"And Mona calls you a bonehead." Desi smiled when two soft lips pressed against her temple and Harry's hands went to the swell of her mid section. "A boy or a girl?" asked Desi.

"Doesn't matter. Look at how good the first one turned out. Can you imagine what we've accomplished now with a little practice?"

"You've almost made all my dreams come true, Doccy," said Desi turning her head to get a kiss.

"Almost?"

"I wanted two little guys like this, so don't worry, you're half way home. How was work?"

"Did a small surgery, met someone you'd like to know, then I came home to my two mud bugs."

"Clay, honey, try and remember that because you get to watch your prodigy while I recreate that woven style bowl. Who'd you meet?"

"Mimi Mulle and partner."

Desi turned around holding Jack between them so she could look at Harry. Jack took the move as an invitation to stick his hand in Harry's mouth. "You know Mimi Mulle?"

"We're ike dis," answered Harry holding up two crossed fingers and talking as best she could around the little hand in her mouth.

"Tony and I missed out on her first show since she had contracted with Griffin Studios. She's not hurt and in your debt is she?" teased Desi.

"Listen to you. I'm married to an art shark."

"I don't wish ill upon her, I just want her stuff hanging in our place so tell me."

"She's not hurt, but she does though think I'm wonderful."

Desi held up one finger and threatened, "Harry, don't make me count to three."

"Her partner, Jolly Andolini, fell off their roof this morning breaking three ribs and driving them into a lung. Not pretty, but not fatal. I wasn't scheduled but I took her in and fixed the problem. Jolly should be set to go home tomorrow."

"You're so sweet. She was really upset huh?"

"The woman's very pregnant with triplets, so I would've stood on my head if it would have calmed her down."

Desi shivered thinking about more than one kid at a time. They didn't want to know the s.e.x but the one thing she did know was there was only one swimming around in there. "Can I go to rounds with you in the morning?"

"Don't even think about it, Desiree. The hospital is not the place to be cutting art deals."

"I just want to meet her, honey, not twist her arm into showing at Basantes Gallery. That painting we bought is one of my favorite things in the house. If I wanted to arm twist, I would have asked to bring Tony along."

"How about I ask them over when Jolly gets out? Then you and the fruitcake can pitch all you want."

Desi didn't answer, just stood up and stepped out of the tub to grab a towel. Jack came next when she lifted him out and wrapped him in another bath sheet. "Get out of there and get on the bed."

"Where are you going?" asked Harry.

"To put Jack in a sleeper for his nap and then I'm coming back so you can perform your marital duty." Harry moved so fast, any built up insecurities about her waistline on Desi's part vanished.

"Jolly, come on, honey, wake up for me." Mimi stood by the bed and held an unresponsive hand. The doctor had been right, Jolly had slept through the night without any visible pain, but now Mimi was ready to see those blue eyes.

"What are you doing standing up?" The voice was raspy, but to Mimi it sounded like heaven. "Well?" Jolly asked winching a little when she tried to take a deep breath.

"I was trying to wake you up, blockhead. You just wait until you get out of here. You do realize your children and I've been worried sick about you?" The move Jolly loved so much had gained some flair with Mimi's pregnancy, but those beautiful hands on Mimi's hips still looked s.e.xy to the architect.

"You threatening to give me the pinch?"

"You'll be lucky I don't hit you over the head with a hammer," teased Mimi. She tried sitting on the bed next to Jolly but couldn't quite get all the way up. Ricky helped her out by picking Mimi up and laying her next to Jolly. He slipped out of the room to give them some privacy, happy to turn his daughter back into Jolly's care. "I'm glad you're all right."

"I'd fear for my life otherwise," Jolly joked with her. With Mimi pressed against her, Jolly could feel the babies moving around.

"You promise you're all right?"

"Cross my heart, baby." Harry walked in on the two kissing and not wanting to break them apart, studied Jolly's chart until they were done.

"Looks like another satisfied customer," said Harry as soon as their lips came apart. "Let's take a look, and hopefully we can send you home to recuperate."

"Harry, thanks for coming back so early," said Mimi trying to sit up.

"Like I said, my partner Desi is a big fan, so I'm under strict orders to provide my best bedside manner and invite you two over for dinner. Jolly, you might not remember me from yesterday, I'm Harry Basantes and I did your surgery." Harry stuck the chart under her arm so she could shake hands with Jolly.

"Thanks, I feel a lot better than I did after that fall. I've jumped from higher spots, so I feel like an idiot I didn't land on my feet." The fact the doctor hadn't asked Mimi to move from her spot made Jolly take an instant liking to Harry.

Harry put the chart down and lifted the hospital gown up far enough to see the incision. "I would recommend ladders from now on until these set. Any more broken bones and Mimi might just make you wish death was imminent."

"I promise, Dr. Basantes."

Smoothing down the gown and readjusting the bedding, Harry turned her attention back to Mimi. "How are you feeling? Want me to call your doctor before you head home with Jolly?"

