74| calm

                                    

                                          
•Matteo Rossi•
        My wife told me that pregnancy is just one long wait. But I realize that when we are done waiting, every moment is either calm or a panic, it changes every now and then.
         We just woke up about five minutes ago. Well, I did. Because Aria was gripping my hand so hard it woke me up and I am very glad it did.
        "What is it, melodia?" I ask her, my voice hoarse since I have just woken up.
        "I think I am in labor," she says, wincing in pain, a hand on her lower stomach. She had Braxton Hicks contractions a few weeks ago but she was fine and she wasn't even close to being in labor.
        I stand up out of bed and go around the bed to her side, helping her out of bed. We have already talked about this for a while. She said she doesn't want me to carry her around everywhere, or panic about anything. 
         I know for a fact that me panicking will make her panic even more. Also, if she wants to walk then she will walk, but we don't know how long this labor will be and I just don't want her to be too stressed and scared.
         I hold her arm with one hand and wrap the other arm around her lower back, leading her out of the room and down the stairs because she did not want to take the elevator.
       The hospital bag was already in the foyer since we thought she would have given birth a few weeks ago. She is already 37 weeks and it is rare for a twin pregnancy to go full term. 
      I grab the bag, putting the handle over my shoulder and continue walking her out of the house, towards the medical office.
       Halfway there, she winces in pain, gripping my arm again. To be fair, we were walking pretty slow. 
        I stop and hold her as she grips onto me tight, then lets out a sigh of relief.
        We keep walking, arriving to find only two guards there getting treated for injuries, nurses already tending to them, and one nurse at the front desk.
         She bows, "Mr and Mrs Rossi," she begins, "Is she in labor?" she asks me kindly and I nod. "We have a room prepared for you, if you would please follow me?" she says, coming out from behind the desk.
         We follow her into a cozy looking room where she helps us settle in before our doctor arrives. 
         Even before she arrives, Laura, Allegra, Luca, and Inessa get here. I am surprised they are here given that it is around one in the morning. Allegra comes in smiling widely with a gift bag.
       Laura looks exhausted, Allegra looks excited, Luca and Inessa look tired and I think they fell asleep as soon as they laid down on the couch.
         "I know you said no gifts but I just couldn't resist," Allegra says, handing the back to Aria who is smiling as well, "I crocheted the twins little matching starfish outfits." Allegra says excitedly. 
         Aria gasps, opening the bag and pulling out some star shaped outfits that are in yellow and blue with little circles for the faces. "These are so cute," Aria gasps, Allegra leaning down to hug her.
         Once the doctor arrived, we all left the room so she could check Aria. Once we went back in, Aria looked sleepy.
         I sat next to her as she reached for the remote to the television in the room and turned it on. "What do you guys want to watch? We don't know how long we are going to be in here." she says.
         They find a movie and leave it on while they keep talking. I am holding my wife's hand, making sure that I know when she is having a contraction because she will squeeze. 
        Aria facetimes her dad. It is four in the afternoon I think where he lives right now. "Hi principessa, what is it?" he asks when he answers the phone.
         "I'm in the hospital, in labor," she says. He smiles, and there is a bunch of yelling and clapping heard from the phone. "Dad, what are you doing?" she asks.
         "My students hang out in here after school if they are getting picked up late or have to take a later bus." he says.
          "Mr. Marino, what's your daughters name?" A voice is heard in the background. Aria giggles at this interaction with her fathers students. Apparently he is the teacher that everyone feels safe with and his class is very fun.
         He laughs, "Her name is Aria," he says, arranging some papers as he puts the phone against some surface so it will stand on its own.
         "Wait so Aria Marino? I follow a girl on Instagram with that name. Well, she changed it to Rossi cause she got married. I love her account though. She's so pretty." Another student says, making us all laugh. Little does that student know that they are talking about my wife.
        Leonardo laughs, "That is my daughter, Jocelyn." he says to them, making them all gasp.
        "There's no way!" the students say, making us all laugh even more. "You're her dad? The Aria Marino?" they ask and he nods.
        "Who is that?" A male voice is heard and the girl students start screaming, pulling out their phones and showing him as Leonardo flips the camera so we can see his classroom. Students in uniforms are all huddling around this one girls phone. "Oh shit, that's your daughter Mr. M?" the boy asks.
         Leonardo laughs, "Yes, that is my daughter." he says.
         "And you're facetiming her right now?" they ask. Leonardo flips the camera back around as he is nodding and they all gasp, going behind his desk where he is and looking at the phone.
