39.2 Katerina

Everything after leaving the grocery store was a blur. Before I knew it, the five of us were all in the waiting room with my parents and siblings, waiting for Adam to come and give us the news of whether they were going to go through with the C-section or not. The clock on the wall seemed to stand still the longer we waited for any news about my sister and her unborn child. Maribel had wanted the sex of her baby to be a surprise, so no one but the doctor and Adam knew what they were having. We didn't even get the chance to have a baby shower for her. We had it planned for the following week since she wasn't due until the second or third of December.

"Adam," Dad’s voice rang through the silent room, and we all looked up as Adam came into the waiting room. "How is Maribel? And the baby?"

"They're both doing fine. The doctor—" Adam began to answer when he was cut off by the doctor coming to get him.

"Mr. Jones, it's time." Adam's eyes widened before he apologized for leaving and followed the doctor back to the delivery room, and we were once again left waiting.

"I'm going to the cafeteria to get something to drink. Do you guys need anything?" Alex asked as he stood up from his seat. We all gave him thankful looks, nodding our heads, with Nessa standing up, offering to help him bring the drinks.

"I'll come along too," Hayden said. "I need to get something to eat since I didn't eat anything since this morning."

"I asked if you wanted to stop by BK or McDonald's, but you said no," I stated, and he gave a sheepish grin with a shrug. I shook my head. "You are a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Yup, but you love me either way," he stated, and I smiled, shaking my head as he, Alex, and Vanessa made their way down the hall toward the elevator to go down to the cafeteria.

"How are you doing, honey?" Mom asked as she took a seat beside me, and I smiled.

"Good, just tired, you know, with the baby, work, and planning a Thanksgiving dinner for everyone," I replied, and she nodded.

"You know you don't have to do everything on your own. Is Alex helping you?" she questioned, and I was taken aback by her question.

"Of course he is, Mama. Every day he's the first one to be up and has breakfast ready before I even go downstairs. He also gets Savannah ready in the morning before he heads to the office."

"I'm just making sure you're not the only one doing everything," she said, and I rolled my eyes.

"He didn't let me carry any of the shopping bags inside when we got home after three hours at the store," I said. "Why do you ask if he's helping?"

"I'm just looking out for you, sweetie," she said, and I smiled.

"Trust me, Mama, if anything were wrong, you'd be the first to know." She nodded, and before she could say anything else, both Alex and the others returned as well as Adam, who had a wide grin on his face.

"Well?" Kyle asked, and Adam’s grin grew wider.

"How are they?" Jaylen asked.

"What did you guys have?" Hayden asked.

"Let the man speak," I chastised my siblings, who apologized to Adam, who only shook his head with a smile.

"Both baby and mom are doing great. The baby, at the last minute, turned, and Maribel was able to push," Adam stated, and we were all relieved to hear the news, knowing that Maribel didn't want to have a C-section unless it was truly necessary. Knowing that she was able to have her wish granted was a relief.

"You didn't tell us what you had," Mom said, and Adam chuckled.

"You have a healthy and beautiful grandson," Adam replied, and we smiled, cheering at the news. "Come on, I'm sure Maribel would like to see you all."

And so with that said, we all followed Adam down the hall toward Maribel's recovery room. Mom was the first to be at her bedside, giving her a kiss on her matted hair and gushing at the small bundle of crème-colored blankets in her arms.

"My gosh, sweetie, he's absolutely beautiful," Mom whispered in awe as she looked down at the baby in her arms.

"Thank you, Mama," Mar murmured. She looked exhausted but as beautiful as ever.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" I asked, and she looked up and smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, we were thinking of naming him Matthew," she said.

"That's not a bad name," Alex replied, and she smiled at his comment.

"Thank you. We're still thinking of a second name, though," Adam said as he sat by his wife and gently rubbed his son's forehead.

"Alexander sounds good for a middle name unless you switch it up and have Matthew as his middle name and name him Jacob Matthew." Hayden glanced at everyone, who looked at him with raised brows. "What? I was playing around with names in my head, and Alexander fit better than any name I thought about. Jacob sounded good as a middle name."

"You and your mind," Kyle teased our brother, who flipped him off.

"How about Levi?" We looked over at Vanessa, who hadn't spoken at all since we entered the room aside from congratulating my sister on the birth of her son. Maribel raised a brow before she smiled.

"I think it's perfect, but I think Levi would be better off as his first name than his middle name," Maribel said.

"Levi Matthew Jones-Montgomery," Adam said out loud, and it sounded great.

"It's perfect," Mom commented. When a nurse came to check on Maribel, she asked if both Adam and Maribel had chosen a name for the baby. When they replied, she wrote it on the whiteboard with the time he was born and the date.

And so the Montgomery household grew by ten toes and fingers on November 19, 2019, at 8:45 PM.