JL texted Fonsi to remind him of the car they will use. When they reached there, a staff member of the pier handed him the car keys. It is one of their family’s cars and it will be the car they will use to go home in JL’s condo unit. When they got inside, JL’s phone rang showing Fonsi’s contact. “The staff already notified me that you got the car now. Make sure that no one is following you to your condo unit” he reminded.
“I got it. Thanks a lot” he replied and dropped the call. He glanced at her from the rearview mirror and asked, “Are you tired? You can sleep first and let us just buy the baby things this afternoon”. Naomi shook her head, “Let us proceed before my energy drains out” she answered and so they went to the baby center to buy the things they need for their future newborns.
They covered their faces with a cloth mask and pushed big shopping carts. They will buy double since they will be having twins. They started buying clothes that match each other’s. The baby bottles, to the bibs, mittens, and head wears are all matchy matched to convey that their kids are twins. For the remaining minutes, they picked out the heavy things they need including the cribs and the feeding bottle sterilizers.
Naomi got amazed with the strollers for twins. It is two - seated and it is customized with name inclusions. JL saw the amusement in Naomi’s eyes and so he asked, “Do you like it? We can ask for customization now”. Naomi looked at her husband with eyes full of excitement, “Really? We can make it customized?” she asked. JL nodded with a smile; he filled up the customization papers handed over by the shop’s staff.
For the first time, he wrote their son’s name – Joachim Nolan and also for the first time, Naomi wrote their daughter’s name – Luna Noemi. “There, please make it minimalist in design. I want the fabrics hypoallergenic and safe for infants” JL requested while returning the fill up sheets to the shop’s staff.
JL carried the shopping bags to the car they used. He loaded the things inside the car and went back to the mall to get a healthy takeout meal for the two of them. “Wait for me here. I bet you are tired and hungry from the hour - long walk we did inside” he said before going back. Naomi just nodded and said what she wants to eat.
JL wore back his cloth mask and went back inside the mall’s food stalls. Naomi kept herself busy while browsing her phone using her dummy social media account. After a while, she saw a walking guy approaching the car she is riding. She felt chills in her spine the moment she recognized the familiar face going near her area.
The way he walks and caress his man bun with his charisma that she once loved. He was about to face JL and Naomi’s car when she dropped down for him to not recognize her. Although the car is tinted, she is still in fright knowing that Luke is just meters away far from where they are located. Luke’s car is parked beside theirs and he seemed to be coming from inside the mall also.
She became hysterical when anxiety hit her hard. She is worried that maybe JL ran through him inside the mall. Every time a minute passes, her thoughts are getting wilder. She rang JL’s phone and she was relieved when he answered after few rings with his phone having busy lines. She breathed heavily and asked, “What took you so long to answer?”. JL sounded apologetic, “Sorry, I just got a call from Lorenzia who kept saying that we already need to go home” he answered.
“Is the food taking time to be cooked?” she asked again. JL answered, “No, it is almost ready. It is being packed now. Calm down, okay?”. Naomi breathed normally; her heart started beating in a stable mood upon hearing JL’s voice that sounds alright. Few more moments passed until he saw JL coming to her way.
“Did you miss me that much?” he asked while handing her the vegetable meat salad he bought. She pulled him close and wrapped her arms to JL’s neck for a hug. “Why? Why do you look so scared?” he asked. Naomi breathed heavily, “Nothing. Maybe it is just one of my pregnancy symptoms. You know, wacked mood swings” she answered. She lied to him; she really saw Luke but she refused to tell her husband to lessen his problem.
JL caressed her back, “I am already here. Let’s go back to my condo. I am already excited to build the crib we bought” he said. She got off him and started to watch the road back to JL’s condo unit. The place is located on the other town not too far from Lorenzia’s condo unit.
They both went upstairs with the baby things they bought in the mall. JL quickly opened the box of the cribs and started building it. Naomi roamed around JL’s newly developed condo unit. It is the same old condo unit where they used to stay back in high school but now, it is wider and more modernized. She opened the rooms’ doors and visualized on how they will call it a ‘home’.
“Let’s make the other room a nursery. I want the half of it to be painted with blue and the other half will be painted with pink. What do you think?” she asked. JL looked at her and answered, “Of course, we will do that as long as it is your desire”. Naomi pouted, “You are giving me everything I want. Don’t you think you are spoiling me too much?” she asked again.
JL chuckled, “I don’t think I am spoiling you. I just want to give you everything you want because you deserve it” he answered while building the first crib with its screws. Naomi smiled upon hearing it; she went to one of the condo unit’s bedrooms and stacked up the cabinets with baby care products. She organized things in two for her two babies.
