The Gray Brothers: The Beginning✔️ (Kindle version)

Here comes Nashville, aka Nash

Patty

"Nashville?" Our family asked.

"Well, Nashville Nathaniel Gray, but Nash for short," I told them.

"Why Nashville?" Mom asked me.

"Because we conceived him there," I said.

Yep, Nash would kill us when he got older, but I didn't care. His name suited him.

*****

After Nash came along, Nate and I decided it would be better to stay home with him. I would take evening classes, so someone stayed at home with Nash.

Nash kept us busy when he started crawling, then walking. I had to chase a toddler, becoming exhausted most of the time and needing sleep. Thank God it's the weekend, and I had no classes.

Nate walked into the house. "Um, Betty Crocker?"

"Yes, grease monkey," I said from the couch.

"Is there a reason a tornado hit our house?"

I pointed at Nash.

"Never mind." He picked up Nash and took a seat next to me. "You seem exhausted."

"I am." I yawned.

"What did you two do today?"

"Well, I cleaned, and Nash made a mess. I took a pregnancy test and a nap."

"Wait. Back up."

"I cleaned."

"After that."

I sighed. "Okay, fine. I took a damn pregnancy test."

"And?"

"I have a doctor's appointment this week."

"Another one?"

"When two people love each other."

"Yes, I know how a baby gets made, smart ass. Remember, I was there?"

"Yes, but your raincoat wasn't."

"That isn't true. I wore one, but it broke." He shrugged.

I smacked him. "Thanks for giving me the heads up."

The doorbell rang as Nate stood up with Nash. "Come on, Nash. Mommy is moody when she's pregnant."

Nash giggled as I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

Jonas and Karen walked in with Jason, whom we call Jace for short. He's two months younger than Nash. They're coming over for a BBQ, as is everyone else.

"Why does Patty want to rip your head off?" Jonas asked.

"The raincoat broke," Nate said.

"Damn, son!"

"And I didn't tell her."

Jonas chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"That makes two of us."

"Ma and Dad will have a field day with us?"

"What else is new? Cayson is the smarter one out of us." He shrugged.

While the boys talked, Karen and I spoke as Nash and Jace played together.

People arrived, and we had a full house. It's crazy. We told Grayson and Lucille that we were expecting again, along with Jonas and Karen, and they had a few choice words, which I won't repeat because it wasn't pretty. Eh, what can you do?

Nate invited a few people from work, including their kids. We were standing in the backyard when Cayson took a poor girl's plate of food from her, and she tackled him and took the plate from him.

"Damn," Jonas said.

"Who's that?" Nate asked.

"Franco's daughter, Dominique," Grayson said.

"Franco from receiving?" Nate asked him.

"Yep," Grayson said.

"Woo boy," he said, letting out a whistle.

Later, we discovered that Dominique is 100 percent Italian, and no one touches her food. Poor Cayson did it to get her attention, which was the wrong move on his part.

Everyone enjoyed themselves at the BBQ and left. I'm ready for everyone to go because I'm exhausted. Plus, if the doctor confirmed that I'm pregnant, this baby would give me a run for my money. I never remember being this tired with Nash.

*****

The doctor confirmed that baby number two would be here in February. Why can't my kids come when the weather is warm?

I became an emotional wreck with baby number two. We picked his name while watching TV, and Richard Nixon came on the history channel. When we said the word Richard, the baby didn't move. When we mentioned Nixon, he kicked up a storm.

Yep, we're having another boy. Good lord. Boys were overrunning me at home, and I needed girls to balance it.

This pregnancy was rough. If I weren't an emotional wreck, I would be irritable. My freaking hormones were going crazy, and poor Nate had to deal with them. Well, he should have been more careful with his raincoat.

Nate became ecstatic about the birth when my water broke since he would get a break. Well, Nixon had other plans and cried a lot.

He would be my temperamental child at home. I noticed that when Nash and Nixon were together, Nixon became calmer. Those two would become close.

While we dealt with our two boys, Jonas dealt with his two boys. He named his second son Jamison, but we nicknamed him Jaime. There must be something about February babies because he's as temperamental as Nixon.

As for Cayson, he won over Dominique, and they started dating, then getting married. I love Dominique because she's funny and holds her own with Cayson. It must be her Italian nature.

Life was crazy. As Lucille said, live a little.