the window.
“Mercy is here!” she yells excitedly.
Mercy… also known as Murphy, as in Adrian Murphy.
Jordy heard the boys calling him Murphy once and couldn’t say it, so she started calling him Mercy and it stuck. Now the other kids just think that’s his name.
The door opens and Jordy squeals in delight and he picks her up, laughs and spins her around. Cameron is behind him and he growls like a monster, chasing them up the hall as Adrian runs with her in his arm.
“He’s scary.” Adrian laughs. “Hide me, Jordy. Hide me.”
She laughs out loud as Cameron pretends to chase them. Jarvis follows them in, carrying a couple of suit bags. They burst into the large kitchen area. We have extended and now have another living room off the kitchen, seeing how we seem to be here all the time with the kids. Cameron swoops Blake off the floor and kisses Ellie gently on the head as she continues eating her yoghurt. The boys all dote on the children. They come to visit them weekly, not us, I’m sure of it.