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The Ink Well Weekly Fiction Prompt #3: Beauty With a Twist
Sophia had never been more nervous in her life. One time she went for an interview, she threw up after the ten-minutes meeting and spent some time on the loo. That's exactly how she felt as she laid her palm on the door handle and a bigger palm belonging to her husband, held her by the waist. They both turned the handle and opened the door to the hospital room.
The squeaky clean room, bathed in white fluorescent light, smelled of antiseptic with faint notes of flower scent in the air from the flowers in a vase close to the window.
A young lady, or more like a girl at a closer look, curled under the blanket asleep and unaware that the nervous couple who would adopt her babies just came in.
Then a male nurse walked in, a clipboard held to his chest with one hand and the other holding a pack of baby wipes. He smiled at the couple and checked on the sleeping girl.
"She's still out, Mr. and Mrs. Coker. You can have a peep at the babies before a nurse takes them to the neo-natal ward. Five minutes please."
Sophia smiled her gratitude. "Thank you, Daniel. We'll hang around till she wakes up so we can talk."
"Alright ma'am." Daniel gracefully walked out leaving the couple with the babies. Sophia withdrew from her husband, stepped closer to the cradle beside the young girl, and bent a bit to get a closer look. Both babies looked identical and so much like their mother.
Sophia gently pushed her index finger through the fisted hand of one of the babies. She stared in awe. The babies had such soft skin, flushed pink. Small round faces with a small, button nose and soft, black curls of hair framed their small, adorable faces. She could not see their eyes yet. They slept on without a care in the world. The adoring sight of the babies tugged at her heart, filling her with a deep love for them.
The one looking a bit chubby and swaddled in pink cloth must be a girl while the other in blue was a baby boy. A boy-girl identical twin. That's a rarity. Sophia gently dipped her hands under the swaddling cloth, picked up the baby boy, and held him to herself.
She rubbed her nose lightly around his ear. He smelled divine, sweet from baby lotion and powder. The baby cringed a bit, worked his tiny, lush lips as though chewing then puckered it. He must be hungry, she thought.
"You are here". The couple turned to look at the young mother. She smiled shyly at Sophia. "I've signed the papers." She whispered hoarsely, pointing to a large, brown envelope on the bedside table bearing the name and logo of an attorney's firm. "I know you will love them more."
Sophia looked at her husband, astonished as tears pooled in her eyes, then at the young girl. She smiled hugging the baby to herself. Her deepest desire was fulfilled. The Cokers finally had what they had both longed for, for many years now.