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“Let’s try it,” Katrina said, chuckling.
“Nah, I’m just kidding. It might give Justin ideas.”
They traded babies and Maggie put baby Tina to her breast.
“This isn’t something we dreamed about as kids, is it? Nursing our babies together in the Louisiana Bayou?” Katrina asked in a soft voice.
“Not this exactly,” Maggie replied. “But we always pretended we were mothers together.” She watched her friend, her eyes shining.
“Two little girls who never thought their lives would be like this. I never imagined I’d live at Bayou Cottage. It was a place we visited in the winter. My mother didn’t like it much, so I’d come with my dad. I wish he could see us now. He really loved it here.”
Katrina leaned over and kissed her friend on the cheek. “I’ve been thinking about my parents a lot lately. The minute the doctor told me the baby might have Down syndrome, my mother came to mind. And at that moment, the doctor said his heart was fine. She was along with us during this whole thing.”
“Wow, that’s wonderful, Katrina. My mother was along with me in the flesh and most of the time I wished she’d go home.”
“Oh no, poor Rose and her superstitions. Did she say anything to you about baby David? I was afraid she’d find something I had done to cause it.”
“No, not a word. As a matter of fact, I’m kind of proud of her. I bet Doc Chastain gave her the lowdown.”
“Down syndrome facts, one oh one,” Katrina said.
“Yes, that’s about right. Baby David’s going to be okay, Katrina. It’s too early to tell what his strengths and weaknesses will be, just like with Tina here. But we will make it okay.”
“Maggie, I agree. We’ll handle it, whatever comes up.” She rested her head on the back of the couch. “I can’t believe I had a baby two days ago.”
“Me either. You must be beat. We brought dinner—nothing I made, mind you. Gumbo from Doc Chastain’s cook.”
“I love her gumbo. Tell her thank you so much.”
Justin and Dave came back out to the terrace. “Can I see him?” Justin asked, pointing to the baby.
“Here, you can take him. I need to go inside for a minute.”
She handed baby David to Justin and winked at Dave on her way out.
“Oh wow, man, this little guy is going to be a bruiser,” Justin said. “He has red hair! Look at the size of his hands, too. He’s really a boy.”
“By the way, where’s Tina?” Dave asked.
“It’s her turn to be under the blanket, just finishing up a snack.” Maggie stood up, adjusting her clothing. “Sit and you can hold her for me. I’ll go inside and fix Katrina some gumbo.”
Dave sat on the couch and Maggie gave him her baby.
“Aw, little Tina, you’re so cute!”
“Justin, sit,” Maggie commanded. “You two are so cute with the babies. I’ll take your picture and send them to the family.”
She took a step off the terrace so she could get in front of the couch.
“Perfect! Brothers with their babies.”
***
After dinner, Justin and Maggie left with Tina. Katrina had a nice long shower, the rain head beating down on her, washing away weeks of hospital musk.
“Are you okay in there?” Dave called through a crack in the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute. I can see why people have benches in their showers. I could stay here for a while.”
