We Are NOT Alone

Forty-five minutes later, the Expalibour family was seated in an examination room awaiting the arrival of Dr. Schrader. Hunter had been officially ‘everthinged’ by the nurses and physician assistants. The poor little guy had suffered any manner of indignities: poking, prodding, measuring, inspecting, blood sampling, testing, the whole works. Through it all, he had remained calm, jovial, and responsive. He had also gained about twice as much more weight than normal, so they just accounted for this by suggesting the inaccuracy of their kitchen scale. Dr. Schrader entered the room.

“Good morning, FPs Expalibour. I’m hoping I’m pronouncing that correctly. I’m Dr. Schrader, and my pronouns are she / her.”

“Absolutely, and greetings to you Dr. Schrader,” Peter said.

“Ok, if you would place Hunter up on the examination table, I’ll give him another check-up. From what I’ve seen of the test results it seems like everything will be good for him to receive a perfect bill of health.” Peter put Hunter on the table, and he and Josh both looked on curious and hopeful. Dr. Schrader proceeded with her examination. “He was born yesterday you say?”

“Yes,” Josh said.

“He’s very unusual for a two-day-old?

“Oh?” Peter said. “How so? I mean, he’s our first, so we have no idea what to expect.”

“Neither of you has been around babies much before I guess?”

“I’m the youngest in my family and Peter is an only child,” Josh clarified.

“Well, normally, very new newborns are not quite this…well…mature, is the best word I can say for it,” She clarified. “He’s incredibly responsive. Nothing to worry about, just be aware, no two children are exactly alike, so, you cannot go by the baby books when it comes to when exactly to expect what from Hunter.”

“Amazing insight, thank you, Doctor,” Peter said almost with too much relief in his voice.

“How long will you stay in Hawai’i?”

“Just a few more days,” Josh said.

“Ok, well, if anything changes, here’s my card. Everything has been filled out and sent to the state office regarding his birth certificate. You can order your own copy in twelve business days online.”

“Wonderful,” Peter said. He then breathed another sigh of relief too loudly.

“I know, it’s a lot to be parents, just remember to use each other, take turns, and play an equal role in Hunter’s life. You’ll survive it just fine.” Dr. Schrader smiled. “He seems remarkable. Oh, one more thing, I recommend researching best practices for ensuring his nutrition since he’ll be on formula and bottles. Don’t believe what you read about all the negatives. As long as you use proper formula and vitamins, he’ll be fine.”

Josh gave Peter a kind of funny look.

“Oh that’s great advice, thank you,” Peter said taking Hunter from the table into his arms and cradling him. Hunter started nuzzling around for a breast upon which to feed and not finding anything.

“Ok, that’s all, I’m off to my next little patient.” She smiled at Hunter and exited closing the door behind her. Peter looked at Josh who looked back. They both leaped to their feet and did a little happy dance — very quietly, of course.

“Mintaka, ok, let’s get back to the villa and relax,” Peter urged.

On the drive home, Hunter was displaying signs of being very hungry by now. As Josh’s shirt provided easier access, Peter gave him over to Josh. Josh unbuttoned a few buttons so he could slide Hunter in for feeding and covered him up with the blanket. Hunter immediately started to suckle. Josh liked the feeling of knowing his baby was getting the best nutrition humanly possible, but he still was not quite used to the sensation. He had a much better appreciation, as did Peter, of what it is like to have some little person, suckling you. A huge percentage of mammalian females had had this experience, yet, as far as they knew, they two were the only two males. While Hunter was nursing, Peter moved over to sit next to them wrapping his arm around Josh’s shoulder. He leaned his head against Josh’s and they held hands for the duration of the drive back.

When they arrived back, they found that Muriel had ordered dinner for them and set the table.

“What’s this?” Peter said.

“Well, you know idle hands.” Muriel smiled.

“Oh, M. you shouldn’t have! This is too much!” Josh exclaimed.

“I plan to live up to your expectations as Hunter’s U-mother.”