"I feel fine aside from looking and feeling like a walrus."

Harry laughed at Mimi's choice of animal, expecting to hear cow or beached whale. Must be an artist thing, she thought knowing Desi's favorite was hippopotamus. "You look great, and trust me, the figure you were used to seeing in the mirror comes back. If you doubt me call my house and ask my wife."

"You have children?" asked Jolly.

Harry pulled a picture from the pocket of her lab coat and handed it over. Both Desi and Jack were smiling at the camera sitting on their favorite picnic spot on the front lawn of the house. "Lucky for you I left my wallet in my other coat. This is Jackson and Desi Basantes, or Jack and mommy as they're known at home."

"They're beautiful," said Mimi.

"Thank you, and I'd be lying if I said I disagree with your a.s.sessment. You'll be happy to know Desi enjoyed the experience so much we're trying it again."

"Congratulations, Dr. Basantes." Jolly looked at the picture Mimi had handed over and suddenly couldn't wait to do the same when their children arrived.

"Please call me Harry, and I was serious. I've been instructed to invite you both over for dinner when you're able. I had to run out of the house and hide Desi's keys to keep her from coming with me today."

Jolly handed the photo back and laughed. Desi sounded a lot like a blonde she knew. She accepted the invitation for the both of them when Mimi smiled and nodded her head.

"I have to warn you in advance, if you do come over be prepared to look at that painting from the No Aids event in our dining room. Though after doing your surgery yesterday, Mimi forgot to put that freckle you have on your abdomen," said Harry in all seriousness.

"What freckle?" asked Mimi.

"I'm kidding. Take care and someone will be back in to bring you downstairs. I'll leave your scripts with the discharge nurse, then all you'll have left to do is make an appointment with my office to have the st.i.tches removed."

Ricky came back from the cafeteria when it was time and gave them a ride home to the loft, helping them both up the stairs when they arrived. He left to finish what they had started the previous day hoping to move into the house before Mimi got any bigger.

"Want anything?" Mimi asked Jolly.

The patient had been propped up by a mountain of pillows on the bed and was looking rather lonely. "If I asked real nice, would you sit on my face?"

"I would but with all this extra weight I might kill you." Mimi sat at the edge of the bed and put her hand on Jolly's leg.

"How about a kiss then? I might not be up for killer s.e.x just yet." Mimi laughed before rolling over and giving Jolly what she had asked for.

"I love you, Jolly, and I can't wait for you to meet these guys." Mimi put her hand over Jolly's. The big hand over her mid section was helping to calm the babies down.

"You think I should buy a bigger wallet now?"

"I feel sorry for anyone needing house plans four months from now. When do you think we can move into ours?" Mimi had a sudden urge to strip all her clothes off and eat cheesecake off Jolly's chest. She hoped all these weird notions would go away after the babies were born.

"Missing the studio?" asked Jolly.

"Our bed would come in first."

"Soon, baby, soon." Jolly kissed Mimi's cheek and tried not to think about running her hands along Mimi's body. Ellie had put the brakes on that kind of behavior after the fourth month point because of the triplets.

"Tell me you miss it at least?" asked Mimi.

"How long do you think we can get Ricky to baby sit after you give birth?"

"You're good for my ego, honey."

"I've joined blockheads anonymous to try and spruce up my image. You're younger than me so I have to do whatever I can to keep you interested."

"You're a s.e.xy nut, Jolly, so you have nothing to worry about. What I need from you is access to our babies' room so I can get moving on the walls and ceiling."

"Let me go and I'll give you something to help you with the preliminary sketches." Jolly moved down the stairs slowly with Mimi fussing at her the whole way. The lap desk had been finished for three days and Jolly had planned to give it to Mimi as a house warming gift. She grabbed it along with a sketchpad.

"Oh, Jolly, you are so getting lucky when I can see my feet." Mimi ran her fingers along the fish and other sea creatures Jolly had included along the border of the wood. The center had been sanded and polished until it gleamed, and on the underside a thick pad had been covered with soft suede. It always amazed Mimi how much effort and thought Jolly put into the things she made for her. Mimi leaned against Jolly for the rest of the afternoon talking about their future plans and sketching.

At the house Ricky and the work crew worked hard to finish everything the girls had in mind. By noon of the next day they had moved everything that had been packed from the loft. After a brief argument over whether or not Jolly should go to work, Mimi made her way to the large babies' room. She calmed down after Jolly promised not to drive to any construction sites and spend the day in the office with Tim and a few clients wanting to finalize plans.

Ricky smiled seeing Mimi with a drawing pencil in hand creating the same underwater haven she had created for Jolly. He was putting a tarp down so his daughter could paint away at the almost completed walls. The room was also a new addition, and the way Jolly and Tim had designed it was almost genius thought Ricky. Just like with everything else in Jolly's life she had considered how well the s.p.a.ce could be utilized in the future as well as what would make Mimi happy now.