After a while, JL gently pushed the cribs inside the bedroom they will transform to be a nursery for the twins. He sanitized both of it and placed the new baby blankets and cushions in it. Naomi went near and hugged JL in his back. They both stared at the newly setup cribs with hanged baby animal toys on top of it. “I can feel it coming already” she said while glancing the almost ready baby room.
“Let us paint this room tomorrow before I go to work” he said while hugging back Naomi. “We still need to prepare our hospital bag just in case something happens” she reminded. JL raised his eyebrows and asked, “Isn’t it a bit early? Can’t we do it next month instead?”. Naomi pouted, “I guess I am just too excited. Two months is still sixty sleeps away” she replied.
JL saw the disappointment in Naomi’s face. “Alright, let’s prepare it today. I will call Lorenzia for her to deliver here the other stuffs you bought before” he said and immediately made the call.
Luke had a meetup with Amber inside the mall. “Why did you call me here in an early morning?” he asked with a coffee drink in his hand. Amber answered, “Because, I heard in the hospital that Doc JL will return back to work tomorrow afternoon”. Luke’s eyebrow raised in amusement; “Good, we will soon execute the plan. I am making Yilmaz follow JL who is now using a different car Fonsi replaced. Actually, Yilmaz pretended to be the pier’s staff member” he replied.
“What do you mean soon? I want the plan to be executed to the soonest time possible!” she said with eyes circled. Luke chuckled, “Use your brain right now, Amber Boromeo. If we do it early, they will think that we waited for them to come back home. That is so cruel! I still have a remaining piece of kindness inside me. Just let them have fun before we take it away from them”.
Amber laughed, “You want to feign ignorance first? Bring it on then. Just promise me that my name will be dragged away when this plan puts into an action” she replied, being cautious of the situation and to avoid the consequence she might face. Luke sticked to the plan, “What we planned stays the same. We will make JL the bad guy here” he said.
JL removed the plastic covering the baby bag they bought. Naomi patiently waited for the printer to produce the labels she made for each baby’s item. They heard a doorbell in the unit’s entrance. “I will get it” JL said and placed down the bag in their bed. JL opened the door and saw Lorenzia standing there while holding a shopping bag full of baby things.
JL quickly grabbed it and said his goodbyes. He excitingly washed and dry cleaned the unopened baby things. Naomi placed the sticker labels in the zip lock with their babies’ names. JL returned to the room while removing the laundry gloves he used. “It is almost ready to be packed” he updated that made Naomi smile widely.
In each pack, they placed a swaddle, a receiving blanket, complete set of baby clothes, and other more necessities. “These things are so cute! I wonder how our parents reacted when they were in this moment” Naomi said with adoration. When they finished, JL made her rest up and volunteered to pack his and Naomi’s needs in the hospital where they will stay while Naomi is recovering after she gives birth.
Naomi walked around and commented, “This place changed a lot. I remember how we used to be reckless high school lovers sleeping with each other under a single blanket”. JL glanced at her as he prepares dinner. “Do you like the place?” he asked while making a Spanish dish. Naomi nodded, “I do. We have a lot of memories here, how can I hate it?” she answered.
She sat on the living room’s couch and noticed the same old photo album shelved down a desk. She interestingly pulled it out and turned it from page to page. She found the crooked teethed JL before he got his dental braces back in high school. She adored the little preschooler JL who holds a book as if he is ignoring the world.
JL talked behind her while holding a spatula, “Am I that cute?” he asked. Naomi turned to him and pinched one of his cheeks, “You are so cute that I wish our kids will take after you” she answered and continued digging through the other photo albums left in the shelf. She caressed the photo where JL is playing tactical sports.
“You really know how to fire a gun, right?” she asked. She never had the chance to ask JL about it since she first discovered JL’s inside story ten years ago. “I do. But it is not what you think. I am harmless” he answered. Naomi replied, “I know. I believe you and I trust you. But the thing is, will our kids end up like this also? Will they be involved in your family’s legacy also?”.
JL looked away and answered, “Only time will tell, love”. Naomi understands that she dated not just an ordinary man. She dated a lowkey elite guy who looks wimpy back in high school. Now that they are married, she dared to forget how things worked for them in the past.
“Aren’t you scared that the kids will grow up like how I grew up?” he asked out of curiosity. Naomi answered, “It is way better than how I grew up. Promise me you will not control what our kids will aspire in the future”. JL’s eyebrows furrowed, “Why do you talk as if you are leaving?” he asked.
“No, it’s just that, I just don’t want them to experience what I had been through in my parents and under Luke’s parents’ control” she said while continuing to browse on JL’s pictures in the album.