“I think you’ve already surpassed our wildest expectations,” Peter added.

“One more surprise, then?” She asked. She pulled a drape off a shape it had been covering in plain sight. “Boys, let me introduce you to the rocker.” This automatic device will change your life for the next six months for the better. You just put the baby into the basket, turn it on, and let the gadget do its job.”

“Which I guess is to rock the baby?” Peter asked.

“Yes. My daughter swore by this. Oh, when there are two of you around, you don’t need it, but if one of you isn’t home and the other needs to get things done, this is a safe space for your little one.”

“You don’t own stock in this company?” Peter asked trying not to sound suspicious.

“Of course I do,” Muriel laughed, “but that is beside the point.”

Josh giggled, “No you didn’t!”

“No, I’m kidding about the stock, Josh!” Muriel said.

“Well, let’s put him in it and see if he likes it,” Peter suggested. Josh handed Hunter to Muriel who put him into the basket and then latched him down with the seat belt.

“I recommend setting 1 for the first week, but as he adapts, you can go to higher settings, have it play music, add in a colorful light show, it has everything.” She switched the machine on, and very slowly at first, it started to rock the basket in sort of a figure-eight pattern. After a few rotations, Hunter was cooing and giggling. It was obvious he loved it.

“I’d say it’s a hit, Fairy U-mother!” Josh took videos of Hunter on his first miniature theme park ride.

“Who would have thought?” Peter said. “I’m having as much fun watching him as he’s having.”

“As I said, when there’s two of you, you don’t need it, but those other times, when you just need your hands free and wearing the baby backpack isn’t practical or comfortable for either of you, this can change everything.” She then retired to the kitchen to start plating the dinner items she ordered and had warming and refrigerating as necessary.

“Let me help,” Peter said joining her while Josh was monitoring Hunter. Josh took Hunter out of the machine and joined Peter and Muriel at the table.

“Peter, I think our kid is hungry,” Josh said. “He keeps puckering and trying to suckle me.”

“Noted, Mintaka,” Peter said, “I’ll go put on an easier shirt for him,” and he darted down the hall to snag a dress shirt like Josh’s.

“Oh, you needn’t have done that for me. You can feel free to nurse him whenever and however you want,” Muriel said as they sat down to eat.

“Well, it’s a beautiful occasion, so, it’s all good,” Peter said. Josh’s eyes were growing bigger by the second looking at all of the delicious food.

“M., any words of wisdom before we dig in?” Josh asked.

“Yes, Boys, first you were forever partners and now you are forever parents. These are huge life changes to absorb in a short time. My advice is not to push yourselves too far too fast. It’s ok to take it slow and steady and let it all settle in. You don’t need to be super parents just yet, ease into it like setting one and then work your way up to ten. It will be better for you, your relationship; and, most importantly, Hunter.”

“Hear, hear!” Peter said.

“Totally,” Josh exclaimed. “Thank you for that, M.”

“Cheers!” They clinked glasses of mixed Hawaiian fruit juices to toast the occasion. Josh helped serve up a plate of Peter’s favorites as Hunter was enjoying his meal nursing on Peter who provided an ample supply for him. He handed the plate to him after cutting up the longer veggies and chopping the salad with Peter’s favorite dressing.

“So, Boys, what did the doctor actually say about Hunter?” Muriel finally popped the question she had been hoping to hear the answer to for a while.

“She said,” Josh paused for dramatic effect only, “he’s basically perfect. A bit advanced for a newborn, but nothing to worry about, in her opinion.”

“Wonderful, huge sigh of relief,” Muriel said. “I guess we didn’t do too bad of a job.”

“No, everything about him is just perfect,” Peter added.

“Ok, more good news for this honeymoon,” Muriel said. “So, not to stir up the pot a little more, but, you are going to have a bunch of very shocked relatives when you return, and I am guessing they are going to be upset you didn’t tell them about this.”

