The CEO’s Quadruplets

“Mrs. Goodwin?”

“Yes, Mr. Blake?”

Amory smiled as tears began to streak his cheeks. “Thank you.”

She pulled out a tissue from her pocket, handing it to him with her free hand while replying, “It’s my job, baby. Now, don’t worry yourself. Your wife will be with you soon enough.”

Stepping out, Amory began to slump down into the seat as he futilely attempted to collect himself. He had never been so out of sorts. Time was blurring together. He hardly noticed when another aid dropped off the cup of water Leah Goodwin had promised. Sitting there in the quiet for a nearly an hour, the sun was rising as he finally found the courage to call his sister.

Listening to the ring of the phone, Amory waited patiently in the tired old lounge. The morning news scrolled across a tiny television in the corner of the room. Amory watched through the glass as a young family carried pink balloons down the hall. This place was meant to be happy, but he still felt hollow and drained.

“Hello?” Anne groggily greeted, sounding just a bit annoyed to be awakened by a phone call.

“Anne, it’s your brother.”

“Amory? Is something wrong?”

“Uh, yeah. Isabella was in a car accident really early this morning. She survived, but her arm was broken and the quads were in fetal distress upon arrival to the hospital. They’re being delivered right now.”

“At twenty-eight weeks! Oh my god, Amory! Are you okay?”

“I’ll be better when I see her. They took her back before I got to the hospital. I guess I’m glad they didn’t waste time.”

“Peter! Peter!” Amory could hear Anne fussing at her husband to wake up. “Amory, I’m coming to you, okay? Tell me, what do you need?”

“We don’t have clothes or anything. Could you bring something from the house and check on Romeo? He might be confused.”

“Yeah, I’ll go do that.”

“And call her family. They’ll want to know. Lizzie will be notified as her doctor, but she may be here already and I don’t know.”

“I have her brothers’ number. Do you want me to tell Mom?”

“Well, they are her grandchildren. I hope she would be somewhat concerned.”

“Okay. I’m going to call people, and then I will head to your place and grab things. I’m going to get us all breakfast because you need to eat and I know you haven’t.”

Amory laughed, his sister proving how much she knew him. He watched a cheesy commercial as he listened to his sister prattle off some things she would be getting for Bella. However, Amory had lost the energy to listen. He felt battered and beaten, slumped into the hard chair as he twisted the phone cord around his ring finger. The gold of his wedding band glinted in the sterile light from the ceiling.

Just then, a nurse tapped on the door. Dressed in scrubs with little frogs on them, she looked so chipper.

“Amory Blake?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Would you like to meet your pair of twins?”

“Pair?”

“Yes, it seems the boys and the girls are identical, respectively.”

“Oh.”

Amory was in disbelief as the first ray of hope shone inside himself since this whole ordeal began. He finally realized he was still talking on the phone with his sister.

“Annie, I gotta go meet my children.”

“Oh my god!” she squealed. “Tell them hello for me!”

“Okay, Anne.”

“I love you, Amory.”

He smiled. “I love you too, sis.”