Page 52 of Forever We Embrace: The Later Years
“This is still preliminary,” he reminds us. “The full panel will take about a week.”
Maceo’s knee presses more firmly against mine while Quentin turns the report toward us.
“The fetal blood-group markers are compatible with Maceo’s sample, and the inherited-marker comparison excludes the rest of you. Based on the rapid panel, Maceo is the biological father.”
Maceo goes completely still. His hands remain between his knees while he looks from the report to Luca’s stomach. His mouth opens once, but nothing comes out.
Luca releases me only long enough to reach for him as Maceo crosses the short space between them when Luca opens one hand. Luca guides his palm low against his stomach and covers it with his own, though there is nothing there for Maceo to feel yet beyond warmth.
“You helped make our baby,” Luca says.
Maceo’s fingers spread beneath his. He looks down at their joined hands, then back at Luca, and a sharp breath leaves him before his forehead lowers against Luca’s temple.
Luther keeps one arm around Luca’s middle and uses the other to cup the back of Maceo’s neck, drawing him closer without forcing him to speak. Grayson leans across Luca’s other side and presses a kiss into his hair, closing them together around the examination table.
I move close enough for Luca to find my hand again. His fingers lock around mine and squeezes once, and I return the pressure while Quentin gives us the room.
When Maceo finally lifts his head, his eyes are wet. He doesn’t make a speech or ask what the result changes. His thumb moves once beneath Luca’s shirt, and Luca covers the motion with his own hand.
Quentin returns after several minutes with a written plan. Luca needs prenatal bloodwork, regular meals, hydration, and a follow-up scan. I need to report any changes in my cardiac symptoms separately from the nausea and hormone shifts so no one mistakes one for the other.
Luther writes everything down. Grayson asks about food aversions, and Maceo keeps one hand against Luca’s back while Quentin answers. Luca interrupts twice to correct the proposed appointment times around Ember House rather than letting everyone reorganize his life without him.
By the time dinner is spread across the kitchen table, the children are back from Nicholas’s and talking over one another about everything they did while we were gone. Samuel is explaining the repairs he made to his paper roof while James corrects the order of every step. Rosalie has carried three crayons to dinner and is using them to redesign the wedding cake on the back of one of Nicholas’s envelopes.
Maceo sits beside Luca with one hand resting against his thigh beneath the table. He hasn’t moved far from him since Quentin gave us the preliminary result, though he never crowds him or interrupts when Luca joins the children’s conversation.
Grayson sets a bowl of crackers between Luca and me after noticing that neither of us has touched much of the meal. I takeone at the same time Luca does, and our fingers brush over the rim before he passes the bowl into my hands.
We wait until the plates are cleared and the children have carried their cups into the living room. Luca sits on the rug in front of the sofa with Maceo behind him, one hand resting against his waist. Luther takes the chair beside them while Grayson settles on the floor near Samuel, and I sit close enough for Luca to reach back for me.
Rosalie, Samuel, and James crowd forward until their knees press against Luca’s legs.
“There’s a baby growing in me,” Luca tells them.
Samuel’s mouth drops open before he throws both arms around Luca’s neck. Grayson catches his waist before the impact can knock Luca backward and helps him settle against Luca’s side instead.
James stares at Luca’s stomach as though he expects it to change while he watches. Rosalie places both hands on her hips, her plastic crown tipped slightly to one side.
“Who’s our baby brother’s daddy?” James asks.
I lean forward from the chair. “How do you know it’s a boy?”
Rosalie answers before James can. “Because I’m the only girl allowed.”
Laughter spreads through the room while Rosalie looks pleased that everyone finally understands the rule. Luca reaches out and pulls her closer with one arm, kissing the top of her head before he answers.
“We don’t know whether the baby is a boy or a girl yet. Quentin tested all of our blood, and Maceo is your sibling’s biological daddy. All of us are going to be their fathers.”
James shifts closer to Maceo’s knee. “The blood said so?”
“The first test did,” Maceo explains, keeping one hand against Luca’s side while James watches him. “Quentin’s doing another test that takes a week, but he’s already very sure.”
Samuel lifts his head from Luca’s shoulder. “Can the baby sleep in my room?”
“Not right away, sweetheart.” Grayson eases Samuel back when he begins climbing farther into Luca’s lap. “Babies wake up a lot, and they need someone with them.”
“I can wake up.” Samuel looks toward Maceo as though expecting him to confirm this strength. “Can I carry the baby?”