The room was large enough so it could be subdivided if they had what she jokingly referred to as a mixed litter. To bear the weight of the ceiling they had put pillars, which later could be replaced with solid walls. Mimi had thought for weeks on what to paint, so like Jolly had planned, the art would grow along with their kids. The end product was fish, a blue sky for the ceiling along with a wall of trees that would resemble the park that bordered their yard. Now all she had to do was talk Jolly into going furniture shopping to fill it up.

Mimi stopped mid way in bringing a parrotfish to life when someone knocked on the door. The last person she expected to find on their doorstep was Sophia Andolini, Jolly's mother. The first Mrs. Holland had left for the Alabama gulf coast as soon as the divorce was final and her children had chosen to stay with Anthony. Jolly talked with her every couple of weeks, but it was seldom that Sophia ventured out of her beach coc.o.o.n. It was a strange relationship she and Jolly had, but Mimi never pushed considering the relationship she shared with her own mother.

"Mrs. Andolini," greeted Mimi.

"I'm sorry for not coming sooner, dear, but Jolly said the house was a mess." Sophia put her hand on Mimi's active midsection and tears came to her eyes. "It was more like I was afraid of any more rejection."

"Mrs. Andolini, that's unfair. Jolly lost out on relationships with her siblings to take your side. That and also that I would kick her b.u.t.t if she disrespected our kids' grandmother."

Sophia's smile appeared and she hugged Mimi. "I'm glad she woke up and found you, Mimi. My wish for you is they bring you as much happiness as I got when I had Jolly. You know that's how she got her name."

"I was always curious about that. Come in and tell me about it." Mimi led Sophia into the kitchen.

"Jolly must be in heaven." Sophia looked around the new fully equipped kitchen. The oak cabinets were filled with all of Jolly's pots and pans, as well as the ingredients she needed to create the dishes Mimi loved.

"Thank all that's holy one of us likes to cook. I don't think we would have done such an extensive renovation if I had owned a frying pan when she first moved in. Now tell me a story."

"All those years ago when they put Jolly in my arms, I felt such a profound happiness the name came to me. Jolly connotes happiness so I went with it. I figured if I named her Happy she would never forgive me. Considering how much teasing she's gotten over Jolly, I'm glad I went with my second choice."

Mimi laughed thinking about what Sophia said. Life held no guarantees, but one she was sure about, was that Jolly would be there to bring bundles of happiness as long as her body drew breath. "That might be my new nickname for her," said Mimi.

"I've also come bearing gifts." Mimi called her father from the workshop out back to unload Sophia's car. The two old friends greeted each other before Ricky went out to the Suburban parked out front. They had gotten to know each other during the two divorce hearings they had gone through because of their cheating spouses. Their relationship grew after those unhappy times because of their children.

Ricky brought in two wrapped pieces of what felt like wood. It was Mimi's turn to cry when the old blankets came off and she recognized the carved pieces. Only one other person had the style and technique that Jolly possessed when she made something like what she was looking at. He had been Jolly's teacher, her grandfather.

The two pieces, which made up the head and foot of Jolly's baby bed, had been carved by Sophia's father as his gift for his first grandchild. She didn't know what possessed her to take it with her with she left Anthony, but knowing how Jolly felt about the elder Andolini had made Sophia take the time. Francois had taken a blank slate of cypress and carved out every fable and popular bedtime story for his granddaughter's entertainment.

When Jolly walked in from work she found Mimi running her fingers along the Cat in the Hat holding his goldfish friend. It was an act she vaguely remembered doing as a child.

"She kept it."

"She loves you and wanted to pa.s.s it on to her grandchildren," said Mimi loving the expression on Jolly's face. "I want you to fix it so we can hang it in the babies' room. Your mom didn't bring the railings and I couldn't make the choice between the three as to who gets to use it."

"The specifications for baby beds have changed through the years so don't worry about having to choose." Jolly's fingers joined her partner's in running along the smooth wood. "I started thinking about this bed from the day you told me about our babies."

"I just hope they don't use it to teethe like some people," said Sophia from behind them. She cried again when Jolly swept her into a bear hug and just held her.

Sophia stayed in the new guest room after Jolly cooked dinner and they had a chance to talk. Any fear of putting Ricky out was unfounded when Jolly showed her Mimi's father's permanent room at the back of the house. Jolly had put a separate entrance so he wouldn't feel so hemmed in, hoping to encourage him to stay longer.

The slow steady breathing coming from Mimi later that night signaled Jolly to get back to work. If she wanted to finish her surprise, she was going to have to ignore the pain in her side and put in some late nights. The soft tapping from her hammer prevented Jolly from hearing the shop door open admitting a late night visitor.

"It's nice to know that if you're having an affair, it's with wood and not some other blonde who will remain nameless," said Mimi.

Jolly looked up from what she was doing and frowned. "You're supposed to be sleeping, and I'm supposed to be surprising you."