Chapter 22

8/9/2041

"I'm pregnant," Luca thought to himself as they drove home. He was also carrying twin Omegas. A girl and a boy As he held the sonogram in his hands, Luca's mind raced. He radiated both fear and happiness.

Tyree noticed his silence and said, "Luca." When Luca looked up, a tear streamed down his cheek.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm just scared."

"The virus is gone, babe," Tyree said. "Nothing will happen," he predicted.

Now, they needed to figure out how to tell a three-year-old that Luca was having babies. When they pulled up and shut off the engine, Carl, who had carried Elena, came out. Alicia followed close behind.

"So, how did it go?" he asked.

"I think we need to go inside and talk," Luca said. They all went inside and sat down in the living room.

"What did the doctor say?" Carl asked.

"It's not the virus," Luca said. "Dad, I'm expecting," he said.

"We're having twins," Tyree added, placing a hand on Luca's tummy.

Alicia glanced up at them with curious eyes. "What's in mommy's tummy?" she asked.

"Your baby brother and sister," Luca said.

"You are going to be a big sister again," Tyree said.

"When will I see them?" Alicia asked.

"In 8 more months," Luca said. "How do you feel about being a big sister?" Luca asked.

"I'm happy momma," Alicia said, giving him a hug.

"Congrats," Carl said with a smile. "Come over Sunday so you can tell everyone else," he said.

Tyree sat in the study, browsing the internet. Luca entered after putting Elena down for her nap.

"What are you doing?" Luca asked.

"We're going to need a bigger house, so I'm checking out our options," he said.

"What about this one?" Luca asked.

"It's okay for now, but when the twins are born, we won't have room," Tyree explained.

"How much will we need?" "And how will we get the money?" Luca asked.

"I can sell this house and dip into my savings," Tyree said. "The house I noticed that would be perfect is $500,000.

Luca was silent for a few moments while he did his calculations in his head.

"If I put aside the $3700 every month, we'll have $33,000 in 9 months," he said.

"I don't want to take all of your money," Tyree said.

"We are a family now," "I want to help," he said.

"Okay, but $3000 towards the house," "Keep the rest for emergency purposes," Tyree said.

"We have a deal," Luca said with a smile."Now, show me this house you found," he said.

Luca sat down beside Tyree, who brought up the website that had the house he saw. When Luca saw the floorplan, his jaw dropped.

"Wow!" "A room I can use for drawing my clients," he said.

"I knew you'd love it when you saw that," Tyree said.

"Do you think we'd be able to get it?" Luca asked.

"I'll contact a friend that sells houses tomorrow and see if he'll help us," Tyree said.

"If we can't buy it, can we rent it?" Luca asked.

"We'll have to see what happens," Tyree said. With the kids in bed, Tyree and Luca lay in bed, thinking over baby names until they fell asleep.

8/10/2041

Luca woke up to the smell of food cooking. He went into the kitchen and found Tyree fixing scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Good morning, babe," Tyree said, looking over his shoulder.

"Morning," Luca said, stepping up and kissing him.

"The kids are still asleep," Tyree said.

"So it's just us two?" Luca asked.

"For now," Tyree said, returning the kiss. Luca squealed when Tyree cupped his butt.

Their makeout session was interrupted by the pitter patter of tiny feet.

"Mommy and Daddy, I'm hot," Alicia exclaimed. Tyree checked on Alicia while Luca prepared breakfast.

"She has a fever," Tyree explained. "I'll go get some medicine."

"The worst are summer colds," Luca said. "I should check on Elena," Luca said, turning off the fire under the pan. Luca entered the bedroom just as Elena woke up and started crying.

"Momma's here," he said, picking up Elena from the crib. Luca got a bottle from the fridge and heated it. He sat down in a chair and gave Elena her bottle.

Tyree came back into the kitchen and sat down. "She's asleep," "The medicine took effect," he said.

"Good," Luca said. "Elena was hungry," he said.

"The food is cold," "We best put it away," Tyree said.

"I can find something to eat," Luca said, standing up and opening the fridge. Luca grabbed an apple from the crisper and bit into it.

"I'll contact my friend about the house," Tyree said, kissing Luca on the cheek.

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Luca said.

Luca took Elena back to their bedroom, apple in hand and laid her down in the crib. Tyree went into the study and sat down at his desk. He grabbed his phone and dialed a number. The line picked up after the third ring.

"Hello," a young male voice said.

"Andre, it's Tyree,"

"Hiya buddy," he said. "How have you been?" Andre asked.

"Everything is going great," Tyree said. "I have found my soulmate," he said.

"That's great," Andrea said happily. "What's his name?" he asked.

"I'll tell you more about him, but I need a favor," Tyree said.

"Anything," "Name it," Andre said.

"I need to sell the house, but need to know how much it's worth,"

"Why are you wanting to sell it?" he asked.

"Because me and my boyfriend saw a house big enough for our needs but it's $500,000," Tyree explained.

"I'll be over on Monday," Andre said. "Is 9am alright?" he asked.

"That should be fine," Tyree said. "By the way, his name is Luca," he said. The call ended and he headed to the bedroom.

Luca was snoring softly when Tyree walked inside. Luca's hand rested on his small bump. Tyree took off his shoes and slid under the covers. He snuggled up against Luca and put his hand on top of Luca's. Careful not to wake Luca, he whispered, "I love you, my babies,"