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Chapter Thirty Eight
Declan
As soon as I walk intothe White House residence, I scan the room for Maggie. I let out a little sigh when I don’t see her.
“Happy Easter,” Brooklyn calls from across the room. I give her a little wave and join her and Kip.
After I hug Brooklyn, I ask, “How do you tell them apart?”
She laughs and leans in. “Don’t tell anyone, but Hazel has a birth mark on her ankle, or we’d never keep them straight.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” Savannah is smiling at me, and Hazel is sucking her thumb, blinking up at me with big green eyes that match Brooklyn’s. “Can I hold them?”
“Both?”
I shrug. “Sure.”
Kip and Brooklyn hand both girls over. Savannah reaches up and rubs her hand on my face. Brooklyn pats me on the back. “She likes your beard.”
I look down at Savannah and make a face. She smiles back at me. “At least someone does.”
“Is this your Australian look?” Will asks, coming up behind me.
“I guess.”
“I don’t think it looks bad,” Brooklyn says. She wrinkles her brow. “It should, but it doesn’t.”
“Thanks?”
She laughs. Will sets Ansley down. She takes two tiny steps toward me and then grabs onto my pant leg to keep herself upright.
“She’s so close, isn’t she?” Kip says.
Will nods. “She’ll be running around here in no time.”
“With Micah. Where is he?” I crane my neck to see if Zadie and Ethan have arrived.
“Poopy pants. Zadie’s changing him in the bedroom.”
“Ah. I see.”
I look up to see Maggie standing in the doorway. She’s frozen in place, eyes fixed on me. I’m literally covered in babies. I’m holding two and there’s another one still clinging to my pant leg. This can’t be easy for her. For all the trouble we’re having, I hate this for her. This reminder of what she doesn’t have – may never have.
There’s a flicker of pain on her face, and then she straightens her shoulders and heads toward Elizabeth and Celeste without another word.
Hazel continues to suck her thumb, and Savannah is still mesmerized by my beard until Brooklyn sniffs the air and says, “Someone has a dirty diaper.”