Peter looked up, “I got this. We just continue with the story. Josh and I have been thinking about kids for a long time. We found a surrogate, she liked us, and we liked her. We used combo sperm donation so we don’t know which one of us is the father, and an anonymous egg donor. We got the call that the fertilization and implantation were a success, and we wanted to keep it a secret until we were sure that everything was going to go through so that no one would ever face a moment of disappointment if something did not go ok. We wanted to be forever partnered before he was born and set the timing up just as so. We flew our surrogate over six months ago to Hawaii because she wanted to move back here and have the baby naturally underwater in the ocean.”

“Wow, this story is very detailed, Pumpkin! It sounds like we really planned this well.”

“I know right!” Peter said.

“Your mother is going to literally kill you, by the way,” Josh said only half-teasing.

“Once she sees Hunter, I suspect her heart will finally, once and for all, thaw.” Peter defended.

“Of course, we might want to pause the narrative until we see if he continues to grow up so fast. This story won’t pass the smell test if he looks five by the time we get back.” Josh only half giggled.

“In fact, my observations indicate that his accelerated grown rate has already begun to mostly stabilize,” Muriel said with confidence. “He was developing at a rate of roughly one week per hour during the height of this, and clearly, that rate has slowed down drastically or he would be the equivalent of several months old.”

“Yes, that’s true. I’m still confused about why that whole thing accelerated thing happened in the first place.”

“Well, let’s not concern ourselves with the how and why, it is all moot, because he’s here, and we love him, and that’s all that matters,” Peter said.

“Agreed!” Josh said.

During the dinner, Josh consumed a normal amount of food for the first time since they arrived, until dessert where he nearly, again, ate an entire carton of ice cream himself. As Hunter finished up nursing, Josh took him and burped him while Peter finished his dinner.

“I just had a thought,” Peter said. “We should go online and have all the stuff we need set to deliver on the day after we get back. That will save us having to go to the stores and deal with all of that rigamarole.”

“Genius!” Josh said. “I’m so glad you thought of that, my love. It’s the kind of thing we would have been kicking ourselves for not doing next week while we were balancing work and Hunter.”

“Balancing work and Hunter, Josh?”

“Yes, we have to figure out how to balance work and Hunter, right?”

“I hadn’t thought about it until you said it. How are we going to balance work and Hunter?”

“Boys, Boys, where there is a will, there is a way. You may have to hire a nanny to take care of him while you’re both at work, ask Grandmas and U-mothers to help, or one of you quits work until he’s old enough for school. That’s life.” Muriel put it practically for them. Hunter let out a huge burp. “See, Hunter agrees.”

“We really are not prepared, Mintaka. We can order stuff online, but we need to think about what’s best for Hunter and all this right now.”

“I agree, Pumpkin, however, I think M. is right in saying, it’s all going to work out. We need to sleep on it and just absorb this. The good news is, we have a few more days to do just that. It’s not what we originally planned for these days, however, this is just as good or better!”

“Agreed. I’m sorry for getting so intense,” Peter said.

“No worries, Pumpkin, this is intense.”

“Why don’t you two take Hunter down to the ocean and watch the sunset together, while I clean up this table and stow away the leftovers for a late-night snack,” Muriel suggested.

“That’s really sweet M., but you already did all of this work. I’ll call down to housekeeping and see if they can send someone up to handle it,” Peter said, “But I do agree we should take that nature walk. It will be good for all of us.” Peter called housekeeping who would send someone within ten minutes no problem at all. Peter and Josh headed for the door. “Coming, M.?”

“Oh, uh, no, Boys, you’re awfully darling, but I think this is a good chance for you three to enjoy this, and I’ll get my computer fired up and take care of some work. This is your honeymoon.” Peter grabbed a couple of beach blankets.

“Ok, we’ll be back in a while. Thanks again for everything,” Josh said as they headed out.

