They all started to cheer and talk at once. Ella suddenly chimed in, waving her hands in the air. “Can I tell them the best part?”
Felix nodded. Seeing Ella this happy only made him even more choked up, and he was glad she was taking over. “Well, like you guys, in my family, it’s customary to name your first son or at least one of them after Daddy.” She turned and smiled even bigger at Felix. “But he’d told me in the past that if he ever had another baby, boy or girl, he wanted to name it Jordan in honor of its big brother. I completely agreed and respected that. It all depends on how this goes. We may or may not try again, so to me this could be a onetime deal. I was all prepared that if we had a boy he could be Jordan Felix. But if it were a girl”—she scrunched her nose—“well, I wouldn’t do that to her. Felix is not exactly a feminine name even as a middle name.”
They all laughed, and Ella brought her hands to her face, all giddy. Felix nodded so she’d tell them. “We’re having twin boys!”
There was screeching and clapping and even some whistling from Hector as the girls began hugging Ella and then Felix.
“Our first born will be Jordan after his big brother,” she explained even as everyone took turns hugging them, “and the second will be Felix after his daddy.”
Felix was trying so hard to hold it together, but the joy he felt was so overwhelming it was hard to. The guys hugged him surprisingly hard, which only made him that much more emotional, damn it. Abel even held on for a while.
“Welcome to the club, man,” Abel said as he finally pulled away. “Say goodbye to sleep and sex on a whim.”
“Yeah.” Hector laughed. “It gets so glamorous that after a while you don’t even smell the puke in her hair when you make love to her.”
They all laughed as Charlee approached them. “What did he just say?”
“Something about your hair smelling like puke when you were looking for your walking shoes earlier,” Abel said.
The guys all laughed, but Felix was lost. Whatever the joke was made Charlee’s face turn bright red. Hector pushed Abel, pretending to be mad when Charlee walked away, but he was grinning from ear to ear when he went after his embarrassed wife.
“Well, I say this calls for a toast,” Noah said, flagging over one of the waiters who’d been walking around refilling everyone’s mimosas, “although, half the women here will have to toast with orange juice only.”
When they’d all been refilled, they held out their glasses. “To filling 5th Street with a new generation of fighters.” Noah smiled. “And to Jack for starting all this and making us promise we’d always stay together like one big family.”
“Hear, hear!” Hector said. “To family.
They all toasted and drank then began getting ready to leave. Felix watched as they all put their walking strollers together. Most had doubles and made sure their baby bags were all filled and ready with whatever they’d need on their two-mile, kid-friendly route. Felix and Ella normally did the five-mile route, but with her pregnant now, he didn’t feel comfortable doing the five-mile today.
Abel and Hector walked out to where Felix had been waiting for everyone, lost in thought. They both had their filled strollers ready. Hector pretended to rev up his stroller loudly as if he and Abel were gonna race. “Honey,” Charlee said gently to Hector, “you’re gonna wake the baby.”
Hector stopped the revving noise, and as soon as Charlee was far enough away, Abel squeaked. “Yes, dear.”
“Shut up,” Hector said, shoving his brother with a smirk. “I never call her dear, ass.”
Noah walked up next with his two in a sit down/stand up stroller so Jack could stand in the back.
Felix informed them they’d be joining them on the two-mile route because he didn’t want Ella doing the five-mile just as Gio walked up with a wagon full of stuff and no kids, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know why she made me rent this. The boys are not gonna wanna sit in it. I would’ve rather rented a wheelchair in case she gets tired. She and the boys can take turns.”
“What was that?” Bianca asked, walking up adjusting her sun hat. “Oh perfect,” she said when she saw the wagon.
Hector was already making faces at Gio, who failed to continue with his frustrated talk about the wagon in front of Bianca. Abel’s little guy came rushing toward Abel, holding his crotch. “Again, dude?” Abel asked, looking around. “Jesus, you must have a bladder the size of a peanut.”
“I want peanuts!” Reina yelled, jumping up and down.
“You just ate,” Abel said, rushing off with little Abel. “Watch her,” he said at no one in particular, but they all would.
“Abel, I thought you talked to him about waiting until the last minute,” Nellie said.
“I did!” he yelled back.
Just then Hector’s little one started wailing. Abel’s mom scolded the four boys for playing too roughly and bumping the stroller and waking him. Hector tried calming his mom, saying they were just being boys. Just as Ella walked out finally from the restaurant where she said she’d use the ladies’ room one last time, Felix took her in from top to bottom in her runner’s tights, the kind she always wore for these walks. The small baby bump would likely put an end to these kinds of tights very soon.
His eyes went upwards to her tight pink shirt as she approached him. Just like all her shirts, it looked painted over her ample breasts. Felix had been playing when he’d suggested a full D cup, but the girls were the ones who’d convinced Ella that if she was getting new boobs she may as well go all the way. Ella refused anything bigger than a full D, but with her petite frame, her full D’s really popped out. Felix wouldn’t lie. He’d had his fun with them, but he’d found himself grinding his teeth when Ella had mentioned she missed the days of blending in with the crowd.