Serenity (Inevitable #5)(99)

"And I'm happy to come over on Fridays," confirmed Sasha. "I'll also ask my friend Freya if she knows anyone interested in the nanny position. She's the midwife I mentioned to you a couple of times."

"That would be great," enthused Julia. "I'd actually prefer to use someone who's a personal referral. At this point, though, I'm pretty desperate. Enough that I begged Anton to come over on his day off next week."

Tessa and Sasha exchanged a look of mingled surprise and alarm. They had both met Anton on several occasions, including Julia's bachelorette party and baby shower. He was married to Travis, who co-owned the architectural design firm with Nathan. Anton was easily excitable, more than a little prissy, and the mere thought of him changing a diaper or rocking one of the twins to sleep was almost comical.

"Look, why don't you go take a nice long shower or bath, and then I'll cook breakfast for all of us," urged Tessa. "After that, I suggest you take a nap. Maybe Sasha and I can take the boys out in their stroller for awhile while you're sleeping."

Julia gave each of her friends a fierce hug. "Thank you both so much," she replied, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. "At this point, I'm not sure what sounds the most appealing - the shower, a real meal, or a nap. Or in what order." 

Sasha eyed the tangled mass of golden brown curls that Julia had piled messily on the top of her head. "I vote shower. Especially since I'm pretty sure those are crumbs in your hair."

Julia looked mortified at this revelation, and dashed off without another word to clean herself up.

Tessa's blue eyes were twinkling mischievously as she grinned at Sasha. "I didn't want to be the one to tell her that she had food in her hair," she admitted. "You know how Julia is about always having to look like she just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Though I'm guessing her priorities have changed in a big way lately."

"Yes." Sasha continued to gently rock her twin, humming a soft tune beneath her breath as she did so. She smiled to notice that the baby's eyes had drifted shut and he appeared to be asleep.

Both twins slept peacefully for over an hour, more than enough time for their harried mother to shower and dress and do her makeup, and for Tessa and Sasha to prepare a hearty breakfast. The three women sat around Julia's breakfast nook sipping coffee or tea, and enjoying a vegetable frittata, home fries, and fresh fruit.

"Mmm, I think I'm actually beginning to feel human again," sighed Julia. "Please, God, just let them sleep a tiny bit longer so I can finish my coffee."

Tessa smiled. "I think Sasha is like the baby whisperer or something. All she did was hum a tune or two and Justin was out like a little light."

"Maybe I should get you to record whatever it was you were singing," joked Julia.

Sasha shook her head. "That's only part of it. It was also the physical contact. But more importantly, the baby could sense that I was calm. And in my experience, calm begets calm. In other words, Julia, when you're calm the boys should be, too."

"You'd like to think so, huh?" asked Julia wearily. "Maybe I'll feel calmer after that nap. Are you sure you guys are okay with looking after the twins for awhile?"

"Absolutely," insisted Tessa. "Get some sleep and we'll take it from here. Between the two of us we'll manage the diapering, and you showed us where you left the breast milk in the fridge. Now get along with you, hmm?"

Barely able to keep her eyes open, Julia stumbled out of the kitchen sleepily in the direction of the master bedroom.

"I'll do the dishes since you did most of the cooking," offered Sasha.

Tessa shrugged. "No rush. Let's enjoy our tea before the boys wake up. I'm hoping we have a few more minutes. Plenty of time to catch up with what's been going on in your life."

Sasha took a sip of her tea. "The usual, I suppose - work, seeing Matthew as often as I can, calling my mother every Sunday."

"Ian and I really need to have the two of you over for dinner again soon," lamented Tessa. "It's just been a really busy spring, what with Ian's birthday last month and our travel schedule and my college classes. I know what would be fantastic! You and Matthew should spend Memorial Day weekend up at the beach house with us. You'd love it there, Sasha."

"That sounds wonderful," mused Sasha. "But I'll need to check with Matthew about his schedule, see if he's supposed to have his children that weekend. I'll ask him tonight when we have dinner."

Tessa had a thoughtful expression on her face. "How's that working out these days - the situation with his kids, that is. The last time we spoke you said that the daughter was being a royal pain in the ass."