When they got to the beach, Peter stretched out the blankets, and then they headed to the water. The sun was dissolving slowly into the sea, and the soothing sounds of the waves rolling across the beach were calming. Josh handed Hunter to Peter and he clutched the baby to his chest and then cradled him in his arm so Hunter could see the fading sun. They stood in the sand with the water from each wave getting a bit higher until it reached over their ankles. Then they retired the blanket. Peter sat down with Hunter and Josh draped the second blanket around his shoulders, then he climbed under and sat next to them wrapping the end of the blanket over his shoulder creating a little family tent-like structure. Josh put his arm around Peter and they snuggled together cuddling each other and the baby. Josh kissed Peter and nuzzled his neck, but it was not about sexual feelings or warming things up, this was just pure love and affection between two parents and their newborn. Then he leaned his head on Peter’s shoulder and cuddled Hunter with Peter.

“This little guy is going to get so much love, Josh.”

“Yep, he’s lucky. We’re very lucky. I’m extremely lucky.”

They sat there together in peaceful contemplation and adoration just soaking in the moments as the night sky began to come to life again with a field of stars. Peter lifted Hunter up a bit. He took his little hand and drew a line in the sky, “That, Hunter, is Orion’s belt. It is made of three stars which are among the brightest in our sky and easiest to find. That’s where you get your name, little one. From that set of stars. They are part of the constellation known as Orion the Hunter.” Watching Peter handle their baby gave Josh shivers up and down his spine unlike he had ever felt before. This was love, the kind of true love that one sees in movies and novels, however, he never thought he would find it in real life, not like this. Overlay that with the fact that they now had a son, someone to grow up loving and adoring and caring about together. A tear started to roll down his cheek. Somehow, Peter always knew when Josh was getting ultra-emotional. He turned and caught Josh’s tear with his thumb and swiped it along with its trail right out to existence.

“Mintaka, what is it?” Peter asked while cradling and rocking Hunter back and forth in his other arm.

“You know me, Pumpkin. I’m unable to express my feelings in words right now. I’m just…”.

Peter giggled because he knew it would bring Josh back. “I know, sweetheart. I know what you are feeling and thinking.”

Josh giggled too, it was all sappy and sentimental, but it was real, and it felt amazing. “Peter?”’

“Joshua?”

“We need a new word, just ours to mean the love we have.”

“Let’s see,” Peter handed Hunter to Josh to cuddle for a while and then searched on his smartphone. As he was searching, he tipped up his phone for a second and took a quick picture of Josh. “You both are so darling.” He smiled and Josh, of course, giggled. “Well, the Hawaiian word for waterfall is ‘Wailele’ and rainbow is ‘Ānuenue’. Would you like to use either of those?”

“Yes. Let’s put them together, ‘Ānuenue wailele’. How’s my pronunciation?”

“I guess your pronunciation is great, but then, I am not fluent in Hawaiian.”

“Well, it’s just between us, so no one else has to know.”

“I love it, Mintaka. Ānuenue wailele.”

“So whenever we say this beautiful expression, we will know what it means.” Hunter fell soundly asleep in Josh’s arms. Josh and Peter looked out at the ocean and then at each other. They nuzzled their noses and then kissed for a while. Then they looked out at the ocean again. Sitting there, side by side under the blanket watching the stars, they both felt a deep connection to each other, to Hunter, and to their planet. They both felt something special for Hawai’i as a truly special place and one that really connects people to the world. Realizing that the land itself was made by eruptions of the molten inner layers of the planet spilling out over more than four million years. Then life miraculously reaching the islands and the incredible natural beauty was awe-inspiring. Just then, they witnessed what seemed like a very colorful and amazing, albeit strangely-shaped, shooting star. They looked at each other and felt it was a sign that everything was right in the world. They felt warm from head to toe.

“Shall we go back, Mintaka?” Peter suggested. Josh nodded. Josh handed the sleeping baby to Peter who took him very willingly and eagerly. Hunter’s little nose was a carbon copy of Josh’s. He could not resist kissing it so gently. Josh took the outer blanket and folded it up as Peter got up. Then Josh folded up the second blanket, put them under his arm, and took Peter by the hand. Together they walked carefully back to the villa. The only sound they heard was that of the waterfall someone had left running.