Free How to Bake the Perfect Apple Pie by Gina Henning Page B

finish creating my masterpiece of a face before he arrives. Ciao.”
    The dial tone sounds in my ear. She never says goodbye. Ciao is an upgrade from her normal phone conversation ending where there is silence and I realize our chat is over.
    I put my phone back in my purse. I’ll call Jack after I’ve seen the babies. From my room there is a narrow hallway and the sounds of babies crying leads me to the door closest to me.
    “Here, Aurora, I can hold Terra.” My mother’s voice is soft.
    “No, I can hold both of them. They are both my babies.”
    “I know, sweetie, but you must be exhausted. You’ve hardly slept.”
    I stand in the doorway of what I assume is the nursery. It’s like a woodland forest. There are two cribs made out of wood. Not wood like a standard wood crib bought from Babies ’R’ Us. No, these are curved branches smoothed down and varnished and each one has a branch leaning over the top with a whimsical star mobile hanging above. It’s really beautiful. The walls are painted a light mossy green with dandelions delicately positioned, some with their petals blowing over the walls. It’s so light and airy. I feel an immediate sense of calm.
    “Wow,” escapes from my lips.
    Both my mom and Aurora’s eyes focus on me.
    Silence fills the room, countered by the tension of my mom and Aurora. One of the babies cries. Aurora is sitting in a wooden rocking chair with both babies in her arms. One is nursing and the other is fumbling around and crying.
    “Ah…congratulations, Aurora, the babies are beautiful.” I sidestep into the room and lean down to hug her and kiss the baby that is crying. I’m assuming it’s Clay. Terra seems to be happily nursing and is wearing a pink onesie. I can’t imagine even with their different parenting styles that Luke and Aurora would put Clay in a pink outfit.
    “Thanks.” Aurora strokes Clay’s face. “I can’t nurse them at the same time.” A tear falls from one eye. “I’m failing.”
    “What, no…Aurora.” My mom brushes her hair back. “Darling, let me take Clay while you feed Terra and then we can switch.”
    Aurora stares at me. “Lauren, will you hold Clay?”
    My eyes are wider than what would seem possible. I don’t want to step on my mom’s toes, but I also want to help Aurora out. She definitely needs reassurance.
    “Sure.” I open my arms and maneuver Clay into them. He lets out a little cry and then nuzzles in towards my breast. I laugh. “Sorry, little guy, I’m not your mommy. Those are empty.”
    I rock him in my arms. His scent is delicious. So new and fresh. I lean down and kiss his head. His eyes close and he is quiet. I can’t believe I’ve rocked him to sleep in such a short time. I’ve held babies before, but this is like having the magic touch or something.
    “Oh dear, Lauren, he is asleep. Aurora, should we put him in the crib or wait a little bit?” My mom glances at Aurora.
    “He needs to be held for much longer. He was just born.” Her eyebrows furrow and she eyes Terra and the wrinkles smooth.
    I rock Clay back and forth in my arms and turn and face the doorway. Megan is leaning against the doorframe.
    “You want to hold him?” I raise my eyebrows to her.
    “Oooh…um let me go and wash my hands.” She turns and dashes down the hallway.
    Crap. I didn’t wash my hands. Guilt covers me with the idea of me possibly giving any type of germ to my sweet new nephew.
    “That’s not really necessary. We want them exposed to germs and not to live in a bubble. It will help them to build their immune systems the healthy way.” Aurora lifts Terra up and pats her back gently. There is a small sound resembling a burp.
    Megan re-enters the room. “Okay all clean.” Her arms are open. I slide Clay into the crook of her elbow. Clay makes a few grunts. His eyelids remain shut. What a gorgeous baby. My heart warms. I held both Winter and River when they were younger, but that was over three years ago. I can’t think of a