Chapter 107

**Artemis**


Blue is basically vibrating with excitement after her appointment. The babies all looked healthy and everything seems to be going well so far. Every time I see the blurry pictures of our babies I feel the anxiety and excitement of meeting them. It’s hard to believe those tiny things are growing inside Blue, and she has been pushing through each week with gusto.

She has good and bad days but she doesn’t let that keep her down. Her work at the group home has given her a nice distraction from feeling sick and she feels like it’s given her a purpose. The kids love her and she treats all of them like they are her own.

Alan and I have scouted out a few more locations to begin building more locations. There still hasn’t been any word from my parents or Tet which has me nervous. They wouldn’t disappear without leaving a mess behind but they’ve been silent. Now that Blue is further along in her pregnancy we are ready to tell the media, that might bring the rest of my family out of hiding. Blue having children means more money will be coming our way, and that won’t make my father happy.

Grandfather has also been silent. With everything happening to Rhodes Enterprises I was sure he would return home and want to meet with us all right away. All of this unfinished business with my family has been weighing heavily on my mind. I don’t want Blue to stress over any of this but something tells me I won’t be ablet to keep my concerns quiet for long. Even though I wish she didn’t have to worry about what the media says, it’s impossible for her to avoid it all together.

“Do you want to do a small photoshoot to announce the pregnancy? I’ve seen some cute ones that might work for us.” She says.

There’s a chance she’s been talking this whole time, but I missed most of what she’s said.

“I’m not a fan of having my pictures taken.” I admit.

She laughs. “I don’t doubt it. That’s fine! I can do a little collage or something.”

I glance her way and see her smiling down at her phone. She isn’t upset that I didn’t want to do as she asked. It surprises me onstantly how laid-back she is. Don’t get me wrong, she has her bratty moments but mostly she is a chill person. She doesn’t ask or expect anything from me unless she really needs it and even tells me she doesn’t need something even though we can afford anything she wants. No one could mistake her for a gold digger.

“I saw this one too. It’s pretty!” We’re stopped at a red light so I’m able to see the photo when she holds her phone up.

It’s a picture is of three ultrasound photos laid out and surrounded with flowers and random baby items in the color of the genders.

“That’s nice.”

She smiles and starts scrolling again.

“If you really want to take photos together, I’ll be okay with it.” I want her to get everything she wants even if I don’t enjoy it.

She waves me off. “That’s okay, but I would like at least one family photo once the babies or born. Would you be up to that?”

“I can get behind that.”

“Good.” She gets quiet again.

She never tries to fill the silence with words if there’s nothing to say, another quality I love about her. When we finally arrive at the group home, I see my sisters are here too. Athena has mentioned she wanted to come by, but she’s been too busy to make time. She hasn’t been able to get pregnant for over a year now, so I think she may be considering the adoption route. Unfortunately, it is unclear if adoption would fulfill my grandmother’s wishes, but my sister has more than enough money. She was successful all on her own and when she stepped back from Rhodes Enterprises, her loyal customers followed.

I park the car in front of the home and quickly climb out and run around the car to open Blue’s door for her. It was something Max suggested I do, and it’s become a habit now. I also have to help her climb out now that the babies are growing so fast. It’s made her unbalanced sometimes, so to be safe I stay close by to catch her if need be. She squeezes my hand and I tighten my hold. When her two feet are safely planted on the ground I close the door for her and she waits so we can walk in together.

We walk hand in hand ready to share the news with everyone. The closer we get to the door the more I’m able to hear the kids playing and yelling. It was so loud the first few days that I was agitated, but I’ve gotten used to it. Not long ago I would have yelled at them to go to their rooms and be quiet, but I won’t do that to our kids, and I won’t do that here. They don’t need a father figure that is cold and distant and only barks orders at them. That was how I grew up and I wasn’t a very happy kid.

“They’re here!” Someone yells from inside making Blue laugh.

The front door flies open before we reach it, and a dozen kids are waiting to see us.

“Okay, everyone in the dinning room!” One of the caretakers says.

She ushers the kids out, giving us enough room to walk in and follow them. We are gathering everyone in one place, so we don’t have to announce the genders to individual people one by one. When we walk into the dining room, we find everyone else waiting including my sisters and their husbands. Athena has a little boy sitting on her lap and she’s looking at him the way Blue looked at Lilly.

Blue and I move to the front of the room and wait for everyone to settle down.

“Okay everyone, first off, the babies are healthy and growing well. Now for the news you really want to hear...” Blue pulls out the ultrasound photos and holds them up. “It’s two boys and a girl!”

The whole room erupts into excited clapping and cheers. We aren’t able to ay anything else on the matter because the kids are surrounding Blue asking to see the pictures and asking her questions. I leave her to it, but I don’t go far. I sit next to Athena but keep my eyes on Blue.

“I’m happy for you guys.” Athena says quietly. “She has that glow.”

“Yeah, she does.” I agree.
Blue thought she wouldn’t get the happy pregnancy glow everyone talks about and apparently Abigail already has, but to me she’s glowing very bright. She smiles constantly and she has a light energy around her that makes everyone around her smile too.

“Artemis.” I turn to look at my older sister. “I wanted to talk to you about Iris.”

Our little sister Iris went underground with my parents and it’s been hard trying to find out how she’s doing.

“Have you spoken to her?” I ask.

“She called me. She was whispering so I don’t think mom and dad knew she was calling. She said they are trying to get out of the country, but she doesn’t want to go. I have been trying to see if it’s possible to gain guardianship of her, but it’s a difficult process. Unless our parents willingly sign over their rights, we would have to prove that she’s in danger if she stays with them. Neither seems like a possible solution.”

I take in her words and try to think of a way we could approach this, but she’s right. There aren’t many options to deal with this, and since we don’t know where my parents are we can’t send someone to do a welfare check up.

“Did she say where they’re taking her?” I ask, not that it would help.

“Europe.”

She brushes her fingers along the little boy in her arms cheek. He’s fallen asleep and she’s been watching him the entire time I’ve been sitting here.

“Are you wanting to adopt him?” I ask.

“I hoped to have a baby by now, but it might not be possible. He’s such a sweet boy, but he’s been through a lot at such a young age. With my work load I’m not sure I have the time to work with him.” She sighs.
“He’s still young, three in fact, so there is still plenty of time to gain his trust. A little time off work might be good, and you represent yourself, so you can tell everyone to fuck off if you wanted to.”

She smiles at me and then looks back down at the boy. “I could do that. Do you think I’ll make a good mother?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll talk to Beck, but I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate once he sees this little one.”

As if she summoned him her husband appears and takes a seat next to her. He has a small smile on his face at seeing a sleeping boy in my sister’s lap. I don’t think he will need much convincing.