Finishing Chapter Seven

Those of you who read my Wednesday Words story last Friday know that I didn't use the challenge words and I said I would use them in Chapter Seven to be posted today.

Here are the words: album; lunar; sparkle; furry; sconce; inquire; builder; contract; attend; ultimately; landline; fall.

Here is the next installment of the Ted and Gloria story:

 Chapter Seven

Once both babies had been settled and Gloria had been sponge bathed, the little family was moved into the ward. Ted was relieved to see the sparkle back in Gloria's eyes, they'd been quite inwardly focused as she concentrated on pushing the babies out. The twins were taken to the nursery to sleep and to allow Carol and Alan to visit with the new parents. 

They came in, almost running in their eagerness to congratulate and bestow gifts. Carol had brought a photo album with a white leather cover for recording baby's progress and a small stuffed toy. Alan had brought the hand made mobile that had once hung over Ted's bassinet. Lunar themed, it had crystal stars and moons that would sparkle in sunlight and Alan had added plastic glow-in-the-dark moons and planets to it for a soft glow when the lights were turned out. Both were very surprised to discover there was a grand-daughter as well as a grandson.

"Oh my goodness." said Carol, sinking into the chair beside the bed. "We've never had twins in this family and we only brought along gifts for Snuffles. Have you named him yet?" "Yes, we have," said Ted, "his name is Ryan and his sister's name is Megan, after Gloria's parents." "That's a lovely way to remember your parents dear, it's quite sad they aren't here today to see these little treasures."

"Have you seen them yet?" asked Gloria. "They're in the nursery just along the hall to the left, Ted can take you there." Carol bounced up out of the chair as if she had springs instead of ankle joints. "Oh Alan,' she said, "let's go right now and see the babies."

They left qickly and Gloria took the opportunity to use the bathroom, then straighten the bed a little. She had just settled herself against the pillows when they all came back. The sparkle in Alan and Carol's eyes rivalled her own. "They're adorable!" she exclaimed, "sound asleep, so peaceful. And you know what else? In the nursery there are beautiful old-fashioned wall sconces as well as overhead lights, I imagine they would turn on the overheads if they needed to, but while all the babies are sleeping, the sconces give such a soft, warm glow. I must inquire as to where they were purchased. I know a contract builder who also does electrical work, he's licensed of course, he could put a couple of those sconces in your nursery for the babies...."she trailed off, realising everyone was looking at her with smiles. "I'm doing it again aren't I?" she said, "that taking over thing."

(gorgeous aren't they? Thanks google)


"Yes, just a bit," said Alan and Ted together, "but it's a good idea," Ted continued, "I like the idea of sconces, although ultimately the decision should be Gloria's, she's the one who has been doing up the nursery, while I've been finishing the garden." "I like the idea of sconces," said Gloria, "but I haven't seen the nursery ones, I'll be sure to notice them when I go there later, then I can decide if the style will fit with the rest of the decor. I've made the nursery a bit old fashioned, with a few modern touches, of course it may be a bit small now that we're going to have to fit two cots in there, definitely we're going to have to rearrange the pieces."

She noticed a tiny frown on Carol's face and asked what could possibly be wrong. "I wasn't sure if I should say anything," said Carol. "I noticed that Megan was quite a bit smaller than Ryan, I know boy babies are usually bigger at birth, but Megan seems delicate, less robust, although certainly healthy. Have you asked your attending physician?"

"We noticed that ourselves," said Ted, "Gloria asked if Megan was alright, is it normal for an unexpected second baby to be so much smaller, Doctor Jackson said they often are, but Megan appears to be well within normal ranges for all the usual newborn tests, she's breathing on her own, he wants to wait a day or so and just keep an eye on her." 
"If I notice anything wrong, majorly different, I'm to let him know immediately," said Gloria. "I'm sure she's fine, she had her first feeding right before Ryan, I gave them a breast each and then they fell asleep. I'm about ready to fall asleep myself," she said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed.

"Well of course you are," said Alan. "Here you are with two brand new babies, only four hours old and we're yammering on about wall sconces. We'll go on home and let you sleep. We'll be back tomorrow with another photo album for Megan and I'm sure Carol will bring another furry little toy, something in pink probably."

Carol and Alan left as Ted helped Gloria lie down and he tucked the blankets around her before settling into the bedside chair to watch her sleep for a while. "Two babies!" he thought, " that means a bigger pram, one of those twin ones, good thing we haven't unpacked the first one yet, we can exchange it for a twin model, maybe we should get a bigger car, a station wagon might be good, I'd better get some sleep myself, I have those boxes of receipts to sort out tomorrow," his eyes closed and Ted slept.