         The students gasp as Aria is laughing very hard. "Oh my god! That's her! And her husband too." the student says, before Leonardo takes his phone off the desk and faces it down.
        "Leave my daughter and her husband alone. Go back over there." he says. They all groan and then Leonardo puts the phone back up. "How do you feel, principessa?" 
        Aria shrugs, "Okay I guess," she says. They continue talking for a while before she decides she wants to fall back asleep. It is two in the morning so I laid my head on the bed using my arm as a pillow, that same hand still holding my wife's.
•••••
         I woke up to a slight pain in my hand, a pinching sensation. My head shot up and I look up at my wife who has a scrunched nose and is gripping my hand with all her strength. 
         She sits up slightly, and I stand, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead as she goes through the contraction. She groans out in pain before breathing out heavily, slumping back down on the bed. 
         She has a tear running down her cheek as she lays back down, I wipe it and kiss her cheek, "Sweetheart, you can get the epidural if you need it," I tell her.
         She has said she does not want it but I can tell she is in a lot of pain and I don't like seeing her like this. She shakes her head, "No, it is okay. It hurts but I can push through it." She says, her breathing calming as she brings up my hand to kiss it.
         I sit down once more. Everyone went to get breakfast, which I found out from a message on my phone from Allegra.
        Mamma is meeting up with them before heading over here.
         Aria says that ideally she does not want a c-section, however the doctor said that it might come down to that. Aria said it would be fine, but it is just not what she prefers.
        A few minutes later, everyone walks back in, mamma going straight to Aria. "Oh, tesoro, how do you feel?" she asks, leaning down to hug Aria.
       "It hurts like hell, but I will be okay," she says, looking like she is in pain. I know she is in severe pain but she is trying to hide it. 
         Over an hour later, and many many contractions later, Aria looks at me oddly. "What is it, melodia?" I ask her, kissing her arm.
         "Something feels weird. I think I am ready to push?" she says questioning, but I think if she feels ready to push then it is time. 
        I run to get her doctor, "Aria says something feels weird and it feels like she is ready to push," I tell her. She looks at me confused.
        "I just checked her a half hour ago, she was only 8 centimeters dilated," she tells me, sounding shocked.
         "Yes, but it is her body and I trust her to listen to her body, I think she knows what she feels," I tell her doctor who now walks past me to get to the room.
         When we get there, Aria is going through another contraction. "They are less than a minute apart," she groans out in pain.
•••••
         Only an hour later, I am laying next to my wife, both of us doing skin to skin contact with one of our babies. 
        Aria gave birth to Lorenzo fairly quickly, after only around five minutes of pushing. Emilio was born a couple minutes later. Since the pregnancy made it to full term, they are both pretty healthy babies and on the bigger side for newborn twins.
        Although they are still very small, Lorenzo only weighing just under 6 pounds, Emilio weighing just over 6 pounds at 6 pounds 1 ounce. 
        Aria was in a lot of pain but she did amazing. I am so proud of her, and it is truly an honor to be able to call her my wife. I love her so much and I can only be excited for what the future holds for us. 
         As I hold Emilio to me, I look over to my wife holding Lorenzo to her, his beanie covering a good portion of his forehead.
         Emilio coos, making me look down at him and he opens his eyes. I am met with these adorable, gorgeous brown eyes that replicate his mothers eyes. 
         As soon as he was born, the nurses had to feed him. They said they had never seen a newborn that hungry, but he drank a lot of milk. 
          Lorenzo has been very fussy, however right now he seems perfectly fine in Aria's arms, he seems to be asleep. 
          Aria looks like she is dozing off as well, her eyes practically shut. "Tired, melodia?" I ask her. 
        She nods, mumbling a yes as Lorenzo makes a small sound and Aria looks down at him. His eyes open and these green irises being revealed. I smiled. Our baby. 
        She kisses him on the forehead, leaning back on the bed. "I will take him, melodia. You rest." I say. She nods softly, basically already asleep. I take the baby, placing them both on my chest, then sitting on the couch, leaning back so I am almost laying down. "Ti amo, piccolini," I mumble to our sons. (I love you, little ones.)
         I cannot believe this is happening in our lives right now, but I could not be happier. I am now a father, and it is alongside the most gorgeous human being on this planet. She is my everything and I will spend the rest of my life showing her that I love and appreciate her. Unconditionally. And for everything she has done for us to be able to have our family. 
          I look down at our sons. Lorenzo Riccardo Rossi and Emilio Leonardo Rossi. 
         Life is perfect.
•••••
bye bye 
~elle 🌸